Used Electric Cars - Advice & Reccomendations

Gurj247

Hi all,


Hoping to tap into others knowledge on this subject as I am currently on a look out for a second hand car for my mum and am considering getting something electric.


for greatest flexibility I would want something that is capable of circa 200mile range, but budget is circa £10k max (assuming I can part ex my current car for £3k)


The car will mainly be used on local roads with occasional motorway trips, probably averaging between 100-150 miles per week.


Does anyone have experience of owning an Electric car within the budget I have or can recommend things to look out for when I am searching for one.


All help greatly appreciated.

MikeWhite

No experience but this forum may prove useful
https://www.speakev.com/

Stageshoot

First... Do you have the ability to charge at home overnight, (Driveway adjacent to the house where a charging wallbox can be fitted). If not then it may not be worth considering just yet, as the public charging infrastructure is still not mature

(And I say that as someone who has lived with an EV as an only car for 3 years)

Price and availability are going to be your stumbling blocks, used prices have gone up a lot especially over the last 12 months. and 200 mile range falls into what you would class as the EXPENSIVE area, you are not going to find that for 10kish being blunt.

If you can live with a cheaply built supermini you can get a 41kwh Renault Zoe, with about 180 miles summer range 150 winter, for about 10k but you will be leasing the battery on top for another £110 a month.

Otherwise you are looking at a lower range Leaf or 22kwh Zoe for about 8k which will do a real world 70-90 miles

A lot depends on how often you do long trips, dont get trapped in the mindset of needing 200 miles range if you only go 200 miles once every couple of weeks, as a rapid charge on route makes that an easy journey, Work around your normal days usage.

Gurj247

Stageshoot wrote: »

First... Do you have the ability to charge at home overnight, (Driveway adjacent to the house where a charging wallbox can be fitted). If not then it may not be worth considering just yet, as the public charging infrastructure is still not mature

(And I say that as someone who has lived with an EV as an only car for 3 years)

Price and availability are going to be your stumbling blocks, used prices have gone up a lot especially over the last 12 months. and 200 mile range falls into what you would class as the EXPENSIVE area, you are not going to find that for 10kish being blunt.

If you can live with a cheaply built supermini you can get a 41kwh Renault Zoe, with about 180 miles summer range 150 winter, for about 10k but you will be leasing the battery on top for another £110 a month.

Otherwise you are looking at a lower range Leaf or 22kwh Zoe for about 8k which will do a real world 70-90 miles

A lot depends on how often you do long trips, dont get trapped in the mindset of needing 200 miles range if you only go 200 miles once every couple of weeks, as a rapid charge on route makes that an easy journey, Work around your normal days usage.

With regard to charging, my driveway is at the side of the house so can place an EV Charging point there no problem (I think as not sure what exactly is involved)


Thanks for the input about price. Had not realised that prices had gone up over the last 12 months. Also didn't realise there would potentially be a monthly Battery Lease cost - can you not buy outright? what is advantage of leasing?


The longer trips would be an exception (and could one of the diesels in the family for those longer trips), but perhaps the longest regular trip being circa 50-60 miles round trip with most typically being 1-5 miles.


What sort of Budget would you recommend would give me the best overall, I don't mind spending a little more if I get better re-sale / range / warranty so to speak.

Stageshoot

The only ones with battery lease now are Renault Zoe and older leafs

Advantage is it brings headline cost down and you have no worries battery fails

But honestly I think outright purchase is best.

Herzlos

You're going to struggle with 200 mile range at that budget; new ones are only just hitting it.


But with 100-150 miles a week usage, do you really need that much, given you have a driveway and can charge it overnight? What's the longest journey you'll need it to do?

HoofeHearted

Have you considered a hybrid car? Petrol + electric engine. Battery is re-charged by the petrol engine along with regenerative braking.

worried_jim

HoofeHearted wrote: »

Have you considered a hybrid car? Petrol + electric engine. Battery is re-charged by the petrol engine along with regenerative braking.

Spoilt for choice with £10k to spend.

Gurj247

Herzlos wrote: »

You're going to struggle with 200 mile range at that budget; new ones are only just hitting it.


But with 100-150 miles a week usage, do you really need that much, given you have a driveway and can charge it overnight? What's the longest journey you'll need it to do?

200 miles was for me, as I could then use for work and claim 45p back per mile, but realistically longest trip would be circa 50-60 miles round trip.

HoofeHearted wrote: »

Have you considered a hybrid car? Petrol + electric engine. Battery is re-charged by the petrol engine along with regenerative braking.

Is something I have looked at briefly, but given above and likely use by my mother I want cheap as possible over the long term, but if I cannot find something that gives me what I want then I will look again at something hybrid.


Any recommended hybrid cars?

almillar

for greatest flexibility I would want something that is capable of circa 200mile range, but budget is circa £10k max (assuming I can part ex my current car for £3k)

What Stageshoot says.
Renault Zoe ZE40 (not 22) will do roughly 180 miles and you should be able to get one for £13k, plus monthly battery rental. You can go cheaper if you put up with a ~100 mile range. Yes you can buy Zoes outright, but they're rare, and there's roughly a £5k-£6k premium. They are known as 'i' models, but advertisers will be clueless, and you'll need to check for yourself whether it actually is an 'i'.
In the 'old days' (2015 backwards!!) people were worried about owning batteries, and that renting one would be better in case it goes wrong. For Zoe, this guarantees you recourse if you go below 75% of original capacity.

Spoilt for choice with £10k to spend.

OP is looking for suggestions if you want to provide?

200 miles was for me, as I could then use for work and claim 45p back per mile, but realistically longest trip would be circa 50-60 miles round trip.

You're being greedy with the range then, and it'll cost you at purchase time. Any chargers (slow or fast) handy to where you visit for work?

Goudy

Probably a little over your budget, but BMW's i3 Rex are dropping in price.
The Rex model has the range extender engine so more of a Hybrid, though the engine doesn't power the car, it just generates electricity to keep you going when you flatten the battery.

Nearly bought one myself last week for £12500, though it was a bit too much just to sate my curiosity.
I'll stick with my Toyota Yaris Hybrid for now.