OT - buying a dealer loaner car

[NHAero]

In my quest to get an electric car, I've come across a dealership that used three Nissan Leafs as loaners to people while they were having their cars worked on. All three are 2015 models and have under 1,000 miles on them.

Any reason I should be suspicious of a car used in this way?
Thanks!

[AngryScientist]

nah, there are several reasons i would not worry about it:

- under 1000 miles is practically nothing
-electric cars do not have the same concerns as a ICE engine, not worrying about break-in, oil warm up, etc.
-nissan leaf is not exactly the type of car i would expect people to abuse or "joy ride" in.

go for it if the savings is decent.

[ntb1001]

Should be ok...especially if it still has warranty. Dealerships take care of their cars because they want to sell them.


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[Bentley]

Another point, Dealer Loaners are generally up to date with all the required maintenance and service recalls.

How much of a discount? I have a friend that purchased a BMW I3 for like $15K and another that purchased a Ford Focus Energi for like $10K

Best

Ray

[NHAero]

Roughly half the cost of a new 2017.

Another point, Dealer Loaners are generally up to date with all the required maintenance and service recalls.

How much of a discount? I have a friend that purchased a BMW I3 for like $15K and another that purchased a Ford Focus Energi for like $10K

Best

Ray

[NHAero]

I could get a brand new 2017 for maybe $31K after dickering, and with Fed credit and MA rebate (after taxes on the rebate) the cost is $22K. Is it worth $7K to have the two years newer vehicle even though the miles on the 2015 are essentially a new car?

[cnighbor1]

In my quest to get an electric car, I've come across a dealership that used three Nissan Leafs as loaners to people while they were having their cars worked on. All three are 2015 models and have under 1,000 miles on them.

Any reason I should be suspicious of a car used in this way?
Thanks!
Used leafs sell for very low prices
try
http://www.dailylister.com/Search_Results.cfm?q=nissan+leaf&as_oq=ctd+cto&as_occt=Title&cof=FORID%3A11&cx=partner-pub-4317780967737722%3A1twvgl-vw7d&ie=UTF-8&sort=date&newwindow=1

[cnighbor1]

One for sale near me $17000 obo 6K walnut creek, CA
Call 530 570-6615

[allezdude]

Make sure you check Carfax or similar- when I was in the market for a car a few months ago, dealer showed me a used vehicle that he says was a service loaner- when I looked it up on Carfax, turns out it was a former Enterprise rental car. So don't believe everything the salesman tells you- gotta verify on your own.

[Ralph]

Salesmen don't always know the history of the cars on their lots. They just repeat what the sales manager told them at their weekly or daily sales meeting....about what they need to get off their lot. Don't believe anything you can't verify.

[AngryScientist]

^^ all that may be true, but with less than 1k miles on the car, the risk is minimal. worth $7k for sure IMO.

[Bentley]

I could get a brand new 2017 for maybe $31K after dickering, and with Fed credit and MA rebate (after taxes on the rebate) the cost is $22K. Is it worth $7K to have the two years newer vehicle even though the miles on the 2015 are essentially a new car?

My answer No, sounds like you are getting a new car for half price and you'll take a 20 to 30% hit just driving the 2017 off the lot. From an economics perspective electric and hybrid cars don't make economic sense, especially paying retail. I sense that at the price you are paying the business case will close. Also, its an environmentally sound decision.

Ray

[Bentley]

Make sure you check Carfax or similar- when I was in the market for a car a few months ago, dealer showed me a used vehicle that he says was a service loaner- when I looked it up on Carfax, turns out it was a former Enterprise rental car. So don't believe everything the salesman tells you- gotta verify on your own.

Its entirely possible not was a dealer loaner even if Enterprise owned the car. My dealer uses Enterprise for their loaners so they don't have to deal with the insurance issues.

[NHAero]

Went to see it, did a test drive - all seemed great. Put a deposit down and hope to go back and pick it up when off the Island again next week for Thanksgiving. Dealer seemed to be better than average, I dealt directly with the sales manager and didn't have to play ping/pong, sending the salesman back and forth between us. Kind of excited to start fueling some of our driving off of the $1,650 credit on my electric bill from my solar system!

[AngryScientist]

nice. keep us posted on how you're liking it and real world driving stats.

[572cv]

Sounds pretty good, Marc! Plus this way, you don't have to think about holding out for the Tessa Roadster. ;-). 0 to Edgartown in 47 seconds......

[NHAero]

We picked up the 2015 Leaf SV on Friday. After 2-1/2 hours waiting for the dealer to do each simple step (pass the papers and take our check, get the MA registration, and slap a sticker on it, also make up a second key to replace the one they lost) we got into the car and they had forgotten to charge it. Duh. So we spent another hour getting enough juice in it to drive back to my sister's place where we were staying. I'm no EV expert, but it seems comfortable and nicely appointed. In the interim we're using the 120V EVSE it came with, which charges at 4-5 miles per hour. L2 chargers 2 miles away at work if we need it. More as we use it as cold weather comes. I ordered a set of steelies and snows from Discount Tire, which should arrive this week.

[AngryScientist]

cool and congratulations.

please keep us posted.

one thing particularly interested in is your real world differences in battery capacity from summer to winter. you're a good tester there being in NH.

cheers!

[NHAero]

I'm interested in that too (though I live on Martha's Vineyard after 34 years in NH) so we have a notebook in the car where the intention is to enter odometer and range value at beginning and end of each drive, to get a better idea of exactly that.

cool and congratulations.

please keep us posted.

one thing particularly interested in is your real world differences in battery capacity from summer to winter. you're a good tester there being in NH.

cheers!

[likebikes]

snow tires for MV? it snows like once a decade there...

[CNY rider]

We picked up the 2015 Leaf SV on Friday. After 2-1/2 hours waiting for the dealer to do each simple step (pass the papers and take our check, get the MA registration, and slap a sticker on it, also make up a second key to replace the one they lost) we got into the car and they had forgotten to charge it. Duh. So we spent another hour .........

Slightly OT but this is typical of my experience and makes me certain that at some point Amazon or another retailer is going to figure out how to sell and deliver cars with professional customer service and wipe the floors with the conventional dealerships.
I see today's car dealers as being just like medallion taxi cabs. Their business is totally ripe for the picking.