EV1 min read

Buying a used EV: the battery-health checklist

The battery is 30–40% of an EV’s value, so its health matters more than mileage. Here is how to judge a used electric car’s battery before you buy.

The Verdari Team · 4 May 2026

On a used electric car, state of health (SoH) — how much usable capacity the battery has versus new — matters more than the odometer. A high-mileage EV with a healthy battery can be a better buy than a low-mileage one that was fast-charged hard.

What good looks like

  • 90%+ SoH — excellent, typical of a well-kept car under ~3 years.
  • 80–90% — normal, healthy degradation for most used EVs.
  • Below 80% — investigate; range loss becomes noticeable and it may approach warranty thresholds.

Questions to ask

  1. Is the battery still under the manufacturer warranty (often 8 years / 100k miles to ~70% SoH)?
  2. Was it mostly slow/home charged, or rapid-charged daily?
  3. Can the seller show a recent battery health readout?

Verdari surfaces an estimated battery state-of-health on EV reports so you can compare cars on what actually matters.

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