Guide to buying a used EV – caveat emptor

There’s no question that buying a car is often one of the most stressful life-experiences you can have.

Whether it’s new or used, a car is often the second most expensive purchase that we make in our lives after our home and as a result there’s a lot riding on the decision. Even if you buy a car as pure transport and nothing else and have no interest in what it is or how it does it (and there’s nothing wrong with that), then it can still be a weighty emotional desision as well as a financial one.

Buying a used EV takes that a step further. As well as all the standard, generic used car buying advice, you also have the battery to consider. So what should you be looking out for when buying a used EV and is the old adage of caveat emptor, buyer beware, more or less relevant when buying a used EV.

Remember the basics

Leaving aside for a moment the fact that the car is an EV, there’s a number of basics to remember when buying a used car. If you’re buying from a dealer, whether a franchise or an independent, then you’ll have more back up with warranties and the like than if you’re buying privately or at an auction.

Buying a car at an auction is not for the faint-hearted, but it can be a great way to pick up a bargain if you know what you’re doing. By comparison, the good news is that despite their reputation, modern dealers are far better than their Arthur Daley-like caricatures from days gone by (if you’re under 40, look him up), but that doesn’t mean you should let your guard down.

As ever when buying a used car, you should still check all of the basics. What’s the condition of the car, inside and out, the state of the seats (especially the rear ones if it’s a family car, the driver’s seat if it’s done a lot of miles), service history, are there any scratches or any other damage that hasn’t already been mentioned?

Make sure you check the tyres and other basics like the tyre inflation kit (or spare if it has one) and that it has the charging leads. Also are things like the lights working ok? It sounds trivial, but some of the latest LED headlights can be expensive to replace, so don’t dismiss it. Don’t be afraid to take your time either. Check the mileage against any old MoT certificates and do an HPI check if you need to.

Check the service history and ensure it’s been regularly looked after. If it’s out of warranty, then it doesn’t matter as much that it’s been serviced outside of a franchised dealer if a specialist has looked after it.

All of this of course is before you even get out on the road and take it for a test drive…

Test drive

Driving an unfamiliar car can feel daunting at first, but it’s really nothing to be too worried about.

Check things like the infotainment system, Apple Carplay/ Android Auto, heater and air conditioning are all working ok. If it has any extra functionality like heated or cooled seats or a heated steering wheel, then make sure you check they’re working as they should. Some of these you may not be bothered about and may be easy fixes, but they’ll all help you to negotiate the price down if need be.

On the road, check there’s nothing unusual about the way it drives or any odd noises such as clonking or creaking suspension. Make sure the brake regeneration is working as you’d expect and that you take the car on a variety of roads and at a variety of speeds.

As the car will be entirely new to you, it will be hard to take everything in, but you’ll soon get a feel if a car isn’t quite right or it feels out of sorts.

Do your homework

No, we don’t want to send you back to school, but it pays to be prepared. If you’re after a particular used EV, then make sure you read up on it as much as you can online. Inevitably, after two or three years, weaknesses start to emerge and will be talked about online in forums or elsewhere.

Find out what goes wrong and when and if they’ve been addressed on the particular car you’re looking at. If not, then walk away or use that knowledge to drive a discount. Is the car subject to any official recalls and if so, again, have they already been done? It will all help you to build a picture of the car in front of you and as we said before, whether it has been loved or not.

The ‘one careful lady owner’ is a common joke when it comes to a used car adverts, but it’s not without reason. Every element of the car, from the things you can see to the way it drives, will give an impression if a car has been looked after. The good news is that there’s less to go wrong mechanically with an EV than a traditional petrol or diesel car, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still be on alert. Of course the same applies for plug-in hybrids, where you’ll have both the engine and the battery to check.

Also, don’t forget if your car would have been over £40,000 when new, then it will have the luxury car tax supplement for the first five years of its life. With used cars no longer sold with a valid tax disc (you have to buy one) that will be an immediately initial cost you’ll have to cover.

Warranty

If you’re buying a car at a dealership, then you’ll already have some level of warranty as back up if everything goes wrong. But don’t worry if not, as you may not be entirely alone.

With some new cars having five, or even seven, year warranties, they you may still have back up. Check with the manufacturer beforehand that the warranty is transferable between owners and also what is and isn’t covered. It may not be much but at least it’s some peace of mind.

Battery check

If possible, ask for the car to be fully charged before your test drive, so that you can see what the maximum range is. It’s highly unlikely to match the official claimed figure, but as long as you’re somewhere close.

This is particularly true on those models available with two different battery sizes – you want to ensure that you’re buying the right model that was advertised. We’ve known before of sellers passing off cars as their larger batteried-equivalents before now.

Many EVs have functionality either via the dashboard or infotainment systems that means you can easily check the state of health of the battery itself. This varies from car to car, so check how you can do it with your particular model – you can often find tutorials how to do so online. This, along with its range when charged, should give you a good impression of the state of the battery and the car.

If the car has a leased battery, such as an early Renault Zoe, then find out what the monthly payments are and, if you want to, if there’s an option to buy the car outright.

Don’t forget too that most new EVs come with battery warranties far longer than the warranty of the car itself, so there’s some additional protection there too.

Trust yourself

This is a tough one, because it’s all about gut feel.

As we said earlier, it’s relatively easy to work out whether a car has been loved or not. If there are any questions left unanswered or the buyer’s answers feel a bit cagey rather than completely honest, then the simple answer is to walk away. There will always be another car on another day.

The same goes for the car’s price too. Yes, you might be able to pick up the odd bargain, but if something feels too good to be true, then it probably is. This is where the fact that this is an EV is almost irrelevant, because you should still do the same checks as for any other car. You can always come back and view the car again on a different day, there’s nobody forcing you to do buy that particular car at that particular moment. Just trust your instincts and you shouldn’t go too far wrong.