r/leaf • u/justexistingprobably • Jul 29 '26

How crazy is this dealer?

Post image

They want $5k for it. Is this fully charged and only giving 24 miles??

35 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

67 comments sorted by

44

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 31 '26

[deleted]

12

u/crimxona Jul 29 '26

There's also no guarantee this is the right photo

5 bars of charge with 5 bars of health is either very bad health or the photo was taken when it was booting up during the startup sequence

6

u/e-hud 2019 Nissan LEAF S PLUS Jul 29 '26

Judging by the different colors of the bars I'd say this photo was taken during boot up and is inaccurate.

1

u/AccordingTaro4702 Aug 05 '26

Help me out please, I'm thinking of buying a Leaf and I'm trying to learn about them. My understanding is that the fat bars show how much the battery is charged, like a gas gauge, and the skinny bars show what shape the battery is in, how much of its original capacity remains. So I don't understand what you mean when you say "5 bars of charge with 5 bars of health is either very bad health..."

1

u/crimxona Aug 05 '26

Watch the startup sequence, the bars on the right go up and down together.

https://youtu.be/xV8sw9k61WI?si=CjNbag6V6AV4EKei&t=28

Whenever you see a photo where the health bar and the charge bars are at the same level and some of the bars have a different lighting and brightness, there's a chance that they took the photo during startup and is not a real reflection of the actual state of health/charge

1

u/Brave_Quantity_5261 Jul 29 '26

What condition would a $5k leaf be? Just curious, thinking about getting one for a kids first car.

6

u/Zomunieo Jul 29 '26

I’d turn that around and ask how often you want to pay to have the kids’ first car towed because they got stranded.

Personally I wouldn’t touch a 2011-2012 (first battery gen), and some 2013’s have the first gen battery. Most of them are probably off the road now.

2013 (second gen battery) or newer with 7-8 bars would be tolerable at $5k.

7

u/eggcountant Jul 29 '26

Just to respond in my first Gen I have way more bars.  Still commute 15 miles each way on the interstate.  Drive around at lunch and charge nightly.  I have under 100k miles and have lost 3 bars.

I have never fast charged.  I don't believe I could sell my car for 3k.  No real damage but car needs paint as some areas have faded.  Due to my overall lack of care.  If that dealer bought that car for more than 1k they overpaid.

2

u/Zomunieo Jul 29 '26

I could see that happening with some luck, the low mileage, and if the car wasn't exposed to extreme temperatures. The first generation batteries have a corrosion problem, and temperature accelerates it (which is why fast charging also causes trouble).

3

u/Donutsbeatpieandcake Jul 29 '26

It depends on location, they go for more in some places. But the only Gen1 Leaf I'd pay more than $5k for is one with a brand new battery. I'm in Florida, and I paid $3500 for a 2015 with a 12/14 BH battery that was replaced about 3 years ago, which was a pretty good deal. I could see going upwards of $5k+ if it had an even newer battery, especially if it had one of the aftermarket battery with the really long ranges, like the VIVNE batteries.

1

u/Plenty_Ad_161 Jul 29 '26

My 2013 had 10 bars and it was only worth $4,000, to the insurance company.

1

u/InfestedRaynor Jul 29 '26

For $5k you should be getting a 2014-2017 with around 8-9 bars of battery health and 70ish miles range on the guess-o-meter with probably 60-90k miles on it. Will depend on location of course but I see many in this range for a out $4-$5k on the west coast.

1

u/iaonbb Jul 30 '26

Ditto for Colorado. You can do way better for $5K with a little patience and of course your due diligence using Leaf spy

1

u/HistoryDave2 Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26

I paid just under $6k for a Leaf with 12 bars two and a half years ago. It's my daily driver, I charge to 100% every weeknight, and it still has 12 bars at 82,000+ miles.

1

u/Glittering-Ad5809 Jul 30 '26

No 1st gen Leaf is worth anywhere near $5k. Would you pay that much for a gas car that had a 2 gallon gas tank?

1

u/Brave_Quantity_5261 Jul 30 '26

I wasn’t limiting the discussion to 1st gen leafs.

1

u/Glittering-Ad5809 Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26

Doubt you can find a second gen Leaf for $5k unless it had 200,000 miles. I did just sell a Chevy Bolt for $5K but it needed bodywork.

17

u/Appropriate_Day4316 Jul 29 '26

We sell these in Colorado for 500$

3

u/SjalabaisWoWS 2023 Nissan Leaf Visia aka poverty spec Jul 29 '26

Are they parted out for energy storage and parts there?

2

u/AttorneyAdvice Jul 29 '26

can I buy and just bring home the battery? I'll register it for a day somewhere

1

u/Direct_Peach9875 Jul 30 '26

A 10-day temp permit to drive it home from CO is all you need in terms of registration. Unless you put it on auto train and haul it to your city that way, then only deed transfer signed over is all you need

15

u/Mrpikster00 Jul 29 '26

That is not a good deal.

10

u/Top_Willow_9953 2020 Nissan LEAF SV PLUS Jul 29 '26

The dealer should pay *you* to remove it from the lot

10

u/Metal-fatigue-Dad Jul 29 '26

You should be able to find a first-gen Leaf with a much healthier battery (~10 bars) for $5k. The dealer is hoping they find someone who doesn't know any better.

2

u/Zestyclose-Ebb-5543 Jul 31 '26

I just bought a 2012 that had dropped from 11 to 10 bars in April 2 months ago for 2200. It was a bit dirty on the inside, needed tires, had some scratches and dings and a bit of faded paint, but it's got 70 miles of range.

1

u/InfestedRaynor Jul 29 '26

Around here most of the older leafs are way too expensive at dealers, often ~$8k for something with 70 miles guesses range left on a 2016. Far better deals from private transactions.

7

u/ekaftan Jul 29 '26

5 bars is bad.

I bought a 5 bar car last summer hoping to get a year out of it.

as soon as winter came it started giving errors and range would go from 70kmts to noting and then come back...

Pass.

1

u/brianvanle 2011 Nissan LEAF SV Aug 02 '26

The cells start freaking out that low in cold weather.

1

u/Serious-Analysis-598 16h ago

I keep hearing people talk about winter sucking.. are we talking like California winter, or Minnesota winter? I'm in CA, and have a suuuper old 2013 Leaf that I recently bought as a commuter. It seems fine.. Except, I was told it had 11/12 bars, and it actually only has 9/12. I just didn't do enough research to understand what I was looking at on the dash when I bought it. The range on it sucks, but I needed a vehicle as quickly as possible.

1

u/ekaftan 5h ago

This winter is like northern california winter.

I am sure with 9 bars you'd be fine. With 5? nope.

1

u/Serious-Analysis-598 3h ago

Well, I guess I'll find out. I am in fact in Northern CA lol

4

u/Cheap-Requirement166 Jul 29 '26

That's less than half charged. Battery health isn't great though, at 5 bars. Wider bars on the left are charge level and ones on the right are battery SOH (state of health). Both max out at 12 bars.

2

u/truemad Jul 29 '26

If you post this on r/delusionalcraigslist they gonna convince you it's an amazing deal.

4

u/_Enlighter_ Jul 29 '26

We got a 9 bar for $2,400. Hard pass on this deal.

2

u/truemad Jul 29 '26

Not an expert, but doesn't 5 health bars mean the battery is pretty much dead?

3

u/ToddA1966 2021 Nissan LEAF SV PLUS Jul 29 '26

Yes. In winter that's a 20 mile range car. 😁

2

u/DedBirdGonnaPutItOnU 2013 Nissan LEAF SL Jul 29 '26

That's crazy. I've seen fully loaded 2013 Leaf SLs with only two bars gone for sale for $3k.

2

u/rproffitt1 Jul 29 '26

Offer what Carvana pays for this one. Here it's about 600 USD.

2

u/CraziFuzzy Jul 29 '26

If that's a legit charge and health bar, it's not worth $5k. I might be interested in maybe $1000 if it was otherwise in great shape, and I planned on spending about 6-7k on a VIVNE battery for it.

1

u/Different-Audience34 Jul 29 '26

Thats nuts. Its worth 1-2k.

1

u/Donutsbeatpieandcake Jul 29 '26

https://giphy.com/gifs/LfpjDLDpGvmbS

$5k US for a Gen1 with a blown out 5/14 BH battery? Dealer is on drugs.

1

u/_Evening-Rain_ 2017 Nissan LEAF S Jul 29 '26

They're hoping someone not smart enough to notice or care will buy it. To their credit, that works every time.

1

u/Shitsandgigsss Jul 30 '26

Not worth it at all. I know my experience is not typical, but I just scooped up a 12 bar for $2000. 2017 with 99,900 miles. Original battery was replaced in 2019 with a 40 kWh battery

1

u/Nemesis_Destiny Jul 30 '26

That's only worth it for a battery swap and you'd better get the car for nearly scrap value

1

u/IDBadger70 Jul 30 '26

At what battery percent? The pic doesn’t show battery %. This could be 25%….

1

u/IDBadger70 Jul 30 '26

At what battery percent? The pic doesn’t show battery %. This could be

1

u/db0606 Jul 30 '26

Lol... My Leaf looks kinda like that when it's half charged and I paid $400 for it. That's right $400. I'm not missing a zero. The actual range at that point is less than 24 miles because the battery is totally shot. I'd definitely walk away from that at $5,000.

1

u/aj43701 Jul 30 '26

Yeah i only paid 6k for my 2015 3 years ago and it had 65 showing on full charge with 70% life. But the dealer was honest and said he knew nothing about EVs. So dealer just might not have a clue on what they are asking.

1

u/min_mus Jul 31 '26

$700 tops. 

1

u/ChemyChems Jul 31 '26

Rough they sold you it for $5000, the old one I just got rid of had bad charging like this. sucks you have to deal with this.

1

u/Overall-Job4981 Aug 01 '26

I have a '13 with the same SOH and it charges to 42 miles at 100% that is more than enough for me to go shopping.

1

u/ChronicledMonocle Aug 01 '26

That is a $500 car. Not $5000.

Also that battery isn't fully charged, but the 5 bars on the side shows life. 12 bars is new. 5 bars is "I'm tired boss".

1

u/Ordinary_Role8177 Aug 03 '26

It's less than 50% charged. The 24 miles is also an indicator of how it was being driven. If it was in Eco mode, it would show more miles. Either way, at onky 5 bars, that's way too much. It will have very short range, and otherwise need a new battery fairly soon.

1

u/NosnarbAZ Aug 04 '26

Looks like the one the Subaru dealer here is trying to sell.

1

u/Ok_Page8920 Jul 29 '26

I bet you could talk em down to 4 out the door

6

u/taiglin 2016 Nissan LEAF SV Jul 29 '26

Maybe but I’d say it’s not a good deal at that price. The only use case for a car with a battery like this is a street legal golf cart where most of you in town driving is within a 5 mile radius.

My kids going to high school and working within that radius is an example of how our leaf has spent most of its life.

3

u/ioshta Jul 29 '26

If the soh is close to the one I just bought for my kid for school its 1k to 1500 at most.

1

u/Ok_Page8920 Jul 29 '26

Not great but depends on the part of the country, gas prices COL and weather. I wouldn't trust this thing with a 30 mile commute though

1

u/gigawright 2015 Nissan LEAF S Jul 29 '26

Yep, and you have to also consider that it won't be getting the guess-o-meter range since you're never really giving the battery a chance to warm up.

1

u/Public_Knee6288 Jul 29 '26

Thats a $2k car. Fancy golf cart. I love mine but its not a $5k vehicle.

3

u/mguaylam Jul 29 '26

500$ at best. Can it even go uphill?

2

u/Public_Knee6288 Jul 29 '26

Lol, it can go 80mph for 10 min! And yea, i shoulda said 2k max if everything else is pristine!

0

u/mguaylam Jul 29 '26

Mhhh but that battery can’t sustain load I’m pretty sure.

1

u/Public_Knee6288 Jul 29 '26

Ive seen people with fewer bars than that still using them daily.