A used EV is either the best value in motoring or an expensive mistake – and the difference comes down to one component: the battery. Unlike a used petrol car, where a hundred things can be half-worn, an EV’s health is concentrated in a pack that costs thousands to replace and degrades invisibly. The good news is that checking it properly takes an afternoon, not an engineering degree. Here are the eight checks that separate the bargains from the traps.
1. Battery state of health (SoH) – the number that rules them all
Ask for the SoH percentage before you view the car. Many EVs display it in a service menu; independent tools and services can read it via the OBD port, and some brands provide an official battery certificate. As a rule of thumb, expect roughly 2% degradation per year of normal use – a five-year-old pack at 88–92% is normal, one under 85% deserves a price discussion, and a seller who won’t let you verify SoH is telling you something.
2. Remaining battery warranty
Most manufacturers warrant EV batteries for around 8 years or 160,000 km against dropping below 70% capacity, and the warranty transfers with the car. Check the in-service date, not the model year – and read what the warranty actually promises, because “repair to 70%” is not “replace with new”.
3. Real range test, not the dashboard guess
On the test drive, note the predicted range and battery percentage at the start and end, then do the maths on consumption. A car that predicts 300 km but burns 10% of its battery in 20 km of mixed driving is telling you more than any spec sheet.
4. DC fast-charging behaviour
If you can, fast-charge the car during the viewing. A pack that once accepted 100 kW but now peaks at 40 kW has a story to tell. Heavy DC-charging history isn’t automatically disqualifying, but combined with low SoH it’s a pattern.
5. Tyres, brakes and suspension – EVs eat differently
EVs are heavy and instant-torque, so they wear tyres faster than equivalent petrol cars – check for uneven inner-edge wear. Brakes have the opposite problem: regenerative braking means discs can corrode from underuse. Listen for clonks over bumps; the weight punishes bushings.
6. Software, recalls and connected services
Confirm the car is on current software, check for open recalls by VIN, and – increasingly important – check which features are tied to a subscription or the previous owner’s account. Make sure the seller can factory-reset and hand over the car’s connected-app access.
7. Charging equipment and history
The original cables are worth real money – check they’re included. Ask where the car normally charged: a car that lived on a home wallbox at 80% limit typically has a happier pack than a motorway warrior that fast-charged daily to 100%.
8. Price it against the new-EV market, not the old used-car logic
New EV prices have fallen and ranges keep improving, which pushes used values down faster than for petrol cars. Before you agree a price, check what a new or nearly-new equivalent costs after incentives – the gap is sometimes smaller than the seller hopes you’ll notice.
Doing your homework? See which models hold the most usable range in our longest-range EV ranking, plan your charging costs with our country charging guides, and find inspection-friendly dealers and mechanics on our free local map.
