Nissan Leaf Depreciates Much Worse Than Average; Chevrolet Volt About Average

They should have led with the real after tax credit depreciation

41% for the leaf, 36.5% for the volt, making the advice most of us gave pertinent lease these initial adopter cars. The leaf's depreciation reflects the new 2013 improvements along with dealer discounting. I'm surprised they are getting offered $23K for it. The 2013 with current tax credits is not very different in price.

 

I think this plus the less than 10k unit sales last year and ads in the paper of $8k off MSRP indicates not many people have the luxury of laying out $35k+ and $2k charger for a 2nd car that usually needs to stay within a 30 something mile circle.

As I recall, Ed Begley Jr said in Who Killed the Electric Car .... 'not everyone can use an electric car, no, only 95% can'.

I must be in the other 5% because on many trips, I have to go well over 60 miles.

 

My BMW depreciated 67% in 7 years.

 

So it depreciates as fast as an AMG?

 

holy cow, they paid over $5k in dealer markup? why on earth……??

will be interesting to see what prices for the pip will be in a year. especially given the heavy discounting that people got at the end of 2012 in some regions of the country.

 

Entry-Level 2013 Nissan LEAF Price Dropped to $28,800 | PluginCars.com

The SL is improved over the one consumer reports is talking about and is $24,840 after tax credits in california where CR bought it. We are still waiting to see how much range is improved, but the new features/prices should increase sales.

I agree with you that many will not be happy with the range especially given Nissan's warranty but lets say EPA goes to 77, 80% charge, and 80% after loss of capacity, we get 77x.8x.8 = 49 mile safe range. That should increase the pool of buyers.

 

how is 49 miles "safe" for anyone except people who never leave their house?
i had to drive into san francisco for an interview today. 34 miles roundtrip, of which 28 or so are at freeway speeds. god forbid i want to make an extra stop, or miss my exit (yes, i did this after living here for over 7 years now…still can't properly navigate the interchange going east over the Bay Bridge) on the way back…no way is 49 miles safe for anything.
both my parents, by the way, also wouldn't fit into this category (living in Los Angeles). same goes for a lot of commuters in the bay area. hell, 50 miles * 250 days = 12,500 miles…not exactly an excessive annual mileage.

 

My retired in law drives about 10 miles a day around town so he Leaf would be adequate. Longer trip take the ICE.

 

I was saying if there is a slight improvement 49 mile range is safe to assume. I was not saying it was safe for you or anyone else personally. Californians drive longer commutes than most. That is EPA in perfect weather it should be much further. 34 miles should be fine.

Most people drive 29 miles or less a day, at least according to Nissan Its definitely fine to charge to 100% on your longer trips. The leaf really is not appropriate for long commutes - or 25 miles each way, or road trips. That is why I assume that a phevs will outsell bevs until range goes up, or price comes down for something like the tesla S. The 17" wheels/leather/etc for $25K after tax credits in california should find many buyers. Not you, not me, not your parents. My daily drives are shorter, but have long trips and don't want multiple cars.

 

zipcar !

you could probably easy pay for a zipcar for those long trips after only paying $50 year for charging for a leaf.

 

My commute is 7 miles each way. I do drive to Houston and san Antonio frequently. I do make many trips a day, but often I could recharge. Most days I drive less than 25 miles, but average 13K miles a year. It makes no sense for me to get a leaf over a energi, volt, or tesla S. For others, especially those where it is not as hot as Austin. We each have our own requirements.

 

Well, yeah, retired people, not surprising

 

Just my opinion is auto and depreciation go hand in hand. The first year or 2 is the greatest depreciation, it usually slows down after that but still depreciates. Auto leasing can hedge that bet on the downside because you know what it is on day #1. The Leasing company accepts the risk. Someone said the Leaf may not be leased.

I used to buy cars and drive em for 7-10 years than trade them in and get a new one. I still think the Leaf can be one of those cars. At the end when you think the car is worthless one mans junk is another mans gold mine.

Leaf is a great car and it has zero emissions out of the tail pipe. That is the future. If you need more range perhaps the Civic CNG car which gets about 200 miles. If range anxiety is an issue the Hybrids can be the answer. The Volt EV 40 Hybrid gets about 37 miles and the PIP EV-10 gets about 10 miles. The Hybrids do have some emissions out of the tail pipe so they are not as Holy as the Leaf or Tesla but much better then Diesel or ICE based cars.

Sure the LEAF and the Tesla have a limited range but people buy them because they want to participate in the future. I'm sure the Leaf owner today will be telling his Grand Children how he was the first EV car owner on his block and today everyone drives one.

 

I love my leaf sucks if what you say is true, but works great for my wife and she drives 70 miles a day most the time more. It's an electric engine vs gas - so will last much longer, batteries will wear out but can be replaced with newer better tech. When I bought this car almost two years ago I knew all of this an most important I knew this thin would last. I don't like trading things in constantly. I'm sure it will see much more then 250k miles when I'm done with it.

 

One of the problems with rapidly advancing technology is that depreciation becomes much greater. Anyone still feel bad that their 5 year old computer is basically junk?

 

Well said !

 

Based on the depreciation listed early in this thread and if the batteries are holding up OK, a 2 year old leaf looks like a good deal compared to a new leaf if the range meets your needs.

 

Also the original poster got a dealer quote which tend to be very low. Private party can be a better route if you decide to sell.

 

Then you would be wrong. The new leaf is priced lower than what CR paid and is improved. That's what happens with technology, and why its wise to lease instead of buy when these things are in the first couple of years.

The 2013 SL is now $25K after tax credits and before TT&L in California. It has an improved heater, battery, more range (still waiting for epa number), better aerodynamics leather and 17" wheels and tires.