Most of a used EV inspection is the same as any used car: panel gaps, service history, tyres, a proper test drive, a title check. What follows concentrates on the parts that are different, because those are the ones people skip.
Before you go and look
- Ask for the battery health report up front. If there isn't one, ask whether you may commission a test. The answer to that question tells you a great deal about the seller. What a good report contains.
- Confirm how much battery warranty remains — years and kilometres — and whether it transfers to a second owner. Get it in writing for that specific vehicle.
- Run a written-off and finance-owing check using the VIN. This is standard practice on any used car and no less important here.
- Check which charging standard the car uses and what cables come with it. Missing cables are a real cost to replace.
- Look up the insurance premium for that exact model before you fall in love with it.
At the inspection
The battery and charging
- Ask to see the car at a known state of charge, and check the dashboard range estimate against what the battery report says. A large gap needs explaining.
- Watch it start an AC charge, and a DC charge if you can. Charging faults often only appear under load.
- Ask how the car has been charged day to day. Routine DC fast charging is not automatically damaging, but it is worth knowing.
- Check for stored fault codes, including cleared ones, on the battery and drivetrain systems.
The 12-volt battery
Nearly every EV still has a conventional 12-volt battery running the electronics, and it is one of the most common causes of an EV refusing to start. It is cheap to replace and almost never mentioned in listings. Ask how old it is.
Tyres and brakes
- Check tyre wear carefully and evenly across all four. EVs are heavy and chew tyres faster; a fresh set is a meaningful cost.
- Check for brake corrosion. Regenerative braking means the friction brakes get used lightly, and lightly-used brakes rust.
Software and features
- Confirm the car is on current software and that updates are still available for it.
- Check whether any features were subscription-based or tied to the original owner's account, and whether they transfer. This catches people out.
- Make sure the previous owner's account and app access can be removed from the vehicle.
On the test drive
- Drive it far enough to see the range estimate move sensibly against the distance covered.
- Try the regenerative braking settings. They change the car's character more than people expect, and you should like how it feels.
- Listen for drivetrain whine and clunks. A quiet car makes noises easy to hear — use that.
- Test at highway speed if you can. Some issues only show up there.
- Run the climate control hard. Heating and cooling draw real power and the system needs to work properly.
Before you pay
- Get the battery health figure, the test method and the date in writing.
- Get the battery warranty terms and transferability in writing.
- Confirm what is included: cables, adapters, a wallbox if one was mentioned, and any accounts or subscriptions.
- Understand your rights. Buying from a licensed dealer and buying privately give you very different protections under Australian consumer law — a private sale offers far less.
Signs to walk away
- Refusal to allow an independent battery test.
- A range claim based only on the dashboard estimate, presented as if it were a capacity measurement.
- Service history with unexplained gaps around drivetrain work.
- Pressure to decide today. On a purchase this size that is a tactic, not a coincidence.
- A price notably below market for the model, with no reason given. There is usually a reason.
Or let someone else do it
This is the checklist we work through ourselves. If you would rather not — or you want a second opinion on a car you have already found — tell us how you drive and an EV specialist will take it from there. It costs you nothing.
General information only, and not a substitute for a professional pre-purchase inspection. Consumer protections differ between dealer and private sales and between states and territories.