Second hand EVs worth it?

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Basil12

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#3427817 24-Oct-2025 21:55

RunningMan:

Basil12:

I've had my 2026 24kWh Leaf for almost three years.

Sure it's a 2026?

Thanks for that. As I'm not a time traveller it is a 2016.

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Mehrts

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#3427911 25-Oct-2025 12:52

Basil12:

I use a smart plug instead of the internal timer.

@Basil12 Please be careful using these with constant high current draw applications. There have been many cases of these getting burnt out by EV chargers, as they're typically not designed for constant max current (10A).

What current have you got the car set to charge at?

Basil12

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#3427920 25-Oct-2025 15:31

Mehrts:

Basil12:

I use a smart plug instead of the internal timer.

@Basil12 Please be careful using these with constant high current draw applications. There have been many cases of these getting burnt out by EV chargers, as they're typically not designed for constant max current (10A).

What current have you got the car set to charge at?

According to the charger it is 8 amps.

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GV27

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#3427961 25-Oct-2025 21:30

My biggest criticism of the Nissan Leaf is that the seats can be pretty narrow for the wider drivers out there, of which I am definitely one.

The boot space in a Leaf is still pretty next-level, there's few EVS, even SUVs that will touch it.

The smartest thing anyone considering an EV who owns their own home can do is budget for a wall unit and installation. It's like having a petrol station on your driveway.

Basil12

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#3427997 26-Oct-2025 09:33

GV27:

The smartest thing anyone considering an EV who owns their own home can do is budget for a wall unit and installation. It's like having a petrol station on your driveway.

Perhaps yes for most EVs but with an older 24/30 Kwh Leaf there seems little point. With off peak hours from 11pm to 7am I can 'fill the tank' unless SOC is very low. A wall unit would be overkill for such a vehicle.

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amanzi

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#3452617 13-Jan-2026 14:26

This has been an interesting thread to read. I'm also in the market for a second-hand EV, aiming for around the $40k mark. The range-anxiety discussion is interesting to me since I'm wanting an advertised range of 450km at least. My thinking is that I don't want to charge the car every day - if I can get away with once or twice a week, that would be perfect (I mostly park my car on the street.) Also, several times a year we load up the car with camping equipment, and many more times a year we have a roofbox, kayak, or bikes on the roof too - these seem to have a big effect on the range according to my research. We also have a big dog. :-)

My shortlist so far includes a couple of Kia models, Polestar 2, Hyundai Ioniq 5, and some others which are a little bit more than what we want to spend. Each have compromises, so am still struggling to decide.

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Talkiet

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#3452707 13-Jan-2026 18:33

Batman:

blackjack17:

Spent yesterday at the car yards and test drove a number of cars.

have you tested the second hand Kia EV6 with > 500km WLTP range (on highway all WLTP you multiply by 0.7 if you drive below the speed limit, multiply by 0.6 if you drive close to 110. same for ALL EVs.

Audi is an exception. My car has a 441k WLTP and I regularly get 380-390 open road driving at 103-104 cruise control.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

Talkiet

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#3452708 13-Jan-2026 19:07

michaelmurfy:

[snipped EVs don't require planning and petrol is awful]

Please. I have an EV, I love it. I'm all in. I'll not have another gas powered daily driver ever.

But trips have to be planned, or you have to not care about maybe having an unplanned 45 minute break every so often. To claim that the current petrol infrastructure is not superior in every way to current EV charging infrastructure in NZ is deluded. It will keep getting better, and in recent trips from Chch to Glenorchy and Chch to Dunedin, I never had to wait for a charger, and was able to exclusively charge at over 130kw at every stop I planned. It was great. No stress, quick 'fillups'...

But was it as easy as Petrol. No. Nowhere near. There are dozens of fuel pumps in Timaru. There are a couple of places with fast chargers. Even at a fast charger it takes 25 minutes to just stop and put a meaningful charge in the car, often 45 minutes. I can fill the tank in a petrol car and be on my way in 5 minutes.

It's only going to get better for EVs, but the infrastructure is still vastly better for Petrol and claiming otherwise devalues any other points you try to make.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

michaelmurfy

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#3452763 13-Jan-2026 21:14

Talkiet: But trips have to be planned, or you have to not care about maybe having an unplanned 45 minute break every so often.

This also depends on the vehicle.

My Tesla - no real planning as the car works it all out for me and will navigate me to charging stops.

My wife’s Ora - some additional planning much like any other vehicle.

No matter what vehicle you drive you have to plan.

I do somewhat disagree with the meaningful charge statement though. This again depends on the vehicle and the charger. I can get what I consider a meaningful charge from a quick 5min stop - arrive at a charger, plug in and only charge what you need by “snack charging” and ensuring you’re arriving at a charging station with a low(ish) state of charge and a preconditioned battery (both of which my car manages for me) saves a considerable amount of time on a road trip.

No, driving an EV is not perfect and no, ICE isn’t perfect either but the infrastructure supporting EV adoption has gotten a hell of a lot better since I’ve been driving an EV and continues to get better.

You’ve also got to see it from the other side of the argument. The main argument is “you can fill a vehicle in 5mins” but people also forget many people do that multiple times per week, at 5mins per pop. If we take my average of 2 times per week then that’s ~40mins per month I’m saving by not having to visit fuel stations. Those “quick” fuel station visits really add up over time. I’m sure I can handle the short charging breaks I sometimes have to make on longer trips…

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
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