Should you buy a USED Nissan Leaf? - What goes WRONG?

Electric car sales are on the rise, with many brands bringing out models that are becoming more and more affordable.

Now more than ever, buying a used EV is becoming a common option, so we jump behind the wheel of the second-generation Nissan Leaf to find out whether that's a good idea.

What did you think? Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments below and don't forget to subscribe to stay up to date with all of out latest content!

00:00​​​​​​​ - Intro
00:55 - What is it?
01:35 - What's it like to drive?
03:28 - How's the interior?
06:35 - Tech & safety?
08:34 - Variants & updates
09:10 - What goes wrong?
12:26 - How much is it?
12:44 - Fuel use, warranty & servicing
13:37 - Should you buy it?

#nissan
#leaf
#ev

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At ReDriven, we’ll be taking you through the pros and cons of a huge range of used cars to see how well they’re going now that they’re a few years old, have thousands of kilometres on the clock, and are coming toward the end of their warranty, or maybe don’t have one at all.

Plus, thanks to our resident mechanic, Jim, you’ll find out what commonly goes wrong with them and what might need to be fixed.

Most importantly, we want to make ReDriven a voice for the most in-the-know used car experts there are...you guys.. See, you’re the ones that actually buy, live with, love and sometimes unfortunately hate the cars we’ll be reviewing.

So we want to hear your thoughts. Hit us up in the comments, or on Instagram and Facebook.

We’d love nothing more than for you to give us as much feedback as possible, so we can make this channel the best it can be.

Find us on:

[nomadchad]

I just bought a 2023 Leaf, To me its exactly what I want. Ten years of proven reliability, ten years of parts and aftermarket development. Battery can be removed and disassembled into its cells for repair of replacement. Can bus software modifications to upgrade motor/batteries/inverters when your warranty runs out. I plan on keeping it for 20 years or so .

[MiddleofNowhereGirl]

I just bought a used 2018 Leaf, it's the coolest thing I've ever owned.

[nony]

You missed the minor issue with the top of the front struts rusting because the tops act as a trap for water from the windscreen. A quick spray of grease and some after market plastic caps is an easy preventative measure.

[timpalmer]

I run the latest 62kw UK Leaf. It is my third Leaf and have no issues with it or any of the 2 previous. It does everything quite well if not the best. Very good buy second hand and range of the 62kw better than 200 miles is plenty for most people.

[glennjgroves]

I did buy a 2018 LEAF - a Japanese import. 40 kWh (they say, anyway). 170, 000 km. Looks new unless you look hard. $30, 000. 15.5% battery degradation (thank you OBD2 and LeafSpy). Effectively it has about 31 kWh usable (the 40 kWh figure was always marketing/optimistic.) About 250 km range around town. About 200 km range on the open road slightly downhill, and about 150 km range open road slightly uphill. Fine for me. I love the car. I believe though that as it is a Japanese import there is no warranty - and there may not have been at that mileage anyway. Some Nissan dealers apparently will not work on second hand imports - fortunately normal, independent mechanics will work on anything. (Other than the high voltage system, which virtually never goes wrong anyway.)

I was aware of the limitations when I bought it; no regrets, and I am having a lot of fun with it… though I might get a speeding ticket if I am not careful, it gets up to speed much faster than I am used to.

[JosephWall]

Randomly had this in my recommended, great channel, great reviews, you got a new sub. I'm not even Australian, but your coverage is so in-depth it doesn't matter, I can apply all the info to international models.

I would like to point out, though, that the vast vast majority of Nissan Leaf batteries, even the first gen ones, are still in cars on the road today. I know this because there was a grid power storage company here in the US that thought they'd be successful re-purposing recycled Leaf batteries to reduce grid load at peak hours, but they just haven't got enough Leaf batteries yet to actually scale the business. They just aren't dying as fast as predicted, even with insufficient cooling.

Anyone who's EV-hesitant should see this and gain a lot of confidence in EVs by thinking "if even the lowest-end, oldest tech air-cooled batteries mostly haven't failed yet, only lost some range, then my nice new EV that I'll buy next year with liquid cooling will last 10x as long as that". That's the real takeaway here, the fact that even the least-appealing, least advanced EV still has so many pros over any ICE vehicle on the market.

[OP-fdlh]

I agree with folks here about short drives being the best niche for these. I didn’t grow up wanting an electric vehicle but a pre-owned Nissan Leaf came up very recently and it was right for my budget and I drive in city about 3-5 miles a day with possibly a 15 mile once each two weeks so it is really good for me. But I don't try to convert people to EVs. In my opinion, you have to think ahead more with an EV.
It is also bringing some unforeseen changes to my life though... I drive alot more carefully now😄 not beacuse I dont trust the safety but to be efficient as I can with my charging. It's a positive change. Also, I have gone deep into Nissan forums, YT channels and interact with people across the world in sharing info. It is a good enjoyable journey with my Nissan Leaf.

[Felly]

Appreciate that this video is a year old so I though I'd give people an idea of leafs in the current UK market. I've just ordered a 2021 e+ Tekna (top spec with bigger battery) for £15000. Battery health is showing 100%. That's after 3 years. Also worth mentioning that in the UK Nissan offer an 8 year battery warranty.

[robertjohnsontaylor]

The leaf is the best car I’ve ever owned but that’s to a large extent to my driving needs of local journeys plus occasional 70 mile journeys

[MrWilliam.Stewart]

Ah, the mighty disbelief. Every single one that came in for service I'd ask the owners, how do you like it, have you had any issues? Not a single bad word or problem reported from the owners, even an old 2012 high milage one. They all genuinely liked their disbeliefs.

[katherandefy]

I have a 2013 (24kwh) Leaf with 9 of 12 bars state of battery health. The batteries don’t die on you. Checking battery health is easy prior to purchase. Depends on if you travel less than 30miles a day if a used Leaf is a good buy for you. Mine at 100% gets around 70 miles per charge. It is insanely fun to drive. I wanted an EV true. I had no idea how fun it would be. Thrilling is not an exaggeration. 😊

[decoybuilder]

Love your videos, however, the old format of 'what's it like to drive?' at the end was better

[toddm]

I just bought a 2024 ...Best car for driving I ever had..

[caerphoto]

Seems like there's a kind of resurgence of Leaf popularity lately, as used ones become more available and people start to realise it's actually a pretty good car.

The main thing I don't like about mine is the Chademo charge connector – since everything else is moving to CCS, it's only going to get more difficult to find public rapid chargers in the future, and I've already been in a situation where I've had to wait for a charger to become available while a bunch of CSS ones next to it were sitting empty.

[martinostlund]

I use traction controll every day, in snow and ice in winter in northen Sweden, an important feature.

[lucyewing]

I love my Leaf for suburban and city commuting, and I'm lucky to have solar power at home. I also get a big kick out of being greeted in Japanese every day.
IME the big downside is its wide turning circle and a tiny downside is that the touchscreen buttons are too small for my giant westerner hands to hit accurately 😅

[noah_ow]

Mr.Driven, You sir have earned my sub. Keep up the great work and never stop surprising us.

[Clampett]

Great overview of the rather unsung hero of the ev world. It’s a bit like your odd uncle who looks a bit goofy, but as it turns is always there for you, being reliable and a great member of the family. Space it’s got, grace is there if you are not too picky. The tech is OK with most of the things fitted to halo cars from other manufacturers. The operating system and graphics are a but sluggish. The USP for Leaf owners is that a whole load of non franchise garages and specialist EV workshops have developed the skills and knowledge to keep the Leaf and its battery in top condition.

[rsoul]

The thing for me is you can’t take a single model of electric car, and then proudly state that this shall be the electric car experience for all comers, now and forever. Also you nailed it when you said people are confused, as the bulk of the population have yet to make the transition. This has always been the case, otherwise the sky would have fallen in like it was supposed to back in the mid 80s when they took the lead out of petrol.

[richardschey]

Great vid as always! Could i just add a comment that I preferred the old format of building up to the driving segment? Not sure if you're piloting this or if there's a bunch of folks championing this change.. I'd vote to go back to the old format but will keep watching either way 👍