9 Nissan Leafs for auction at Pickles: 8 NSW, 1 ACT

[Bryce]

Hi all - was browsing the car auction sites and noticed 9 Leafs listed at Pickles.
First couple I clicked on had 9 of the 12 capacity bars remaining (same as mine) - so would have 90 - 100km left as a summer range. (more perhaps if you're not a leadfoot )
They do appear to be Aust delivered versions as they have the solar panel on the rear wing (so all will be 2012 models).
What is concerning is that the pics of both I viewed show the dash screen with a 'no SD card warning'. Hopefully Pickles have removed them for safe keeping - if they are missing, this can be a costly and difficult thing to have replaced.

Cheers
Bryce

[coulomb]

There were 7 Leafs at auction from NSW a month ago. They were traced back (by someone on the OzLeaf forum) to NSW and local government. These were low km, but heavy degradation for the distance driven (I don't recall how many capacity bars they had lost). It was concluded that they were likely charged to 100% and left there long term (not a good idea for the old Leaf battery chemistry), so a low care factor.

But as Bryce says, 9 bars isn't too bad, if your range needs are modest. Sadly, the batteries will likely be out of warranty by now, so no free battery replacement for these, and other battery replacement options are not good at present. Perhaps a cheap way to try out EV driving. I'm driving a second hand 2012 Leaf myself.

[jonescg]

I have recently placed a deposit on an ex-fleet Leaf which was on sale here in Perth for $15,000. With 31,000 km on the clock, it was clear the battery was degraded. However after paying Nissan to do the diagnostic test they realised it would be a major failure in the eyes of the ACCC, so they are going to replace the battery. This a boon for us, but the downside is we have no idea when it will happen, or how long it will take. I presume we aren't the only Leaf in WA awaiting a new battery pack.

[Samstain]

For future reference, ones at auction sold for between $10,250 and $14,500. + plus a ~$600 fee by the looks - their fee structure isn't too clear.

[jonescg]

I have recently placed a deposit on an ex-fleet Leaf which was on sale here in Perth for $15,000. With 31,000 km on the clock, it was clear the battery was degraded. However after paying Nissan to do the diagnostic test they realised it would be a major failure in the eyes of the ACCC, so they are going to replace the battery. This a boon for us, but the downside is we have no idea when it will happen, or how long it will take. I presume we aren't the only Leaf in WA awaiting a new battery pack.

Well Apparently Nissan never said such thing - it had more to do with the car yard saying anything I wanted to hear... However they have loaned us the car for the weekend where we can test it's capabilities. We apparently left Northbridge with 90-odd km on the guess-o-meter, and got to Kalamunda with 29 km on the GOM. That's uphill, in eco mode. Or about 180 Wh/km on average. So it might be OK, but definitely not worth $15k.

I will park my observations for now - if it can drive me to work and back on a single charge, then I will offer something less than the $15k asking price. If we do buy it, I will be onto Nissan for a please explain, or at the very least, a new 30 or 40 kWh battery. If it can't even get me to work and back (80 km) then we flat out won't buy this car.

[jonescg]

Aaaand it can't drive me to work on a single charge. We got to the base of the hill and had 10 km left on the GOM. The hill would hammer it pretty hard, so we topped up using the trickle charger for 40 mins. Ended up getting home with 6 km left on the GOM at speeds around 50 km/h.

So it's not going to get me to work and back, a round trip of 80 km. Unless I charge at work, which is not a sure thing.

Might pass on this thing.

[brendon_m]

Yeah, you would definitely want a new battery at that sort of range. It shows how bad the pack is if my degraded 14kwh pack can do 80km and the 24kwh one in the leaf cant do it.

[jonescg]

I can try and offer $5k, and get a $10k battery from Nissan. Or just save our money and find something better.

[antiscab]

any joy from setting the charge to 100% instead of 80%? or was it already there?

[jonescg]

She canna go ne further!

[Peter C in Canberra]

I think the $10K Nissan replacement batteries are the more recent 'Lizard' chemistry, which supposedly lasts better in the heat than the original battery. So, if you got a used Leaf for (say) $10K and after a while found the battery had degraded to the point that it no longer covered your local trips, then you could spend another $10K to replace the battery. Then you would have essentially a new city-range electric car, better than new, for $20K. At less than half the price of any other new options, that might not be a ridiculous thing to do.

[jonescg]

Yeah, our budget is pretty firm. $15k max, and must be good for at least 90 km. The last 10 km of which is all uphill.
They wouldn't go any lower than $12k, so they will need to find a customer with shorter range needs.

[g4qber]

Jon Edwards’ imiev is going for $11k

[coulomb]

I think the $10K Nissan replacement batteries are the more recent 'Lizard' chemistry, which supposedly lasts better in the heat than the original battery.

We all wish this was true, and it would make so much sense. But Les Smith (@lesmando), who received one of the first (probably the actual first) warranty replacement battery in Australia, says no here.

Things might have changed since then, and in the USA they do seem to get the Lizard battery, but I believe that we don't. I'd love to be proved wrong, having had a battery replacement (by the previous owner) in May this year.

[Peter C in Canberra]

I think the $10K Nissan replacement batteries are the more recent 'Lizard' chemistry, which supposedly lasts better in the heat than the original battery.

We all wish this was true, and it would make so much sense. But Les Smith (@lesmando), who received one of the first (probably the actual first) warranty replacement battery in Australia, says no here.

Things might have changed since then, and in the USA they do seem to get the Lizard battery, but I believe that we don't. I'd love to be proved wrong, having had a battery replacement (by the previous owner) in May this year.

I would be surprised if Nissan bothered to make new stock of an older chemistry when they could just make one sort, the newer Lizard sort, to fit either older Leafs or the slightly newer ones. In thinking that the new battery is the Lizard sort, I am also relying on possibly faulty memory of comments by a friend who has a Leaf with reduced range who has looked into options. I'll report back if I have anything more definite.

[Peter C in Canberra]

My friend with an original Leaf said he was told by Nissan that they are now making replacement batteries to order which is why they take some time to arrive. It was his speculation that this might mean they are all 'Lizard' batteries, since it would not make sense to make two sorts of cells when the difference is minor and the capacity, voltage and form factor are the same.

[jonescg]

Well when all 640 of the first crop of Leafs suffer battery failures and nobody can be arsed stumping up $10k to replace it, there will be 640 Leaf motors for EV conversions available for cheap.

[brendon_m]

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/canning ... ved_search

Saw this, thought it might suit @jonescg

Edit, wrong link, here's the right one.
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/wangara ... ved_search

The other one also is near the price range but I suspect it's the one he test drove and was craptastic

[brunohill]

Well when all 640 of the first crop of Leafs suffer battery failures and nobody can be arsed stumping up $10k to replace it, there will be 640 Leaf motors for EV conversions available for cheap.

The strange thing is, how much is the battery for the conversion going to cost?, how much work is involved? and will the conversion be as good as the Leaf? It sounds easier, cheaper, and you end up with a better car by replacing the Leaf battery.

[jonescg]

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/canning ... ved_search

Saw this, thought it might suit @jonescg

Edit, wrong link, here's the right one.

Yeah that one looks pretty good. Might make a call ☺

[jonescg]

Well when all 640 of the first crop of Leafs suffer battery failures and nobody can be arsed stumping up $10k to replace it, there will be 640 Leaf motors for EV conversions available for cheap.

The strange thing is, how much is the battery for the conversion going to cost?, how much work is involved? and will the conversion be as good as the Leaf? It sounds easier, cheaper, and you end up with a better car by replacing the Leaf battery.

I would only suggest using the Leaf motor and transaxle for making something special.
Hotrod the motor with a decent inverter and a higher voltage pack. These motors can take some power.