Most economical and reliable used EV for £20k

6446 Views 127 Replies 41 Participants Last post by Stinsy, 4 mo ago

BillTheButcher

Discussion Starter · 5 mo ago (Edited)

After a couple of very unpleasant months commuting in a Suzuki Swift, I've decided that I need to increase the budget and get back into an EV.

I've got an absolute maximum budget of £20k. The most important considerations are reliability, range, comfort and maintenance costs (in that order).

The two cars that seem to most closely fit the bill are:

1. Renault Zoe R135 52kWh (Rapid Charge)
Pros: range; infotainment; Renault dealership is closer to me
Cons: reliability; the dealership may be closer but the staff are ****

2. Nissan Leaf 40kWh
Pros: more comfortable at motorway speeds; reliability (although a few surveys I found online said otherwise)
Cons: range; infotainment; dealership is miles away; CHAdeMO

Edited to add: must have climate control, cruise control (normal or adaptive) and folding mirrors.

Any and all advice and suggestions welcome.

101 - 120 of 128 Posts

Cheshirecat

· #101 · 5 mo ago

People's Front of Judea said:
Yes, quite. The number of BEV company car owners at work here has grown enormously over the last two years, to the point I can look out of the window and see my Model S, Model X, Model Y, several Model 3s, two Zoes, an old LEAF, two iPaces, an ID.3, that goddamned hideous BMW thing, a Kona. The newcomer Ariya suffered a dead battery last week and is at the Nissan dealership in Chelmsford, who incidentally do not have the means to repair it or suggest how long any repairs will take.

The overwhelming consensus among everyone is that NOT ONE of us would own these stupid bloody cars privately

I have a different opinion to you , that’s all. Doesnt make either of us completely correct.

My “consensus” is:-
SIL & Daughter…bought with their own money Mg5 18 months ago….could do with App functionality but otherwise delighted with it….no faults or issues
Son & DIL…bought with their own money MG ZS LR Trophy in July22…..no faults..love it

I bought with my own money Niro EV, to replace my eNiro….bought off the company when I retired

100% of the people that I talk to on my road, would have one if they were “15-20k not 40k”

But hey….I thought Cats was a pretty good film…..and I once sold an Escort RS1800 BDA for £1800………😂😂😂

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Reactions: 2

Stinsy

· #102 · 5 mo ago

Cheshirecat said:
I once sold an Escort RS1800 BDA for £1800………😂😂😂

I sold one of these for £17000...

Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!

www.autotrader.co.uk

Reactions: 1

Cheshirecat

· #103 · 5 mo ago

Stinsy said:
I sold one of these for £17000...

Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!

www.autotrader.co.uk

Other examples
MGC GT- £900 sold in 1977
Sierra Cosworth 3 dr ( not a 500) £2250 sold 1981
Mini Cooper S mk1 - £475 sold 1979

But if I knew then what I know now……probably would have bought Apple shares at 1p each

Reactions: 1

Charlie S

· #104 · 5 mo ago

I came across these 62kWh LEAFs on ebay earlier and thought of this thread, £20-22k depending on mileage although probably negotiable:

www.ebay.co.uk

NISSAN LEAF N-CONNECTA, FULL ELECTRIC, BIG BATTERY MODEL HI SPEC, UK BEST PRICE! | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for NISSAN LEAF N-CONNECTA, FULL ELECTRIC, BIG BATTERY MODEL HI SPEC, UK BEST PRICE! at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

Reactions: 1

shikoku14

· #105 · 5 mo ago

Charlie S said:
I came across these 62kWh LEAFs on ebay earlier and thought of this thread, £20-22k depending on mileage although probably negotiable:

NISSAN LEAF N-CONNECTA, FULL ELECTRIC, BIG BATTERY MODEL HI SPEC, UK BEST PRICE! | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for NISSAN LEAF N-CONNECTA, FULL ELECTRIC, BIG BATTERY MODEL HI SPEC, UK BEST PRICE! at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

I'd do some extensive due diligence on these before making an offer, one of the images shows a car that has over 80,000 miles and they say the ones they have don't go above 30K! This is clearly from a 40kWh Leaf given the range shown unless driven like you stole it.

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BillTheButcher

Discussion Starter · #106 · 5 mo ago

Stinsy said:
I sold one of these for £17000...

Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!

www.autotrader.co.uk

That is

I had a JDM Impreza wagon for a while. It sounded glorious but the battery kept going flat.

shikoku14 said:
I'd do some extensive due diligence on these before making an offer, one of the images shows a car that has over 80,000 miles and they say the ones they have don't go above 30K! This is clearly from a 40kWh Leaf given the range shown unless driven like you stole it.

Does that say 132 miles on almost 100% charge?

Jeffrey Cooper

· #107 · 5 mo ago

I'd also take a look at the sellers address - a flat ?

Reactions: 1

Mrklaw

· #108 · 5 mo ago

Stinsy said:
I sold one of these for £17000...

Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!

www.autotrader.co.uk

My scooby is one of my regrets selling - spent a bunch on updates and wife made me sell it as it wasn't practical for the new baby (he bloody fell asleep in the back with the burble)

Tire Wheel Sky Vehicle Automotive side marker light

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People's Front of Judea

· #109 · 5 mo ago

Cheshirecat said:
But hey….I thought Cats was a pretty good film…..and I once sold an Escort RS1800 BDA for £1800………😂😂😂

The message you've quoted was an anecdotal aside to the indisputable numbers about the EV market.

Used EVs are rapidly going to get larger in number and cheaper.

Reactions: 1

Stinsy

· #110 · 5 mo ago

BillTheButcher said:
That is

I had a JDM Impreza wagon for a while. It sounded glorious but the battery kept going flat.

Does that say 132 miles on almost 100% charge?

Mrklaw said:
My scooby is one of my regrets selling - spent a bunch on updates and wife made me sell it as it wasn't practical for the new baby (he bloody fell asleep in the back with the burble)

View attachment 171784

I knew the RB320 would be worth something in future but my commute went from 5 miles each way to 35 miles each way so I needed a boring diesel and didn't have space or money for both...

Reactions: 1

BillTheButcher

Discussion Starter · #111 · 5 mo ago

Stinsy said:
I knew the RB320 would be worth something in future but my commute went from 5 miles each way to 35 miles each way so I needed a boring diesel and didn't have space or money for both...

I used to commute by train (hence a relatively-long history of silly and/but excellent petrol cars) but after all of the lockdowns were lifted, there wasn't a train early enough for me any more.

Jeffrey Cooper

· #112 · 5 mo ago

Mrklaw said:
My scooby is one of my regrets selling - spent a bunch on updates and wife made me sell it as it wasn't practical for the new baby (he bloody fell asleep in the back with the burble)

View attachment 171784

Surprised to see the car there during daylight hours 😂

SteveD99

· #113 · 5 mo ago

Another vote for Zoe here. I’ve had 3 and covered approx. 50,000 miles overall. 1 major fault with the first (22kWh battery lease) but ZE40 and current ZE50 GT-Line rapid charge have been reliable apart from intermittent reversing camera fault. Good range, decent comfort and 5 year warranty (on pre- 2023 cars). I’m awaiting delivery of a Niro EV in the next month or so but the only reason for my change is the need for more space in the back (grandchildren getting longer legs). Personally I think the Zoe is hard to beat for value v overall package.
Good luck with your search.

Reactions: 1

Mrklaw

· #114 · 5 mo ago

Jeffrey Cooper said:
Surprised to see the car there during daylight hours 😂

used to take my pretty cars out for a photoshoot. Can't be arsed anymore, they're lucky if they get a phone camera snap on the driveway

Think my Z4 was the last one I bothered with

BillTheButcher

Discussion Starter · #115 · 5 mo ago

SteveD99 said:
Another vote for Zoe here. I’ve had 3 and covered approx. 50,000 miles overall. 1 major fault with the first (22kWh battery lease) but ZE40 and current ZE50 GT-Line rapid charge have been reliable apart from intermittent reversing camera fault. Good range, decent comfort and 5 year warranty (on pre- 2023 cars). I’m awaiting delivery of a Niro EV in the next month or so but the only reason for my change is the need for more space in the back (grandchildren getting longer legs). Personally I think the Zoe is hard to beat for value v overall package.
Good luck with your search.

Thank you. It's really good to hear from Zoe and Leaf owners.

There are a lot of 2020/21 GT Line Rapid Charge cars within budget.

SteveD99

· #116 · 5 mo ago

BillTheButcher said:
Thank you. It's really good to hear from Zoe and Leaf owners.

There are a lot of 2020/21 GT Line Rapid Charge cars within budget.

You’re welcome. They will all have 2.5 years or more warranty remaining too.

Reactions: 1

Charlie S

· #117 · 5 mo ago

shikoku14 said:
I'd do some extensive due diligence on these before making an offer, one of the images shows a car that has over 80,000 miles and they say the ones they have don't go above 30K! This is clearly from a 40kWh Leaf given the range shown unless driven like you stole it.

BillTheButcher said:
Does that say 132 miles on almost 100% charge?

Yes, I would definitely recommend doing some research before buying one sight unseen - sound advice whenever something appears to be a bargain. Just thought I'd share a link that had the off chance of being helpful...

I checked a registration number from the photo of the lineup of them and it came back as an e+ 62kWh.

To me it looks like that interior shot is not of the cars they have for sale, it doesn't appear to be red so I would not rely on the mileage or indicated range!

In terms of a seemingly random person having a foliage of LEAFs, there are myriad reasons why that might happen so - if bargain hunting, I wouldn't right that off as a reason.

I feel I should add at this point that I do not vouch for this seller in any way!

Reactions: 2

Cheshirecat

· #118 · 5 mo ago

People's Front of Judea said:
The message you've quoted was an anecdotal aside to the indisputable numbers about the EV market.

Used EVs are rapidly going to get larger in number and cheaper.

Good 👍👍

Reactions: 1

BillTheButcher

Discussion Starter · #119 · 4 mo ago

Font Musical instrument Formal wear Event Screenshot

So much for the shortlist: after test driving a Leaf and a Zoe last weekend, this weekend I'm going to pick up...

...a 64kWh Kona.

😄

I would blame man maths but it was my wife who decided that the Kona was the car for us (she saw one when we were last in our local Hyundai dealership). I can't say I'm sorry.

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SteveD99

· #120 · 4 mo ago

Good choice. Regarded as efficient and therefore good range. Surprised you got one within your budget - or did it stretch a bit? If it had a bit more interior space and a bigger boot it would be high up my shortlist too.

Reactions: 1

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