Buying a used EV privately - what to consider?

poker--addict

I can find the right place to put the window washer water, and I can check tyres. Beyond that I won't be claiming much in the way of knowledge of cars inner workings.

As a result I have always avoided buying a car second hand privately when the value has been over 10-12k due to perceived risk.

However, have seen some EV options being sold privately. Value around 40,000.

If a newer car is still under warranty presumably risk is low? How would one check that? Is there other considerations?

One option is Skoda Enyaq, another is ID4. The alternate might be a new Tesla Y.

They are a safer buy than normal cars due to less mechanical complexity. The quietness also lets you hear any suspension clonks etc on a testdrive. Just check the history including the finance checks, look for signs of crash damage, make sure the service history exists to keep the battery/drivetrain warranty in force.

So pretty much the same as any car except you don't need to worry about the engine, clutch and gearbox condition.

celtic_oz

One of the reasons a new Model Y RWD is so popular atm - @47K roughly the same price as 1-2 year year old comparable EV

poker--addict

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120300406#Comment_120300406

Is there anything that can result in invalid warranty ?

slave1

From your post, it's a new Y all day every day

joe1303l

I wouldn’t be that keen to spend €40K+ on a private sale unless it was a serious bargain or something I couldn’t buy elsewhere. But each to their own.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120303531#Comment_120303531

On most makes: incomplete service history.

On Tesla: Nothing that I can think of.

slave1

Non Tesla Service Center repairs can invalidate warranty

zg3409

Firstly what is your daily commute?

Do you own your own home and do you have an off-street driveway where you can get a home charger installed?

What is your typical weekend long trip, round trip in km?

If you regularly do trips above 300km in Winter you may need to public charge regularly and public chargers are busy at peak times. Only about 1/3 enough.

In terms of warranty you get longer with new. Used may have different length warranty depending on make and model. Most have maximum mileage limits too.

Hyundai/kia tend to have 5 year everything warranty + extra for only battery, others are similar typically less for everything. You do hear the odd horror story of faulty EVs but generally they are far more reliable than petrol or diesel and if you buy used from a dealer they often add extra warranty. I prefer to buy private, take a risk and always have a couple of thousand in the bank in case I need a big repair or to buy another temporary car to get me going. If you don't want that risk then get something with "everything" warranty.

Answer the above personal questions first to see if an EV would work for you.

poker--addict

Thanks. It is infrequent that we drive more than 200km in a day.

With a fairly large solar array I'd expect to charge for free in summer, so economic!

Interesting take on buying private, and knowing you have saved a few k if you do need repairs, chances of a dud are small so over several cars/years the risk should easily be paid for...

Wildly Boaring

There is absolutely no way I'd buy a 45 grand car privately.

Zero customer rights. The, very small, chance of a cloned car. Actually getting them the money. Transfers Have to clear. Drafts can be forged etc.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120311456#Comment_120311456

LOL. You still living in the 90s?

You can do all checks you need online within a few minutes based on just the car reg. Reg checks, finance checks, insurance checks. Most €40k cars are still under manufacturer's warranty, or at least the most important part for EVs - battery and drivetrain warranty.

And money can be transferred instantly with zero cost these days. I sold my last Tesla got paid with Revolut and I bought my current Tesla on the same day, paying with Revolut.

Patser

Double check with seller what cables they are including - ideally you want a type 2 and a granny (3 pin) cable. Sometimes sellers want to hang onto them as spares or whatever.

If you're getting a charger at home, then granny cable is less important but type 2 is handy for on street charging

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120311654#Comment_120311654

A wheel falls off 2 minutes after you buy it and tough luck with your private sale. Wheel falls off a car bought from a dealer they have to fix it, replace or refund.

liamog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120311894#Comment_120311894

Are there any cars selling for €45k that have a serious enough risk of a wheel falling off?

crisco10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120311901#Comment_120311901

The Toyota xy68yz ( or whatever its called)?

Wildly Boaring

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120311654#Comment_120311654

I know of 2 cloned cars in the last 10 years.

Both of them had vins altered on the car to match fake log book of real cars from car showrooms. Would have been a lot easier to spot in the 90s as a fake log book back then be fairly crap.

It's probably 0.01% probability and I'd have no problem risking up to 20k.

You going to revolut someone 45 grand at their house with no comeback. Off you go.....

Something is wrong with the car and it's been unsuccessfully in and out of garages for 2 years......

It's all small risks but not risks I'd take with 45k in the 90s or now.

Basilio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120311894#Comment_120311894

Dealer has a markup at least 10%. Why not buy a car warranty from companies available and save yourself few thousands?

Surely I am not talking about handling cash to somebody on a supermarket car park. I just refused a cash offer from a buyer (pref transfer).

joe1303l

Plenty poorly repaired write offs on irish roads also and they don’t always appear to be declared with cartell type checks either. Clocking hasn’t gone away and pcp finance hasn’t helped. As always buy with your eyes wide open particularly with private sales via the likes of DoneDeal. €45K is a lot of cash to try and recover if you get caught.

celtic_oz

Nice! ... https://www.donedeal.ie/all?userId=498668

The 75 looks like good value ?

fafy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120312282#Comment_120312282

Thats interesting, policy is limited to 2.5k per claim, but that would cover a lot

slave1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120311456#Comment_120311456

I sold my Model S last year past €40k via Revolut and had a queue at asking.

Risk is associated with private sale, that is why there is no seller warranty and the price is less.

You can choose to eliminate this risk by buying from a main dealer but there will be a price premium.

Best mitigation of risk is to buy private with manufacturers warranty

joe1303l

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120312446#Comment_120312446

I had a policy like one of these and it was virtually impossible to get them to pay out on anything. I think it was carprotect and underwritten by a UK firm. Don’t waste your money on one.

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120304121#Comment_120304121

Are you sure about that?

Tesla must comply with the same EU law on serviced outside of the main dealer network.

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120311901#Comment_120311901

Every car has a risk of a wheel falling off. Why do they do PDIs on new cars and people make mistakes.

JayeL

How does paying by Revolut work? Can you just add €40k to your account with Google/Apple Pay and just send it to the seller via the app?

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120314566#Comment_120314566

Yep.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120311894#Comment_120311894

Indeed. And funny enough that's exactly what happened to my current Tesla just a few hours after I bought it. Well, the wheel didn't fall off, but a lower suspension arm snapped and the wheel was then touching the wheel well liner. Car was still under manufacturer's warranty though, so a call to Tesla and they came to collect it. Got a loaner car (better and newer than my own) for the time it took to get my car fixed and they all come with free supercharging and free tolls, which was handy on a break to Belfast that we were going on the next weekend 😁

Killer K

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120312715#Comment_120312715

That's it. Really don't see any value in buying a car from a dealer when it can be bought for significantly less private once there is a decent amount of manufacturer warranty. That is of course with doing history check including outstanding finance check.

poker--addict

This is interesting thread.

slave1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120304121#Comment_120304121

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120314030#Comment_120314030

I think you probably missed the word “repairs” as our YT friend of old found out

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120315667#Comment_120315667

I read servicing. Apologies.

zg3409

Even buying from dealers you can have issues with warranty claims. Often people bring cars back 5 or 6 times for attempted fixes. No fix is more common in petrol or diesel but getting dealers to sort out warranty issues can be a big fight. At least as a private buyer you have saved say 4000 euro so you can bring your car to local shop or specialist to have fault properly diagnosed and fixed. Many dealers struggle to fix cars as all good mechanics typically leave and go out on their own. They also don't tend to work on older cars unlike specialists. While warranty can be handy it's not all it's cracked up to be.