Buying second hand

[LetsForment]

Hi Everyone,

Looking to buy a 2021 Formentor vz2 phev, and would appreciate some help from the group here.

Firstly, I will have the 2yr warranty and hoping to add a couple more to it. But anything specific to keep an eye on? Or any questions to ask the dealer ? All of the phev stock seems to be ex-fleet and it's all on the market within a year. How concerning is that?

It will be joining a 2001 Defender 110 (and a 2005 Subaru outback SE), love the way the Formentor drives! Looking forward to joining the ranks here, but just a bit nervous steppin into an entirely unknown, to me, marquee.

 

[dashnine]

I guess it depends whose fleet, if its Cupra UK then company / management cars aren't used for long but I wouldn't read too much into it. As such it might be better as most company car drivers just get the PHEV for the tax break, and don't bother charging it at all so the battery may be relatively 'fresh' having not been through many charge cycles.

Which leads me to my second point, I don't know if you can get an indication / check from the dealer as to the condition of the battery (like you can on an iPhone - e.g. it's at 88% of original capacity)?

Finally check it comes with two charging cables, a Type 2 to Type 2 cable for public or home charger, and a Type 2 to 3 pin cable (or 'Granny cable') for home three pin charging. Be aware the car only charges at max 3.6KW or so, so regardless of how fast the charge point is capable of, it won't charge much faster than a 'normal' three pin plug anyway.

Other than that, usual buying a used car checks apply.

 

[Seriously?]

VWFS also have a car rental fleet. Maybe from there?

 

[LetsForment]

Thanks for the comments @dashnine - I found this https://www.cupraofficial.co.uk/owners/electric-vehicle-batteries-warranty-terms-conditions that seems to say that the phev battery is warrantied to 70% capacity but only for the original owner - and can't be passed down to subsequent owners!!! Don't like that.

I am going to be buying from cupra, and that's the 2yr warranty, but looks like there are exceptions to this. Argh.

 

[dashnine]

Thanks for the comments @dashnine - I found this https://www.cupraofficial.co.uk/owners/electric-vehicle-batteries-warranty-terms-conditions that seems to say that the phev battery is warrantied to 70% capacity but only for the original owner - and can't be passed down to subsequent owners!!! Don't like that.

I am going to be buying from cupra, and that's the 2yr warranty, but looks like there are exceptions to this. Argh.

That's the new car warranty which is why assume that warranty (5 years / 100K / 70%) can't be passed on. Are there similar terms in the user car warranty?

 

[Andy.M]

Without researching it, I just cant see me buying a car with a rechargeable battery, I mean look how short a phone batteries life is. Replacing a phone every 2 or 3 years is a less lot serious than getting rid of a car with duff batteries.

 

[LetsForment]

Without researching it, I just cant see me buying a car with a rechargeable battery, I mean look how short a phone batteries life is. Replacing a phone every 2 or 3 years is a less lot serious than getting rid of a car with duff batteries.

What sort of things would you want to dig into ?

 

[Andy.M]

What sort of things would you want to dig into ?

For example if I buy say a 40K EV. After say 5 years, will the batteries be in a bad state and how much would a battery replacement be?
Would the car be worth anything if the batteries were not good?

 

[DEAN0]

For example if I buy say a 40K EV. After say 5 years, will the batteries be in a bad state and how much would a battery replacement be?
Would the car be worth anything if the batteries were not good?

Not sure about the Cupra but a typical set of batteries for a Tesla is around £16,000

 

[Andy.M]

Not sure about the Cupra but a typical set of batteries for a Tesla is around £16,000

So, if one imagined the 5 year old car was worth 20K but it needed 16K worth of batteries then you might as well scrap it

 

[LetsForment]

I believe the ev side of the Formentor is a £3200 full pack. But unlike some other brands, the ev needs to stay functional - can't just remove it and use petrol only.

Appreciate the points, will continue to investigate.

 

[dashnine]

So, if one imagined the 5 year old car was worth 20K but it needed 16K worth of batteries then you might as well scrap it

Yes, but a battery for a full EV Tesla can have almost 10 times the capacity of the Formentor, so hardly likely to be comparable.

 

[LetsForment]

That specific car I was looking at, got away. But the dealer called to say they had another similar coming in on Friday. Drove it, loved it, put a deposit down.

On the battery side, I got confirmation that the remaining 6 and a bit years of the 8 year warranty would transfer over with the same performance and life capacity margins. I am happy with that.