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by Toby Hagon
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Electric cars have been a slow burn in Australia, but volatile fuel prices have suddenly pushed them into the spotlight.
Booming sales of new EVs have caught some manufacturers off guard and the unprecedented interest has flowed through to the used car market, where second-hand electric cars are being snapped up in record numbers.
There are hundreds of thousands of EVs now on Australian roads, ensuring a healthy supply of used options.
And with hundreds of different models from almost 50 brands - covering everything from small city runabouts to luxury machines and even the occasional dual-cab ute - there’s now more EV choice than ever.
For those who don’t want to splash out on a new EV, as with regular ICE (internal combustion engine) cars, the used car market can unlock better value.
But what should you look for when buying a second-hand electric car?
There’s been plenty of chat about how EVs don’t hold their value well on the used car market. That’s been partly true with many models, to varying degrees.
But fuel price volatility as a result of the Iran war has made EVs a lot more appealing.
That growing demand has had an unexpected side effect.
“There is no doubt we’re seeing increases in EV prices,” says Ross Booth, the general manager of valuations giant Redbook who points to the increase in used EV demand.
“When demand changes, prices go up - and that’s exactly what we’re seeing with used EVs.”
Booth says the big change has been interest from dealers, ever keen to bank a profit.
Whereas many car dealers were reluctant to trade EVs due to their slow sales rates and low residuals, they’re now keen to ride the wave of interest.
“Dealers are the best example of the behaviour change. Two months ago, they weren’t buying used EVs,” says Booth. “Now they’re snapping them up because the demand is there and they can take the risk.”
EVs are simpler than petrol - and diesel-powered cars. There’s no engine oil, spark plugs or exhaust system to worry about.
They have a relatively simple electric motor powered by a sizeable battery pack with its own computer controls and thermal management system.
The electric motor is set-and-forget, requiring no maintenance over the life of the car.
Beyond that, there’s plenty in common with a car powered by liquid fuel.
There are wheels, brakes, suspension components, heating and ventilation systems and a cabin increasingly packed with technology.
They need regular checking, although without the internal combustion engine, an EV is far simpler to service than a regular car.
While EVs typically have much lower brake wear than a regular car, the pads and discs still need to be checked; brake pads can eventually corrode or degrade, for example.
The wheel alignment can be knocked out just as easily on an EV as it can on an ICE car.
Plus, EVs need filters replaced for their cabin ventilation system.
As with an ICE vehicle, you’ll need to check the service history, remembering that some cars (such as Tesla) monitor their service requirements according to use and may have a digital record within the vehicle’s infotainment system, rather than a book.
The high-voltage battery pack is by far the most expensive item in an EV.
The lithium-ion technology is the same technology you’ll find in a smartphone or laptop, but it’s obviously a lot larger in an EV - sometimes weighing half a tonne or more. And with the EV it will have more individual cells as well as supporting software and management systems for maintaining the optimum temperature and cell voltage.
EV batteries will also have more robust protective casings to manage crash forces.
EVs typically have a separate battery warranty covering at least eight years and 160,000km of driving (some offer up to 10 years of warranty coverage).
For that reason, EV owners who have experienced issues have typically not been out of pocket.
“The majority of EVs are still within warranty - eight to 10 years - so the manufacturer basically takes care of replacement,” says Oscal Vall, general manager of customer experience at Infinitev, which provides repair and recycle services for hybrid and EV batteries.
He says battery issues with EVs come down to three main areas: the cells, the relay assemblies, and the battery management system (essentially a computer that monitors and controls the battery).
“Usually it’s cells that drop out; they don’t charge or discharge like the others, and the system flags that as a problem.”
EV batteries are more challenging due to the design and scale.
“Some manufacturers make battery packs with little to no repairability - in those cases the whole pack has to be replaced,” says Vall.
In many cases, though, he says a block of faulty modules can be replaced. With an older car though, it may not make sense.
Lithium-ion batteries are expensive and when you have about hundreds of kilos of them, it can add up to tens of thousands of dollars.
On its Australian website Toyota estimates replacing the entire battery in a bZ4X could cost about $30,000 just for the parts - with labour on top.
Like replacing an engine in an ICE vehicle, then, it’s unlikely you’ll bother replacing the battery pack in an old EV because it’ll likely cost more than the value of the car.
But Vall says the repair and reconditioning industry will evolve as more EVs hit the road.
“With the Toyota hybrids, we have developed a cell kit that can be retrofitted to the old Toyota hybrid batteries,” he says. “Because they are very modular and all the Toyota's use the same cell type … we could engineer a new pack using a different cell.”
“Let's say Tesla Model 3s in the future, there's going to be a lot of them, so at the moment we don't know about anyone doing this … [but] if we decide that this is enough market for an aftermarket replacement, we’ll make sure that we can develop one that’s a drop-in solution.”
That’s assuming there’s an issue.
A recent study from researchers from the University of Birmingham, London School of Economics and Political Science, University of California San Diego and Switzerland’s University of Bern found that the projected lifespan of an EV is now 18.4 years – longer than petrol and diesel cars.
The most common issue with batteries is degradation, where the battery pack slowly loses its ability to hold a charge.
The older the car is and the more charge cycles the battery has been through (how many kilometres it has driven is a good measure) the more it will likely degrade.
But real-world battery degradation is also much lower than even many manufacturers anticipated.
A recent study by US-based Recurrent Auto – which monitors EV battery health – said: “The average EV retains 97 per cent of its range after three years and 95 per cent after five years, according to our analysis of over one billion miles”.
In the UK, a study by Generational of 8,000 EVs found high battery capacity retention over many years, prompting the organisation to conclude that “in most cases, the battery is likely to exceed the lifespan of the vehicle”.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t consider the health of the battery.
Otherwise identical EVs with their batteries in different state-of-health (SoH) would theoretically be worth less because one won’t be able travel quite as far as the other.
The challenge for a used EV buyer is working out that SoH.
Despite mountains of data and sometimes pointless information and readouts within their digital displays, most EVs are ‘secretive’ about the condition of their battery.
It’s not that EVs don’t monitor that data or have easy access to it. It’s just that it seems car makers would prefer not to make it obvious to you.
But various independent operators have formulated tests, providing broader pre-purchase inspection for additional peace of mind on the EV you’re considering.
Some dealers may also provide a battery health check as part of the sale documentation.
A rudimentary measure of battery health is to have a look at the estimated range to empty.
All EVs will estimate how far the car will travel on the current charge.
While it’s not a perfect science – turning off the air conditioning can increase the range, for example, while extreme cold temperatures can reduce the range – it should at least give you an idea of its ability to hold a charge.
You can easily calculate what it’s estimating it will achieve on a full charge.
Do an internet search to determine how much range the car was designed to have when new.
Don’t expect it to hit that exact number. Even when it was new it was unlikely to have achieved its claimed range (most EVs are 10-20 per cent below the figure that is calculated to a government test) but it’ll at least give you an idea of whether the battery is holding a decent charge – or enough for how you plan to use it.
When you finally get behind the wheel for a test drive, you’re looking for many of the same things you might experience in a petrol or diesel car.
Does it track straight and corner crisply? Are there any strange noises? Do all the lights and features work?
Also, keep an eye on the battery capacity to make sure it’s dropping at a similar rate to the distance you’re covering.
It’s basic stuff.
Check tyre wear – on the inside and outside of the tyre – because the heavier body of an EV can exert additional loads.
Regardless of how much you know about cars, it’s always worth bringing a friend so you have a second set of eyes. Then, if you’re serious about the car as a purchase, consider a pre-purchase inspection, which will likely delve deeper to uncover potential issues or concerns.
Some EVs have smartphone apps to operate basic functions. In the case of Teslas there’s an advanced app that even turns your smartphone into the car key.
When buying the car, it’s important the owner hands over control of the car to you and disconnects their phone and account from the car.
If that’s not done the person may be able to remotely activate functions such as locks and ventilation and even drive the car away.
Check in the owner’s manual (it could be a digital manual) or search online to see what you need to do for the specific model you’re looking at.
A major consideration when buying an EV is how you’re going to charge it. Anyone with off-street parking can charge at home.
Whether you need a dedicated wallbox charger depends on your usage.
If you’re driving less than 100km per day then a portable charger that plugs into a standard power point will be fine.
Check the car you’re looking at comes with one; most new EVs were sold with one (Tesla being a notable exception) but some owners may not pass them on in the sale of the car.
If the seller wants to hold onto the charging hardware it doesn’t mean you walk away from the deal. But you should use that to negotiate a lower price. A basic charger will cost a minimum of a few hundred dollars.
For those driving bigger distances, a wallbox charger makes sense because it can supply up to 10 times the power of a standard power point.
That’s for a three-phase outlet.
For most people a standard single-phase wallbox will be fine, easily charging most EVs from flat to full in less than 10 hours.
Used EVs are making more sense than ever, but the days of bargains are fading.
As with any car, do your research and be prepared to walk away if the deal isn’t right – there will likely be plenty more to choose from.
