Nissan gets a new 'Leaf' on life

On Thursday, Nissan announced that its all-electric Leaf will be added to its Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles program. Starting in September, Nissan will back all used Leaf vehicles to provide years of performance and quality at a competitive value.

The program will not only provide buyers with eight-year/100,000-mile battery warranty coverage, but also with five-year/60,000-mile coverage for battery-capacity loss that falls below nine bars, which is imperative when you're relying solely on electricity to power your vehicle.

Erik Gottfried, Nissan's director of vehicle sales, believes that adding the Leaf to the Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles program is a natural and essential step to fostering the growth of the Leaf and securing its spot as the No. 1 all-electric car on the market.

The program will offer additional benefits, including comprehensive quality-assurance vehicle inspection, a CARFAX vehicle history report, 24-hour emergency roadside assistance, a three-month subscription to Sirius-XM satellite radio, car-rental reimbursement and trip-interruption coverage.

Nissan's goal is to provide secondary owners of the Leaf with the same confidence as if they had just driven it off the lot. However, the program does require some prerequisites be met.

The Leaf must have less than 60,000 miles and be less than five years from its original in-service date, as well as having a clean CARFAX report and passing a 167-point inspection. In addition, the vehicle must have a minimum of nine bars of battery capacity out of a total 12.

Nissan sweetens the deal by offering finance rates starting at 0.9 percent for the first 36 months. Not a bad deal considering you'll never have to pay for gas.

By Natalie Sejnost