Hello all, I'm close to purchasing a 2016 Leaf Tekna 24 with just over 7,000 miles on it. It has the 6.6 charger and a full 12 bars left on the battery. It's at a Nissan dealer 200 miles from me, so I can't run LeafSpy to get more details on the battery.
This is my first EV. Anything in particular I should look out for before I complete the deal? (I know this is asked a lot, and I've looked through recent posts; I appreciate any advice.)
Usual stuff, take a dongle with you to check with leafspy. Have a look at all the normal places, the doors hang properly, there isn't a puddle of water in the suspension strut mountings, see if is straight, run a 'fridge magnet over the likely damage spots. Check the tyres for feathering on the edges. Make sure there are both cables in the boot, the granny and the chademo.
See if the windows run up and down smoothly, and the wing mirrors park without juddering. check for heel marks in the headlining-you never know! I once picked up a lovely limousine cheap only for the wife to remark what are those marks in the roof lining?
Open the bonnet and boot and see if there are lots of detritus and verdigris in the wells at the top and edges - a sure sign of neglect by the previous owner. Check the age of the 12v battery, get them to replace it if it's original. It costs them a lot less than you to replace; on second thoughts, make them replace it anyway!
On the deal, leave your final commitment until the month's end, that's when they have to submit their monthly sales figures they are always desperate to add a couple of extra sales at the end of the month-gives you much more leverage.
If they won't budge on the price, work around it in different ways, get them to pay the full cost of your home charger installation, not just the government's subsidy bit. Some of these things can be a headache and expensive for an owner, but for dealers they are practically zero cost. Get them to give an extended warranty and breakdown cover for more than one year. Get them to offer an ICE car for when you take your annual holidays for a fortnight a year. This stuff is negligible to them, but hiring an ICE car for a fortnight 'aint cheap.
That's all I can think of at the moment, good luck Tony.