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Resurgence in used EV values over the last six to nine months

https://www.wired.com/story/ode-to-the-dinky-electric-car/
IT'S TIME YOU FELL IN LOVE WITH A SMALL, CHEAP, ELECTRIC CAR

electric cars can be a blast, even when they don't run you six figures or come with a Tesla badge on the hood. My grin, and official times, says they've succeeded.

You can buy a Bolt for $36,620 (before tax credits and other incentives), and Elon Musk promises that the version of the Model 3 that costs $35,000 will arrive soon. You can go cheaper, with a $30,000 Nissan Leaf. But if that's still a bit rich for your taste—and it will be for many—there's good news. You can go even cheaper with a used electric, and still get a usable, practical, fun, car. A few years into the nascent age of EVs, many cars are coming off two- or three-year leases. Plenty are available for under $10,000, and still carry warranties on the batteries and drivetrains. They need less maintenance than a gas car, and charging is cheaper than filling up, especially as gas prices rise.

“There’s a newfound interest in these vehicles, which can be an incredible bargain,” says Eric Ibara, director of residual values at Kelley Blue Book. “From the get go, they haven’t retained their value as well as normal cars, and as a result they’re quite a bargain after three or four years.”

Sure the specs aren't quite up there with a fancy new all-electric, but even if a 0-60 mph time looks slowish on paper (and a lot do now that Tesla has set that bar stratospherically high), most EVs still feel super responsive, with the full torque of the motors available from a standstill. And they handle surprisingly well, because the heavy batteries are often low in the body or built into the floor, lowering the center of gravity. “If you tune your suspension to that, you can have a very rigid platform to build off and provide good dynamic capabilities,” says Burns.

Key to finding the right car is being realistic about the range you need. The Bolt is good for 238 miles, but the older, cheaper EVs tend to post numbers in the double digits. But that may not giving buyers anxiety the way it used to, thanks to better familiarity with EVs in general, and more charging stations, which are easier to use. Four big charging networks—Electrify America, EV Connect, Greenlots, and SemaConnect—have just joined forces for example, to make a network of 12,500 chargers across the US. And if you've got a garage or driveway, you can probably install a charger at home.

An aging, even dinky EV might work just fine.

“I basically do three types of trip,” says Los Angeles resident Randal Miles, who is looking to trade his 2002 VW Jetta for an electric. “The vast majority is my 20 miles round trip commute, and I can do a shorter road trip in any car that has fast charging.” For those rare, super long drives, he can rent a car, and likely still save money versus his current gas bill.

Miles is checking out the BMW i3, which he’s found gently used for $16,000 to $18,000, and the Chevrolet Spark, which has been around for five years, predating the Bolt. It has a relatively tiny battery at 20 kWh, good for just 82 miles. But because the battery is so small, it tops up from a DC fast charger in a mere 20 minutes, so you might have to stop often on a road trip, but not for long. It’s nimble to drive around town, and Miles has found some for sale in the $8,000 range, or one quarter the price of a (not yet available) base Model 3.

A trawl through used listings reveals cheap looking Nissan Leafs, Fiat 500e, VW e-Golfs, Kia Soul EVs, Ford Focus EVs, and more. (If you're wedded to the idea of burning gasoline on occasion, you can snag an old Chevy Volt.)

If you want to join this electric band wagon, though, you may want to act quickly. Ibara’s research shows that other people are catching on to the appeal of the cheap EV. “Over the last six to nine months, we’ve seen a resurgence in used EV values,” he says. That may be because gas prices have been creeping up, and it may not last forever, with a new class of 200-mile plus, electric cars entering the top of the market.

“EVs make my regular car seem so outdated, so old timey,” says Miles. Time to buy into a cut-price version of the future. Just be nicer to your tires than I was to the Chevrolet Bolt's and you should be able to find a car that goes for miles and miles, no muss, no fuss.