A used electric car is mostly its battery. The good news: modern packs age slowly and predictably. The one number to ask for is the state of health, and here is what it means.
State of health
State of health compares the capacity the pack holds today with what it held new. A three-year-old car at 92 % is normal; one at 80 % has worked hard, usually with a lot of fast charging.
How packs age
Most packs lose a few per cent in the first two years, then flatten out. Heat and frequent fast charging speed this up; gentle home charging slows it down. Ask how the car was charged, not only how far it went.
What we measure
We read the state of health from the car’s own diagnostics and check it with a full charge-and-drive test. The result goes in the inspection report, next to the range you can expect in the real world.
On “Used EVs: battery health explained in five minutes”.
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