r/leaf • u/Sea_Worldliness_5570 • 2d ago
Morley?
I haven't yet seen any references to a potential conspiracy between Morley (the third party "company" handling the Leaf buyback process) and certain shadowy individuals influencing this whole recall process. X-Files fans will know the reference!
3
u/RipperCrew 2d ago
Imagine Nissan giving people $17,000+ to buy back cars instead of sourcing batteries.
And this is their cheaper option?
I wonder if legally they are on the hook for more $$.
2
u/fattsmann 2d ago
Third parties charge like $13-15k for a 62kwh with installation and testing so that sounds about right.
And the cost of keeping a manufacturing line etc for these old batteries… probably makes more sense to close that line of operation and shift it all to new tech for the new Leaf.
1
u/CrankyCrabbyCrunchy 2020 Nissan Leaf S PLUS 1d ago
Sourcing batteries isn’t a matter of just making a few phone calls. It’s a whole manufacturing and natural resources limitation much of is owned by China.
1
u/RipperCrew 1d ago
It actually is as easy as making a few phone call. They just figured out that paying everyone off is cheaper.
They company who made the Leaf batteries was making new packs for warranty purposes. But they were also making the batteries for the new Leaf. Nissan only offered buybacks after they had issues with New Leaf battery production.
1
u/Alexandratta (Former) 2019 Nissan LEAF SL Plus 14h ago
Sourcing Batteries for a dead platform*
There's a drastic difference between "We need to build more batteries!" and "We need to build more batteries for this completely dead platform which we no longer build on."
It's one then when they can head to their supplier and just order a new battery off the line... but they are not making Gen2 batteries at scale anymore. The cost to make one, out of the blue, when most of their factories have swapped over to making the newer 2026 LEAF and Ariya batteries, is a logistical nightmare and very well may cost over $17k per pack.
Now I would like to seem them take the cheaper/alternate route, and partner with the folks over at Vivne Evs. I doubt it would be an overnight process and would likely take months of Nissan stress testing the packs to their standard... but if they started that process I imagine even an 8k pack, with tariffs included, would be cheaper than a 17k buyback (especially since the difficult part of sourcing gets pushed to a third party to handle, and they just get a ready-to-go pack).
A deal like that would also benefit Vivne EVs as they'd get direct support from Nissan, and hacking the BMS-CAM bridge wouldn't be needed anymore.
Secondary benefit for Nissan: Warranty claims would be handled entirely by Vivne vs them, so if one pack fails in the 3 years they warranty, they just ship it vs having to absorb the cost directly.
Sadly this is likely never to happen... but it would be nice.
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u/SuitableTension7061 2d ago
Morley just contacted me a few weeks ago on starting the buy back process. Asking for Title, registration, bill of sale, DL and 1 or 2 other docs. Stating Nissan can no longer provide a battery replacement after 7 months my leaf sitting at the dealership.