Buying advice

griffdaddy

Hi everyone,

I've finally decided that a second hand leaf is the car for me. I'm looking to buy one of the second generation ones with improved battery and I have a budget of about 10k. I'm not massively concerned about getting a Tekna model or anything like that, just want something in good nick that's all ready to go. Our mileage is very low and we'd only use the car rarely to go long distances. Is something like this possible on that budget?

All advice much appreciated

goz83

Yes, you can indeed pick up a 1.5 Gen Leaf for that budget. The best value is still in the UK, but you should be able to find something here if the UK is out of the question. Make sure you at least get the middle spec (Acenta/SV) which has the satnav and some toys. The basic spec is just not a nice place to be imo.

High miles, but has the fast charging and is in Wicklow.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/nissan-leaf/15507564

griffdaddy

Thanks I think I'll take a look at that. Would an EV 'wear' that kinda mileage better than a standard car? Is there anything else I should be looking out for when I go to look at it?

goz83

griffdaddy wrote: »

Thanks I think I'll take a look at that. Would an EV 'wear' that kinda mileage better than a standard car? Is there anything else I should be looking out for when I go to look at it?

There is very little to wrong with an EV. The battery health on that car should be good. The car still has warranty....assuming it's had the annual service. Check the body work for the usual. Check rear tyres for uneven wear. There is a problem with some Leafs, (which can be sorted under warranty) where there is uneven tyre wear on the outer part of the tyre(s) on the rear.

Check that all 12 battery bars are present and accounted for on a full charge. And do your finance and history check if interested.

ELM327

It's a gen 1.5 which means there is much less battery deg compared to the 1st gen.
At 93k km/60k miles, a gen 1 would be on 11 or 10 bars. I'd wager that that one for sale still has all 12.

For that generation, it's not as much the distance travelled as the battery age.

That's a good price for a mid spec leaf second gen, if I were buying a leaf now it's the one I'd go for. (no link to the seller)

goz83

Seems to have all bars in the photos alright

griffdaddy

Thanks guys I'm going to have a look on Saturday and hopefully make a purchase

goz83

griffdaddy wrote: »

Thanks guys I'm going to have a look on Saturday and hopefully make a purchase

Good luck with it.

Finally just check that both chargers come with the car. Some only have the public charge cable, but you also want the "granny cable" which is the one with the domestic 3 pin plug on it. They are not cheap, but I see them as necessary. Plus, you will need it until you get a home charge point installed.

There are recent threads about those too.

xl500

I recently Purchased a BMW I3 after driving a leaf my leaf was a Gen 1.5 132 D
the model with heat pump and better battery 32000mls and is really clean

Phil Fitzgerald of electricautos.ie has it now for sale

goz83

xl500 wrote: »

I recently Purchased a BMW I3 after driving a leaf my leaf was a Gen 1.5 132 D
the model with heat pump and better battery 32000mls and is really clean

Phil Fitzgerald of electricautos.ie has it now for sale

http://www.electricautos.ie/viewanad.php?ad_id=1757282 That's the one I assume?

Looks well. Nearly half the miles.

A bit over budget and only has the 3.3 OBC (takes twice as long to charge, with exception of using the rapid public chargers). And for the Irish person....the plate is older :eek:

xl500

xl500 wrote: »

I recently Purchased a BMW I3 after driving a leaf my leaf was a Gen 1.5 132 D
the model with heat pump and better battery 32000mls and is really clean

Phil Fitzgerald of electricautos.ie has it now for sale

How do you find the I3 after the Leaf ?

A new one with higher capacity battery is crazy money.

Did you buy new or 2nd hand ?

xl500

goz83 wrote: »

http://www.electricautos.ie/viewanad.php?ad_id=1757282 That's the one I assume?

Looks well. Nearly half the miles.

A bit over budget and only has the 3.3 OBC (takes twice as long to charge, with exception of using the rapid public chargers). And for the Irish person....the plate is older :eek:

Yes thats it Very clean nice car perfect for a commuter

isnottheword

@griffdaddy: That's a good spot by goz83 - you should get right on that....subject to doing your due diligence on it- it seems like a good deal. In the irish context, there's usually some leeway on price so if you can knock some more off and the battery is in order - and your confident it hasn't been crashed, then go for it. You are coming up to warranty - but have a little bit left - so that's added security i.e. you can check it out thoroughly over the first couple of weeks of driving and bring it in to a dealer just before warranty expires if it's a case that there's something at issue.

Don't be afraid of high mileage. Age is more of an issue for battery degradation than mileage. It's a point that's lost on a lot of buyers.

xl500

Deleted User wrote: »

How do you find the I3 after the Leaf ?

A new one with higher capacity battery is crazy money.

Did you buy new or 2nd hand ?

I bought second hand but nearly new from UK the new 94Ah Battery very expensive true but a very different car to the leaf

Leaf was great and I only mostly charged at night at home so 3.3 charger was fine

I3 is much quicker the acceleration is unreal up to 50 and its very high spec but is it worth nearly twice a leaf no way but it is a beautiful car

griffdaddy

Thanks for all the advice so far guys. Did a check on the car and it's still under finance so might not be the best move. Is it ever normal to buy a car under finance like this?

isnottheword

griffdaddy wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice so far guys. Did a check on the car and it's still under finance so might not be the best move. Is it ever normal to buy a car under finance like this?

Don't let that bother you. The deal you will make is that finance is to be cleared before you hand over $$ for the car. I bought a Leaf in the UK. There was finance to be cleared - they got that sorted and sent on a copy of the report to confirm same. Naturally, for the sake of a couple of quid, you can run another report before handing over any cash.


First step is to go see the car, check it out thoroughly and have that necessary discussion to include that point and any other concerns questions you have...and go from there.

Gumbo

griffdaddy wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice so far guys. Did a check on the car and it's still under finance so might not be the best move. Is it ever normal to buy a car under finance like this?

I have bought and sold many cars with finance showing on the checks.
First thing to do is confirm with the seller that the finance is either outstanding or cleared. Depending on who you do the check with, it could be months. Wrote they update their systems.

If there's still finance outstanding, all you do it to get them to request the settlement figure. Once you have this in writing, you both go the bank and you lodge that amount to the bank account with the AC as the reference. Then you pay the seller the balance.

This is how I bought my Prius, easy peasy. Make sure get a letter from the bank stating you paid the balance and get the seller to write something stating the car is yours and not that you paid his finance out of good will lol.

Then make sure he signs the log book and go with him to post it.

goz83

griffdaddy wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice so far guys. Did a check on the car and it's still under finance so might not be the best move. Is it ever normal to buy a car under finance like this?

As above. It's not at all uncommon for a newish car to still have finance. My Leaf still had it right up to the moment before I paid for the car. It was through a UK Nissan Dealer and I got the paperwork to show the cleared finance. Happy out.

BoatMad

goz83 wrote: »

Good luck with it.

Finally just check that both chargers come with the car. Some only have the public charge cable, but you also want the "granny cable" which is the one with the domestic 3 pin plug on it. They are not cheap, but I see them as necessary. Plus, you will need it until you get a home charge point installed.

There are recent threads about those too.

few people have granny chargers , its not standard in Irish cars

BoatMad

goz83 wrote: »

As above. It's not at all uncommon for a newish car to still have finance. My Leaf still had it right up to the moment before I paid for the car. It was through a UK Nissan Dealer and I got the paperwork to show the cleared finance. Happy out.

buying through a dealer with finance on the car is all right , buying privately with remaining finance needs a careful process and will require you to either ESCROW the money or insert yourself into the process of clearing the finance. The latter being easy if unnerving

goz83

BoatMad wrote: »

few people have granny chargers , its not standard in Irish cars

Still a bargaining tool if it's not there. I'm aware it's not standard in all cars.

BoatMad wrote: »

buying through a dealer with finance on the car is all right , buying privately with remaining finance needs a careful process and will require you to either ESCROW the money or insert yourself into the process of clearing the finance. The latter being easy if unnerving

Absolutely. My point was not to be put off by outstanding finance, but to make sure it's paid before purchasing the car.

unkel

BoatMad wrote: »

few people have granny chargers , its not standard in Irish cars

I know it doesn't come with a Leaf. Penny pinching if they can't throw in a cable that costs them €50 to source when you buy a €25,000 car :rolleyes:

Granny cable comes as standard with the Ioniq. Surely most other EVs have it as standard too?

I always have the granny cable in the car. It will dig me out of a hole one day. I'd go as far as to say if I could pick either the granny cable or the type 2 charging cable to take with me on an unknown journey, I'd pick the former.

xl500

Plenty of Leafs available without finance why take the risk not just mine but lots available

goz83

xl500 wrote: »

Plenty of Leafs available without finance why take the risk not just mine but lots available

Because it's cheaper and there is no risk if the person buying it makes sure that finance is cleared. It's really quite simple.

BoatMad

goz83 wrote: »

Because it's cheaper and there is no risk if the person buying it makes sure that finance is cleared. It's really quite simple.

its not that simple, because there are issue for both seller and buyer.

The seller needs to ensure that the finance is actually cleared

The buyer needs to know that as well, but typically the buyer is providing the cash flow to allow that to happen , before the ownership of the car is actually registered to them

its a tricky situation

xl500

goz83 wrote: »

Because it's cheaper and there is no risk if the person buying it makes sure that finance is cleared. It's really quite simple.

Because its cheaper than what though I said there are lots of cars out there not just mine actually because I have a car for sale does not mean buy mine I dont mind what car the OP buys but thread carefully with outstanding finance

Its 9500 for a 141 with 93k on it I would bet you could get a Leaf 141 or 132 ie new battery and heat pump with lower mileage for very near that money

BoatMad

BoatMad wrote: »

its not that simple, because there are issue for both seller and buyer.

The seller needs to ensure that the finance is actually cleared

The buyer needs to know that as well, but typically the buyer is providing the cash flow to allow that to happen , before the ownership of the car is actually registered to them

its a tricky situation

It's not a tricky situation, he signs document declaring the car is yours once the finance is paid, signed before paying the finance, you pay outstanding balance to the bank , the bank gives both parties document stating the finance is cleared. Both sign log book , you both post the logbook and that's it.

J.pilkington

It might be the garage who has finance on it and not the previous owner. I understand that this is a relatively recent but now common thing where the bank financing the working capital of garages are now taking a charge on their assets i.e. their stock / cars

goz83

xl500 wrote: »

Because its cheaper than what though I said there are lots of cars out there not just mine actually because I have a car for sale does not mean buy mine I dont mind what car the OP buys but thread carefully with outstanding finance

Its 9500 for a 141 with 93k on it I would bet you could get a Leaf 141 or 132 ie new battery and heat pump with lower mileage for very near that money

It's cheaper than any other gen 1.5 Acenta in the ROI and it's within the stated budget. I didn't know you were selling a car....I thought you already had and a dealer now had it for sale.

You would have to go to the UK to get cheaper, but it wouldn't be very much at all in the difference. You would get lower mileage alright, but that doesn't matter so much in a Leaf. The fact that the car is a 6.6 OBC is also a big bonus. Plus, it's a private Irish sale, so there is no way 9500 is the final price. It will be got for 9k

Gumbo

BoatMad wrote: »

its not that simple, because there are issue for both seller and buyer.

The seller needs to ensure that the finance is actually cleared

The buyer needs to know that as well, but typically the buyer is providing the cash flow to allow that to happen , before the ownership of the car is actually registered to them

its a tricky situation

Guys, did you read my post above.
I've done this so many times, it's become second nature to me.
The finance is a simple transaction to clear. The finance house provide you with their bank details and all you do is lodge the money and it's cleared.

The only downside is you both have to go the bank to lodge the money during working hours so rules out an evening purchase or weekend purchase.

It really is that simple, assuming you have already done the other checks like owner is who he says he is, crash history, mechanical check.

Maybe I'm just accustomed to doing this that has made it not such an ordeal.

BoatMad

J.pilkington wrote: »

It might be the garage who has finance on it and not the previous owner. I understand that this is a relatively recent but now common thing where the bank financing the working capital of garages are now taking a charge on their assets i.e. their stock / cars

not if the car is sold on from the garage

stock finance is not on a particular car, its a floating charge

griffdaddy

So we had a look today.The car was in great nick and the guy seemed really sound and on the level. Had all the paperwork related to finance etc. He'd forgotten that the balloon payment would show up on the car check so he's arranged to clear that before we pay the full amount by Wednesday or Thursday. Looking forward to taking it for a proper spin then! Thanks for all the help and advice, wouldn't have really known where to start

Excellent best of luck keep us posted.

goz83

Thats good news. I hope it works out. Looks like a cracking car

Gumbo

Great news!
Best of luck.

It seems that any Leaf that gets advertised lately is been snapped up.

BoatMad

kceire wrote: »

Great news!
Best of luck.

It seems that any Leaf that gets advertised lately is been snapped up.

any market thats growing by 50% per annum will have that characteristic ,

it why the proponents of residual despair are fundementally wrong

demand always results in higher prices , first law of capitalism

griffdaddy

Just an update on this, picked it up on Wednesday and loving it. Went to a wedding in cavan at the weekend and charged it up in navan on the way up and the way back. Couldn't have been easier. Had some issues with the fast charger on templeville road and had to go to nissans fast charger in Dublin 12 on Saturday before I left, but that was the chargers fault, not the car. It worked fine last night. My only problem now is I need more places to drive to, maybe I'll start delivering for a local takeaway or something 😀

ELM327

griffdaddy wrote: »

Just an update on this, picked it up on Wednesday and loving it. Went to a wedding in cavan at the weekend and charged it up in navan on the way up and the way back. Couldn't have been easier. Had some issues with the fast charger on templeville road and had to go to nissans fast charger in Dublin 12 on Saturday before I left, but that was the chargers fault, not the car. It worked fine last night. My only problem now is I need more places to drive to, maybe I'll start delivering for a local takeaway or something 😀

Well Wear!

Templeville is a problematic one, it's often out of order. I know as I rely on it for a regular weekend trip. The nissan charger is reliable. As is the one in Navan. I find in general the DBT units to be slower charging speed, and less reliable than the Efacec triple headers.

Gumbo

griffdaddy wrote: »

Just an update on this, picked it up on Wednesday and loving it. Went to a wedding in cavan at the weekend and charged it up in navan on the way up and the way back. Couldn't have been easier. Had some issues with the fast charger on templeville road and had to go to nissans fast charger in Dublin 12 on Saturday before I left, but that was the chargers fault, not the car. It worked fine last night. My only problem now is I need more places to drive to, maybe I'll start delivering for a local takeaway or something 😀

Get a thread started with photos etc

Best of luck.
I done Dublin to Cavan in my first week of ownership too. Only one stop but I was quite nervous beforehand if i would make it or now