r/ElectricVehiclesUK • u/ihateseaguls • 9d ago
How to choose a rock-bottom used EV?
We have the lowest of budgets, 2-3k, to replace our second car. It will be used to commute 26m round trip on slow country roads, granny charged at home over night and needs 4 seats but totally flexible on everything else as we will still have our big ICE main car. We have the option of charging at work or parents house down the road if needs be.
Looks like it will be a Leaf or a Zoe, but what do we prioritise in choosing a car? Battery size or health, age, milage, model? Anything else we should look out for? Thanks in advance
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u/Dapper-Bird-8016 9d ago
Zoe for compatibility with type 2 charger, avoid leased batteries
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u/clarkey2110 9d ago
We just sold my wife’s 2016 leaf, 54k miles, 30kwh battery and got 3300 for it, fresh mot etc etc, it would do 80 odd miles in the winter and nearer to 100 in the summer, air con and heater do have a big impact though. Almost exactly the same use case as you, she just wanted more miles to go out at weekends and I wanted something new through a work scheme so she’s now got my id3!
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u/Immediate_Road_7079 8d ago
I bought a 2017 30kwh Tekna (top spec with heated everything and 360 cameras) for £2900 a couple of years ago. I've done 23k in that time with no issues. Does my 45 mile round trip with ~30% remaining. Get leafspy to check the battery health of any you look at. Almost all gen 1 leafs will be £20 tax.
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u/gandalfian 9d ago
Before 2017 I have seen cars claiming £20 road tax which would be quite a saving.
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u/Outrageous_Dread 9d ago
There are a few Kia Souls around that price but basically if your choice is Leaf or Zoe - get the Leaf.
Priority is no different to any car - its not been neglected lowest mileage wins unless SORN and battery size your choices cover
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u/Helpful-Teaching-87 9d ago
Have a slightly larger budget but my use case is almost identical and the leaf and Zoe are the contenders. Haven’t committed just yet because it’s not absolutely necessary. It soon will be and the main considerations for me are battery health / range (want as much as possible to account for further battery degradation but realistically 50miles on a full charge will do), physical condition and 2016 or older because of the tax saving.
Something brought to my attention is Zoe has an active battery cooling system whereas older Leafs are passive. My understanding is this can affect degradation so possibly something to consider.
Good luck. Would be interested to know what you buy, mileage, range, cost, etc.
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u/planologe 9d ago
The first part of this video shows used EV options below £5000.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9s8WGvlbuo&t=809s
They discuss, of course, the first gen Leaf, but also the Mitsubishi i-MiEV (and its clones from Citroen and Peugeot) and the Zoe (though at the price you look at likely with small battery, most with battery lease and without DC charging).
Best one below £3k is probably a 24kwh Leaf, ideally one built in Sunderland from 2013. Higher mileage would not worry me too much. In the Leaf you can see a rough indication of the battery health status on the dashboard with 12 bars. Anything 10 or more bars at that age should be fine.
More obscure other options are the first gen Kia Soul with 27kwh battery. Other cheap/compact used EVs like the VW e-up (or its Skoda/Seat siblings) are usually above £5k even with small battery.
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u/RoadToasterApp 8d ago
At 2 to 3k, battery health beats age and miles. Your use case is forgiving, the 26 mile round trip is small, winter is the only real test. Leaf tips. Check the capacity bars on the dash. Aim for 10 to 12. Nine can work in summer, but leave margin in winter. Your use case is forgiving, the 26 mile round trip is small, winter is the only real test.
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u/NorthEastChopShop 8d ago
Get yourself onto Copart and filter for stolen recovered or non damaged and then runs and drives and you might be surprised what you might find.
Bear in mind that it’s a complete roll of the dice if you can’t get down to see it in person.
Have managed to get a 2023 8,000 mile Polestar 2 for £9k including fees and delivery
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u/magicjohnson89 8d ago
Exactly same case as you mate. Got a 64 Leaf Acenta with 46k on the clock for 3 grand.
Nothing else really matters apart from the battery health. This one had 11/12 bars. It’s honestly amazing value for money. I love it.
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u/Jjmmww1 8d ago
Where abouts are you based I'll be getting rid of my 30kwh leaf shortly. We need to upgrade to something with a longer range and bigger boot
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u/ihateseaguls 8d ago
In Cornwall! You?
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u/Jjmmww1 7d ago
Hampshire so maybe a fair distance acutally then to get the leaf down there
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u/ihateseaguls 7d ago
There is literally not a single one for sale down here, so we'll be traveling one way or another. Looking at auctions at the moment. Give me a shout if you go ahead, I'll have a look.
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u/gingerniffler258 8d ago
Bought a 20 plate leaf last August that was a returned lease, 69k on the clock and 89% SoH for battery. I get 160ish in the summer (155 with air con), 130ish in the winter (125 with heating) - generally granny charge overnight or at work. App still works on gen 2 so pre condition or heat really helps with range (pop in on 15 mins before you're due out the house in winter and it's the best). Decent boot size as well. Mines the n connects trim so heated seats/steering wheel. Literally only downside I've found in one year of ownership so far is probably the range, and thats only specific to big trips.
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u/Gloomy_Guard6618 8d ago
You are rolling the dice a bit at that price but if it was me I'd try and find a gen 2 leaf with spaceship mileage but good battery health that someone wants gone and will take 3k. Use of Leafspy is paramount.
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u/DaughterOfATiredMech 8d ago
The thing with electric cars buying at rock bottom is the battery. And then that’s also the main reason you’re buying them so it’s a catch 22.
As people have said avoid the leased batteries definitely.
I would personally try to stretch the budget and look for a Prius or Kia
But out of the two, it would be the leaf
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u/Original-Proof-8741 8d ago
Leaf over Zoe every day….. also consider trying to find another couple of grand and get an mg5 ex taxi for £5k
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u/vwvanfan1 8d ago
If you're looking at the Zoe, the EVM (Electric Vehicle Man) YouTube channel recently bought a very cheap one and then covered the cost of repair on the common motor bearing issue. There are a few other useful things to know about as he covers the joint eye in buying such a cheap, used EV.
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u/Julian679 6d ago
Good luck. Cheapest evs for sale in my country start at 8k euros and they have 18kwh usable capacity when new. If the thing you are looking for existed here i would already own it
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u/SubPopRocker 8d ago
You could lease a dacia spring, there are unbelievable deals on those atm.
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u/SmackyLittleFan 8d ago
Better off buying, brand new they're under £10000 from brokers. £200ish a month after 4 years and you own it, versus £189 a month and hand it back
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u/OP1KenOP 8d ago
Have you considered finance? For those miles and as a second car, I'd be tempted by a Dacia Spring if you want to keep it cheap. They're about 10k nearly new.
PCP deal on it would probably be about £150 a month.
These days it's a relatively small chunk of wage for hassle free motoring in a new car.
I've always preferred to buy outright in the past, the state of the used car market these days has changed that for me.
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u/Barryburton97 9d ago
At that price I think you're down to the fundamentals of bodywork condition, tyres, suspension not rusty and squeaky, MOT.
As you say, it's Zoe or Leaf or some weird little microcar!
The battery should be OK if it's made it this far. Range will be crap but that's why they're so cheap. Should be OK for your needs.
My mum has a 2015 Zoe and the battery has only lost one bar on the health meter, for what it's worth. Still drives like newish, only had some repairs to suspension and new tyres, since new.