Buy low, cell high: what to look out for when buying a used EV

There’s no reason why checking battery life on your EV shouldn’t be just as simple as checking the battery life on your phone. But, frustratingly, it’s not. And it’s understandable why that makes people edgy about buying a used EV.

The thing to remember is that EV battery longevity is very good these days, and as a rough guide you should expect one (regardless of whether it uses nickel-manganese-cobalt or lithium-iron-phosphate chemistry) to lose roughly 1.6% to 2.0% of capacity each year.

You can buy OBD-port readers that you can plug into an EV in order to get a read on its battery health, but even that can be a bit inaccurate, as it’s affected by the battery’s temperature at the time you take the reading, whether it has been fully cycled prior to testing and the OBD device’s own vagaries.

It’s still absolutely worth doing if you’re confident enough to take a device along when viewing a car you’re considering, but even better advice is to buy from a reputable dealer who is happy to provide a detailed report on the car’s battery health.

As a rough guide for battery health and range potential, you can of course go by the range readout on the car’s dash. Bear in mind that it will be affected by how the car has been driven previously, and some models are rather optimistic when fully charged (early Stellantis EVs are particularly guilty of this).

Going by the car’s long-term efficiency and calculating range from that tends to give a more realistic average real-world range. Owners’ clubs are also a great place to ask for feedback on a used EV’s realistic range.

If battery health is a concern, then a lower-mileage EV that hasn’t been rapid-charged too frequently is likely to be the best choice, but don’t discount high-mileage cars, because you may be pleasantly surprised by the battery health and real-world range even on a well-used EV.

Indeed, I drove a nine-year-old, 260,000-mile Tesla Model S that still had 84% of its original battery capacity remaining despite a life spent at Superchargers (Autocar, 6 November 2024).

So don’t feel that you have to stick with low-mileage or younger EVs; just look for one that has a realistic range that suits your lifestyle.

Martin Miller of EV Experts, a specialist dealership in Surrey, points out that heating systems are another area worth checking on a used EV: “The air-con and heating systems are 400V, so to put a new air-con pump in an EV can cost £1000. We recently paid £2200 for a heating element on a Jaguar I-Pace. 

It’s one area that can be very expensive.”Suspension wear is something else to look out for, especially on higher-mileage cars: “An EV is still a car, that means that miles do matter. Although not in the same way as an ICE car, where the engine and gearbox are subject to wear each mile, you still need to look for wear in the suspension and braking systems.”

Listen out for clunks and creaks from suspension – especially as EVs are heavier than equivalent ICE cars so can wear suspension parts a touch faster.

Brake pads often last far longer on EVs than on ICE cars, given the presence of regenerative braking systems, but pads should be a routine check on any used car purchase regardless of age, mileage and power source. Ditto the tyres, of course.

In short, the options out there for those buying a used EV are better than ever. Just try to buy from a reputable dealer who knows what they’re talking about and can provide a thorough battery health report.