Looking at electric vehicles from the last decade, you really get a sense of how far they’ve come.
The further back you look, the less performance, range and features they have. However, getting an older EV second-hand for not much money may be exactly what some people are looking for, which is why we’ve put together a list of models that are worthy of consideration if you want to go electric on a tight budget.
Used EVs are just like any other second-hand car. Some keep their value better than others, and not all offer a comparable bang for the buck. The oldest cars on our list are well over a decade old, and if you pick one up from the very early model years, it will have signs of wear and tear, as well as possible issues with its suspension, interior trim and gadgets.
One key area where EVs are not like a combustion car of the same vintage stems from their big and expensive battery packs. There is no getting around this: EV batteries lose capacity over time. Sure, it all depends on how the car was used, maintained and charged, but the older it is, the less range you should expect it to have. Battery degradation tends to be more severe in batteries built before 2016, too, while more recent batteries should outlast the car.
If you’re buying an old and very cheap EV, it will be cheap for a reason, and that reason may be that it needs a new battery, which can cost you $10,000 or more. Newer models won’t need a new battery, not only because they are newer but also because EV battery tech has improved a lot, and failures are exceedingly rare.
How We Picked The Best Cheap Used EVs
We scoured used car sites to find the very cheapest EVs on the market today. We didn’t include all EVs, because some, no matter how cheap they are, just aren’t worth buying. That’s why cars like Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive (with Tesla battery cells and all) are not worth buying.
The cars we ultimately included offer a good balance of capability and cost. Several models now feature plug-and-play battery swap solutions, which should extend their lifespan for another decade of motoring. Some cars, like the Chevrolet Spark EV, don’t excel in any particular category, but early examples are very cheap now, and they may serve as a viable entry point for some.
We know these cars very well, and InsideEVs has been around long enough that we actually got to test most of them when they were launched. We’ve also followed their performance and reliability over the years through surveys and the experience of our writers, many of whom have owned and lived with these now aging EVs.
The most affordable used EVs in our selection range in price from less than $5,000 to just over $20,000, but we left those last because they feel so dated compared to more recent models. It ultimately boils down to getting the most EV for the least amount of money for a wide range of budgets.
We have split them into two categories. The first are the most affordable modern EVs with great range, charging and tech, but they can cost you $20,000 or more. That's before you factor in the used EV tax credit, which covers $4,000 or up to 30% of the price of a second-hand EV and is still in place until September.
Then there are the really cheap older used EVs whose batteries will likely need to be changed and, even then, they won't match the new cars for range or charging. There is one exception to this, though, and that's the Nissan Leaf, which has a surprisingly big aftermarket scene and available battery upgrades that increase the range to levels the original car could have never even dreamed of.
Cheap EVs You Want
2017-2020 Tesla Model 3 ($12,000-$25,000)
Tesla moved the goalposts when it launched the capable, long-range and well-equipped Model 3 in 2017, building on the success of the Model S. It was an instant hit, and in 2021, it became the first electric car to exceed 1 million sales. Used examples are plentiful and cover a wide range of budgets.
You can find a high-mileage example that needs some work for as little as $6,000, but it’s never a good idea to buy the cheapest car you can find. Decent examples start at the $8,000 mark, and a really nice one with low miles can exceed $25,000.
If you can find one that you like somewhere in the middle, it’s a lot of electric car for the money. You should look for a Long Range, Long Range AWD or Performance variant. All 2017 cars are rear-wheel-drive Long Range examples with an EPA range of 310 miles, with 287 hp and a very brisk 0-60 mph time of 5.1 seconds. These are quite rare, though—I only found one for sale while researching for this piece.
In 2018, Tesla added the Long Range dual-motor all-wheel-drive variant, which had over 400 horsepower and a sprint time of around 4.5 seconds. It also added what it called the Standard Range battery option, whose capacity was around 55 kWh, but which, in rear-wheel-drive form, still provided 240 miles of EPA range. There was also a short-lived Mid Range RWD model with a 62 kWh battery and 264 miles of range, but these are also quite rare.
2021-2023 Polestar 2 ($18,000-$25,000)
You won't go wrong if you find a good used early Polestar 2. Even though it looks virtually identical to the Polestar 2 you can buy today, it's not as nice to drive, it has a lower range and it lacks a few of the latest features. However, for just over $13,000 for a higher-mileage example, it is a lot of electric car for the money.
Most affordable second-hand Polestar 2s are the single-motor variant, which in pre-2024 cars powers the front axle. They had an EPA range of 270 miles when new, which drops to 249 miles if you get a dual-motor example, which is considerably punchier with its power increase over the FWD model's 227 hp to just over 400 hp.
Whichever one you get, you will get a very stylish, high-quality interior that is superior to a Tesla Model 3 of the same vintage and very comfortable seating for up to four people. What makes the Polestar 2 such an enticing buy today is precisely the fact that it looks exactly like the latest model, so people won't know you have an older one.
2022-2023 Kia EV 6 ($18,000-$25,000)
If you want something that is rear-wheel drive and is more engaging through the corners than an early Polestar 2, the Kia EV6 is also a very strong used buy. The vast majority I saw browsing several used car sites were the EV6 Wind, which are well-equipped cars with the big 77.4 kWh battery and 313-hp all-wheel drive powertrain.
There were a few single-motor GT-Line straddlers that met the search criteria, but it seems the Wind AWD was by far the most popular trim, and with good reason. Any EV6 you buy will give you access to the world of 800-volt EVs, which bring improved efficiency over their 400-volt counterparts but also quicker charging. Even an early EV6 can charge at up to 240 kW, which was very good a few years ago and is still well above average today.
The EV6's rally-car-on-stilts look and sloping roofline do rob it of some practicality, and carrying tall adults in the rear is not ideal since headroom is limited. The trunk is not massive, either. However, you should be able to overlook these inconveniences if you can find one for sub-$20,000, which isn't hard, although you could pay more than that if you want a low-mileage example.
2021-2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 ($18,000-$26,000)
The EV6's sister model from Hyundai, the Ioniq 5, also saw a lot of success and is still one of the most beloved electric vehicles to this day. It's based on the same E-GMP platform as the Kia, so it has the same maximum charging power, but to drive, the two feel quite different.
While the Kia goes for sporty, the Hyundai has more of a comfort bias and with its more squared-off shape and marginally longer wheelbase, it's also better at carrying people in the back, as well as more of their bags. The Ioniq 5 seems to be a bit more expensive than a comparable EV6 and, insterestingly, most cars on sale, even the cheapest ones, have the bigger Long Range battery pack, which gives rear-wheel drive cars 303 miles of EPA range.
That drops to 256 miles for dual-motor cars and 220 miles for the surprisingly rare Standard Range models with the smaller battery.
Really Cheap EVs For The Brave
2014-2016 Chevrolet Spark EV ($5,000 - $10,000)
The Chevy Spark EV was the first electric vehicle launched by General Motors after the EV1, on sale from late 2013 until 2016. Just over 7,300 units were sold in total. Early models had a 21.3 kWh battery, which was changed to a 19 kWh pack for the final two model years. All versions had the same 82-mile EPA range. Its onboard AC charger could only muster 3.3 kW, but it could be DC fast-charged at up to 50 kW, which could bring the battery to 80% state of charge in around 30 minutes.
That’s not a lot of range or charging power by today’s standards, although it does charge quicker than the Dacia Spring on sale today in Europe. One of the main things we remember about the Spark EV is just how fun it was to drive. Being an early EV, you didn’t get the gradual, more combustion car-like power delivery of today’s models, and when you floored it, all of the car’s claimed 400 lb-ft of torque instantly hit the front wheels, making them scream for mercy.
It also had good steering feel and pleasant road manners, and between this and its oomph, this was one of the first genuinely fun-to-drive EVs. Unlike some other early EVs like the Nissan Leaf or Europe’s Renault Zoe, which had air-cooled batteries, the Spark EV came with a thermal management system that helped prolong the battery’s life.
However, given that even the newest Spark EVs are almost 10 years old today, if you buy one today, it will likely have lost a significant chunk of its capacity and range. We looked around for a replacement battery pack, and we found they cost between $10,000 to $12,000. It’s worth noting that since the Spark EV was such a low-volume vehicle, the aftermarket scene is quite small. But some people are keeping their Sparks on the road.
2013-2019 Fiat 500e ($5,000-$12,000)
The first electric Fiat 500 was a car that its parent company, FCA, didn’t want to make. But the company had to sell a zero-emission vehicle in order to be able to sell any vehicles in California. Sales began in California and Oregon in July 2013, and it remained on sale until 2019. Fiat sold a few thousand vehicles, and you can still find plenty for sale used. They’re even being imported into Europe and other markets where they’re getting a second life.
With a 24-kWh liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery pack, the 500e had an EPA range of 84 miles. It had a single Bosch motor powering the front wheels, delivering 113 hp and 147 lb-ft of torque, which propelled it to a top speed of 88 mph. Even though that’s a lot less twist than the Spark EV, the 500e was still nippy and fun to drive, and it made for an excellent little daily for short commutes.
Owners say these cars are surprisingly reliable and that examples manufactured after 2016 feature several updates that improve the overall ownership experience. Some even say you have no problem exceeding the 84-mile range rating and hitting around 90 miles if you stick to lower-speed urban driving.
2012-2018 Ford Focus Electric ($5,000-$13,000)
The Ford Focus Electric is one of the only two EVs on this list launched in 2012. At the time, it had virtually no rivals, and its 23-kWh battery with a 76-mile EPA range had little to compare to. Ford upgraded the battery to 33.5 kWh in 2016, increasing the range to a much more respectable 115 miles.
With an output of 123 hp and 181 lb-ft from its single motor turning the front wheels, the Focus Electric needed over 11 seconds to accelerate to 60 mph from a standstill and it topped out at 84 mph. Those numbers weren’t impressive back then and they’re even less so today, although it claws back some points with its excellent steering and cornering ability.
One thing to note about the Focus Electric is that pre-2017 cars lacked DC fast charging. All you got was the 6.6 kW onboard charger, which topped up the battery from empty in around 4 hours. Post-2017 cars gained the ability to fast-charge at up to 50 kW through a CCS connector.
2012-2017 Nissan Leaf ($3,000-$14,000)
The Nissan Leaf is special because it was designed from the ground up as a pure electric vehicle, so it has clever packaging and features that EVs converted from gas cars (like the Focus above) didn’t get. It has a wind tunnel-honed streamlined shape, and it still looks distinctive today, both inside and out.
It debuted in 2010 and arrived in America the following year. At the time, it was the only viable option for a proper electric vehicle. Its battery pack was integrated into the vehicle’s floor, a technical solution that would become the norm for pure electric vehicles, although it had one big omission: It didn’t have the ability to control its battery pack temperature. It relied fully on passive air cooling.
This meant accelerated battery degradation for both the older 24 kWh models and the later 30 kWh models. Leafs suffered severe degradation, leading to a lot of the anxiety people have today about EV battery pack longevity. Performance wasn’t anything special either, with the 107 hp front motor sending the car to 60 mph in around 10 seconds. However, with 206 lb-ft of torque, it always felt a bit quicker than the on-paper figures suggested.
You can find an early Leaf for as low as $2,000, but it’s probably going to need a lot of work, and its battery is likely toast at that price. However, because it was a pretty popular model and there are still lots of them out there, there are several available battery replacements that not only give it new life but also dramatically increase its range, far outperforming what it could muster when new.
If you want to get an EV to wrench on yourself and even change the battery in your driveway (although we don’t encourage this since its high-voltage system can be potentially dangerous), an old Leaf is the way to go.
One more thing you should know about the Leaf is that even though it can DC fast-charge at up to 44 kW or 47 kW, depending on the year, it does so through a CHAdeMO connector, which will severely limit your choice of public charging stations. It thankfully has a second charging port, the typical J1772, which can add juice at a rate of 3.6 kW or 6.6 kW, depending on the specs of its onboard charger.
2017-2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV ($5,000-$15,000)
The 2017 to 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV has a checkered history. The first thing that comes to mind is the battery fire recalls. Many Bolt EVs came with defective cells within their battery packs that could potentially cause a fire.
This may sound alarming, but the good news is that all of the affected Bolts got a replacement battery, and early 60 kWh cars got a free upgrade to the later 66 kWh pack. This increased their EPA range from 238 miles to 259 miles.
It’s therefore crucial to check a used Bolt EV’s service and recall history before buying, and you need to make sure its battery has been deemed safe. That being said, there were still some reported post-recall fires, but GM says the problem should be fixed. And the Bolt EV remains a popular used choice for that reason.
It is a fantastic small electric runabout, with plenty of power and range. It has a 200 hp front motor that scuttles it to sixty in 6.5 seconds, and if you find one that has been looked after with a good history, it’s great value for what it offers. DC fast charging (with a peak charging power of 55 kW) was optional, though, so unless the original owner specified it, the car only came with a 7.2 kW onboard AC charger.
2015-2019 Volkswagen e-Golf ($7,000-$20,000)
The best thing about the Volkswagen e-Golf, sold in the U.S. between 2015 and 2019, is that to the untrained eye, it looks like any other Golf. However, instead of a gas or diesel engine, it has a 115-hp electric motor under the hood.
Examples built before 2017 have a 24.2 kWh battery, which gives them just 83 miles of EPA range. That’s why you should try to look for a later model, which gets a larger 35.8 kWh pack that boosts the range to a much more respectable 125 miles.
Since the e-Golf is a converted combustion car, some of the batteries live under the trunk floor, making it marginally smaller. Capacity goes down to 22.8 cu-ft, but it’s still just as usable as in a regular Golf, since most of the space lost is under the false floor, where the space is taken up by the battery.
2013-2018 BMW i3 ($6,000-$20,000)
The BMW i3 was at one point the world’s second-best-selling electric vehicle after the Nissan Leaf. That’s because, in spite of its unusual, tall and boxy look, it is a genuinely good electric vehicle. It was launched in 2013, updated in 2018 when the sportier i3s model was introduced, and discontinued in 2022. BMW stopped selling it in the U.S. one year prior.
If you’re looking at the more affordable pre-2018 model, you could find some pretty good deals with prices even dipping below the $5,000 mark, a fraction of what it originally cost. However, a well-maintained, lower-mileage example will cost you at least $10,000.
What makes the i3 special is its carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) shell, which makes it both strong and light (early i3s weighed just over 2,600 pounds) but also a pain to repair after an accident. It’s also a true BMW with power going only to the rear wheels, and, even though you sit quite high in the driver’s seat, it’s surprisingly fun on a twisty road.
Cars manufactured before May 2016 had a 22 kWh battery pack good for 81 miles on the EPA cycle. We would recommend searching for a later example with the 33 kWh pack, which boosted range to 114 miles. Still not a lot, but enough for the kind of car that this is.
Another thing that made the i3 stand out was the available extended-range variant, which featured a motorcycle engine and a small gas tank that upped the combined range to 180 miles. This is a true range extender, not a plug-in hybrid, since the combustion engine is not driving the wheels in any way, being solely used as a generator.
Conclusion
There are plenty of used electric cars that you can get for well under $10,000. The really cheap and old ones won’t have much range, so they can at best serve as a second car for your short urban grind. Many early EVs don’t have DC fast charging, so you may be stuck with having to top them up via a Level 2 charger, and that can take a few hours. If you can charge them overnight at home, this is less of a problem.
The big issue with buying an older EV is that you inevitably have to put up with some battery degradation. You should either diligently check your potential purchase’s battery health to make sure you get one of the good ones that still has enough range to meet your needs or budget for a replacement, which can cost from around $7,500 to $20,000, depending on the size of the pack, its chemistry and the vehicle it’s going in.
Most pre-2015 EVs, with the notable exception of the Tesla Model S, which is still good today and can also potentially be very affordable, don’t offer much range. They stop at around 100 miles, so with degradation and a slightly heavy right foot, consider yourself lucky if you see half that.
The most important thing to do when shopping for a cheap EV is to make sure the battery is still good. It was up to a third of the value of the car when it was new, and it’s not going to be significantly cheaper even if the vehicle itself has been around for a decade or more. This will make or break the affordability prospect, so we can’t stress this enough.
