With millions of electric vehicles on the road, it’s a sure fact that thousands will be on the used car market at this time. As a relatively new technology, there isn’t a lot of grassroots knowledge about how electric cars with the latest technologies work. People who are looking to buy a used electric car need to be aware of a few things when considering a used EV.
There are two major types of electric vehicles, the first being the pure electric vehicle and the other type the hybrids. The pure electric, as its name implies, is “refuelled” from a charging station or overnight from a household receptacle. When you consider buying a used electric car, take into account your driving range, as this will have a bearing on the type of EV you should buy. If you will be driving short trips on relatively flat routes, then an all-electric vehicle will be good enough for you. With an electric vehicle, once your battery’s juice runs out, you’re stranded at the side of the road. It may be more realistic to target a 60-70 mile range between charges to ensure that you can get yourself home, instead of the 100 miles manufacturers usually claim.
Which brings up the case for hybrid electric cars. Hybrid EVs have a small conventional engine installed together with an electric motor coupled to a transmission. But even with a gas engine, consumption figures are at least half of what you would get with a gasoline commuter car. In the case of the batteries, industry practice is to warrant the traction battery for only 100,000 miles or 150,000 in Toyota’s case. So, if you buy a used electric car that has done, say, 50,000 miles, you can realistically expect only half of the original battery life left on your used EV.
When inspecting a used EV, do a test drive on a full charge and see how much the battery discharges with your normal driving style. Prices quoted nowadays for replacement battery packs are in the $5,000 range, although some wild estimates claim twice that amount. CVT-type transmissions are a fairly well-known technology, but Toyota’s Hybrid Drive needs specialist knowledge to be serviced and cost more than $10,000 to replace. But Toyota and other Japanese manufacturers have proven to the public that they produce reliable vehicles, so their electric vehicles should follow the norm. Electronics are also extremely reliable nowadays so that isn’t much cause for concern when buying a used electric vehicle. After those EV-specific checks, the rest of the car is as we know them to be for the past decades, and inspecting for faults and issues will be no different from checking a conventional fossil-fueled car.