Going electric? Here’s our guide to buying a used Nissan Leaf

Electric cars aren’t for everyone, but low purchase prices, keen finance offers and cheap servicing could mean that some drivers can buy a Nissan Leaf with the repayments covered by the fuel and road tax savings. Early concerns about battery life and reliability have proven unfounded, and early cars in good condition can be bought for around £5,000. Buy carefully and you could have an inexpensive hatch that’s cheap to run and good to drive, too - so here’s what to look out for…

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[Allplussomeminus]

When he said “forget about head gaskets, clutches, and exhaust” that made me nod in approval and say yes - in a relieved sense.

[dg]

I own a used leaf as a second car for local driving. I have a UK built one which they didn't mention has a much better heater system than the Japanese built one. Which gives it a better range. Most I've covered in one trip is 68 miles in winter and still had 19 percent battery left over.

[domodunc]

Now owned my 2015 Aerotech white for three weeks, love it! Will never go back to a fuel car. I only need city driving and it’s perfect for all trips. Fast and awesome to drive too.

[wyx]

Done the switch scheme, £115 per month for my Leaf Tekna with 2 yr free servicing, 1 yr Cared4 warranty, free home charger install. My commute fuel cost comes down from £8 per day to £2, without maintenance worries. Also drives excellent, can't wait for longer range EV to replace our bigger family car.

[mmanjin]

Used Leafs are excellent inexpense commuter cars. In the USA you can get a 2016 Leaf currently coming off lease for 1/3 or less the price of a new one. For example a 2016 top of the line trim SV with less than 30, 000 miles in excellent condition can easily be purchased for $15, 000 or less all day long. Brand new it would have cost $38 to $40K outright and after Federal and State EV tax incentives would be less than that depending on which state you lived in. Regardless, the fact remains there is very little demand for a used Leaf so with a bit of negotiation you can get it for even a few thousand less than the example I gave making it an excellent bargain.

[ScrewInTheTuna_]

This guys should just do every car review.

[karenterry]

We have always driven Honda, after a poor experience Renault, very reliable and excellent service from our dealer, so when we started looking into a new car, My wife didn't even consider going anywhere else.

I mentioned electric, she had no interest and we started looking into a new Honda. After a bit of prodding I finally got her to try the Nissan Leaf, we got it on a four day test drive, but it only took an hour of driving it before she said she wanted one.

We just bought a Leaf last week and my wife couldn't be happier, electric is the future, it's just many don't realise it yet.

[hbarudi]

Interesting to see those used Nissan Leaf cars go down in price like this, hopefully the battery is customizable so we can get the car as a shell and then spend on battery upgrade.

[Night_Diver]

Thank You Auto Express.... and i was considering a used Leaf as well.... ☺️

[Cyberwolfman]

This video needs to be clearer on what shows state of charge and what shows battery capacity and the difference of the two. It's the most important part of buying a used Leaf as the first two years of the car the battery chemistry wasn't that great.

[cpcnw]

Anyone looking at used Leaf needs to get an OBD2 dongle and an app called LeafSpy. This tells you essential info about the battery. You are essentially buying into a battery pack that could be on the verge of losing another bar or have cell problems. Dont rely on looking at the number of bars. You need to know the actual SoH % from LeafSpy before even looking at the rest of the car. Dealers who wont let you use LeafSpy and only will give you a print out of their 'Health Check' - just walk away.

[fiddlesteven]

My black 2015 SL with premium package is for sale. 21000 miles.

[caley]

Absolutely brilliant video, thank you!

[bujin]

I'd really like to get an EV, and I don't think I can afford a brand new one, but the range of the old Leaf (especially the 24kWh version) is just way too short for me. It would be great for commuting, but I do longer journeys quite regularly too, and this car just wouldn't get me on my usual round trips. Might have to wait a few years for some 2018 40kWh Leafs to hit the 2nd hand market.

[dotcustom_ev]

Low mileage is not a problem The Nissan LEAF is your problem. Buy new modules and have fun driving, without any Webasto heaters and twinbats in the trunk.

[PartyWolf]

$0 down carvana with prices dropping heck yes I'll take a nissan leaf! (America) I would fast charge mine at the mall, and use it for work and back, I have a rav4 and quiet a few other gas cars, and they all seem cheap to maintain.

[obfuscated]

A Leaf should not need an SD card specific to the vehicle nor should a card which retails for a few euros be expensive when it's a necessity. That Nissan chose this is completely offensive, utterly inexcusable and without technological justification.

[Meticulate]

"A charger that looks like this". The name would have been usefull ;)

[Pining_for_the_fjords]

I recently replaced my Leaf's tyres without knowing about "eco tyres". Does anyone have information about the tyres it should have?

[LPerezDancer]

Nissan still being stubborn about active thermal management for the battery which means that Nissan EVs will only last about 20% of the life of an EV with active thermal battery cooling (which is all EVs other than Nissan)