Thinking about buying a 2012 SE model with 5500 miles

Any of you who purchased an i-MiEV that wasn't driven frequnetly may be able to help me answer this question.

How are these things if you go from driving rarely to driving all the time in terms of battery charge? This one has been driven rarely for a bit over three years now, and I just want to make sure I'm not holding the bag that is a battery replacement if I buy the car.

All the best!

Steve

Buy the evbatmon app for the I-miev in the google (or apple ios i think) store, get the proper obdc bluetooth adapter and take a look. Canion, also as it'll show all the cell voltages. Evbatmon reports the capacity in Ah. The app and the adapter will cost you about $75

As long as the cell voltages are all similar, within say a 1/10th volt and the Ah reading is in the high 30's/ low 40's, and it has good accel. when you tromp on the gas from a few mph you should be good.

I bought a 2012 at the end of May with 11,244 miles on it. It's been fine, the battery has actually gained 1.0 Ah over the summer with more regular exercise.

If all else fails the battery has a log warranty, 10 years. Unlike the leaf, the i-miev has not shown radical capacity loss to the point of being unusable UNLESS there is a cell failure, and warrantied pack replacements have happened there.

Actually, the thing to worry about is the A/C compressor. The brackets seem to fail somewhat often (mine did, warranty fix) which is a few hundred dollars. The compressor itself is insane, lists for $4K.

Excellent answer and an excellent collection of cars too! I may buy this tomorrow.

By the way, if you Google 'Steven Lang and cars' you'll foind out exactly who I am. Thanks again.

Is it a standard SE or an SE Premium?

How much are they asking?

Don

It looks to be an SE with the premium package, 2012 model. It has the following features and it will be sold at auction tomorrow.

ABS Brakes, Air Conditioning, Alloy Wheels, AM/FM Stereo, Automatic Transmission, Bluetooth, CD Audio, Cloth Seats, Navigation System, Overhead Airbags, Power Locks, Power Mirrors, Power Windows, Premium Package, Rear Defroster, Rear View Camera, Side Airbags, Traction Control

I think it will bring around $5000 to $5500.

macarose, welcome to the forum, and delighted you're finally getting into BEVs!

A barely-driven five-year-old i-MiEV should be of little concern except for both the HV and 12v batteries. Cosmetics and the usual mechanicals aside, -

1. The first worry would be that the traction battery pack was 'abused' by simply sitting unused while fully charged in a hot environment. That said, after almost five years, cell degradation doesn't seem to be an issue with North American vehicles. Not to worry, it's covered by warranty for a few more years and a catastrophic cell failure will be readily detected. The last used i-MiEV I bought I didn't even bother checking with CaniOn or EVBatMon (which are excellent tools).

2. The 12v battery has probably been abused if the car has been sitting around a long time without being driven, as it would have undergone deeper cycling than if the car had been driven daily. Probably will need replacing if it's the original.

Other than that, 'what you see is what you get' with these cars, as problems are few and far-between. Of more significant concern is exactly what you're getting for your money - something Don alluded to. For example, CHAdeMO DCQC is now being appreciated a lot more than it was five years ago due to the proliferation of DC charging stations enabling easier intermediate-length trips. CHAdeMO was an option on the ES model and was included with the SE Premium version. Also, there is a Remote that should come with the car - it's used for programming charging timing as well as pre-heating and pre-cooling the vehicle while it's plugged in. Lose it, and replacement is $1000! The SE version has a few niceties, and we contrast the two models here.

Good luck!

Edit: Just saw your latest post. Go for it!

It looks like this is separate from the key judging from the Youtube video.

Thanks very much. I will definitely ask them about that, and thanks again for the fantastic response.

Good luck at the auction!

If you can get that car (it is an SE Premium with all the bells and whistles) for less than $7500, you'll have a heck of a deal. Inquire about the remote as Joe suggested, but even if you don't get it, it's still a deal - Not having a remote isn't THAT much of an issue - It's definitely nice to have but we don't use either of ours very often. Mostly in the winter for preheating then car . . . . we virtually never use the charging timer that it has

Glad you're here and hope you get the car - It will quickly become one of the most practical cars you've ever owned . . . . if not the #1!

Don

I hope you got the i-MiEV, Steve. Having an automotive writer and sho-nuff 'car guy' spent more than superficial seat time in the i-MiEV might help more folks learn the appeal of this sprightly utility vehicle.

Is your 'collector-as-dealer' venture still active? I'm interesting in applying that concept to insuring my current fleet of 8.

http://www.pjstar.com/article/20141209/blogs/312099965

Get it if you can get it!! I bought a 2012 back in March with 1700 miles on it. JRay pushed me over the edge reminding me that I still had 4 years and 98300 miles on the battery warranty!
Seriously, I bought the car on faith that the battery would still be good. I purchased the dongle and downloaded the app, and the battery seems stout. I now have 7300 miles on it and am completely happy with the car. Best of luck!

I tried mightily to buy it. 97 other dealers were there that day looking at that exact same i-MiEV.

One outbid me.

The car ran as #15 in the sale and I had asked the ringman to 'put me in at 3k'. This means he would show the auctioneer he had money, typically by yelping and clenching a fist close to his body, once the auctioneer went down on his bidding to the $3000 mark.

Unfortuantely the tides of competition were too fierce and I ended up finishing second at $3700 plus what would have been a $240 auction fee. The i-MiEV had a reall nasty lick on the rear quarter panel along with the rear door. Plus the side airbag had been deployed in that area as well.

I'm probably going to get one in the next month or two. This time of year where there's no tax returns, no end of year bonuses, and no shopping themed holidays tends to be a great time to buy an unusual vehicle.

All the best!

Steven Lang

Here's one to think about:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/5801492875.html

Looks like a great deal.

It is but I live in Georgia.

Hopefully an emerging enthusiast buys it.

Probably a good thing you got outbid - With the damage you describe, $4K is more than I would be willing to pay for it. Not much more than that will get you one with no body damage and no expensive airbags that need replacing

That Blue 2014 sure looks like a GREAT deal - I predict somebody will snap that one up pretty quickly

Don

macarose said:

It is but I live in Georgia.

Hopefully an emerging enthusiast buys it.

Click to expand...

You could buy it and have it shipped to you.

:idea: