This week's EV bargain that I'm not buying V2

Unloved comes to mind. Testament to the car still running with an owner that cared so little for it

Unless you're in the trade, or know the answer to the question you asked, these crashed cars aren't worth looking at. Stick to bargains or risk buying a donut.

I'd be super wary of the claimed 11 bars in that leaf ad. It's possible to reconfigure the battery SOH temporarily if you have the right tool.

230+ k km and no way has it got 11 bars left without having had a battery replacement or the above nefarity going on.

Great cars for bangernomics if you can live with the range. Mine has about 2/3 the range of that one's claim, as I have now 8 bars left on the 2011, and it does all the local trips

My point is that if you don't already know, or don't have someone in the know, then it's not worth your time, because the cost of repairs is likely to run into the cost of buying one with a clean title if you're lucky. It's why there is a separate thread for crashed cars, but they are still posted here.

I used to do a bit of DIY repairs on cars as a hobby. And cars have got harder and more expensive to repair in the last 20 years. That Kona for example, which was said to need a "small pull and a replacement section quarter panel" doesn't begin to comprehend the level of repair that is needed before you consider the unseen damage. After inspection, most body shops will say that the whole section needs replacing.

Here's a quarter panel from OVOKO where I've got parts over the years. This is the wrong side, but it gives you an idea. €200 for the part. €500 for delivery or you can try to source locally. IME, locally is most of the time not available.

The photos of crashed cars are always taken at the best angles. You see some of the damage, but until you see the car, you won't have any real idea of how bad the damage is.

I wasn't having a go at you for asking questions. That's what the forum is all about. I was merely pointing out that buying crashed cars is a game for those in the know. Most ordinary folk looking for an easy fix will get a rude awakening after parting with their cash and start to figure out the real costs of repairing these crashed cars.

I know a small bit about repairs and have contacts where I could get the repairs done cheaply, but I still stay away from these "bargains" that are posted. I have seen only one posted here that was a good purchase. A VW e-UP with genuinely minor bumper damage. A mistaken write-off imo and someone here bought it. The other 99.5%…not so simple and cheap.

Late 2013 in the Sunderland built cars. You can tell by the lack of the electronic parking brake.

It does seem hard to believe, but the 2015 I bought last month has 11 bars just shy of 130k klms. If the battery is well minded, kept withing the 20-80% and not fast charged, then 10 or 11 bars are outliers with 200k klms, but still available.

LeafSpy shows the live data and bypasses the OBC, so that's how you save yourself from that scam. Also worth noting that clearing the battery health data brings the capacity bars back to 12. When the BMS re-learns the true capacity, those bars drop right back down to whatever they were before.

Earliest were on our 132 plate, the change was made to align with the timing of the new UK plates

I’d just hate to think of anyone on here getting in over their heads.

Yeah. If you’re not knowledgeable or connected with regards to car repairs, then buying a crashed one from a salvage yard will give you about a half percentage point of a chance of landing one that can be properly repaired for less than the value of an equivalent used one of similar age and mileage. They are priced for lads who can fix them up and flip them. So, for sure, buyer beware. I’d hate for anyone to think these are easy fixes with no experience. Eyes wide open.

Buyer beware with any purchase. The ones you linked are priced fair enough, but I would have them checked out by an expert if it were me. I would want to see pictures before repair. The value of a crashed car that was repaired is not the same as the value of one unblemished.

I picked up a 2015 Leaf in NI from a small dealership. Overall, pretty decent deal at €4k. I bought unseen and negotiated a few hundred off over the phone. Still needed to be registered here and NCTd. It had bad rear shocks (one was leaking), chipped windscreen in drivers view and the touchscreen doesn’t work.

Windscreen was covered by insurance.
I replaced the shocks myself.

I’m waiting on a digitiser to fix the touchscreen.

If I relied on others to fix everything, it would be a hefty bill. Some people can’t hold a spanner and might have crazy ideas about the cost to fix things. Some might even think that Kona just needs a bolt on panel. If you’re confident you can buy a crashed car and repair at low cost, have at it. I’m not that brave, so I stick to cars that only might have been crashed 🤣.