Mikkel Christensen
Second-hand electric vehicles are proving to be a more dependable choice than petrol and diesel cars, according to new inspection data.
Second-hand electric vehicles are proving to be a more dependable choice than petrol and diesel cars, according to new inspection data.
Large-scale pre-purchase checks suggest EVs are significantly less likely to show serious faults.
According to AOL, citing analysis from vehicle inspection firm ClickMechanic, only 1.51 percent of 7,365 electric cars inspected were given a “poor” rating. By comparison, 7.48 percent of petrol and diesel vehicles assessed received the same rating.
EVs lead rankings
Seven electric models recorded zero percent poor ratings, meaning inspectors found no serious issues in any of the vehicles examined. These included the BMW i4, BMW iX, BMW iX3, Kia EV9, MG5, Polestar 2 and Volkswagen ID.3.
The Tesla Model 3 posted the highest poor rating among EVs at 6.77 percent, though that figure still remained below the average for combustion-engine cars.
Luxury SUVs were identified as particularly prone to problems among petrol and diesel models.
Highest fault rates
The BMW X5 recorded the highest poor rating overall at 26.4 percent. It was followed by the Citroën Relay van at 23.7 percent, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class at 21.1 percent, the BMW 3 Series at 21 percent and the Ford Focus at 20.6 percent.
Andrew Jervis, CEO of ClickMechanic, told AOL: “Our inspection data highlights how much variation there can be between different models on the used market. Some newer electric models are performing strongly in our checks, while certain older, more complex vehicles are showing significantly higher rates of serious faults.”
He added: “Our research shows that millions of faulty cars are still changing hands each year and not all issues are being disclosed.”
Growing demand
The report also found that 27 percent of used car buyers now pay for a professional pre-purchase inspection. That rises to 44 percent among younger buyers and 50 percent among Londoners.
Figures cited by AOL show used electric car sales increased 45 percent in 2025, helping lift total second-hand transactions to 7,807,872 vehicles for the year.
Sources: AOL
