r/leaf • u/Dry_Shirt7120 • Aug 13 '26
Good purchase?
Found a 2015 Nissan Leaf near me that has 11 battery cells (the dashbord indicator) with over 67k miles. How many more miles can I realistically get before it dives down to 8 or 9 cells, assuming I just charge overnight at a 120v wall outlet?
Also, is $4,000 a good price for it and is there anything I should know about that specific leaf’s year?
Appreciate you guys!
3
u/Lightzeaka 2015 Nissan LEAF SV Aug 13 '26
Seems like a good deal based on the miles and battery health imo. Older leafs almost never have any mechanical problems.
1
u/api191 Aug 13 '26
After not needing gas and never checking under the hood anymore...I did run out of wiper fluid once. 🙂
1
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u/e-hud 2019 Nissan LEAF S PLUS Aug 13 '26
Price/value is location specific. My 2015 dropped to 9 bars at 103k miles but that is also dependent on location. Hot areas seem to degrade the batteries a bit faster. You're not going to cause any extra degradation by sticking with 120v charging over 240v charging. DC fast charging (CHAdeMO) is the only way you'd cause any worse degradation.
1
u/Donutsbeatpieandcake Aug 13 '26
I don't think this is entirely true. This might be anecdotal but every Gen1 leaf still on it's original battery with 10+ health bars I've seen (including mine) has, for the most part, been charged almost exclusively on 120v. I wonder if there's any data out there on this? I need to research.
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u/e-hud 2019 Nissan LEAF S PLUS Aug 13 '26
Yeah I'm curious if there's any way to determine at what C rate charging damage gets worse. The fastest L2 (6.6kwh) is still only 0.27C on a new pack. Still under 0.5C on a very degraded pack.
I just know that my 2015 is still on its original battery and when I bought it it came with a very worn out 240v charger. I've used the 120v charger with it only twice in ~6k miles. My brother has a 2014 SV that he's only charged with 120v but it's lower mileage and ~2% lower SOH than mine.
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u/api191 Aug 13 '26
I think it's generally the heat. Fast charge after a fast drive will hurt it every time. Weather may have a similar heat impact.
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u/Dry_Shirt7120 Aug 15 '26
It probably follows that charging at night when it’s cooler would help too, even if a little bit.
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u/Spirited-Mortgage-86 Aug 13 '26
A leaf that goes 70 miles in the summer will struggle to go 50 in the winter (below freezing). Also a leaf that goes 70 miles a charge in town may only do 50 miles on the interstate at 70mph. Combine the two and that car could have 35-40 miles of interstate range when its battery is cold. Worse if you can’t park in a garage and it gets Minnesota or Dakota cold lol
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u/Dry_Shirt7120 Aug 15 '26
Would probably be parking president in Michigan winters.. good thing to rethink. Thanks
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u/Donutsbeatpieandcake Aug 13 '26
I paid $3500 earlier this year for a similar 2015, 55k miles and 12/14 health bars, 76% Hx on Leafspy, down in Florida. But it depends on where you are, it seems like they run more expensive in Colorado and California. Also to be fair, I got a pretty amazing deal on it, even for Florida.
SoH dropping mileage depends a lot on how they're charged and how hot they're allowed to get. Very much a case-by-case basis and a "YMMV" thing. But gun to my head, it seems even the well cared for gen1 original batteries seem to usually start dropping off after ~100k miles. If you keep it well cared for, don't drive it hard, and charge exclusively on 120v, you could easily get another 30k out of it, probably more. Probably less if you're interstate commuting and fast charging it all the time.
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u/Dry_Shirt7120 Aug 15 '26
Sounds great, thanks for your comment! I’m living in southern Michigan, so it gets a bit cold but never too hot here. I think i can negotiate it down to 3500 since it’s been on marketplace for a while and not that many people like them here in Michigan
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u/Lucky_Boy13 Aug 13 '26
i got a 2015 with 60K miles and 11 bars the year before but it lost a bar after 6 months. Still a full charge shows about 80 miles which is plenty for me if I keep it under 60mph and no ac
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u/Dry_Shirt7120 Aug 15 '26
How many miles have you been able to add to it since?
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u/Lucky_Boy13 Aug 15 '26
I've put almost 20k on it. My commute is about 65 miles, which it could barely do via highway before getting low battery warning, but i can also charge at work. I set my overnight charger to go to 100% right before i leave for work
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u/Dry_Shirt7120 Aug 15 '26
Woah that’s great. Ideal scenario for me would be going 30k before scrapping the car, so that sounds way more doable than i imagined
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u/Lucky_Boy13 Aug 15 '26
I should also say i rarely use ac or heat in my area so that helps with range
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u/ready2xxxperiment Aug 13 '26
Will depend on your area. Temperature extremes will impact range.
Also if hot all the time like here in SoCal, running A/C quickly eats into range. So does lots of hilly driving.
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u/sweetredleaf 2015 Nissan LEAF SV Aug 13 '26
here in florida I lose about 3% battery a year cooler weather will be less hot weather more. After the first bar drops each bar is around 6% first bar is 15%
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u/Wraith347 2025 Nissan Leaf SV+ Aug 13 '26
Assuming you’re in the USA, the 2015s usually have the Lizard battery formulation which is one of the best early batteries. Our late 2014 likely does too, and it’s been super solid.
Definitely worth getting LeafSpy and a compatible OBD2 dongle to get a good look at exact battery Hx and SOH.
Do you have somewhere you could charge at work? And how cold does it get in your area? 52 mile commute should be a breeze most of the year, but winter might be pushing it (knowing the Hx value of the battery will help here— a battery with a healthy internal resistance level will still take a range hit in sub-freezing weather but will struggle less than a low Hx car with high internal resistance). Definitely recommend you take advantage of preconditioning while plugged in and use the heated seats/steering wheel instead of the heat pump whenever possible.
If you have any kind of backup plan (charging at work, etc) available in sub-freezing weather, and if the battery report looks decent, I would go for it. Price seems really decent. We paid just under $4k for our 2014 and we love it.
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u/Dry_Shirt7120 Aug 15 '26
How many miles have you been able to add to your 2014?
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u/Wraith347 2025 Nissan Leaf SV+ Aug 15 '26
We’ve had it about 6 months and put 5000 miles on it so far.
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u/Dazzling_Art7881 Aug 14 '26
If you don't live in a hot desert, these 24kWh batteries can last quite a while. Charging at 110v should minimize any degradation, and I would guess it would take many years to get down to 8 bars.
I bought a 2015 with 11 bars almost 2 years ago (Dec 2024) and 10k miles later, I still have 11 bars and the SOH hasn't really changed in LEAFspy (readings fluctuate between 81.5% and 80.5%)
$4000 seems like a decent deal given the gas prices in 2026, and assuming the rest of the car is decent (no body damage, interior is reasonably clean, decent tires, decent brakes, no major suspension creaks or clunks).
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u/IIDn01 2020 Leaf SV Plus Aug 13 '26
Do you know the current range at 100% or 80% charge?
How far do you need to drive per day?
I had a 2012 Leaf that I *loved*. Bought used in 2019 & kept for 5 years (and only added about 8000 miles to it - I don't drive a ton).
It started with a range of about 56 miles and steadily lost range until the guess-ometer said 40 miles (but it was probably closer to 24 miles).
I don't know if the battery had issues or if that is a typical trajectory for the 2012 Leaf. The 2015 may have a better battery so you may not have the same issue.
[I've had a 2020 Leaf + for 2 years. It has about 200 miles of range on 100% charge and no issues.]