Used Car with Manufacturer Buyback History
January 8, 2024 6:37 AM   Subscribe

Looking at buying a 2019 Nissan Leaf SV Plus 62kWh from a used car dealership, it's $13k which is a few k cheaper than other Leafs with the bigger battery, but on the Carfax report I pulled it says it was bought back by the manufacturer because "Vehicle battery is not charging correctly/vehicle not wanting to start" (more from Carfax inside). Is there a way for me to find out what actually went wrong and what was replaced to fix the car? Is the price low enough to make up for the manufacturer buyback?

The car when new was sold and bought back by the manufacturer in California, and it's now for sale by a used car dealer in Texas. Here are the relevant bits from the Carfax report:

03/03/2023
Source: Nissan North America
VEHICLE REACQUIRED: Vehicle reacquired by the manufacturer pursuant to applicable state consumer warranty laws or to promote customer satisfaction.
Reason provided by Manufacturer: Vehicle battery is not charging correctly/vehicle not wanting to start


05/15/2023
Source: California Motor Vehicle Dept. Saginaw, MI
New owner reported: MANUFACTURER BUYBACK OR LEMONREPORTED


12/29/2023
Source: Texas Motor Vehicle Dept. Little Elm, TX
New owner reported: MANUFACTURER BUYBACK OR LEMONREPORTED


01/04/2024
Source: Dealer Inventory
Vehicle offered for sale
posted by gregr to Travel & Transportation (8 answers total)
 
We own a 2013 Leaf, and I'm in a lot of online Leaf groups, and they would all tell you to get the LeafSpy Pro app and a Bluetooth ODB2 reader to check on the battery.

The problem is likely that this traction battery (the big one that runs the engine) has a few bad cells, and rather than fixing them under warranty, Nissan has started buying them back. The symptoms can be pretty bad, like dropping into turtle mode, where you are limited to going 20 mph, when the car is asked to go highway speed.

Battery replacements are really hard to find and even if you did, would eat up all the savings you get from this $13k lower.

I'd pass on this one without even bothering to try running LeafSpy to check it out.
posted by advicepig at 7:02 AM on January 8, 2024 [4 favorites]


You don't mention the mileage or the manufacturing date, but a 2019 is almost certainly out of its EV system warranty (which is 5 years/60k for the 2019 Leaf) or will be imminently. Texas Lemon Law will not help you if you have a used car out of warranty.

The Lithium-ion battery itself may technically still be under warranty depending on mileage, but an EV that fails to charge or start may either have issues independent of the battery proper, or have a battery that's difficult to source a replacement for, as many older EVs had limited production, limited stock of spare parts, and little effective aftermarket support.

It's a really, really big red flag, and exactly the reason a Carfax report is valuable. I would not buy this specific car. (A 12 year old EV that keeps on keeping on is my daily driver, so that's in no way a comment on either EVs or used EVs in general.) Keep looking.
posted by eschatfische at 7:08 AM on January 8, 2024


Response by poster: I currently have a 2011 Leaf that won't have enough range by next winter to make my commute. I have an OBD2 Bluetooth reader and Leaf Spy, but I'm in Florida and won't be able to check the car out in Texas.

Is there a way for me to find out if any repairs were made to the car?
posted by gregr at 7:17 AM on January 8, 2024


It's worth asking the dealership about this report and whether any repairs were done.

Obviously they have a vested interest in trying to sell you the car, so take anything they say with a heavy grain of salt, but they may be able to give you information which you can verify via other sources.
posted by mekily at 7:26 AM on January 8, 2024 [2 favorites]


Best answer: Is there a way for me to find out if any repairs were made to the car?

The dealer very likely bought this car at auction. It's very unlikely they have any service records unless they're in the glovebox.

You can look up recall records with Nissan by VIN, and if that doesn't give you what you need, you can try calling them at 1-800-NISSAN-1 to try to obtain information on the buyback. That's pretty much all you've got.

I understand the impulse - my second car is a now 10 year old PHEV I bought many years ago off of a salvage lot at a remarkable price, and which is still is just fine, but it had a surprisingly clean Carfax record, and I was able to personally inspect it and drive it with no obvious issues other than an initially dead 12V battery. (The former owner traded it in for a salvage ICE Mustang, which I personally find weirdly funny. I wonder how that Mustang is doing.)

So, I've personally bought a weird salvage lot PHEV. My other car is a 12 year old EV I have no intention of getting rid of. I would not buy that buyback Leaf.
posted by eschatfische at 8:08 AM on January 8, 2024 [4 favorites]


I’d pass. There are just too many flags flying to make it worth the gamble.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:35 PM on January 8, 2024


Will they give a great 1 year warranty? almost certainly not, and I wouldn't buy that vehicle without it. .
posted by theora55 at 3:40 PM on January 8, 2024


This is exactly the kind of silly schemey thing i'd consider buying, but only if:

1. i could inspect it in person, or otherwise get some concrete verification of its condition/the issues
2. the price delta was WAY better than that. We're talking like, 50% less than normal retail or more

I'm betting the dealership paid what something like this with issues is actually worth, and is now hoping they can split the difference and get close to the no-issues retail price by minimizing the issue(s) it has.

These kind of deals are really only worth taking if you're buying them directly from a private party who's having issues with it or an auction, AND have done enough research/know enough about this specific model to be able to inspect it for issues, and you can do said inspection.

I would pass on this so quickly.
posted by emptythought at 5:14 PM on January 8, 2024


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