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Thanks for reading EV Cents by Recurrent. Each edition brings you clear, data-driven insights from 1 billion miles of EV driving to help you better understand your car and the market.
Why dealers pay more for some EVs
When you trade in a car, the dealer is making a guess: how fast can they sell it? The faster they think it will sell, the more they’ll pay you for it.
That guess affects your offer more than most EV owners realize. Most dealers borrow money to buy the cars on their lots, and they pay interest on each car until it sells. A car that takes three months to sell costs the dealer more than one that sells in a week. That cost comes out of your trade-in offer.
Right now, the most popular used EVs sell fast. This summer, a used Chevy Bolt sold in a median of 13 days, and a Tesla Model Y in 15, according to our latest used EV market report.
Rick Vrablik, GM at Nielsen Automotive Group in northern New Jersey, sees the same split on his own lots. On this week’s EV Insider, he told Recurrent CEO Scott Case that a used Mustang Mach-E GT sells quickly. But lower trims “don’t tend to do terribly well,” Rick said, so his stores don’t go looking for them.
Why some EVs sell faster
Competition is one reason. EVs leased in 2023 are now coming back to dealers in large numbers. In September, more than half of the used EVs for sale were 2023 or 2024 models. If your car is one of them, the dealer can likely find another one just like it, and that could keep offers down.
Range is the other. On many EVs, the lower trims come with a smaller battery and less range. A shopper with a long commute will skip a car that can’t cover it, even at a lower price.
What to do before you trade in
Show your battery health. A dealer can’t tell how healthy a used EV’s battery is by looking at it, and many stores don’t have a technician trained to test one. A Recurrent report shows your car’s real-world range and battery health. Bring it so the dealer doesn’t have to guess.
Start with a dealer that sells your brand. A Ford store knows what a used Mach-E is worth and how fast it will sell. A dealer that rarely sees your model will be more cautious with its offer.
Get more than one offer. Compare the dealer’s number with what EV buyers bid. (That’s the whole premise of Sell With Recurrent.)
From the market
Ford's new EV pickup costs about half as much
Ford’s new Fathom pickup will start at about $28,000. That’s about half the price of the cheapest electric pickup on sale today, the Chevy Silverado EV, which starts near $58,000.
The Fathom is smaller than a Silverado, so it’s not a direct swap. But Ford says it will have more room inside than a Toyota RAV4, plus a truck bed. It hasn’t said how much range it will have. Orders open early next year, and the first trucks are expected in fall 2027.
Rick expects the price to bring in new buyers. “It actually puts it in a price range where people could afford to finance it.”
Ask Recurrent
Question: "If my EV's battery fails, do I have to replace the whole pack?"
Battery failures are rare. Fewer than 4% of EVs in Recurrent’s data have needed a new battery, not counting large recalls like the Chevy Bolt’s. For EVs built since 2022, it’s about 3 in 1,000.
If a battery does have a problem, you may not need a whole new one. Most EV batteries are built from smaller sections called modules, and on some cars a shop can replace just the bad module. That usually costs less. Whether it’s possible depends on the car.
Most EV battery warranties also cover at least 8 years or 100,000 miles. Read the full breakdown.
Before you go
Cold weather cuts EV range every winter, and most of it comes back in spring. Recurrent Connect tracks your battery’s health over time, so you can tell a cold-weather dip from real battery wear and catch charging problems early. If you haven’t connected your EV yet, try it free for 30 days.
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