Nissan Leaf

[Paul2023]

Hi all,

So I’m considering buying on PCP a Nissan Leaf. Not a new one , but used. For either 3 or 4 years.

Im just comparing the cost of having a nicer car than my current diesel one. I have an old Astra diesel, my round trip to work is 60 miles. Well it’s actually 28 miles each way . This is five days a week.

My trusty old diesel costs me about £200 per month in fuel. The car runs ok , but is 12 years old.

I’ve seen online for example Nissan Leaf’s you can get on PCP staring at around £170 per month for the smaller battery ones.

Does anyone have any advice about them? Or what battery size to look at for approximately £260 odd miles each week?

Obviously I won’t have to buy fuel anymore but how much is the electricity likely to cost me to fill the power up on a weekly basis ?

Id also have to install a charge point , so thats a cost I have to consider but also maybe a long term investment.

Will this be more costly doing this ?

Wouldnt touch one with a shitty stick. Not just because its an EV, but because Nissan cars are a pile of shit, unreliable and worthless the second you sign for one.

At 3 or 4 years old, the battery will be degraded to the point where it wont even achieve 100 miles and will get even less in winter.

Be sensible and get a petrol/hybrid - no need for a wall charger either - they can cost about £1k as well.

EVs are a complete fucking con.

I like my EV. It’s a VW 1D3 and really enjoy driving it..but I did get it from new (had just over a year) and I don’t drive anywhere near as many miles as you. It’s a nippy car to drive the kids to school/clubs and the odd trip to the office.

Oh mixed replies then ! Any other advice ?

We’ve got a 7 year old Nissan leaf and the battery is just fine! Still does the quoted range as long as you drive efficiently

Hi I’ve got one! It’s super reliable but it does run worse on battery in the winter- I’ll get 100 miles out of a charge. My commute is similar to yours and I have free charging at work. I just plug in when I get home and we have another vehicle for longer trips. So, it depends what you are looking for.

In your position I would stick with what you have got.

We have been considering a leaf as it seems you can get really good prices on them atm. But only as a second car. Having had an electric (not a leaf) as sole/main car before (which is I assume what you’re doing?)- yes it’s cheaper than petrol to run. BUT it does make things less flexible (eg can’t really take them on long distance holidays where you don’t have certainty on availability of charging points. Or, you can, but the extra planning/admin is very inconvenient). Plus, the ranges really degrade in winter which then erodes the cost savings over petrol cars. And you’d need to consider impact on your insurance. Also I think charging points are now more costly to install than when we got them done. So, sorry to be another naysayer- but I wouldn’t in your situation! I think most people getting EVs at moment are not solely enticed by cost savings- you have to be quite into the idea of the environmental stuff or enjoy the other benefits (eg they’re quite zippy and fun as they’re so quick off the line) to justify the other drawbacks.

So this would be a commuting to work car. 29 miles easy way so let’s say 60 mile round trip.
Currently drive an old banger Astra , reliable but not overly pleasant.

My theory was this - I spend £200 a month on diesel. So I thought about getting a car on CPC, for say 3/4 years. Then let’s say I spend £30 a month on electricity to charge the car , I break even but get a nicer, cleaner car to drive whilst not actually spending any more money .

Does this idea make sense or not really ?

Cheapest charging at home (off peak) is 2-3p/mile, so 60miles/day is 300 per week or say 1250 a month? So that's £25/month. But that doesn't take into account the home charger for £1000, without that, and the off peak charging, those calcs are way off.

You'd also need a deposit for the new car and pay off the balloon payment in 3 years...

If you did want to buy new some are offering chargers for no cost like Volvo….

You are deluded if you think a 7 year old Leaf battery is "just fine".

It is not.

Its 7 year old battery tech that will have degraded.

The fact you say "drive efficiently" undermines your logic - no one drives efficiently, no matter what you say - driving is about getting from A to B as quickly as possible without breaking the law.

And what if the OP needs to do a 200 mile round trip somewhere? Cant exactly charge cheaply at a charge stations which have eyewatering rates.

Cars like the range choked Leaf are largely useless tat which is why they arent exactly selling like hotpants or hot cakes.

Sorry what’s 300 per week ? Don’t understand

Miles?

I properly love mine OP. It's like driving a go-cart, it's so easy. The only downside is it only does about 100miles on a charge in the depths of winter up here in the north.
I charged it last night. £4.90 sitting at 167 miles.
Mine was new so can't speak for 2nd hand, but it is almost 3yo now.
It's a work lease and I'm giving it up in November to buy a manual for DS to learn in and it's making me really sad 😔

And you’re welcome to think me deluded. It’s a fact though that if I drive my 7 year old car efficiently it will do the stated 140 mile range. Even in the winter at its advanced age.

Not sure how you feel equipped to comment on my, or the OP’s, driving though.

FWIW OP I love my leaf. It’s a nipping around car, I don’t use it for long distance journeys for the reasons others have stated. As a PP said it is like driving a go kart. I am also going to have to think about trading it in to get something manual that my DC can learn to drive in but I will do that with a heavy heart.

I should say we run two cars. The other is a diesel and last year the cost of electric charging for a whole year was less than the cost of one tank of deisel. that’s on an overnight charging tariff with octopus

This is exactly our situation , husband used the diesel for his longer commute and I use my recently purchased nearly new Vauxhall Mokka for any during the week miles I do (wfh) and at weekends - it cost me £2.20 to put 150 miles on it at the weekend. We are going to trade the diesel in next spring for a second electric as it would literally pay for itself in terms of fuel savings

Current quote I’ve looked I’ve received is a Leaf aged 3 years. PCP for 48 moths at £162 per month. Deposit is £1000 but they said they’d give me £600 for my Astra.
One years warranty included but can extend for another two years for £600.
Two years free servicing as part of the deal.

So if I pay £200 a month in diesel , and the new car to lease is say £160 that leaves me £40 a month left to charge .

Octopus energy have a night rate of 7 pence kWh.

I would have to buy a charger but ultimately would like a more comfortable car for work and so thinking it’s do able.

Is it realistic to keep within £200 then instead of spending £200 on diesel?

Is that all in your case? So if I do a 60 mile round trip, I could charge the car every other night if it’s range is 168miles?

So every other day it would cost me £2.20 ? In theory anyway ? With octopus do you have to charge the car every night ? Does it still charge you that amount if you’re on 50% ( for example ) on that tariff? Or does it know how much charge is the the car and stops when it’s ready?

Let’s say I work 24 days a month for example. I could charge my car 12 times ( every other day for a 60 mile round trip commute)

Thats would be £2.20 x 12 charges = £26.40

Is that all in your case? So if I do a 60 mile round trip, I could charge the car every other night if it’s range is 168miles?
So every other day it would cost me £2.20 ? In theory anyway ? With octopus do you have to charge the car every night ? Does it still charge you that amount if you’re on 50% ( for example ) on that tariff? Or does it know how much charge is the the car and stops when it’s ready?

You also need to work out how this would change in winter on a significantly reduced range- but you might still be able to keep within your £40 target

You do realise you arent ever gonna get that range in the depths of winter?

Or summer for that matter. That car is severely range choked.