Last I checked, depending on one’s needs, used EVs are among some of the best values in the US used car market. Their prices are closer to what prices on used gas cars would’ve been had the market not been turned on its head during the pandemic.
The main caveat is that available models are heavily weighted towards “compact” (RAV4 sized) SUVs and larger. There aren’t many little Prius/Fit/Soul type town car models around which is a bit paradoxical with that being the use case that EVs have been well suited to for the longest time.
The problem is the "gas station mindset", where people are only able to view EV ownership through the lens of "drive till empty then fill up".
A 250 mile round trip to the beach becomes unthinkable because the gas station mindset dictates that they will have to spend 30-40 minutes at a charger on the way home.
The reality of course, is that you charge on L2 while at the beach, or stop for a quick 5-10 minute buffer charge to get you home.
So everyone is all "I need 350-400 mile range or its totally a non-starter". Its just all around confused thinking.
There are many nice places to visit that don't have, and never will have, EV charging.
EV charging sites are still much less ubiquitous than gas stations.
The ~200 mile round trip I did this Monday would have required a 30 minute detour to reach a charger on the way back.
Certainly viable, but that's a lot more logistical overhead than just heading out with a full tank in the morning.
It’s almost maybe not a bad idea to take a ~30m breather on a 250m trip. Good opportunity to grab a bite to eat too since many chargers are situated near rest stops and restaurants.
I really wish Honda would release the CRV plug-in hybrid in the states. But all we get is some weird hydrogen monstrosity. China has all electric vehicles with gas generators to charge the battery. That would make this work for my scenarios too.
It’s not just old EVs that are cheap, it’s 1-3 year old low mileage off lease models too.
My numbers may a bit out of date but for example, depending on the trim and mileage, the Nissan Ariya can be be had at between $15-$25k (with MSRP being over double that) and they only started selling those in 2023. Ariya’s thus far have shown great battery degradation too, with high mileage drivers (Uber etc) reporting 99% capacity.
And that’s just one model. There’s also Kia EV6/EV9, Hyundai Ioniq 5/9, VW ID.4, Mustang Mach-E, and several others of a similar vintage that are similarly deeply discounted despite low miles.
It’s thanks to the many lease deals, tax rebates, etc bringing down their market value.
I had heard that prices went up as a result of the oil supply crunch.
Not seeing where the downgrade is, though. Even the cheaper trims of Ariya are nicer, better equipped, and more powerful than any new car in the low-mid 20s price range and the used ICE car market is entirely nonsensical, with some 1-3 year old used entry level models selling for almost as much as their new counterparts and popular 10 year old models that already have half their lifetime miles selling for north of $20-$25k.
Because to purely swap for an EV I have to take my well specced current car, sell it, and buy a lesser specced EV (unless I bring additional cash to the table). And only then might I break even after years of lower maintenance / refueling costs.
Your point is false. Batteries last long enough, there is no massive degradation at 10 years, and you have no data to prove that assertion. Whether you believe it or not, heh, that's up to you, believe what you want. Facts are facts.
> Industry experts think newfound knowledge of battery durability is a game-changer for consumer confidence in EVs
> Richard Symons recently took his five-year-old Tesla Model 3 on a 260-mile road trip across England without having to stop for a charge.
> A new electric vehicle could make the trip no-problem. But Symons’s car—which he has affectionately nicknamed “Miles”—has logged 247,000 miles and is still up for frequent long-distance drives. “They are proving themselves to be exceptionally reliable,” Symons said.
> After five years on the road, the average EV will still be able to drive up to 95% of its original range, according to Recurrent, a data-science company that provides a battery-monitoring tool for EVs—better than many in the auto industry expected.
> When early EVs hit the market, buyers’ concerns were well-founded. Roughly one in 12 EVs built from 2011 to 2016 have had to have battery replacements. But new data shows that more modern EVs are doing better so far. Among EVs built from 2022 on, 0.3% have had battery replacements, according to a 2025 study from Recurrent.
> 250 million is a lot. That’s how many miles Recurrent vehicles have driven since they connected to our services to monitor their EV performance and health. There are some optimistic, high level takeaways in all this data. For most EVs, the lithium ion batteries are in quite good shape and only 1.5% have been replaced in Recurrent's community of 15,000 cars. Battery replacements due to excessive degradation are very rare. Heat, high voltage, and extreme state of charge degrade batteries the fastest. We generally see 1-2% range degradation per year.
(my 2018 Model S with ~150k miles on it has ~7-8% degradation after 8 years of aggressive use, the majority of charing done at fast DC Superchargers across the US; the only maintenance it has needed has been tires, wiper blades, wiper fluid, and a replacement battery pack heater to condition the pack for fast DC charging, which has been obsoleted in newer revisions)
You believe the degradation is material, all of the evidence says that it is not. I suppose we agree to disagree then. I don't have strong feelings on the topic, if folks want to keep paying for fossil fuels at these prices, or higher prices, versus driving an electric vehicle, good luck to them. That's a choice. Natural consequences are important to encourage better outcomes.
My citations specifically speak to your example as being no longer relevant due to state of the art battery pack management. Please read them again. No one builds air cooled battery packs like the leaf had that were highly prone to failure. Battery pack architecture and management operations have continually been improved over the last two decades to improve longevity.
This year I bought a 5 year old compact electric SUV with 94% reported battery health (gets about 20 miles under its EPA-estimated range) for under $12k.
If one cannot afford a new EV, they should buy used. If one would like a new EV and can afford one, they should do so. EVs will not maintain their value because of the rate of technology innovation and deployment rates. The value is in TCO savings from using electricity for fuel over fossil fuels.
If one can make due with an ebike instead of an EV, certainly, that is of course an option that should be considered.
Problem with buying used is EVs you are limited to what is for sale now. Search EV market share by year in your favorite search engine, then do your own analysis: if you are buying a used car more than 90% of your options are not EV (even if we include PHEV)
If you drive a car then EVs should be your first choice, and they should be worth a premium over other types. However in the end used car buyers are limited to what is for sale now.
I just checked 2015 diesel vehicles on my local craigslist (I refuse to use facebook, though I know that is where most cars are these days). A bunch of trucks for $15k-30k, and a few VWs for $15k. So then I search for electric cars from $10k-$15k and found nothing at all! YMMV in your local areas, but you will likely find the same: in the price range of a 11 year old diesel you will find nothing: EVs were still rare niches 11 years ago.
I did find a few eGolfs and leafs for $5k-8k, but in my experience if a car is that cheap there is a reason for that, so I assume they are unacceptable. There is a chance OP has a diesel truck because he needs a truck which in turn means they wouldn't work even new (the F150 lightning perhaps would)
I did find a few eGolfs and leafs for $5k-8k, but in my experience if a car is that cheap there is a reason for that
The reason is: no one wants them. Three years ago we sold an OG Leaf my spouse’s coworker for $3500. Battery was about 80%, but otherwise the car was flawless. All the buyer needed was an around-town car, and the old Leaf fit the bill. Leafs didn’t go very far on a charge, ergo they won’t have a whole lot of miles in them, and they were otherwise reliable. If it’s all you need, I’d recommend one for cheap.
In what way is it not worth it? I'm genuinely curious.
I used to be dead-set-against electric cars but I just bought one and am loving it. The maths is staggering. It's secondhand though as I don't believe new ones are worth it.
You can't find an equivalent for the same price. OP has an 11 year old car that apparently works fine. To get a EV means he needs to spend thousands (or settle for one that is a lot cheaper for a reason) more. We don't know how much OP drives, but in generally I'd expect several years before the savings from the EV are more than the upfront costs.
Now if OP's car is worn out and needs replacing anyway the economics are different.
I'm of the opinion that the greenest car you can have is the car that you currently own!
No matter what you buy, energy was expended to make it! The car you own already has spent the energy. It's done.
So, assuming you're not spitting flames and smoke out wherever you go, your current car will be greener than quite literally anything you can buy, new or secondhand.
Note: I've done zero maths to verify this but it makes perfect sense to me :)
blu nailed it, but to reiterate, if you already have a working car then the cost to to swap to an EV is not worth it. I have done the math with my current car and even with a downgrade it’s not worth it.
