This week's EV bargain that I'm not buying

@unkel Thank you for the hint ;-)

The seller wouldn't go below €7k. I offered slightly less and was ignored 😕. Could see her sold two days later.

Knowing that, I picked up practically identical immaculate Tekna for €7k from Waterford yesterday.

However, there's another Tekna on Donedeal in Cork, the seller aiming at €8.5k. That's basically repeating originally advertised prices (before being reduced) of the two above. And I don't think it's the last one.

It seems that all these 30 kWh top spec Teknas were imported by ElectricAutos about 5 years ago, and sold to the current owners, who are now upgrading. Serviced with Nissan due to warranty, so Spartan style battery and car check Nissan reports should be available. For a peace of mind as said.

Might be useful info for anyone with €7k budget.

Agree. An L30 with low deg and the software update is a great car for 7k.

Thanks for that, have just forwarded the details to a neighbour who is looking for a small EV, doesn't like the Zoe. She also likes the little Fiat, but I think the VW would suit her better. She finds her present Peugeot e-208 too big and a bit low..

What's the deal with negotiating with garages? My feeling is they might move a few hundred but tend to not move more unlike a private sale? Tesla m3 35k

That's hard to say for sure. The residual value in the materials an EV is likely to keep the price floor relatively high. The fuel tank in an ice car can't be repurposed into static domestic energy storage in the same way EV batteries can.

I wouldn't be confident of the actual value of reusing EV batteries in domestic energy sources unless you are a DIYer. Comparing the a 2012 Nissan Leaf to an ICE Note of same year/mileage shows pretty even pricing. Domestic energy storage needs reliability and given its nature, frequent cycles which old batteries struggle with.

Given the limited use cases for them as we agreed that it's more a DIY situation, I don't think it will prop up the values. Looking at the 2nd hand market if anything, low range EV prices are dropping like a stone. Ireland may be immune to some extent due to its small size and lower amounts of driven mileage but range degradation on 10+ year old cars with older battery tech is substantial which would offset much of the value in the cells.

Honestly I think there are lots of cars that are extremely similar in value now compared to 6 years ago.

I think people forget how cheap cars were back then.

@unkel you are just proving my point that this is a very niche area. 99% of people will not be putting their car on a lift and taking it apart. Furthermore, there is numerous cars that have held if not increased in value over the past few years.

I would also consider the potentially massive risk of installing substantial amounts of batteries recovered from faulty/crashed EVs in a domestic set up. Even if just for the insurance issue as I don't think this would be certified work, nevermind the lifespan and reliability. Given that EV sales are going one way, and the price of batteries lowering as tech develops, EVs residuals will go down as normal.