Battery capacity when new

Early Electric Cars had 24kWh batteries offering a limited range, these were superseded by 30kWh then 40kWh with a longer range at each increase. New cars often have 64kWh with higher ranges, but at a price.

Remaining capacity

  • Be aware that Range figures provided are often the originally quoted ones, not the current situation.
  • What you need is the State of Health (SoH)

Rapid charging capability

  • Although frequent rapid charging can be detrimental to a battery its availability will be highly beneficial for long journeys with minimal stopping time. Charging above 80% should be minimised as it both can be detrimental to the battery and extends charging time considerably.
  • Max Charging rate – Example Nissan Leaf generally 3kW/h, some additionally offer 6.3kW/h. Renault Zoe may be up to 43kW/h depending on the model.

Charging plugs

As the earliest rapid charging technology to catch on in any volume, CHAdeMO helped early electric cars like the Nissan LEAF and Mitsubishi I-Miev tackle long-distance trips. However, it’s now being phased out in favour of CCS.

Servicing costs and frequency

Check the Service history, it’s likely to have cost less than a Petrol car of the same age as there are fewer things to have gone wrong

MoT

An Electric Vehicle requires an annual MoT, just like a Petrol of Diesel vehicle, however with many fewer moving parts it’s not such a big concern.

Reconditioning, Replacing and Upgrading the Battery

The key measure is the State of Health (SoH). Even with a less than optimal SoH there is no need to replace the Battery, as they can be reconditioned. There are also some companies able to upgrade a battery.

Battery leases

Leasing the battery was common at one time in order to reduce the upfront cost of the vehicle. See this explanation for more details The lease on a second-hand vehicle can generally be bought out.