There’s no doubt about it that electric cars are on the up, but rather than forking out for a brand new one, why not save yourself a fortune and bag yourself a second-hand one.
Here’s why a used electric car could be worth it and why it just makes sense to get one.
Cheaper than buying new
Buying a second-hand electric car over a brand new one just makes sense. Think about it, with electric vehicles becoming more and more popular over the years, the cost of a new one could set you back by at least £17,000 or more.
The initial purchase price of an electric car these days is just next level, and it’s more than likely only going to get worse. With more cars on order than manufacturers can deliver, the prices are only going to increase. So making that transition now and switching to a second-hand electric vehicle might be a sensible choice.
Bye-bye fuel costs
You’ve seen the cost of petrol lately, yes, it’s a nightmare and with the price of petrol and diesel increasing all the time and the cost of living progressively getting worse now might be time to go electric.
Let’s face it, one day we’re all probably going to have electric vehicles anyway as the government tries to get us to reduce our carbon footprint, so why not get ahead of the game now and move to a second-hand electric vehicle? It might be a bold move for you at first, but in the long term, it could be an investment for you.
Eyes on the battery
A used electric car is very cheap to run. With fewer moving parts, which means no changing that timing belt or having to replace exhausts and all that jazz, you’ll be able to avoid some of those big bills your face with fuel cars.
Electric cars tend to be easy on their batteries, which means they require very little maintenance, and who doesn’t want that? Maintaining any car can require a lot of effort and become so draining after a while, so having a used electric car that doesn’t need much is like a dream come true.
Thanks to the little amount of maintenance they need, they tend to have lower depreciation rates too than your standard fuel cars, bonus!
It’s not all fun and games though when it comes to buying a second-hand electric car, there are some things you need to be a bit wary of.
Range or no range
Before you dive in head first for that second-hand electric car, what’s the range like? New electric cars are classified based on their range and what they can deliver. Are they short range or long range, that is the question?
If you’re looking at a short range then we’re talking around 90 miles at full charge, which is pretty decent. For long-range then you could be looking at anything from 100-300 miles and if you’re lucky enough to be thinking about bagging yourself a Tesla, then you could be looking at around 370. when full.
The battery is not as good as you think it is
Damage to the battery on an electric vehicle, it’s a no-go. If you’re considering buying a second-hand electric car and you can see damage on it, it’s probably not going to be worth it. The price of replacing one of these isn’t even worth it half the time because of how expensive they are.
It’s a tough one though because you won’t be able to see the battery from just looking at an electric car, so unless you get down to it and check it out, you could be making a bad investment. The battery is the biggest part of an electric car so making sure it’s in good nick is a biggie!
What’s the warranty saying
Now then, if you’re going to be buying a second-hand electric car from the garage, you want to make sure that it’s made crystal clear whether or not the battery is going to be covered by warranty. If it is under warranty, you’ll want to be writing down how much time is left on it.
You can guarantee that almost all new electric cars come with a warranty on them and then a separate one on top of that for their battery. Generally, a battery warrant covers you for around 100,000 miles after purchase or for about eight years, whichever comes first. For a second-hand purchase though, this might not apply so always best to double check, better to be safe than sorry.
Where can you buy a used electric vehicle?
Let’s go shopping! Who doesn’t love a bit of retail therapy, especially car shopping retail therapy? The good thing is that there is no shortage of used electric cars out there, there’s plenty for you to choose from.
The two main places that you could go to find yourself an electric car is to the dealerships or find a private sale.
If you go to the dealerships, you can be certain that the vehicles have been inspected before going up for sale. When you buy from the dealerships, you can relax knowing that you have a warranty too, a used car warranty, but still a warranty.
You could also choose to buy through a private sale if you wanted to. This way you could search for a used electric car, either online through eBay or Autotrader, and just buy a used electric car from someone selling there. With plenty of choices available on sites like these, you never know, you could bag yourself a right bargain.
