Used electric car prices are coming down and looking increasingly attractive

There was a lot of noise recently about used electric cars reaching price parity with their petrol equivalents, which is an important step on the road to more widespread adoption of EVs. 

The more people drive an electric car, the more the fear of the unknown is removed. And most EV drivers I’ve met are advocates for the tech and counter the scaremongering with solid personal experience. 

Supply was always going to outstrip demand when lots of electric cars came off three or four-year company-car leases and onto the used market – which is what has happened. That’s driven down prices as EVs find their natural level, but there’s a chance that the decline may have bottomed out. And as word spreads and more used-car buyers decide to take the plunge, the slump should come to a halt. Especially as the ratio of supply and demand levels off. 

These all-electric cars are a better used buy than some of the scare stories would have you believe. Although there have been reliability issues reported with certain models, having fewer moving parts than combustion-engined cars means there’s less to go wrong in an EV as the miles pile on. Plus, most batteries come with an eight-year warranty pledging to retain at least 70 per cent of the original capacity. So a four-year-old electric car should certainly be in better shape than a two-year-old iPhone.

But it’s only worth buying if it fits with your lifestyle. For example, you can forget it (for now) if you can’t charge at home, or if you regularly tow heavy loads. Those who make frequent long trips or aren’t willing to try new things should probably give EVs a wide berth, too. After all, driving something without an engine requires a different and more patient mindset, plus you have to accept that pootling along at between 50 to 60mph is the best way to maximise battery life on longer runs. And that’s before you consider where or when to charge. I will add, at this point, that there have been very few times when I’ve been ready to crack on before the car – a 20 to 30-minute stop is enough for most EVs to hit 80 per cent capacity, which is 200-plus miles in some.

There are plenty of very good, fairly low-mileage and not very old electric cars at some pretty enticing prices on the used market right now. So maybe there’s no time like the present to think about whether an EV could plug into your life. 

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