Buying an electric car as a banger?
Discussion
At some point-potentially quite soon- we will be buying second hand EV's and hybrids, and not long after that buying them as bangers. WE are all so used to what to look for with ICE cars , but what about EV's? how will we know how the battery has been treated, if it is leased or owned? how long before electric engine needs rebuilding? etc etc. If I buy a sub bag of sand EV. how will in know what to look for?
Battery condition can be easily tested. AFAIK battery coolant is like coolant in regular cars (long service life). Things like suspension and general condition will have the same things to look for. If anything, less moving parts should mean it is less likely that a buyer would end up with a lemon.
I reckon anything with a decent working battery in it will hold value. I doubt you'll ever be able to pick up a sub £1k electric vehicle if it comes with a good battery.
You can get cheapish EV's already, but they come with a battery lease which means you're paying at least £70 per month for the battery. For me that defeats the point of a cheap EV, as I don't even spend £70 per month on petrol.
You can get cheapish EV's already, but they come with a battery lease which means you're paying at least £70 per month for the battery. For me that defeats the point of a cheap EV, as I don't even spend £70 per month on petrol.
Mike335i said:
I guess the only problem mechanically that would cause real headaches are the batteries as they will degrade.
The motors themselves have very few moving parts so should last a lot longer than combustion engines. The lack of gearboxes also help here.
Quite right on the motor issue - presumably (unless they are sealed in some way) it will also be pretty easy to get them repaired when they do give problems - lots of places around that do rewinds, etc.The motors themselves have very few moving parts so should last a lot longer than combustion engines. The lack of gearboxes also help here.
Battery will be massively important, won't it? They're not all leased - I think with the Leaf you own the battery.
Much less to go wrong with the motor and the state of the battery is clear to see. You can already replace cells on the batteries and the second life market is evolving. As the battery degrades you lose range not reliability. A much better used proposition than ICE.
No cambelts, fuel injectors, duel mass flywheels, catalytic converters etc, etc.
No cambelts, fuel injectors, duel mass flywheels, catalytic converters etc, etc.
ex1 said:
Much less to go wrong with the motor and the state of the battery is clear to see. You can already replace cells on the batteries and the second life market is evolving. As the battery degrades you lose range not reliability. A much better used proposition than ICE.
No cambelts, fuel injectors, duel mass flywheels, catalytic converters etc, etc.
I appreciate you loose range not reliability in the obvious sense, but if you rely on a vehicle to do a job and it can no longer manage that job, then it could be an expensive issue. No cambelts, fuel injectors, duel mass flywheels, catalytic converters etc, etc.
If battery tech improves sufficiently to make them last longer and produced cheaper then great, electric cars will be viable banger. Or, if they are proven to last much longer than ice, will they perhaps never actually be sheds? If they have a million mile lifespan, why would anyone sell one until they near that mark?
Mike335i said:
ex1 said:
Much less to go wrong with the motor and the state of the battery is clear to see. You can already replace cells on the batteries and the second life market is evolving. As the battery degrades you lose range not reliability. A much better used proposition than ICE.
No cambelts, fuel injectors, duel mass flywheels, catalytic converters etc, etc.
I appreciate you loose range not reliability in the obvious sense, but if you rely on a vehicle to do a job and it can no longer manage that job, then it could be an expensive issue. No cambelts, fuel injectors, duel mass flywheels, catalytic converters etc, etc.
If battery tech improves sufficiently to make them last longer and produced cheaper then great, electric cars will be viable banger. Or, if they are proven to last much longer than ice, will they perhaps never actually be sheds? If they have a million mile lifespan, why would anyone sell one until they near that mark?
There is already a guy in Worcester that will replace cells taking a 70% battery back to 100% for around £1800.
steve-5snwi said:
Doesn't the battery lease mean that should they fail then they are replaced foc ? So surely that's a good thing ?
It does. However when the whole point of an EV is to cut your regular monthly expenses - paying a sum each month for battery lease (depending on how many miles you do and how much the lease is) kind of defeats the object. You're just swapping one monthly bill for another that you would avoid by owning the car+battery outright.LandRoverManiac said:
It does. However when the whole point of an EV is to cut your regular monthly expenses - paying a sum each month for battery lease (depending on how many miles you do and how much the lease is) kind of defeats the object. You're just swapping one monthly bill for another that you would avoid by owning the car+battery outright.
True, but lets say you spend 5k on a Zoe, it has nav, you can heat the cabin in the cold, you can have a guaranteed parking space in certain areas. Fuel and battery lease shouldn't set you back more than £75 a month which i guess is still cheaper than running a Fiesta Ecoboost and the fiesta will be older and less well equippedDonbot said:
Battery condition can be easily tested. AFAIK battery coolant is like coolant in regular cars (long service life). Things like suspension and general condition will have the same things to look for. If anything, less moving parts should mean it is less likely that a buyer would end up with a lemon.
So how are you easily testing battery consitionnon EV's?Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff