So far, I’ve looked at the bottom end of the used EV market (under $10K). I’ve looked at the bottom end of the new EV market (under $51K). The leading candidate for my EV purchase seems to be the Chevy Bolt. New, those have a ridiculous markup. Used, they seem to fall in line with competitors’ prices.
This post looks at the used EV market $10K to $20K.
Upshot: Nothing to see here. Or, at least, nothing new and actionable, for me. In this post, I skim over this used EV segment and more-or-less dismiss what I find, relative to a new or lightly used Bolt.
In this segment of the market, I see …
- Nissan Leaf, later model years, higher original range.
- Chevy Bolt, earlier model years, not much discount compared to 2021.
- The occasional Ford, Fiat, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes, Mitsubishi
- And the VW e-Golf.
The Leaf, of that generation (say 2016-2020 or so), not a bad car. You can get them with original EPA range around 150, I think. But the more I look at it, the more the basic design of the Leaf just has issues. Between the lack of battery cooling and the obsolete fast-charge socket, it really seems that it never was intended to be anything but an around-town car.
Nothing wrong with it, but given what’s available, nothing that makes it stand out as a must-have. Particularly as Virginia is hot in the summertime, and these vehicles have a hard time charging in the heat.
The Chevy Bolt is the leader so far. You don’t seem to get a huge discount by rolling back to (say) a 2017 or 2018 model year. So I don’t see these older Bolts as standing out, relative to a new-ish Bolt.
There are some stray other makes and models. I just don’t feel like it’s worth the effort to research each one. Do I really want to own one of the 100 Kia Soul EVs sold in this area, six years ago?
The there’s the VW e-Golf. The e-Golf deserves a closer look, because those are available in large numbers as used cars in this price range.
Unfortunately,
- The earlier model years had just 83miles EPA range
- The 2017 and later, with 125 miles EPA range, cost $19 and up.
Absent some way to know that these are phenomenal cars, I don’t much see the point of looking at them further. I don’t want the ones with short original range, and the ones with longer original EPA range cost about as much as a used Bolt.
To sum it up, there’s really nothing here that jumps up and says “buy me”, to me. New Bolt for $26K net of tax credit, used low-mileage Bolt for $16 net of tax credit, for me, those seem to dominate.
What about used PHEVs?
PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) are hard to search for, for a variety of reasons.
One, they fall through the cracks. They aren’t EVs, but the health of the traction battery matters greatly, like EVs. Unlike EVs, most manufacturers offer absolutely no guarantee on the electrical range. There’s absolutely zero indication about the state of health of the battery, in ads for PHEVs.
Two, these also have internal combustion engines, with all the complications that implies, for buying a used car.
Three, Edmunds apparently does not maintain PHEVs as a separate category of cars. So I have to search for individual models.
Typical asking prices in this area:
- Volt, 2018 or so, 40K miles, $25K
- Prius Prime, 2018, 100K miles, $20K
- Kia Niro, 2018, 40K miles, $26K
There are some larger SUVs that were not of interest to me. Those mostly seemed to be at $30K and up.
I’m not sure how to proceed in this segment, as I have no way yet to assess the state of the battery in these cars, short of showing up and driving them.
