What to Know Before Buying a Used EV | Used EV Shopping Basics

So you're shopping for a used electric vehicle and you see one that looks just right. Pop quiz, how can you be sure it's a winner? Don't stress, I'm Allison from Edmunds and we've teamed up with CarMax, so we've got you covered. Everything from battery health to test drives, here's everything you need to know before you buy that used EV. Let's start with the battery, one of the biggest differences between a gas car and an electric vehicle, or EV for short. To learn if a battery is healthy, first you need to learn some battery basics. As I'm sure you're all too familiar with, the battery on our cell phones might last maybe a couple of years. Fortunately, however, the batteries in an EV are meant to last a lot longer. An EV should only lose about one to 2% of its max range each year. So if it had 250 miles of range when it was brand new, typically you could get around 240 miles when it's a couple of years old. And if you're interested, we've got a whole video on what happens when batteries get older, if you want all the details. But every electric vehicle is different, which is why you should consider an online battery health report. Think of it kind of like a CarFax or an auto check report, but for your battery. Recurrent offers reports for EVs that predict their battery's health and remaining range. These reports also offer valuable information on the remaining battery warranty, the car's range in most conditions, and more. These numbers are estimates, but they're based on data, even data from the real world based on similar vehicles. And Teslas like this can actually check their own battery health. However, Tesla says that only a service center should run those tests. So this is something you can ask for, but you can't get this information yourself on a test drive. It's also worth checking the warranty. Every EV has a warranty that covers the battery for longer than you think. At least eight years or 100,000 miles. Some are even longer and cover more parts than just the battery, but some aren't as comprehensive. Read the fine print to know what's covered in case anything goes wrong. Now onto the fun part, the test drive. What would you do differently if you were test driving an EV? Start by looking at the range and charge percent. Now this part takes a little bit of math. If the car is 70% charge, its displayed range should be about 70% of the max range you saw on your battery health report. We say about because the number changes depending on things like the weather and how it's been driven. And if the range is way off what it should be, you might wanna talk to the dealer and see if they can run a battery diagnostic test. Without a noisy engine, EVs are just plain quieter than traditional gasoline engines. So you might hear some unusual sounds when you're on your test drive. Humming or clicking can be normal. They come from things like the AC or the battery cooling system. And do you hear that? All EVs make a sound at a low speed to let pedestrians know they're there. No one wants a car syncing up on them. Keep your ears open for any creaks or squeals you might hear that might mean that something is wearing out. And also listen for rattling in the cabin. And even though that might not mean that something is broken necessarily, it might just be really annoying. Now, onto the tires. A very underappreciated part of a car. Tires for EVs can be a little bit pricier than other cars because they're built to deal with the extra weight of the battery and the power of electric cars. So you do wanna make sure they're in good shape. First, check the tread depth. The easiest way to do that is to grab a penny and put it in the grooves of the tire. If Abe's hair is at least partially covered, the tire should have some life left. Otherwise, the tire's worn out and it needs to be replaced. So check both the inside and the outside of the tire because the tires can wear out unevenly. You'll also wanna check the brand of the tires. Tires made specifically for EVs will usually say so. Maybe they have EV or electric in the name like these. Other tires will say something like EV ready or E plus. A lot of older EVs actually came with regular all-season tires and you can usually find the recommended tires online or in the vehicle's manual. So is it a deal breaker if the tires aren't EV specific or if they're not the recommended brands? No, but tires can affect range and how noisy the car is. More good news, you could save up to $4,000 on a used EV thanks to a federal tax credit. Now, some dealers accept this credit as a down payment on eligible vehicles or you can claim it on your tax returns. But either way, there are a few qualifications you should be aware of. For instance, the used EV needs to be a model year at least two years old and costs no more than 25,000 before taxes. You can check out fueleconomy.gov for a list of used EV models that might qualify. But keep in mind, you have to meet some qualifications too. The big one is a maximum income requirement, but there are others. You also have to be buying a car for your own personal use and you can't have claimed a used vehicle credit in the previous three years. Check out the IRS website or talk to a tax professional to see if you qualify. Even if you don't qualify for the federal credit we just talked about, your state, your county, your city, and even utility company might have incentives for you as well. Things like rebates for buying EV, for installing a charger at home, and even that little sticker that lets you use the carpool lane. So just make sure to do your research. I know all of this can sound super overwhelming, but Edmunds has a handy tool to show you all of the incentives available to you. We wanna make it as easy as possible for you. So click the link above and check it out. By now, you should have all the tools that you need to shop for a used electric vehicle. But if you still have any questions about EVs, check out our playlist called Understanding Electric Vehicles. Do you have a dream EV that you are shopping for? If so, let us know in the comments below. And as always, make sure to show us some love by liking and subscribing.