New electric vehicles in New Zealand are expensive. At the time of writing, we dont have any real incentives to reduce the buy-in price, meaning the cheapest new EV on the market is the MG ZS EV at $48,990.
For a new car thats not too bad, but it’s still out of reach for a lot of people. The second hand market is a good option if you dont mind going for a used car, and if youre considering that path, you’re probably considering a Nissan Leaf.
Its the most popular used electric vehicle in New Zealand but with more than eleven years of production, the quality of the models on offer varies quite a lot. Phrases like seven bars out of twelve may turn up in Trade Me listings, as will acronyms like SOH. Lets break some of those down.
The most popular second-hand EV is the Nissan Leaf. But what should you look out for while hunting a bargain?
As mentioned in the buyers guide for used EVs, SOH stands for the state of health of the battery. This refers to how much capacity the battery still has compared to when it was new.
Kilometres driven and a batterys SOH aren’t necessarily tied together general manager of Turners, Jeremy Rooke says that EVs with a higher mileage but a better battery SOH can be valued more than an EV with lower mileage but a poorer SOH.
Being electric, the Leaf has fewer moving parts than a combustion-powered car, which means less stuff to check before a purchase. However, there are still a couple of things to look over.
Rooke added: it is important to point out that despite a reduced range, due to a lower battery SOH, the vehicle will still operate well, and may still be suitable for you based on your specific transport needs. Furthermore, the price you pay should move in line with the SOH/range making it better value if you dont need the full range.
With the Leaf, state of health is visually represented by the bars on the far right of the dash. The top bar is the twelfth and represents the most battery capacity compared to the other bars.
That bar drops off when the SOH drops to around 85 per cent. Each remaining bar drops off after around 6.25 per cent in charge holding capacity.
Steven Greenwood, from Drive EV says that the best way to look at Leaf bars is by considering how many should it have for its age. Age is the biggest factor in battery degradation and Leafs degrade at similar rates excluding extreme situations, he said.
Just because a car has fewer bars does not mean it is going to degrade faster, it just has less range.
Additionally, bars and SOH figures only update when a car is used. If a Leaf has been stored for ten years, it might show 12 bars and close to 100 per cent SOH when, in reality, the battery has degraded over time.
This Leaf has the full twelve bars of charge available, with 118km of range. Your results may vary, depending on how you drive.
Once the new owners start to drive them around the bars and SOH drop. For this reason buyers should request dealers offer some kind of guarantee around this and be prepared for a drop.
Nissan shipped the Leaf with a range of battery sizes, with the first generation coming with 24kWh and 30kWh packs. The second can be had with a 40kWh or a 62kWh battery.
Most Leaf sellers will be able to give a rough estimation of range for their car too, which is often more helpful than how much battery capacity is left. Dont be afraid to ask!
A first-gen Leaf with a 24kWh battery reading 77 per cent SOH offers a maximum range of around 100km but, as with any EV, it really depends on how you drive it and where.
It also pays to mention that most second-hand Leafs require a CHAdeMO plug for charging, as opposed to the more common (in new EVs) Type 2 Mennekes plug.
SIMON O’CONNOR/STUFF/Stuff
The second-generation Leaf uses the Type 2 connector (shown) but older Leafs need a CHAdeMO plug.
NZTA issued guidelines in 2016 on the socket types to install at public stations, saying that they should offer an AC socketed Type 2 connection (with drivers supplying a cable to fit their car) and DC CHAdeMO and Type 2 CCS cabled connections, with the option of an AC Type 2 socket.
A lot public charging stations offer this, but not all, so if you do buy a Leaf, familiarise yourself with the charge stations that accept your connector.
As for price, Leafs seem to have currently bottomed out around the $5000 mark with plenty below $10,000. They probably wont get much cheaper than that and, if you do find one cheaper, it’s probably more trouble than its worth.
Just remember to get a battery check done as part of your pre-purchase inspections. Theres a handy app called LeafSpy, available on iOS, Android and Kindle that can be used in conjunction with a wireless OBD2 adapter. It can be used to check the battery health, set the auto door locking behaviour, log battery use, and reset some warnings.
Or, if youre not comfortable doing that sort of thing yourself, ask the seller to take it to a VTNZ for an inspection. That advice goes for most second hand cars too, electric or combustion.

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