Since early last year, I've been tracking the prices of used Nissan Leafs in case things turned around and I was able to get one. I thought that with the 2018 model coming out, the cost of the old ones would plummet due to all the trade-ins. Instead, prices went up and kept going up. The years I was looking at were 2015 and newer for the SL model. They went from around $9,000 to $13,000, although I've seen a couple in the 12Ks lately.
The SL is top of the line. If I was getting a used car, it may as well be the fancy one, right? Right. It was a good thought. But the price rise had me confused. I couldn't figure it out. Why would an "obsolete" version of the Leaf keep getting more expensive? Especially with the Model 3 coming out and all the other electric cars. It didn't make sense. Where was all this demand coming from? It seemed crazy.
I may have figured it out. At the least I have a theory that makes sense. I've also been tracking Tesla to see when they go bankrupt. I mean if not when. They could still turn things around, right? Yeah, sure. :) I saw a story the other day about mass Model 3 reservation cancellations. Tesla won't release the numbers, but apparently, many, many people who reserved a Model 3 have cancelled and gotten their deposits back. Aha, that would explain the demand on the Leaf SL. I don't know if that's the reason for the price rise, but it would make sense to me that some of those people would be buying Leafs, perhaps while waiting for another brand of electric car to hit the market. It would also kind of make sense that some of the reservation holders would be buying something cheap to tide them over until their Model 3s ship, which could be a very long time, if ever.
Of course, some of the demand might be due to the new popularity of electric cars. A cheap Leaf would be a decent entry vehicle or a decent second car to test out the whole electric car thing. Something else I wonder about is the poor range of the 2018 Leaf. It's around 150 miles per charge instead of the 200+ it needed to be. Maybe not that many people are trading in the old Leafs, when it feels like a step backward compared to the Bolt or Model 3. For commuting to work, 150 is fine, but to be a main car, I'd want well over 200 miles. And that's not really enough compared to a gas car that gets 350 miles per tank, but it would work. The 2019 Leafs are supposed to have 200+ miles of range. Maybe the trade-ins will occur then. It's stuff to think about.
So, why 2015 and newer when the older Leafs are around $6,000? In 2015 Nissan switched to a more energy efficient heating/cooling system. The ones in the old Leafs use way too much electricity. A lot of people weren't using the heater in the winter, because of it. That doesn't work for me.
Have a great weekend.
Of course, some of the demand might be due to the new popularity of electric cars. A cheap Leaf would be a decent entry vehicle or a decent second car to test out the whole electric car thing. Something else I wonder about is the poor range of the 2018 Leaf. It's around 150 miles per charge instead of the 200+ it needed to be. Maybe not that many people are trading in the old Leafs, when it feels like a step backward compared to the Bolt or Model 3. For commuting to work, 150 is fine, but to be a main car, I'd want well over 200 miles. And that's not really enough compared to a gas car that gets 350 miles per tank, but it would work. The 2019 Leafs are supposed to have 200+ miles of range. Maybe the trade-ins will occur then. It's stuff to think about.
So, why 2015 and newer when the older Leafs are around $6,000? In 2015 Nissan switched to a more energy efficient heating/cooling system. The ones in the old Leafs use way too much electricity. A lot of people weren't using the heater in the winter, because of it. That doesn't work for me.
Have a great weekend.
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