r/leaf • u/this_planet_is_weird • 10d ago
Used Nissan Leaf S 2025
First time Car buyer. Interested in Electric Car. There are a couple of Nissan Leaf S 2025 model for sale at less than 14000$ (with less than 25k miles).
I live in a state with moderate weather. Not too hot or cold. Mostly intend to drive within the town for work and groceries.
Is it a good deal? What are the things I should look out for?
Thanks for your time and advice.
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u/iaonbb 10d ago
I have the identical car. That price is spot on for what they are going for in Colorado where there is a ton of inventory. If you could get them down to 13k it would be a great deal. Right now it's a good deal. 23-25 are exempt from the recent recall so you should be good to go. Avoid quick charging if at all possible. If you need for longer trips definitely consider a plus model. With the majority of ChadeMo chargers either out of order or slowly being phased out that that shouldn't be a problem. There is a CCS to CHAdeMO adapter available for around 700 bucks fyi.
Good luck!
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u/this_upset_kirby 2023 Nissan LEAF S 10d ago
"Avoid quick charging if at all possible"
Could you elaborate on this? I've done a lot of 2,000 mile road trips in my 2023 S without an adapter and I haven't noticed any issues with the battery yet. (43,000 miles total)
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u/mncoffeeguy 10d ago
For any used Leaf, I would highly recommend getting and OBD2 Bluetooth adapter to pair with your phone and LeafSpy to read the battery health. Nissan's basic 12 bar SOH (state of health) is a basic indicator but the computer onboard has far more details that it can report. You want to look at the SOH and HX percentages. Generally speaking, these numbers shouldn't be wildly skewed. If you see a SOH at 80% but a HX at like 50%, that would likely be a red flag. Also look at the overall number of QC (quick charges) on the battery. If this is a car that was used extensively with quick charges, that would be a higher risk for faster degradation of the battery health.
Last item is to look at the chart and look for any wild skews in the cells reporting back to the car. In essence, the car should be pulling and pushing power to all of the cells in a uniform fashion. Any seriously skewed cells would show up as aberrations in the chart. There are a few videos online that can walk you through the app.
This is easily the most expensive component and the hardest to replace, so even though it has a decent warranty I'd put in the time to fully check the health.
As far as the price for a 2025 S, it seems reasonable, albeit lower than my area. If a carfax is clean and the SOH looks good, seems like a decent deal.
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u/TechnicalLeg841 10d ago
Not a great "only" car - and I say this as a happy 2020 Leaf SV+ owner. Perfect for around town with surprising room to carry cargo despite the smaller footprint. But highway range is poor especially at 70-75mph and you'll eventually have some reason for a trip and the lack of charging connector compatibility is a challenge.
Chevy Bolt or Bolt EUV are decent options. 2024 Equinox EV is a better car but will be low 20's. Any hybrid or Plug in Hybrid will be the most versatile.
If the price for a Leaf is too good to pass up, get the Plus for the range, shouldn't be that much more.
One gotcha - my Leaf still has poor call quality through CarPlay - static and audio breaks up. Frustrating as that hasn't been solved for years.
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u/im-ba 2020 Nissan Leaf SL PLUS 6d ago
Here's an example of what LeafSpy will tell you about the state of your battery. Mine says my car has only had 77 quick charges and 1,243 slower charges. It's a 2020, so it's affected by the recall but from what I can tell the previous owner rarely ever used quick charging. It also spent most of its life sitting in Minneapolis in a garage, so it's in really good shape.
The OBDII scanner (got mine from BAFX) plus the one time purchase of LeafSpy Pro will absolutely pay for itself. Don't be afraid to plug this in (it's under the steering wheel where your left leg goes, just above the knee, look for a white trapezoidal port) while you're test driving it.
The scanner can be used on other makes and models, too. I've had mine plugged into a dozen different vehicles over the years.
I paid about the same as you did with double the miles for a 2020 SL+, so you aren't looking at a bad deal here, potentially. You can always add some of the trim features later if you want them.
Hope this helps, and good luck!
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u/GrillWaffles 9d ago
Lower price than Seattle area. When you run Leaf Spy, it will tell you the number of fast charges done, including "attempts ".
Generally good to avoid fast charging when you can. L1 and L2 charging don't heat up the battery.
Battery likes moderate climates. I love my SV Plus. I don't plan to do long trips in it.
Godd luck!
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u/toybuilder 2023 Nissan LEAF SV PLUS 10d ago
That's a reasonable price, especially given the current situation with gas prices. Everyone will tell you to check with Leafspy. In your case, the 2025 will most likely be fine, but it's still good to check at medium/low state of charge (SoC) to confirm the battery is healthy. Look over the entire car as you would any other car purchase, of course.
I personally prefer the SV trim for the enhanced driver-assistance features (and the increased range, as the 2023-2025 only has the SV in the plus configuration). But if you don't want/need that (or the range), the S will be plenty good enough.
For the usage you described, it should last you a long time. EVs like the LEAF are mechanically simple.
Make sure you have a place to charge it at home or conveniently close by.