Is buying an electric car with 27k miles a bad idea?

Posted 23rd Jun 2023

I’m looking at a Seat Mii, I have been looking at used electric cars for a while and decided this is the one I want.

I am deciding between 2 that Seat have for sale that are approved.

1. Seat Mii - 27k miles - Apr 2021 - £12,490
2. Seat Mii - 3k miles - June 2021 - £15,490

The spec is identical, I am looking at going for the cheaper one as I can’t see a reason to pay more. Do I need to worry about the battery having much more mileage? The battery is covered for 100,000/7 years.

Is there anything else anyone could think of that would make choosing the lower mileage one the better option?

36 Comments

sorted by

23rd Jun
get your number 2 option knocked down, if you pay in cash?
24th Jun
The days of cash getting a discount are long gone! They will prefer finance due to a kickback. If you check the terms, you might be able to use this to your advantage - get the discount for opting for finance and then quickly pay it off.
24th Jun
The battery will be absolutely fine. Assume as you're looking at a Mii, you're a low mileage user anyway.

If you're happier paying less just don't worry about it and enjoy the saving.
23rd Jun
I've got the Seat Mii petrol version with 27000 miles. Cost me £7500 secondhand from a second-hand car dealer. I thought about electric too, but living in a flat, I could not be bothered with charging on public chargers.
23rd Jun
How much is the VW E-Up/Skoda Citigo with similar mileage? They're basically the same car
24th Jun
This video shows that you pay more for just having the VW badge:
24th Jun
For the sake of 3k you are getting another 3 years or more extra mileage. The average seems to be about 6k per year.
Is that 7 years of your ownership, or since production?
24th Jun
Check the battery warranty fine print to see if there are references to what they might deem acceptable reduction in battery capacity before buying the cheaper.
24th Jun
There is a reason why second hands electric cars lose way more value over time than petrol/diesel cars: The battery. Just look around how much it cost a brand new (original) battery and you will understand.

People and manufacturers can tell you that the battery will last X miles/years. But they will not break suddently, their performance will decay quickly over time, as in any battery made with technology available today.

I worked for acompany that renewed just before the pandemic all combustion cars with electric. Guess what have they done last year.

Buying an used electric car IMO is a bad decision. You will be happy for a while, and regret it later.
24th Jun
Totally incorrect:

Just look around how much it cost a brand new (original) battery and you will understand

How much is a new engine for your ICE car? I know a 2.0ecotune diesel for a mk8 transit is £7.5k. I know a replacement 2.0 Golf GTI engine is nearer to £9k

There are Teslas in America with 400k on clock with 8% degradation and most are at 15-20% degradation at that mileage.

IF an ICE car could get to 400k without serious engine work (hint, you can't) I wonder what the level of degradation would be on efficiency and power. I bet its a lot more than you imagine. But before you got to 400k you'd need at least 2 turbos, couple of head gaskets, multiple timing chains or belts and a full engine out rebuild. Then once it's past its useful life it would need a £7k plus replacement after you've spent a few grand on the above plus £8-10k in servicing.

Most EVs need little to no servicing, rarely need brakes so are super cheap to run coupled with fuel savings and the replacement wear and tear parts on a petrol/diesel.

A replacement battery cost suddenly doesn't look too bad.

But let's face it, at 400k in any car, you're gonna scrap it so battery replacement costs are as much a moot point as replacement engine costs are. Its not an iPhone battery that's useless after 2yrs.