Don’t buy a 2021 Nissan Leaf. At least, not right now. You’ve heard the news by now, hopefully from me, that both the new and used car market is, well, a bit of a shitshow right now. Things could be better for dealerships. Things could be better full stop. But you shouldn’t buy a 2021 Nissan Leaf EV because of that, and not because it’s a bad car. Honestly, the Leaf is a great car, now just isn’t the time to get one.

Why you shouldn’t buy a Nissan Leaf

As I’m sure you know (unless you’re under a rock), new car sales are pretty rough right now. Consumers can’t get what they want, and that includes the 2021 Nissan Leaf. Normally, that’s a pretty good reason to try and get one. Then, you could flip it and make an extra “tax return” in profit. Of course, the semiconductor shortage has something to say about that. Consumers can’t get what they want because chips can’t get made fast enough.

As a result, buyers are looking to the used market. Per iSeeCars, prices on the 2021 Nissan Leaf, as well as other model years, are up 48% from June of last year. Or, to put it another way, you’ll pay around a $6,500 premium for a 2021 Nissan Leaf. As good as the 2021 Nissan Leaf is, it’s not “pay an extra $6,500” good.

The 2021 Nissan Leaf is actually a really good car

And that brings me nicely to my next point. As I said above, the little EV from Nissan is actually a really good car. It does car things very well. A-to-B transport? No problem, the model got a good range bump in 2018. Comfort? Nissan is absolutely killing it with their seats lately. Moreover, you get that great practical layout.

Let’s talk specs. For your $31,000 you get 215 hp. That’s honestly all you’ll need out of a torque-rocket EV anyway. Remember, horsepower is how fast you can go, and torque is how quick you get there. You’ll also get around 215 miles of EV range. No, it’s not a Tesla Model S, but you do get more than enough to get your 2021 Nissan Leaf around the block a few hundred times.

When will the chip shortage stop?

Now normally, you could have all this from $31,000. However, the chip shortage makes the act of getting a 2021 Nissan Leaf something of an issue. As we know, suppliers like TSMC and Bosche simply cannot manufacture enough right now. Ergo, price premium. However, there is some hope. Bosch just built a big new plant to build chips in, and while it’s not running yet, we could be back to normal sometime in 2022. For now, don’t buy that 2021 Nissan Leaf. It’ll be a cool 15G’s in three years, and by then it’ll be a smoking deal, chip shortage or not.