Used Nissan Leaf buyer’s guide

After watching fair go the other night, we realized that buying used EV’s and understanding the state of battery health is a must for purchasing a used EV.

The Nissan LEAF is the entry-level, starter electric car for most New Zealanders. There are several used models available in car dealerships and online. The reason being is they are affordable, reliable, and have great reviews for getting you from A to B.

Unless you are an EV junkie or done extensive research into buying an electric car, the state of health of the battery and battery life is usually missed. This is crazy. Crazy because battery health is the key component of the EV and replacing the battery in an electric car, costs an arm, a leg, and a body.

Fair go highlights this in the episode when prices for a battery replacement from Nissan could cost around $20,000 – $100,000. There are no battery replacement schemes available in NZ, unlike Japan, where battery refurbishment programmes are available for older models.

Understanding the battery health of your used electric car is important. Here is a video to help you purchase your first electric car on a budget. Although we filmed this in 2019, it’s still valuable info a year on.

This video helps you determine battery health and how you can do this yourself. You can visit your local mechanic or VTNZ, but all you need is a mobile phone, an OBD2 connector, and the app called Leaf Spy.

Our friend Gavin Shoebridge is an electric guru, so check out the video for tips on checking the battery health, but other useful tips so you feel confident buying an Electric Vehicle.

Electric cars are as cheap-as-chips to run, and when powered with Ecotricity renewable electricity, operate with zero emissions! The only problem is that new electric cars are still costly.

Help is at hand, however! This handy guide will help you find a good, used electric car on a budget, focusing on New Zealand’s most popular used electric vehicle: the Nissan Leaf.