It’s now getting to the point where we either own an electric car, or know someone with an electric car. Electric cars have developed from a long in the works pipe dream to a full fledged reality.
But who is buying electric cars? Is now the best time to buy electric cars in 2020? What incentives does the UK government have for someone who owns an electric car? Should I buy a second hand electric car?
There are a great deal of variables to consider before making the important step. Today we’re going to take a detailed look at all the possibilities and scenarios you must consider before taking the leap with an electric car.
We’ll go through a set of questions you should ask yourself before buying an electric car and what the 10 best electric cars to buy at this point in April of 2020.
Finally we’ll explore second hand options within the electric car niche and find out that there are great deals that shouldn’t be overlooked. We’ll take a special look at used Tesla listings as those are where the greatest deals can be found! Let’s start!
The advantages of switching to an electric car or a crossover are quite obvious. The main would easily be the complete reduction in emissions. We should also include the lower maintenance and operating costs.
Yet, the experience of owning an electric car is a completely different animal than owning a petrol powered car. Here are things you should consider before diving in.
This is often one of the greatest setbacks that people find with buying a new or used electric car. They are worried about the range an electric car will have and as most petrol powered believers comment on “What if your car dies on a long trip?”.
While these questions used to be limiting factors when purchasing these types of cars, the reality is completely different in 2020.
If you live in a city and your main use for your car is short commutes to and from work, buying an electric car would be a fantastic alternative to a petrol powered car.
All you need to do is find out where your public chargers are in your area and what type of charging speeds you can take advantage of. Making sure you recognise the distances and how long it would take you to charge is about all it takes.
You can easily charge up on your way home from work after stopping at a supermarket to get some groceries, or while you hit the gym early in the morning. Depending on how populated your local area is with chargers you can easily take advantage of it all.
If you happen to have a longer commute then finding a charger location that is closer to your work would be the best case scenario. Leaving it charged in while you’re at your job would be an easy way to get a much needed charge.
There are a variety of business parks that offer plug-in solutions all across the UK.
Most of these allow you to charge with a simple tap of a credit card, definitely make sure you’re informed about all your charging options acknowledging how much you drive on the daily before making the decision.
If you’re planning on driving any type of long distance then you must take into account all the possible charging stations throughout your drive.
This isn’t too different from petrol powered cars, depending on how remote your drive becomes finding a petrol station will also be problematic.
Nonetheless you have to be more careful with electric cars to make sure that you don’t start your trip without knowing that you can stop for a charge if needed.
Many electric car manufacturers have made sure to include all publicly available charging systems within their navigation system.
This allows the driver to not worry about charging options as you can easily add the available charging network to your trip.
Tesla has gone a step further and included how many chargers are available at that exact moment, and how many are offered.
Tesla’s navigation system will also recommend how long you should charge at each station along your drive and how much range you will have left on your car as soon as you hit your destination.
It is important to note how much farther ahead Tesla is of its competitors in some aspects of the electric vehicles in general. For starters Teslas are to this day the safest option in terms of range in an electric car.
The Model S Long Range is supposed to give you an estimated 380 miles. This estimate is all dependent on your style of driving, the weather and of course the traffic you face on your trip.
Nonetheless having anywhere near 300 miles of range is a significant amount of distance to be covered.
It is often recommended to take driving breaks and stop every 100 miles when driving in general. Reaching a charging station and resting for some time while your car is charging its batteries isn’t necessarily a massive set back.
Being realistic and planning your trip out properly before starting it is recommended on any vehicle, but taking extra precautions at this point in time is a necessity for the current reality of electric cars in the UK.
It is also important to note that the infrastructure of public charging networks will continue to improve over time, so consider it an investment for the near future.
There are a couple of options for charging at home that we should also consider when taking into account all the options of range. The simplest thing you could do is take your charging cables and plug into the standard UK socket.
This is the most convenient and without a doubt the easiest however it is also the slowest of all options available. Depending on the size of your battery this could easily take more than 6 hours depending on the size of your battery.
Then we have to consider the more efficient at home charging station that you can purchase. The fast-charging option at home will need to be installed and will require a certain amount of space that not everyone may have.
It is important to note that the UK government has announced an essential subsidy that will cover up to 75% of costs of installing the charging point in your residence.
This is a significant feature that pushes us to think that an at home fast-charging station may be the best option and the most convenient solution for those that have the space.
The speed of the charge is fully dependent on how many kW (kilowatts) the charger can fulfil and how many watts your car can receive.
Let's compare the different options that are available for charging at home.
To fully charge your car in this scenario from an empty charge could easily take around 9 to 12 hours. It is extremely convenient, you can get home and leave your car charging overnight and have it ready for the next day.
The difference in time is extremely notable and depending on the circumstance yet it seems that the fast charge is almost always preferred.
How do these speeds compare to public charging stations? Most public charging stations have rapid charging which charges compatible cars up to 50kW.
This means that if your electric car is compatible with rapid charging you could charge ⅘’s of your battery in around 30 minutes.
We must also consider the stark difference that we can find in a Tesla supercharging network.
Tesla superchargers are popping up all over the country and you can reach up to 150kW in charging speed. This is a significant increase to regular public chargers and can dramatically change the pace of your trips.
The options are pretty clear, the main thing that needs to change when purchasing an electric car is our perspective on how we refuel. Instead of driving and putting petrol every time our car advises us we are low on petrol, we are instead planning and being efficient with our charging.
You would have to be conscious of all charging locations, and make sure to plug in at home if possible. For trips you would have to be more cautious and be patient with slower charge stations.
Apart from these tiny setbacks the advantages clearly tower over the disadvantages and in terms of range and charging it makes complete sense to purchase an electric car in 2020 in the uk.
The government is currently offering 35% off for the new purchase of an electric car up to £3,500. This has recently been discounted by £1,000 from the initial subsidy that covered up to £4,500 for new low emission cars.
Is this significant enough to curve you to purchase a new electric car? It all depends on your budget and what type of electric car you were thinking of purchasing in the first place.
Nonetheless any financial help in this scenario will hopefully incentivise consumers enough to go through with the switch.
When we also add this to the fact that the government will also subsidise up to £500 in installing private home charging stations, we see that the UK government is really pushing to have a reduction in petrol powered cars.
Additionally, it’s important to note that the Government is planning to add a ban on the sale of new diesel, petrol and hybrids by the year 2035. What this means is that the government is leaning towards fully switching to electric cars within the next 15 years.
This means that subsidies will definitely improve over time, as well as the connection of superchargers and everything related to electric cars. As more suppliers enter the market things will become cheaper and will perform better.
This sparks the question of when is the best time to buy a new electric car? The financial times commented that now might be the worst time to buy electric cars, as many companies are still just starting off with their new electric cars.
Does it make sense to wait a few years after more significant technological changes have developed and you can reap those benefits? Most likely, but the question of buying an electric car at this moment means that you’d buy a car that could still be functioning and performing at a high level in the next 5-10 years.
For us at usedteslaworld unfortunately our opinion is that only the Tesla models are at that current level.
One of the main advantages behind buying an electric car is the reduction in general costs of maintenance and running costs.
According to edfenergy, “on average an electric car will cost £2 for every 100 miles you drive, while the petrol equivalent would be £11.60.”
Now, what about the initial cost of purchasing an electric vehicle? How does it compare to a petrol or diesel car?
A study by Vantage Leasing found that going through with buying an electric vehicle can be up to 18% more expensive on average. This is mostly as a result of the still high price of manufacturing the electric motor and batteries.
Over time once more competitors join and batteries are produced at a bigger scale hopefully the price of manufacturing batteries goes down with the general price of cars.
According to confused.com they found that the average cost of insuring an electric car is upwards of £1250.
When we compare it to the non electric car insurance price of £790 we see that insurance for an electric car can be almost 1.5x the price of non electric cars.
When we talk about general maintenance of an electric car, we know that they are cheaper than petrol and diesel cars. This is simply because of the fewer moving pieces and the greater simplicity of the engine and battery.
Nonetheless always make sure you do proper research to be informed and know exactly what type of maintenance your electric vehicle needs.
Finding the best electric car to buy is often complicated due to the continuous amount of new cars that are unveiled. Not being sure if now is the right time to buy a car depends on the type of car that is available and the features that it offers you.
We’ve gone through and found for you our top 10 electric cars to buy in 2020 to help you understand all of the similarities and differences between these cars. We hope this list helps you be better informed when making your decision about buying your electric car!
The Tesla Model 3 is the fourth edition of Tesla vehicles and perhaps the most well-rounded in terms of price, performance, and safety. Buying the basic Model 3 package claims to have around 250 miles of range and 0-60mph in 5.3 seconds.
The Model 3 also includes Autopilot which allows it to take some pressure off longer trips that you may choose to do with your Tesla. If you’re looking to spend a bit more money as you’re looking for more performance or range you can certainly do that.
Tesla sells a dual-motor version that has a greater range of up to 330 miles and has an incredible 0-60mph of only 3.2 seconds. This is a 5 seating, family car that could easily race against any compatible sports car like the Mercedes AMG GT S.
An unbelievable car that you can get for a starting price of £38,000 along with its connectivity option with Tesla's supercharger network across Europe. This is for us the best electric car in the market in terms of performance, price, technology and charging capabilities.
Feel free to check our listings to find used Tesla Model 3 listings going for great prices.
Jaguar’s release of the I-Pace has rivalled the long deserved dominance of Tesla. You can find the basic version of the I-pace going for a steep £65,000.
This all electric SUV sets quite impressive 0-60mph times hitting 4.5 seconds. The jaguar I-pace has a very spacious and luxurious feel to it with a more busy interior than the extremely minimalistic Tesla vehicles.
The jaguar includes self-raising suspension, all wheel drive and an incredible amount of torque to push you off-road if you decide to step off the beaten path.
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With an estimated range of around 290 miles, this car will serve both for short commutes and longer drivers. Just remember to plan for a charge at some point!
It comes close to Tesla's innovative interior tech allowing it to be partnered with a jaguar mobile app for more functions of the vehicle.
Functions that are incredibly useful such as checking that your doors are locked, or heating your car before you even head outside.
This electric car is a perfect demonstration of British manufacturers putting their maximum effort into building a performance SUV that is ready to compete with the industry leaders.
While this will not be the electric car that is on everyone’s mind it is important to note that now at least buyers will have the choice of different price points, from a variety of manufacturers with yet still a high level of performance.
This is exactly what we need to see out of manufacturers to make sure that customers are excited about making the switch and that the options they have are competitive and relevant.
Nissan really developed an industry changing car with its Leaf electric car option. They’ve recently passed the unimaginable 400,000 cars sold for the most sold electric car in history.
The Japanese company was one of the first big manufacturers to bet big on electric vehicles and their simple and reliable Leaf model has paid off big time.
The price tag of £28,000 allows for the version 2 of the leaf to have around 240 real world miles for range with some of the cheapest charging rates. A significant drop in range but this car is meant for shorter trips like a short commute to work.
The design of the Nissan Leaf isn’t the most attractive of the group yet it does have it’s true believers that stand behind it. It is quite spacious and will easily seat 5 with space left in the boot for any type of luggage you have.
The interior has a similar feel to a Toyota Prius with a lot of plastic, nonetheless with a significant amount of new tech that is more than apt for an under £30K car.
This new tech includes a 360 degree camera that helps you park as well as “ProPilot” driver assistance which shows Nissans style of almost autonomous driving.
So how does it perform? Okay. But that's also okay, not every car needs to have a 0-60mph under 4 seconds. The Nissan leaf is a comfortable electric car that is reliable and that can seat a family for under £30,000.
It’s still important to state that it does its 0-60mph in between 7 and 8 seconds. It also has a drastically different level of torque in comparison to the two cars above it coming in at 340Nm.
While it isn’t the best electric car that you can get on the market right now, it is practical and has a fantastic value for your money. It also depends on your current situation, not everybody is looking for a Jaguar I-pace, and not everyone is comfortable in buying a car from a new company from California.
The Nissan Leaf is a safe bet for those wanting a practical electric car that gets them to and from short commutes and doesn’t have a negative impact on the environment.
We couldn’t have imagined a car list without including the german giants Audi, and this list wouldn’t be any different. The Audi E-tron has brought in a different level of competition to the electric SUV market.
Very similar in build to the Q5, it has a heavy frame with an approximate 250 mile range. A significant difference from the competing I-pace which has up to 290 miles of range. It weighs around 2500kgs and will hit 0-60mph in just under 6 seconds.
It seems like this SUV has it all, yet, in comparison to what is readily available with industry leaders such as the Model X, the Jaguar I-Pace it doesn’t have a winning edge.
Audi has reportedly spent a massive £2 billion in costs to develop this new side of the Audi vehicle line. It seems like Audi has spent all that money to make sure that they are still a player in this emerging market.
Audi’s interior has maintained the same top of the line standard that we’ve seen in its previous vehicles and has not dissappointed.
The price tag for the E-tron starts at around £60,000 having the possiblity of adding any customizations that come along with a regular Audi vehicle. An important feature that i’m sure you’ve read elsewhere are the disappearing side mirrors.
Audi’s innovative idea has removed the need for side mirrors and they have instead installed a high tech camera that basically shows live video of what you would see if you looked at the mirrors.
This was done to remove any option of blind spots and to improve your driving experience. Nonetheless, it might be hard to get used to as the new screen is closer to where we've been trained to look at for so long.
There has been a variety of levels of push back because of Audi’s decision but luckily they have made it an optional extra which of course you will have to pay for.
All in all it seems like Audi just needed to make sure that they were in the market to fight for a chance at some type of domination of the electric car space in the future. Developing the Audi E-tron is a positive statement by the german company but it does not prove dominance over Tesla in any way, shape or form.
Similarly to the comment about the I-pace perhaps not everyone is looking to spend over £60,000 on a new electric car, yet it is good for us consumers to have these options readily available.
The Kia e-Niro is a close competitor of the Nissan Leaf. Coming in at a humble £33,000 for a practical and reliable family car. This will be, along with the Nissan Leaf, one of the cars that make it commercially accessible for people to buy electric SUVs.
The e-Niro comes, much like other electric vehicles, with its own standard 3-pin plug for the UK socket. The only problem is that it could take up to 24 hours for a full charge from empty to occur.
You might be better off finding public charging as the Kia accepts up to 100kW, which could charge your car from 20%-80% in under an hour.
The Kia e-Niro is completely connected to Kona Electric, the Hyundai version of its electric cars. This makes for an astonishingly practical family car that is trusted by the electric car community. Both Kona and E-niro are basically the same cars as they share the same motor, battery and platform.
While both of these are front-wheel drive we wouldn’t recommend selecting this car if you’re looking for a car that is meant for off-road travel. Nonetheless this is a practical, comfortable and easy to use electric car that is perfectly built for families.
Possibly the most important point to talk about in this car is its significant range. The E-niro has up to 290 miles of range which can all be influenced depending on what settings of the car you have it on, the temperature outside and among many other variables.
Hitting nearly 300 miles of range is a magnificent advantage to purchasing this well-rounded vehicle. This will be one the biggest things that will draw you to this vehicle from Kia.
The interior is simple and well-thought out to be completely comprehensible as soon as you sit in. Often feeling a little plasticky and cheap, must buttons and knobs are exactly where they should be and that’s just how we like it.
This hatchback is built with only one out of the factory purchasing option that includes leather, heated seats, all the technology you need with an adaptable 8 inch display. There is plenty of space for a family of 5 and plenty of room in the trunk as well.
This is one of the best options in terms of finding an affordable long-range electric car and is a fantastic option for those searching for a new car that is electric and can fit a large family.
Kia has done a fantastic job and similarly to the Kona Hyundai model they have brought feasible and affordable options to families that are not willing to spend more than £50,000 on an electric SUV.
They’ve done such an incredible job and have underestimated the demand that comes with an affordable family electric SUV that they’ve actually sold out of their E-niro batch in the UK. The same goes for its sister company Hyundai who also sold out of its almost exact replica in the Kona.
We can’t wait to see what they have in store for us in the future in continued developments of these vehicles!
First released in 2013 in the UK, BMW was one of the first giant manufacturers to make the switch to making fully electric cars. This quirky looking car seems to be specifically built for those looking to drive short commutes within a city.
The initial range was significantly limited in comparison to other worthy contenders of this list, however has since been improved with new battery technology. This new tech will bring up the range to around 190 miles on one full charge.
It’s still essential to mention that the estimates of range always change depending on your driving style, the temperature, among many other variables. Many customers report having around 130-160 real world driving miles of range, a drastic difference from any other car on this list.
If you’re looking for a car with real range we would definitely recommend looking elsewhere. Tesla has been the dominating force in terms of range for all electric cars. It is also worth noting that the fastest charging speed available for the i-3 is only 50kW.
BMW actually has a partnership with chargemaster which allows new i-3 owners to purchase private charging in their homes if they choose.
The driving, and the performance of this car is what pushes it beyond other electric cars. Customers have said that this is one of the most fun electric cars to drive, and with a 0-60mph of around 7 seconds we can’t imagine it being any different.
Power distribution in the i-3 is linear, with really stable steering wheel control on top of an incredible turning radius, and a very controlled suspension it is a perfect build for a city car.
The interior is a staple of BMW cars and it wouldn’t be any different for this incredible electric car. The build of the i-3 is made to be as sustainable as possible as many of the plastic parts from inside are made from recycled plastics.
With the available option of going for a more expensive i-3S model the basic i-3 will set you back approximately £35,000. There are many add-ons that you might want to take a look at if you decide on this vehicle, but of course they will cost you.
In conclusion we find that this is a slightly older version of the newest electric car frenzy and that can be shown with its lack of range and tech in comparison to newer more advanced cars.
Nonetheless the option is still there for anyone looking for a compact city car with great driving abilities. Just make sure to charge everywhere you go!
We know that the Model 3 is ranked first in our list and for a reason. It wouldn’t make sense to not include the Model S in this list as well as the Model 3 is basically a smaller, cheaper, and more improved version of the Model S.
When the Model S was released, it set a standard for a new premium electric car that could perform in some cases better than normal petrol or diesel cars. Boasting the incredible connected Tesla supercharger network charging this car won’t ever be a problem.
In its most powerful form, this Tesla model can do 0-60mph in under 3 seconds, an absolutely ridiculous figure. This places this luxury saloon in similar lists with the likes of Ferrari’s, Lamborghinis Bugattis, and McLarens.
Yet while it’s being compared to these sports cars that are built specifically for their speed and dynamic movements, this is a luxury 5 seater with a claimed 400+ miles in range. Real world range would most likely be between 200-300 miles depending on what type of Model S you choose.
The Tesla Model S includes additional features such as autopilot and a continuously updating software that allows for this car to be improving over time.
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The minimalistic design along with the extremely large touchscreen in the front makes you feel like this car belongs in the future. The interior is very spacious with high quality with heated seats and heated steering wheel.
Perhaps the only negative thing that we can take from this is how expensive it will be to get. Starting at a difficult £70,000 , the Tesla Model S is the most expensive car on this list so far and probably for good reason.
Given the incredible quality of its performance and stamina the Model S without a doubt set a precedent of the caliber that premium electric cars should be set at. If you’re looking to put some more money into your Tesla you can easily pump up its performance by spending at least £100,000. Checkout all the details on Tesla.com/models.
If you’re looking for a premium electric car of this caliber, but with a smaller price tag, we also recommend looking at used Tesla’s. We have a large variety of used Model S’s on our site and have built a site exclusively to connect Tesla owners directly with buyers.
Nonetheless if you like what Tesla is doing, you want to support the company and get yourself a Tesla we recommend the Model 3. In our opinion the best electric car you could get this year and half the price of the Model S, with similar performance specs.
It did feel like we couldn’t forget about Porsche Taycan after raving about the Model S. These have been compared left and right. Until the release of the Taycan consumers were waiting to see how Porsche would react to Tesla's incredible performing cars.
Through Porsche’s manufacturing of its Taycan, we can see that the German giant is taking bet on electric cars very seriously.
When we’re comparing the top class of both models we find that Tesla is claiming to be just a hair faster in the 0-60mph but Porsche takes over Tesla in the 0-100mph race. The Porsche comes out to a reasonable £84,000 for a fully kitted electric beast.
Check out this incredible video that top gear made comparing both the Taycan and the Tesla Model S. Apart from the incredible drag race, they do a great job of putting both options into the correct perspective.
The Taycan has a similar but smaller build to the Porsche’s Panamera model. With an extremely classy interior that is complete with a variety of screens detailing the status of the car and all of its available features.
Space inside the Taycan is significantly smaller than the Model S both in terms of boot space and seating space for the people in the back row.
In comparison to the Model S’s entertainment capabilities the Taycan may fall a little short. Nonetheless some may consider that is in fact Tesla that has gone beyond what most would want in their car, it all depends on your preferences.
The Taycan’s immaculate body control makes it seem at times faster than the Model S even though speeds are very similar. This has to do with its incredibly balanced steering control even with a 2.3 tonne car.
The Porsche’s range is slightly lower than the Tesla’s at around 280 miles, but has a more powerful charge capability reaching 270kW. This means that with the correct charging station the Porsche can charge from 5% to 80% in 22 minutes.
An astounding feature that is nearing the capability of fixing the continuous complaints that non EV drivers have about charging electric vehicles.
The comparison between the Porsche Taycan and the Model S are at times not fair given that they are very different cars. While the performance is the same, the mindset behind them is totally different.
Depending on your perspective and how much money you are willing to spend on a performance premium electric car one will most likely stand out to you more than the other.
In the current world of electric cars, research is headed towards who can develop the longest range, or the fastest speed. As far as small electric hatchback cars go, there are plenty of options in the market that are commercially available.
So why talk about another one like the Honda E? Because we really felt like we needed to give it a spot on our list for how incredibly practical it is.
Apart from its futuristic sleek look that will make heads turn, its 35kW battery and its range of up to 136 miles, this little car is redefining our expectations of quality electric cars that are available to everyone.
The interior is completed with plenty of screens detailing all the varying things you need to know about your current trip and it looks decadent. The steep starting price of £26,000 shows us that Hyundai is not playing around with this small car.
An incredible fun car to drive around, this small hatchback has very fluid steering and turning radius that would make other cars jealous.
The notion of a small car having anything more than 200 miles of real range is at times unrealistic. Most people that own small cars realistically will be driving shorter distances and having a charging station at home will solve any problems in relation to charging.
The Honda E is a car for short trips around a busy city or town. Installing a charger at home will be the solution to all your problems, especially if all you do is take it to and from work.
This electric car will take rapid charges of up to 100kW and will charge up to 80% in around 30 minutes.
It seems that the camera mirrors that we’re present as an add-on to the Audi E-tron are also a reality in the Honda-E. This is added to existing cameras that you can sort of flick on and off depending on the position of your rear view mirror.
The camera side mirrors have brought up a lot of doubts and questions from customers. Things such as proper depth perception, how they will hold up over time, and what happens if they get damaged are all valid questions that current Honda-E customers are having.
Nonetheless, it adds to the extremely futuristic and highly technical aspect of this small electric car. The two 12 inch screens that sit at the front of the Honda-E give it an extremely high quality customisable feel, as you can play around and set up whatever features you want displayed.
Honda has done a great job of producing a premium small hatchback electric car for the masses and we will definitely see plenty of this on the road soon enough!
The last car on our list for Top 10 best electric cars to buy in 2020 is another SUV built by a german giant like Mercedes Benz.
This electric car can easily be paired up of the likes of the Jaguar I-Pace and the Audi E-tron. An exquisite car that has blown past all of our expectations.
With an expected range of up to 260 miles, this car has been built to be a very well-rounded car. Having the ability of taking you on longer trips while maintaining its capabilities of being quick and nimble around city settings and shorter trips.
The price goes back up for this classy SUV starting at around £66,000, a usual price point for any type of Mercedes Benz vehicle. The EQC has a drastically smaller sized battery even though it can still charge at speeds of up to 110kW.
Mercedes has connected this incredible EQC to a highly functional app that allows you to control car temperature and check its location remotely. While Mercedes has developed a smaller battery for its EQC it still goes farther in real range than both the I-pace and the E-tron.
This heavy SUV has an incredibly fast speed reaching 0-60mph in 5.1 seconds. It also has a powerful towing capability of up to 1800 kilos, which is quite good when considering its electric capabilities.
The automatic brake regen installed in this EQC adapts to your current situation and will become stiffer if there's a possible car closer ahead and will soften once there are no obstacles ahead.
The steering of this Mercedes is very well built along with a relaxed, practical and comfortable drive. The interior holds its standard to other Mercedes models with an impeccable interior design and build.
Its characteristic screens are also present giving the driver full control of all technical features in this car.
This premium electric SUV is a fantastic option that rivals its close competitors: the I-pace , E-tron and Model X for the best electric SUV in the current market.
Many people choose to lean towards purchasing a second hand or used car instead of going through with a brand new purchase. Purchasing a vehicle will be one of the most expensive purchases of someone's life, so making sure that you get the best deal possible should be a priority?
What do most people think about buying used cars? In 2019 alone the Uk used car market sold around 7.9 million used cars. This shows the true value that can be found in owning a used car.
Most cars, unless they’re one of a kind, will depreciate instantly as soon as you drive off the car dealership. So does it make sense to look for good deals in the used car market? Absolutely.
There are plenty of deals that often go unnoticed, and in the electric vehicle space these are the best deals available. Over time more of these deals will become available as more cars will go into production, and eventually more of these cars will be sold off to second hand buyers.
Now is a great time to start investing in perhaps the first real era of performance electric cars finding great deals of Teslas, Jaguars and Kia’s.
The first thing you need to think about when buying a used electric car is the range that you will be needing. Depending on what model you decide to buy just know that any newer type of EV will usually have more range than any of the older models.
Now the exact state of the battery in the used car will depend a lot on the status of the car itself. If the driver took good care of its car and its battery it should’ve been degrading at around 2% a year. Make sure to check the status of the batteries range.
In the Nissan leaf there is an indicator that tells you how much battery range you’re losing over time. Depending on the exact EV model you have you might have to check with a dealer to help you look through the vehicle’s software.
The possibility of replacing battery cells for a couple hundred pounds is absolutely true and you shouldn’t be too worried about having to spend thousands of pounds.
Make sure to only go through with a purchase where you can be sure of its full service history. This service history will allow you to go through different software updates that the car has gone through.
Going through the warranty and checking to make sure that it still be active on some parts of the car. One of the most important checks to go through is making sure that all the technology in the interior of the car works.
In a car like the Tesla Model S, or any electric car for that reason make sure that the infotainment system works as more often than not these are the brain’s of your car. If you want to know the status of anything in your car it will most likely be through the infotainment system in the interior. Make sure that these systems are fully functional and go through and check all of the features to see it working in real time.
Obviously checking for any exterior body damage to the paint or the structure of the car will be something evident to look out for.
There have been plenty of electric vehicle dealers popping up all over the UK, and that’s great news. Many of these dealers are specialists in EV’s and can recommend the best options available for you.
A simple google search will find the nearest dealer to you and they will surely be extremely helpful to finding your exact needs.
Many of these dealers also ensure to set a standard of quality where the consumer is only getting a top quality second hand electric vehicle that they can be confident in buying.
An added benefit to being able to visit these friendly dealers is getting to know the people in the close-knit electric vehicle community. People that are all drawn to the same belief that having an eco-friendly driving option shouldn’t be limited by performance, safety, and style.
If you’re looking to try and drive an electric car there are plenty of options. Many dealers in the Uk will allow you to come test out the cars and see how you feel in them. Driving an electric car is a completely different experience than driving a petrol or diesel car.
Making sure that you’re confident and comfortable in your electric car is perhaps one of the most important aspects of your purchase. There are cars that you unfortunately won’t be able to test out before buying them because of their release dates or the low availability.
That is the case with many owners of Teslas around the UK that can’t afford to try out a Model as it has not come out yet. Such is the case with the highly anticipated Model Y that will begin deliveries in the UK over the year 2022.
Given how new the electric vehicle market is, there won’t be enough EV dealers around every city or town in the UK. For that reason the EV online marketplaces have grown significantly over these last few years.
There are plenty of free online marketplaces for all types of vehicles for sale and those include electric vehicles. The biggest names in the business are obviously auto-trader, motors.co.uk, parkers.co.uk and many others.
Here you can confidently look through all types of vehicle, filter through them by specific company that produces them, the price, model, and so on. These free marketplaces are great options to find all possible options available.
Here at usedteslaworld we decided to build a small marketplace for Teslas exclusively. On our site you can find and contact owners that are selling their used Teslas. If you're looking to sell any Tesla parts you can also upload a part/accessory for free for the Tesla community to find.
On our marketplace, all listings are checked to make sure they pass a standard of quality that makes our customers trust us. We also don’t get involved with the sale of the car which means that you make the deal you want on your own terms without any pressure from us.
Tesla owners value what their selling and buyers value the exclusivity that we provide them. We’ve seen incredible deals for all available models of Teslas on our site and we highly recommend you check out the current listings if you’re interested.
It’s clear that we might have a slight preference towards Teslas, as we’ve seen incredible deals on our site for a variety of Model X, Model S, and Model 3. We’d like to start of this small list by quickly talking about buying a used Tesla.
There are early versions of the Model S that can be found for £25,000, which is an incredible deal given the sophistication of the luxury saloon. Given that you still have a continuously updating software along with a connection to a complete supercharger network all over Europe.
Just be sure to check on the status of the battery and how much it has degraded over time.
Check our Model S listings to find great deals available.
While this was recently released in the UK and there aren’t too many being sold on in the used vehicle market yet, and that is why they are such great deals.
The used Model 3’s that you will find in the aftermarket will basically be relatively new used cars. You can find great deals that will sit you in a long range AWD performance model 3, which has incredible race car performance and will be cheaper than most.
Buying a used model 3 for around £35,000 would be an incredible investment that will definitely pay off in the future with Tesla growing as fast as it is.
Check out our complete used Tesla listings to see our latest Model 3’s.
The Tesla Model X wasn’t mentioned earlier in the Top 10 electric cars to buy in 2020 and that’s because there have been cheaper alternatives that have showed up performing at a similar level.
Nonetheless finding a second hand Model X would be an incredible deal. This SUV with race car performance is on par with all other Tesla models and should not be ignored. A new model X can easily go for around £100,000 and the chances of you finding one for under £70,000 is a real possibility.
Definitely keep an eye out for dropping Model X prices as these will be an incredible family investment and the best family car you will ever purchase.
Head to our listings to see all used Model X’s on sale.
The Nissan leaf 2.0 is already the most popular electric car ever, recently having hit over 400,000 in sales. This is one of the most reliable and practical electric cars available at this time.
The even better news is that you can now find incredible deals for the Nissan Leaf even as low as £7,000 according to this article by the guardian. The fast charging in the later 24kW and 30kW batteries are a fantastic addition but will accelerate the depletion of battery capacity.
You can find incredible deals for the Nissan Leaf on auto-trader (and other similar sites) and we highly recommend if you’re looking for a cheaper option this is it. The Nissan Leaf is a reliable, practical and extremely popular alternative to diesel or petrol cars.
The same logic that we found with the Nissan Leaf is present with the BMW i-3. The quirky carbon fibre constructed BMW is a fantastic city car that drives extremely well.
You can either love or hate the design but you can’t hate the fact that there are extremely good looking deals all over for this car. A new i-3 would set you back £36,000 while you can find good deals for used BMW i-3’s hitting lows of under £10,000.
Getting a used i-3 would give you a performance electric vehicle with the capability of hitting 0-60mph in under 7 seconds.
This is a fantastic option if you’re looking for a useful, complete city car that is extremely fun to drive and easy to take everywhere.
These are just a few options that you could look into for the best used electric cars that are available to you.
All in all it seems that the electric car bet is paying off and consumers are responding to all the innovations that manufacturers are bringing to market. The following years will be full of new tech that will improve the range, drop the price and make electric cars the new norm.
Let us know what you guys think about our guide by getting in contact with us!