Used electric, buy now?
Used electric car prices are tumbling as supply outstrips demand, is now the time to buy your first used electric car or are the risks on used still to high? Depreciation is now faster than ICE equivalents.
https://www.parkers.co.uk/car-news/market-trends/used-electric-car-prices/
Comments
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Well I am sure Parkers are correct in their survey, but i am sure many folk are in a similar positon to myself
i have 2 Kia's
2007 Carens 89k on clock just been MOT'd and svcd cost £250, needed new track rod ends, this car is worth at best £1k if given in part exchange for newish vehicle in excess of £20k, yes the Carens is a high pollluting diesel, however, it only covers approx 3k miles per year hardly excessive in the polluting stakes, so why should i fork out £20k+ for something to replace something that is perfectly adequate, even if i buy new/or reasonably new 2nd hand EV i still have outgoings such as service, insurance, road tax, economically it makes no sense to me to change from what i have that i know is reliable and will continue to be so for many years to come hopefully, for something that is going to cost me an arm and a leg to buy.
2nd car 2013 Sorento, i only keep this to tow the caravan and for longish journeys to see familey etc, i have not seen an EV, that i can afford, in the market place that will do the job of the Sorento, this car is similar to Carens when it comes to value etc to us, and it only covers approx £10k miles per year, so not exactly a high polluter in real terms, expecially if you read some of the articles re pollution /damage to environment etc when building an expensive EV, and with another hike in energy prices expected in October i think i will stick with the tried and tested.
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A very interesting article eventually we will eventually progress from a PHEV to a full EV, there is a lot of misleading information on the internet, unfortunately there is a following who believe it to be fact.
In a few years time there will be little or no option other than an EV, but it is reassuring now that secondhand affordable are coming on the market.
In the not to distance future EV and battery technology will have advance to the point that ICE vehicle will be a thing in the past.
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"Hyundai and Kia recently unveiled in Korea a zero-emission hydrogen engine that could disrupt the EV market. Both automakers are at the forefront of the development of hydrogen technology, focusing on both fuel cell systems and investigating the possibilities of sophisticated hydrogen engines"
not what is being said by Hyundai/Kia and i dont believe it is all fake news
be interesting to see the outcome "who dares wins" maybe, but i wont be buying any time soon, and i would put money on the fact that "in a few years time" i will still be chugging around in my Carens/Sorento, i know i am a dinosaur, but there will be millions of us out there
"Earlier this year, J.D. Power's 2024 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience Ownership Study reported that some 18 percent of public charging attempts failed in the last quarter of 2023 (down slightly from 21 percent over the previous nine months), numbers that largely back up the Harvard study's results.3 Jul 2024"
i know this report is from the U.S. but i could not find any info re the UK network that look to be valid
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The much hyped Kia EV3 is due to be released soon. All the rumours were that it would be a sub £30,000 car but it seems the starting price will be a little over that and the longer range model, not sure of specs, will be +£35000 with the top models being over £40,000. It's a car that interests me but not about to change anytime soon as current car only less than 18 months old. If you can charge an electric car at home, especially with the deals offered by the like of Octopus, they are much cheaper to run than an ICE car.
I suspect the glut of used EV's is due the the ending of leases as many companies now insist on EV's and what with salary sacrifice schemes, which are basically lease cars, even more coming onto the market.
David
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Can someone tell me where all the energy is going to be generated? And How? No matter how much battery tech develops the electricity still has to be generated and distributed. And all these battery improvements are promised in the future, like tax cuts. Buyers are not buying and car manufacturers are realising you can’t force people to buy something they simply don’t want. Eventually politicians will realise it when voters turn against all the but zero laws no one voted for. UK and Greta’s disciple Millibrand is leading where no one else is following, even the EU are subtly changing the language.
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"No matter how much battery tech develops "
and this is another very mute point, lots of newly built EV's are still using old technology batteries which need Cobalt, which is mined in the Congo and i wont get into the disgraceful conditions the people who mine this stuff live and work in, but it is the same for Solar panels, 80pct are made in China who use slave labour to manufactures these, and dont get into how we are going to dispose of all this stuff when it is past its sell by date.
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Buyers are not buying is simply not true. The latest figures from the SMMT shows EV sales up by 18.8% for June (year on year) and up by 10.5% year to date year on year. https://www.smmt.co.uk/vehicle-data/car-registrations/
The National Grid have consistently indicated that there is no issue with electricity generation, and have a specific web page to debunk this particular myth.
https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/journey-to-net-zero/electric-vehicles-myths-misconceptions
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Does it matter? Diesel took off in the early 2000s because of the tax incentive climate for company cars. But the world moved on and now diesel is all but dead. For the figures today, all we can say is that in the UK uptake of BEV in the current climate tax and economic is significant.
We run 4 EVs in our house hold. One company, one new wholly owned via HP and two used purchased via PCP. If I was to look for another replacement car, I would absolutely be looking at an EV, new or used, that fit my budget profile, as they are (for me) night and day better than the petrol or diesel equivalent.
As a private buyer, there is no incentive to buy EV over petrol beyond the running costs and the inherent benefits of an EV over Petrol. VED is being harmonised, but electricity and servicing is cheap. The main benefit for me is there is no smell, no noise, no incredibly annoying trips to the petrol station and a vastly reduced carbon footprint, oh and very cheap whole house electricity.
I can buy a new small EV for about the same price as a petrol (look at Corsa / 208 auto trader) with better performance and lower costs.
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I see that depreciation on a 3 year old electric car is 8.5% more than an ICE car and at 4 years 14% more. Excellent if you are in the market for a used EV but pretty eye watering if buying new. Yes a 3 year old Polestar 2 awd long range with average mileage can be had via a dealer for a mere £23500.
Depreciation on Ev's if bought outright new has to be factored in to running costs along with the more expensive insurance. In fact it currently makes no sense to buy an EV outright, new battery technologies around the corner will no doubt increase depreciation on the current generation EV's.
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The guy whose drive is opposite mine has a Kia EV6 and when I checked the price it was about £62,000. I think he has it on some sort of work scheme so how much he pays for it I have no idea. Interesting my Kia Niro Hybrid cost about half that so I expect when it comes to secondhand cars the expectation of the buyer will be a price similar to an ICE car? Most of the EV cars are usually on leases so the companies that own them will probably want to get rid of them. My son has a Chinese made MG EV and I think it's price was less than my Niro and I think he is thinking more long term in terms of ownership so hopefully he will avoid the depreciation of the much more expensive models?
David
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If you are looking to minimise your depreciation loss, I am not sure that buying a new standard production car ever makes financial sense. New cars (irrespective of drive train) depreciate quickly.
A two year old 2022 22plate Peugeot 208 GT spec costs about the same (£10K - £11K) in electric (E-208) or petrol (1.2) with about the same mileage (60k). New they can be bought for £25 (e) and £21k (p) respectively. New price difference of £4k, and higher depreciation in the Electric.
So to justify the 4K higher cost, the E-car would have to have around 4K lower running costs.
For 60k miles the E car will use about £1400 worth of home charging. (3m/kWh @ £0.07 per kWh, which it will do very comfortably all year round).
To break even, at £1.45 a litre (lowest price near me) you would need to achieve an average of 72.5mpg. (1400 electric cost + 4000 cost difference, 5400 / (1.45*4.5) = 827 gallons.
The official MGP of the 208 is 69, and real world is more like 47.
To put it another way, the £4000 price difference will take you about 28k miles at 47MPG, with would cost just £653 in electricity.
So - if you keep your car 3 years and put 14K miles on it a year, you are saving money...
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An interesting comparison and helpful, my next vehicle may well be a second hand EV so I am investigating the pros and cons. Not too many cons so far as I can see but I want to estimate costs where possible .
To extend your example to my needs I would need to install a home charger £700_1000 one off cost. Additionally taking the E208 3yr old real life range at 150 winter/200 summer a charge or so per month would need to be at a charging station as we could be visiting friends or family so assuming 100kW rapid charge£0.78 x 40kWhr (80%) apprx £31 x 12 = £372pa. so rapid charge is about 19p/mile vs 14p/mile petrol unless I made an error? Best to avoid rapid chargers then.
From what I read EV servicing is 20% less but insurance gp27 EV vs gp20 ICE higher. Tyre wear on EVs is higher due to weight (+400Kg E-208) plus immediately available torque by about 30% less miles per set. I see that special tyres are arriving on the market with an EV mark similar to the snowflake/mountain for allseason tyres .These may well give better mileage.
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True - a home charger is a massive benefit, and will help secure the best rates, but is not vital. Depending on your daily mileage, a standard 3 pin lead may suffice, and you can still access 5 hours of cheap rate for just 8p per kWh. If you average less than 30 miles a day (as many do) then a 3 pin plug may work. However it's (IMHO) £1000 worth spending - and need we have two.
Day trips at over 150 miles would need to be factored in. Of course there are other very good value cars (Like the ZoE) that can achieve 200 miles in winter and 240 in summer, and this may reduced the need to "away charge". And key, is that when you "away charge", you don't "fill up" as you do with petrol, you just top up to give yourself enough miles to get to home, or your next low cost charge.
Rapid charge pricing varies wildly. Right now I have a 1 month subscription to Tesla to reduced their prices, as 2 weeks ago I drove down to Tarn et Garrone in France (630 miles each way) and wanted to minimise my costs. My local Tesla super charger is just 32p per kWh as a result, about 10p per mile. But even without that, it's only about 45p per kWh (15p per mile).
Gridserve are also currently offering 20% off their chargers if you use their app, getting 63p per kWh.
Servicing is definitely cheaper. We bought a 3 year service package with our Fiat 500E for £300. The service interval on my daughters EVs are 2 years and 18,000 miles, and costs about £130 at a main dealer.
Insurance is a hard one to judge, it is so down to personal circumstances, but I have not seen it be massively more expensive than petrol.
Greater tyre wear on an EV is (in my experience) a myth. My tyres last far longer (23K miles) on my 2.2 tonne 400hp AWD polestar than they did on my AWD 300hp 1.8 tonne Volvo v60 (15k miles). The far more effective traction control is in _sooo_ much better control of the torque as to totally minimise any form of wheel spin, it hugely improved tyre life on acceleration. And when you couple that with the very gentle and economic driving style that results from using true one pedal drive, the over all tyre wear is lower.
So far that is also bearing out on my youngest's Corsa-E (sibling car to the E208), and she has covered 10,000 miles since February at an average of 3.16 mile per kWh. In that 10,000 miles she has used a rapid charger a total of 3 times...
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A question Chocolate Tree, what tow car and size of caravan are you towing? Also what is the range between recharging? You certainly cannot do all the charging from home.
I tow with with a 3-0l diesel Landrover and a twin axle caravan weighing 2000 kg when loaded. Our last tow averaged 28 mpg (37mpg when solo). On the last outing we were stuck in traffic for over an hour with stop/start poor progress yet still our range was in excess of 300 miles. Unless I compromise and go for a small lightweight outfit I cannot see that diesel is dead. Once you have got use to the space and comfort of a large outfit it is hard to downsize!
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Today I tow a Bailey unicorn Vigo S3 (1550 MTPLM) With a Polestar2 LRDM (see my picture). We get between 120 and 140 miles 100% to 0%. Thats between 2 and 2.5 hours of towing for us, after which I am ready for a break.
There is a pinned thread in this section of CT from a few years ago detailing a 260 mile tow up to the lakes and the same on return. My Polestar is a great tow car, but clearly cant handle the heaviest of vans. There are now a large number of electric towers and a significant range of tow cars that can handle up to 2.5 tonnes, or more.
For my next car, I am hoping to get a Polestar 4 dual motor, capable of towing 2000kg, and with the 95kWh usable battery, I will expect to tow closer to 160 to 180 miles with it. Not that I expect to actually tow that far without a break.
There are a number of groups on Facebook for EV caravan towers with great reports of towing on the continent. I for one would be absolutely happy to tow in France based on my last solo trip there. Indeed - I did see an EV towing down near Limoge - I think it was Dutch, and it was not a small outfit.
Traffic is not a problem in an EV, the slower you go, the better the economy (unless you stop altogether).
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Interesting to see on the BBC news today, that Volvo has revised its plan to sell only EVs by 2030.
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