In many ways, driving an electric vehicle is the same as driving one with an internal-combustion engine, though refueling and other ownership aspects are certainly different, and we’ve recognized that the considerations for buying a used EV are quite different as well. Where a used vehicle has spent its life, geographically speaking, and how it’s been cared for are still primary concerns, but the rules are surprisingly different from — and perhaps the opposite of — those for conventional cars. Pre-owned EVs also put an interesting spin on pricing, warranties and features that you might not give a second thought with a gas-powered car. We explore all of these issues below.
Cars.com purchased its first EV, a 2011 Nissan Leaf SL, new for $35,665 as equipped, and when we sold it 19 months later to a private party with just 11,000 miles on it, $19,000 was the best we could get for it — a depreciation of 47%. We can’t promise this kind of break on today’s used EVs, especially when gas prices are high and inventories of all vehicle types are at record lows. But when things are closer to normal, a couple of factors result in modest used-EV prices.
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