Buying a used EV

[Bailey.]

I’m about to buy a used EV but I’m getting cold feet.

They offer really good value atm, but I can’t help wondering why?

Petrol and diesel car prices are really strong. Which surprises me with interest rates the way they are and ULEZ probably going nationwide in the next few years. Yet EV values are really low.

What are the main factors driving this?

Reliability and battery lifespan are my main worries not depreciation.

[emicen]

Are they good value or are they just heavily depreciated?

Feels like the drag on their residual values is reflective of what people are really willing to pay for them when they can’t swindle a tax rebate on a new one.

Battery lifespan concerns have largely been shown to be unfounded.

[TheDeuce]

Bailey. said:

I’m about to buy a used EV but I’m getting cold feet.

They offer really good value atm, but I can’t help wondering why?

Petrol and diesel car prices are really strong. Which surprises me with interest rates the way they are and ULEZ probably going nationwide in the next few years. Yet EV values are really low.

What are the main factors driving this?

Reliability and battery lifespan are my main worries not depreciation.

As often, there's multiple factors at play. The biggest is probably that new EV's aren't actually that expensive anymore - which naturally reduces the value of existing used cars on the market.

By 'not that expensive' I'm referring to the actual deals on lease/purchase drivers of new EV's are shaking on, not the artificially high RRP in some cases.

Another factor is that used EV's had to drop a good way to find much appeal to drivers of used cars. My old EV was 80k new, but can probably be bought for 25k now. That's still a lot of money for a used car shopper though and probably the minimum it needed to lose value by in order for many people to be able to afford it.

Battery life and degredation, despite being easily the most predicted factor that would slash the prices of used EV's, has actually proven to be the opposite - drivers of older cars are finding the EV sweeps past the average age an ICE car is retired at and, in most cases, the car/battery/motor(s), are just fine.

What EV specifically are you considering?

[TheDeuce]

emicen said:

Are they good value or are they just heavily depreciated?

Feels like the drag on their residual values is reflective of what people are really willing to pay for them when they can’t swindle a tax rebate on a new one.

Battery lifespan concerns have largely been shown to be unfounded.

I do think the various tax incentives have had the effect of pushing new EV prices up to a quite unrealistic level! At least they did until the Chinese started selling so many EV's, which has ensured a number of western manufacturers have now reduced their prices..

I do think it's a great time for used buyers though, and there is genuine good value out there. Back to my old EV, a 400hp top spec luxury SUV, 3 years old and costs just a few pence per mile to actually run... For ~£25k...that's a pretty good deal I think.

[BobToc]

Are they really that cheap? I’m eyeing up a 2021 or 2022 Polestar 2 LR and they’re not quite the bargain basement I was hoping for with all of the current noise in the press about the collapsing used market.

[TikTak]

emicen said:

Are they good value or are they just heavily depreciated?

It's going to be this. There are some "bargains" to be had and some £££'s to be saved but in terms of value? Are they?

Is it cheaper than the equivalent ICE or Hybrid, of the same age etc? Even when you're saying that market is robust?

The EV lifecycle is still super early so prices will fluctuate and oddball things will happen, like with any early adoption technology. We aren't even at the point of having anything like a fully fledged competitive used market for them yet.

Ultimately do whatever suits you. If you feel like you'd get more value from something else, then maybe the time for you to switch isn't here yet?

Edited by TikTak on Tuesday 15th August 15:17

[TheDeuce]

BobToc said:

Are they really that cheap? I’m eyeing up a 2021 or 2022 Polestar 2 LR and they’re not quite the bargain basement I was hoping for with all of the current noise in the press about the collapsing used market.

All the press ever do is make noise - often baseless noise.

They insinuate that the EV market has 'crashed', Asif nobody wants used EV's. Nonsense, prices for new to old have taken a hit because they were overpriced and in short supply - that's noonger the case.

As for the polestar.. why would you hope to find a 1-2 year old car at bargain basement prices?

[Aunty Pasty]

I think that the price of cars and the car market in general are starting to revert back to pre-covid patterns due to normalising supply chains. Jacked up prices and sky -high residuals weren't sustainable and nobody should have expected this pattern to continue forever but it seems like some people have short memories.

[BobToc]

TheDeuce said:

BobToc said:

Are they really that cheap? I’m eyeing up a 2021 or 2022 Polestar 2 LR and they’re not quite the bargain basement I was hoping for with all of the current noise in the press about the collapsing used market.

All the press ever do is make noise - often baseless noise.

They insinuate that the EV market has 'crashed', Asif nobody wants used EV's. Nonsense, prices for new to old have taken a hit because they were overpriced and in short supply - that's noonger the case.

As for the polestar.. why would you hope to find a 1-2 year old car at bargain basement prices?

The aforementioned noise. I mentioned it in my admittedly lengthy post.

[TheDeuce]

BobToc said:

TheDeuce said:

BobToc said:

Are they really that cheap? I’m eyeing up a 2021 or 2022 Polestar 2 LR and they’re not quite the bargain basement I was hoping for with all of the current noise in the press about the collapsing used market.

All the press ever do is make noise - often baseless noise.

They insinuate that the EV market has 'crashed', Asif nobody wants used EV's. Nonsense, prices for new to old have taken a hit because they were overpriced and in short supply - that's noonger the case.

As for the polestar.. why would you hope to find a 1-2 year old car at bargain basement prices?

The aforementioned noise. I mentioned it in my admittedly lengthy post.

If whatever you read in the papers was enough to make you expect to find a nearly new car for sale at 'bargain basement' prices, I would suggest reading better papers. Or no papers.

[emicen]

TheDeuce said:

emicen said:

Are they good value or are they just heavily depreciated?

Feels like the drag on their residual values is reflective of what people are really willing to pay for them when they can’t swindle a tax rebate on a new one.

Battery lifespan concerns have largely been shown to be unfounded.

I do think the various tax incentives have had the effect of pushing new EV prices up to a quite unrealistic level! At least they did until the Chinese started selling so many EV's, which has ensured a number of western manufacturers have now reduced their prices..

I do think it's a great time for used buyers though, and there is genuine good value out there. Back to my old EV, a 400hp top spec luxury SUV, 3 years old and costs just a few pence per mile to actually run... For ~£25k...that's a pretty good deal I think.

With that description and price point, it feels like you’re talking about an iPace?

My mate owned one of them from new. 3 days out of warranty, he learned why JLR have the reputation for electrics they do. Battery pack was/still is fine right enough

[BobToc]

TheDeuce said:

BobToc said:

TheDeuce said:

BobToc said:

Are they really that cheap? I’m eyeing up a 2021 or 2022 Polestar 2 LR and they’re not quite the bargain basement I was hoping for with all of the current noise in the press about the collapsing used market.

All the press ever do is make noise - often baseless noise.

They insinuate that the EV market has 'crashed', Asif nobody wants used EV's. Nonsense, prices for new to old have taken a hit because they were overpriced and in short supply - that's noonger the case.

As for the polestar.. why would you hope to find a 1-2 year old car at bargain basement prices?

The aforementioned noise. I mentioned it in my admittedly lengthy post.

If whatever you read in the papers was enough to make you expect to find a nearly new car for sale at 'bargain basement' prices, I would suggest reading better papers. Or no papers.

I think you might be taking the phrase “bargain basement” a little too literally. But it’s an internet forum, so that’s to be expected.

[off_again]

I bought a second hand i3, but wasnt too worried. I did my research and trawled through the forums to see what the major problems were (with a pinch of salt of course). Personally, I dont see an issue in getting a used EV that is within the manufacturers warranty period. Most offer extra long drivetrain and battery warranties that should cover the average buyer - BMW for example does an 8 year / 100,000 mile warranty period. Then, if reasonable, a CPO program typically offers additional coverage on top.

Would I buy an EV out of the warranty period? Yes and no. Depends on the serviceability of the battery pack. Here in California there are a number of businesses now that will repair and recondition Tesla battery packs, so buying one out of warranty is still a risk, but at least I know there are reasonable repair options. Would I have bought my i3 out of the BMW warranty? Probably not

But its like anything really - consider the cost, manage the expectation and cover the risk. An out of warranty EV is likely very cheap, so put some money aside to cover expensive stuff. Buying brand new is the least risk, but obviously comes at a cost.

[TheDeuce]

emicen said:

TheDeuce said:

emicen said:

Are they good value or are they just heavily depreciated?

Feels like the drag on their residual values is reflective of what people are really willing to pay for them when they can’t swindle a tax rebate on a new one.

Battery lifespan concerns have largely been shown to be unfounded.

I do think the various tax incentives have had the effect of pushing new EV prices up to a quite unrealistic level! At least they did until the Chinese started selling so many EV's, which has ensured a number of western manufacturers have now reduced their prices..

I do think it's a great time for used buyers though, and there is genuine good value out there. Back to my old EV, a 400hp top spec luxury SUV, 3 years old and costs just a few pence per mile to actually run... For ~£25k...that's a pretty good deal I think.

With that description and price point, it feels like you’re talking about an iPace?

My mate owned one of them from new. 3 days out of warranty, he learned why JLR have the reputation for electrics they do. Battery pack was/still is fine right enough

Indeed, it was an iPace. And I have said on so many used iPace threads that they're a great car, great bargain now too... But keep it covered by either an extended manufacturer or gold standard level aftermarket warranty. It might be a £25k car as a used bargain.. But when it breaks it will still have £80k car
repair bills..

Ironically the battery pack contributes to some of the biggest repair bills, but not because the batteries don't last - they last great. Unfortunately a fair few initially simple sounding faults require the battery pack to be removed to fix the fault - which is apparently something of a surgical procedure as it's sealed into the base of the car, it's structural to the car in fact.

Great used cars no doubt, but it's worth the cost of a comprehensive warranty - typically around £600-700 pa from my brief shop around when I considered keeping the car.

[Basil Brush]

BobToc said:

Are they really that cheap? I’m eyeing up a 2021 or 2022 Polestar 2 LR and they’re not quite the bargain basement I was hoping for with all of the current noise in the press about the collapsing used market.

Asking prices have dropped about 10k in the last 6 months or so.

[Bailey.]

TheDeuce said:

As often, there's multiple factors at play. The biggest is probably that new EV's aren't actually that expensive anymore - which naturally reduces the value of existing used cars on the market.

By 'not that expensive' I'm referring to the actual deals on lease/purchase drivers of new EV's are shaking on, not the artificially high RRP in some cases.

Another factor is that used EV's had to drop a good way to find much appeal to drivers of used cars. My old EV was 80k new, but can probably be bought for 25k now. That's still a lot of money for a used car shopper though and probably the minimum it needed to lose value by in order for many people to be able to afford it.

Battery life and degredation, despite being easily the most predicted factor that would slash the prices of used EV's, has actually proven to be the opposite - drivers of older cars are finding the EV sweeps past the average age an ICE car is retired at and, in most cases, the car/battery/motor(s), are just fine.

What EV specifically are you considering?

Taycan turbo.

I thought I’d buy a EV if and when I had to, but they’re better value than anything else by a mile at the moment. I’m shocked by the drop.

Are any EV’s old enough to prove they last longer than ice cars? Ice car will last 20 years properly maintained. Older cars anyway.

[TheDeuce]

Bailey. said:

TheDeuce said:

As often, there's multiple factors at play. The biggest is probably that new EV's aren't actually that expensive anymore - which naturally reduces the value of existing used cars on the market.

By 'not that expensive' I'm referring to the actual deals on lease/purchase drivers of new EV's are shaking on, not the artificially high RRP in some cases.

Another factor is that used EV's had to drop a good way to find much appeal to drivers of used cars. My old EV was 80k new, but can probably be bought for 25k now. That's still a lot of money for a used car shopper though and probably the minimum it needed to lose value by in order for many people to be able to afford it.

Battery life and degredation, despite being easily the most predicted factor that would slash the prices of used EV's, has actually proven to be the opposite - drivers of older cars are finding the EV sweeps past the average age an ICE car is retired at and, in most cases, the car/battery/motor(s), are just fine.

What EV specifically are you considering?

Taycan turbo.

I thought I’d buy a EV if and when I had to, but they’re better value than anything else by a mile at the moment. I’m shocked by the drop.

Are any EV’s old enough to prove they last longer than ice cars? Ice car will last 20 years properly maintained. Older cars anyway.

The oldest Tesla's are about 11 years now, still going strong and some have done stupid mileages on the original battery. A new battery is about £10k, and dropping all the time. Those cars will easily be running around at 20 years+ in some cases, there just isn't much to fail that's significant enough to kill the car. Of course most will be crashed/scrapped before then for various reasons, as is the case with ICE cars.

In my honest opinion, the Taycan is quite simply a bargain right now, as is the iPace if you want something also amazing to drive but a better all rounder. The reasons are because they were overpriced to start with and now the entire market is under pressure from far cheaper, very competent brand new EV's. Don't fight it, you're in a very strong position as a buyer of a used EV right now.

Also, my honest expectation, is that in general EV's will prove longer lasting than ICE cars. I think they will prove in most cases to age better and cost less in terms of cumulative repairs and maintenance over a very long life.

[BobToc]

Basil Brush said:

BobToc said:

Are they really that cheap? I’m eyeing up a 2021 or 2022 Polestar 2 LR and they’re not quite the bargain basement I was hoping for with all of the current noise in the press about the collapsing used market.

Asking prices have dropped about 10k in the last 6 months or so.

Well that makes me feel a lot better about it - cheers!

[cidered77]

TheDeuce said:

Bailey. said:

TheDeuce said:

As often, there's multiple factors at play. The biggest is probably that new EV's aren't actually that expensive anymore - which naturally reduces the value of existing used cars on the market.

By 'not that expensive' I'm referring to the actual deals on lease/purchase drivers of new EV's are shaking on, not the artificially high RRP in some cases.

Another factor is that used EV's had to drop a good way to find much appeal to drivers of used cars. My old EV was 80k new, but can probably be bought for 25k now. That's still a lot of money for a used car shopper though and probably the minimum it needed to lose value by in order for many people to be able to afford it.

Battery life and degredation, despite being easily the most predicted factor that would slash the prices of used EV's, has actually proven to be the opposite - drivers of older cars are finding the EV sweeps past the average age an ICE car is retired at and, in most cases, the car/battery/motor(s), are just fine.

What EV specifically are you considering?

Taycan turbo.

I thought I’d buy a EV if and when I had to, but they’re better value than anything else by a mile at the moment. I’m shocked by the drop.

Are any EV’s old enough to prove they last longer than ice cars? Ice car will last 20 years properly maintained. Older cars anyway.

The oldest Tesla's are about 11 years now, still going strong and some have done stupid mileages on the original battery. A new battery is about £10k, and dropping all the time. Those cars will easily be running around at 20 years+ in some cases, there just isn't much to fail that's significant enough to kill the car. Of course most will be crashed/scrapped before then for various reasons, as is the case with ICE cars.

In my honest opinion, the Taycan is quite simply a bargain right now, as is the iPace if you want something also amazing to drive but a better all rounder. The reasons are because they were overpriced to start with and now the entire market is under pressure from far cheaper, very competent brand new EV's. Don't fight it, you're in a very strong position as a buyer of a used EV right now.

Also, my honest expectation, is that in general EV's will prove longer lasting than ICE cars. I think they will prove in most cases to age better and cost less in terms of cumulative repairs and maintenance over a very long life.

Struggling to see why EVs wont on average outlast ICE cars once engineering has all stablised.

ICE cars have thousands of mechanical parts, many bashing against each other, working in some cases at incredible precision and tolerances. Pumps, pulleys, valves, gears, pistons, cams, cranks, pistons, sensors, more sensors, pipes, some more sensors, few more pumps, loads and loads and loads of ECUs, etc.

EV has a big servo, and battery. And some ECUs, granted.

Can see a sidetrade in battery swaps where all the MOT stations used to be if you fast forward 10-15 years, for the more desireable/useful EVs anyway. Otherwise, they just slowly die off - like ICEs do, but having most likely covered more miles over more years....

[ChocolateFrog]

They're finding their true value after the incentives that got the new buyer into them have been factored in.

I think the only other major worry is the pace of development and no one wants to be left holding a Nokia.