Don't believe the scaremongers about buying a used Nissan Leaf imported from Japan! The imported Japanese Leaf’s represent incredible value for money. (New Zealand has led the way with a huge uptake of imported used Leaf's from Japan - and those Kiwis are smart!)
Price - The used Nissan Leaf’s imported will typically have low kms and have good battery health and they have significantly depreciated now that they are used cars.
There is a strong argument that buying a used Leaf is the most intelligent way to own an electric car as a means of saving massively on your personal transport costs and extracting the best value out of an electric car.
The used Leaf's are plus or minus half price of a new Leaf sold in Australia by Nissan! That's a bargain! Total outlay from start to finish is lower than any other car on the planet in this category.
"A FREE CAR" : Savings - If a quality used Leaf is priced between $19,000 -$35,000 and you typically spend say $100 per week driving your "ICE car" (Internal Combustion Engine car) - that's $26,000 in fuel expenses that stay in your pocket over the next 5 years ($100/week X 52 weeks X 5 years) - the fuel savings alone cover the total cost of ownership..! (It's like paying for fuel up front and getting a late model luxury car thrown in for free...!)
Low Running Costs - An electric Leaf is a beautiful and simple design with only a tiny fraction of the moving parts in an ICE Car (Internal Combustion Engine car). There is no complex gearbox to break down, there are no pistons, rings and bearings which wear down and break, no oil changes required, no spark plugs to foul, no injectors to clog and clean, no catalytic converters to foul. The only thing to occasionally check and replace every few years would be brakes (the cheapest and easiest thing to service on any car) and of course tyres every few years.... Nothing else requires servicing! The savings here are massive.
Convenience - Never get sucked into a petrol station again! These Leaf’s are ideal town cars - i.e. if you spend most of your time driving around town (your local metro area or near your house) - a Leaf is perfect. The 24KW/h Leaf’s will be good for 100 kms (plus or minus) per day and the 30 KW/h Leaf’s will be good for 180 kms (plus or minus) per day - just plug her in to your standard 240V power point at night and she's ready to go the next day... If you are like me and only rarely go on a long-distance drive - on those occasions - use your other car, rent a car, borrow another car - or plan your trip to plug in along the way with your Leaf!
Luxury - This baby is silent...! It's so beautiful to be rapidly propelled along in complete silence - it's like flying! (It's smoother and quieter than a $300,000 Rolls Royce or Bentley) Premium sound, seat warmers, steering wheel hand warmer, the latest tech gadgets make it up there with way more expensive cars.
Performance - It's fast - it is like flying - the electric motor has instant torque so if you want to overtake - it's fast, safe and instantaneous. The Leaf will out-accelerate most hot hatch "ICE Cars" off the lights... The acceleration is quite surprising and very fun...!
Safety - being able to accelerate quickly and place your car where you want it on the road rapidly is one of the least discussed safety features of cars today - but it is very reassuring to be able to cross a busy intersection rapidly and get safely across with the least amount of time in front of oncoming traffic. This applies to overtaking on a highway - the faster it's done - the less time spent on the wrong side of the road - the safer the overtaking manoeuvre....
These Leaf's have airbags everywhere, traction control, slip control, ABS brakes, intelligent cruise control Driver hands-free Bluetooth operation, voice command functions, and the 30 KW/h 2016 and newer Leaf’s also have Lane Departure technology that warns you when you are wandering across marked lines without indicating (a great safety feature for tired drivers) or sloppy drivers! Leaf’s are one of the safest cars on the road today.
Aerodynamic efficiency - Leaf's have one of the lowest drag coefficients of any car on the road today. This helps conserve battery power and make the car quieter and more efficient. The unusual (frog-like) protruding headlights have been designed to make the wind wrap around the protruding rear-view mirrors that would normally create wind-drag on most cars...
Yes - all electric device batteries slowly degrade with time and use. This is normal and expected. If you buy a used Leaf from us we have done a battery health check on all our cars prior to importing them. All our cars will have between 70% -90% battery health. This means that the 24KW/h Leaf’s will be good for 100 -120 kms (plus or minus) per day and the 30 KW/h Leaf’s will be good for 180 - 200 kms (plus or minus) per day. As the battery degrades the range will slowly decrease. This means you may have to plug in every second day instead of every third day. It will still serve its purpose as a great town car even when the range has decreased over time. Eventually you may decide to either:
a. Replace the most degraded battery cells (this will only cost say $200-$500) and dramatically uplift your range without spending too much or
b. Replace the whole battery unit with the latest most efficient battery. We anticipate that in the future we will be putting in bigger capacity batteries than the cars originally came with new and hence get more range than when the cars were new. Battery prices are steadily decreasing as global battery production for cars increases. We currently have been quoted $3000 for a replacement battery. Most used Leaf’s will not need battery maintenance or replacement for many years (from say 5-10 years) depending on how the battery has been used/charged and maintained.
You can go long distances if you plan your trip with charge points along the way. Most Leaf owners are commuting in urban areas where there are power points and charge points everywhere and they simply recharge each night. Most owners simply plug in at home or work so there is a fully charged battery ready the next day. Some owners only plug in every 3 days or so. For example, I work 10 kms from my house (20 kms each way). I am driving a 24KW/h Leaf that has about 116 kms range. I only need to plug in every 3rd day with charge to spare...
This will be a rare occurrence. How often have you run out of petrol? Your battery gauge is like your fuel gauge and the Leaf will give you ample warning that you need to plug in soon! There is a reserve of 10% power to give you an extra 10-20 kms to get you to a charge point. The car will even suggest to you to turn off your air conditioning and drive in ECO mode as the power gets low... Always carry a charger in the boot - in an emergency you can plug in to any 240 Volt electricity power point. Most functions on the car will still work as it has a traditional lead acid battery (like ICE Cars) to power all the accessories on the car. i.e. power steering, electric windows etc.
This depends on the charger you use and how low your battery is and how big your battery is. From dead flat a 24 KW/h Leaf will charge fully in 12-14 hours on a slow 8-amp charger (the standard one supplied with the car) - if you have half a battery charge left - it will charge much faster. A 30 KW/h Leaf will take a few extra hours for a full charge from empty. If you get a 16-amp fast charger installed at your house or business (cost is approx. $1200 plus installation) it will charge twice as fast. If you plug into a super-charger such as at some shopping centres (becoming more available every day as the Aussie EV charge network expands) - you can recharge in 30 minutes - 1 hour!
If you constantly supercharge with a DC charger this can reduce the expected battery life of your Leaf. We suggest doing this as a convenience from time to time but recommend using an 8-16-amp AC charger regularly to prolong battery life.
We say yes! - The Leaf makes a bold statement about early adopters not afraid to try a new way of getting around, saving on transport costs in a stylish, comfortable, affordable and efficient way. We don't need to show off in a $200,000 Tesla to have most of the benefits on a great EV at a fraction of the cost. Plus, we are not spewing out dirty noxious fumes into our atmosphere. Import Leaf owners are cool people who have spotted a bit of a bargain in the automotive EV world!
Yes - we do the English conversion on the dash and head unit / stereo.
Yes - she will understand even the Aussie language before you get her.
Yes - this feature is coming soon.
Yes, when you buy from a licensed dealer you get a statutory warranty and can upgrade to an extended warranty.
