Featured Used electric cars sell quickly even as new sales remain flat

Actually many of the first "owners" were financial institutions as many were leased. That also leads to an artificial supply bump as many of the lessee's wanted to keep the car at the end of the lease but the residual was too high so they just went and got another one.

 

i think they've also been bit by the technology bug. it's changing so rapidly, everyone's waiting for the latest and greatest, and old tech is near worthless.

when i see these prices on leafs, volts and pips, it makes me want to buy one and wait for gas prices to rise. tesla is a different story though, no deals there.

 

Having bought a 'used' 2014 BMW i3-REx, loaded, for $29.9k, I can relate. The initial lease options paid the new car depreciation. The residual value, my purchase price, was between the initial, $33k, and the last offer, $28.5k, from the local Toyota dealer for a Level 3 with TSS-P. Toyota corporate, SE Region, and Huntsville dealer sold the 2014 BMW i3-REx in my driveway.

My BMW was built in December 2014 and leased in Charlottesville, VA. It has the manufacturer warranty to 2019, four years 50,000 miles. I bought it with 6,440 miles and it already has 8,700 miles even after just under three business weeks in the shop to catch up on recalls (i.e., 'campaigns') and my accidental cracking the windshield ($1,800.)

Used, pure EVs, especially the Leaf, are in fire-sale mode, $10-15k. If you ever had a question about an EV, a used one today is an affordable, experiment. My EV experiment is in progress.

Bob Wilson

 

A BEV doesn't work for me. I have a 54 mile round trip commute and only a Tesla could be trusted
to make that round trip without a top off charge in the dead of winter in Michigan. We only have one plug in station at my
work for 400 people. I can't take the chance I wouldn't be able to charge on a particular day.

I've seen a few attractively priced plug in hybrids that could handle the commute but most don't have any significant
advantages over a plain vanilla hybrid IMHO. Short electric range works for people who drive
short distances mainly which again rules me out.

Besides that, battery life is a big question mark. Gen 1 and Gen 2 Prius owners know this all too well.

So, yes the price of used BEVs and plug in hybrids are attractive right now but as has been pointed
out - longer range BEVs are just around the corner so best for people like me to wait.

 

it makes sense and it doesn't. they are selling well because they are so cheap. and yet, if demand is that high, shouldn't the prices be going up?

i would buy one just for funsies, but a thousand bucks a year to keep it on the road takes all the fun out.

 

The 107 mile rated range Leaf (30 kWh battery) would make the 54 mile round trip in winter considering diminished EV range in the cold and with heater on. But these new higher battery range trim levels have not been out long enough to find many on the used car market.

You could always lease a new one (lease deals on Leafs are really good) then trade up to a 200+ mile BEV in 3 years when they are readily available, especially the base trim models.

 

What do you know about winter, California? Have you lived through one in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, or the Great Plains states? Try getting stranded two or more miles from home when temps are 10 degrees below zero and then tell me how great it would be to own a BEV.

 

Fair question, but yes. Haven’t lived in California most of my adult life. Grew up here and glad to be back. But I have lived in Missouri, spent many years/winters there, and my prior work has taken me to much colder placed for months.

Been there too.

Here’s a sample what cold weather Leaf drivers have to say:

Looking seriously at a Leaf as a second vehicle but a daily driver with my ICE relegated to long trips. What kind of rande are the owners of the 30kwh Leafs getting? Live in Ottawa and as you know the winters can be brutal. Round trip to working is 68 miles (edit: 110km for those with no calculator)​

100 km round trip with my 2011 can sometimes be iffy. But 2014 and newer, the battery chemistry is far better. 2013 and newer the heat pump saves a lot of energy in the cold weather. A 30 kWh battery in a 2016 would've a piece of cake. Personally , I'll upgrade when I can get 200 miles range!​

 

A !07 mile EV would easily cover a 54 mile commute. This coming from a Minnesotan that has been driving BEVs through the last 6 winters.
That said, if you aren't comfortable with a BEV, by all means don't get one. Just don't try to base it on a 54 mile commute.

 

maybe he meant one way?

 

Yeah, sure, when it's a brand new Leaf. 54 miles? - piece of cake. But they lose some of that range as they get older, yes? I'm not leasing the damn thing, I want to own it for at least six years if I'm paying nine or ten large for a 2013. And at the six year mark of ownership, I want to make that 54 mile round trip in six inches of snow, -10°F, with a steady 25 mph head wind (each way ) and make it back with five miles to spare. Can you promise me that? I don't think so. Can easily do that with an ICE or hybrid - NO MATTER WHAT.

So I wait a little while longer for a used Bolt or Tesla 3 - BEVs suitable for the North.

 

Where is @john1701a when you need him?

I am testing a used BMW i3-REx as a replacement for a well used 2003 Prius. So far, it fully meets my expectations but ask me later this year.

Bob Wilson

 

I can't "promise" you that your current car will be able to make that trip this winter. It may get hit by a bus
I can tell you the Leaf batteries have held up quite well in the colder climates and by far, the most degradation has been in hot weather states.
But their is not enough history to give you 100% reliable information on how the 30kWh Leaf battery will hold up in 6 years.

The battery technology is relatively new and is changing rapidly. As such, leases ease some of that fear some people have.
Waiting fort the Bolt or Model 3 is perfectly valid. Just so you know, Nissan is also coming out with their 2nd gen Leaf next spring.
I myself am on the list for a Model 3

 

Sounds like someone never got stranded a few miles out side of Truckee California when its -10. Cracks me up when non-CA folk think they've cornered the market on cold. Believe it or not, CA does have temps than fall below -10. iirc the CA record is in the -40's ... not that it maters much when your Datsun (GAS POWERED) pickup just gave up the ghost ... and you can no longer even feel your hands. Moral of the story ... whether you're an idiot unprepared in a gas burner or electron burner ... it's the same result my friend.
.

 

I learned this from a discussion on EV conversions.

The rule of thirds. You want a range long enough that a third covers your trip out, a third for the trip back, and a third to allow for errands, range loss from cold weather, climate control use, etc.

A 200 mile range BEV would give greater peace on mind on your commute, and might mean a longer life from the battery, but it also might end up being a waste of resources if you will use another car for longer trips than your commute. The larger pack adds weight, and reduces efficiency.

It is the interacting fun of incentives and advancing technology, with the possibility of oversupply. The price for new is low with the incentives considered. So if the used price goes up too much, the buyer will get the new one with less questions of battery health, or decide to wait for the longer range BEVs to come out.

You sell the PiP, and get a beater of a gasser for trips beyond the Leaf's range. Something you are fine with forgoing comprehensive and collusion on. You might even find a gen2 Prius for the task.

 

Only thing is - now you gotta have (insurance/maintenance for) 2 cars .... which many family units have to have anyway. But if you're the single/loner type, with uber long range regular trips - the PHEV is THE way to go, if one is eco-minded for whatever reason. According to stats ... welcome to this minority class of drivers.
.

 

we already have two, but my wife and i both drive long distances on the same day to see our parents, so i couldn't take her car. i could look into 'beater insurance', but nothing is cheap in mass, along with maintenance, registration, inspections, excise taxes and red tape headaches.

for now, driving 65% ev in the pip probably makes the most sense. the 35% is mostly the weekly trip to my dads.

 

Put a reserve down on the Elio. It will fall under motorcycle for registration and insurance.
If it arrives.

 

Yeah, right after the Aptera