The Expert Podcast

This article from Jalopnik, which is a great publication for automotive news, has a report that says Tesla batteries degrade to under 65% of EPA range after only three years. That's way less than the 8-year warranty they're supposed to have. So, you don't know if the battery in your used electric vehicle is going to be at 100%, 60%, 50%, or even lower.

It's not just Tesla; all brands of electric vehicles have the possibility of their batteries degrading. Who knows how much each one's going to be? It's not necessarily every brand that's going to be the same. How the car is used is a big factor. Was it charged in hot weather? Was it driven in cold weather? Was it left to sit for a long time? All these factors can degrade batteries' chemical reaction.

So, you want to get a good EV checkup on the battery to make sure that it has the right capacity, the right range—everything you're looking for in a used electric vehicle. And if you do that, it's kind of like proper due diligence, just like if you bought a gasoline car. You check the brakes, check the shocks, check the engine to make sure everything was good. You want to check the battery in an electric vehicle in the same exact way.