Looking at buying used

Hi,

Myself and my partner are looking at purchasing a used PHEV. We have been looking around for a while now (I obsess sometimes, and may have read most threads on the forum and read the manuals already ), so decided that it is the right car for us.

We currently have a LEAF on PCP until Feb, but a recent MOT means that we can't drive our diesel 4x4 which needs a new rear subframe and lots of other bits, parts alone are nearly as much as the car is worth! Hoping that someone will give us a guaranteed trade in on it!

From what I understand, most PHEVs are with used car dealerships, rather than private sales. Our concern is that on the whole, they know nothing about EVs. Every one that we have looked at so far has 0% battery on the gauge.

From what I've read, when the gauge is empty, there is still about 30% left in the battery. So, does this mean that the battery is being damaged, or not? We know from our LEAF that storing it with very low or very high charge can be bad for battery longevity.

Also, none of them seem to come with the type 1 to type 2 cable, how much do these come in at? Last time we looked (nearly 2 years ago when we purchased the LEAF), they were £500 - £600!

Regards,
Chris

Hi Chris

Sorry I can't answer all your questions as I'm new to this too but I looked at used until offered such a big discount new I decided on that instead to have the full 5 years warranty plus 8 year batteries

Mitsubishi wanted £330 for 16kw lead with bag but found 32kw new on net with bag for £138 - this should be good for years even if the next models are uprated

Hopefully someone else can advise on batteries but I was concerned about them too reading the forum :?

I've come from diesel 4x4s too and so far wishing I'd done this years ago :mrgreen:

Muddywheels said:

Hi Chris

Sorry I can't answer all your questions as I'm new to this too but I looked at used until offered such a big discount new I decided on that instead to have the full 5 years warranty plus 8 year batteries

Mitsubishi wanted £330 for 16kw lead with bag but found 32kw new on net with bag for £138 - this should be good for years even if the next month models are uprated

Hopefully someone else can advise on batteries but I was concerned about them too reading the forum :?

I've come from diesel 4x4s too and so far wishing I'd done this years ago :mrgreen:

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Thanks for the reply!

How big a discount are we talking? When we looked into it a year ago, the dealer would only come down a few hundred!

£138 is pretty good, having a quick search we have found some of the springy ones for about that, so that's not too bad really.

I'd like to say the subframe was the worst problem with a 4x4 I've had... but I used to own a Defender 90.....

I'm looking for a Series 2 as a second car - always wanted one but now I've got the PHEV not sure I will cope with an old tub and it's dirty engine :lol:

I managed £8400 discount from Leeds Mitsubishi in September and buying through my business I can get another £6400 back in Tax

The lead I got is 5m but not coiled as I was worried about scratching paint - it was from EVonestop after lots of searching

Still on my first £40 tank from day I collected and done over 750 miles - I would have filled the RR Sport twice at over £100 a time by now :shock:

If you can wait until the new 2017 model arrives you should be able to get a good deal from a Mitsu dealer clearing out old stock, especially low mileage demonstrators - we've seen drops of up to £10k reported here, if I remember correctly.

Would love to.

Originally we were going to wait until Feb, but now being a car down, we are going to have to move that up a bit!

Having 0% battery on the guage simply shows that the dealer hasn't charged it up, probably because they either dont have a dedicated charging point or cant be bothered hooking it up to a normal 3 pin socket. And yes, when the guage says zero, it still has about 30% charge in the battery so there should be no problem in starting it up and driving it around.

Cant see that the battery would come to any harm by being stored with 30% capacity, but if you can find a cable then ask the dealer to charge it up, or take a 24 hour test drive, bring it home and do it yourself ?

If the dealer can't be bothered to charge it at a cost of about £1 to make a sale then I would try looking elsewhere!
Great car btw- you are making the right choice I reckon.
H

geoffshep69 said:

Having 0% battery on the guage simply shows that the dealer hasn't charged it up, probably because they either dont have a dedicated charging point or cant be bothered hooking it up to a normal 3 pin socket. And yes, when the guage says zero, it still has about 30% charge in the battery so there should be no problem in starting it up and driving it around.

Cant see that the battery would come to any harm by being stored with 30% capacity, but if you can find a cable then ask the dealer to charge it up, or take a 24 hour test drive, bring it home and do it yourself ?

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That's good news then, they don't mind being stored at 30% so I've read. The LEAF has a lot less in reserve! The guy we spoke to didn't know anything about EVs really - he asked us questions though, so they were at least open minded I suppose.
I asked Mitsubishi if we could have a longer then 10 minute test drive, they declined. Didn't try this particular salesman though.

Hypermiler said:

If the dealer can't be bothered to charge it at a cost of about £1 to make a sale then I would try looking elsewhere!
Great car btw- you are making the right choice I reckon.
H

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True, however, we also haven't asked if they would be willing to charge it up. I'll complain when the time is right, or use it to our advantage when haggling the price!
We think it'll be a great car - the LEAF is fantastic, really enjoy EVs, the Outlander does everything my diesel does but is much nicer to drive, a lot less clunky, and does all of our commuting on electric!

Hello Everyone,

I am from Adelaide, Australia. I am looking to buy used PHEV from Mitsubishi Dealer.

Here I have few question before I buy:
1. Since this is plug-in Hybrid, what happens if don't charge vehicle from main power supply and use purely on petrol hybrid mode, what the mileage am I going to get L/100KM or MPG?

2. Driving only on hybrid mode damage the battery?

3. Do I have spend more on maintenance since the complex hybrid structure?

Thank you.
Prashant

prashantvadher said:

Hello Everyone,

I am from Adelaide, Australia. I am looking to buy used PHEV from Mitsubishi Dealer.

Here I have few question before I buy:
1. Since this is plug-in Hybrid, what happens if don't charge vehicle from main power supply and use purely on petrol hybrid mode, what the mileage am I going to get L/100KM or MPG?

2. Driving only on hybrid mode damage the battery?

3. Do I have spend more on maintenance since the complex hybrid structure?

Thank you.
Prashant

Click to expand...

You can drive it without charging if you really want to.... expect around 8l/100km, can get as low as 6l/100km but highway at 110 close to 8.
It won't damage the battery.
Maintenance is similar to normal car, i.e. oil, coolant etc... expect the dealer to charge heaps..... as they do.

prashantvadher said:

Hello Everyone,

I am from Adelaide, Australia. I am looking to buy used PHEV from Mitsubishi Dealer.

Here I have few question before I buy:
1. Since this is plug-in Hybrid, what happens if don't charge vehicle from main power supply and use purely on petrol hybrid mode, what the mileage am I going to get L/100KM or MPG?

2. Driving only on hybrid mode damage the battery?

3. Do I have spend more on maintenance since the complex hybrid structure?

Thank you.
Prashant

Click to expand...

If you can't charge the car at home overnight, this car make no sense

If used as normal car it will consume more then the diesel version.

Using most of the EV mode will also help to keep the car ageing better ... recharge on the go does push higher current charging in the battery (which will "age" faster the battery) ... plus using almost all the time the engine, also the ICE will age faster too.

Official maintenance is a bit more expensive then traditional outlander (I think this is a marketing decision, then a real cost decision), but, if used most in EV mode, the car will last longer and will consume less parts

Since hybrid this car is maybe a bit more complex, but in practice this is the most "simple" hybrid on the market, since it has no gearbox ... electric component don't have much wear so they hardly fail under usage ... the selected ICE is a tuned down version and quite low power for a 2L petrol, so this should be very reliable too.

Reliability and maintenance should not be an issue for a 2nd hand PHEV

But ... if you can't charge at home, you end up using more fuel and having almost no advantage.

This PHEV 2nd hand is quite cheap .. but traditional outlander is even cheaper ... at least here in Europe the outlander depreciate quite fast

Hey Prashanth,

You should have had a ride in mine while we worked at the same place...



Charging at home is very easy, all you need is a powerpoint. 15 amp if you want to be perfect, or a 15 to 10 am adapter to use a regular powerpoint.

There are also a couple of places in the city where you can recharge while you're parked. i.e. the Bus Station and the Central market.

Andy

AndyInOz said:

Hey Prashanth,

You should have had a ride in mine while we worked at the same place...



Charging at home is very easy, all you need is a powerpoint. 15 amp if you want to be perfect, or a 15 to 10 am adapter to use a regular powerpoint.

There are also a couple of places in the city where you can recharge while you're parked. i.e. the Bus Station and the Central market.

Andy

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Hi Andy,

Thank you for your reply. Where are you working?

Thank you.

Sorry mate, my mistake, I was (until recently) working with a fellow with a very similar name.

Andy

AndyInOz said:

Sorry mate, my mistake, I was (until recently) working with a fellow with a very similar name.

Andy

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That's alright Andy, Thank you for your input.

I was reading and watching many reviews, I am concern about electricity consumption.

Since you are using this car, do you know what was your electricity bill before and after PHEV?

As per me PHEV is fuel economical but not cost effective. I have done some calculation, this could be wrong also as I don't have actual L/100Km for PHEV.

If you charge daily and can get 50 KMs (without AC/Heater) per charge.

On Electricity: If electriciy rate is $0.30 / kWh, it means 12kWh Battery X 0.30c = $3.60 for full charge and you will get 50Kms.
which is $3.60/50kms = $0.072/Km

On petrol: for $3.60 at rate of $1.25/L, I will get 2.88L petrol. If you get 13Km/L, you will get 37.44 Kms.
$3.60 / 37.44Kms = 0.096/Km

This is 2c/Km difference is when battery is fully functioning at its full capacity. I am sure after 2 years of usage battery will not perform (like any other batteries).

So, where is the benefit of Plug-in-Hybrid?

Thank you.

prashantvadher said:

AndyInOz said:

Sorry mate, my mistake, I was (until recently) working with a fellow with a very similar name.

Andy

Click to expand...

That's alright Andy, Thank you for your input.

I was reading and watching many reviews, I am concern about electricity consumption.

Since you are using this car, do you know what was your electricity bill before and after PHEV?

As per me PHEV is fuel economical but not cost effective. I have done some calculation, this could be wrong also as I don't have actual L/100Km for PHEV.

If you charge daily and can get 50 KMs (without AC/Heater) per charge.

On Electricity: If electriciy rate is $0.30 / kWh, it means 12kWh Battery X 0.30c = $3.60 for full charge and you will get 50Kms.
which is $3.60/50kms = $0.072/Km

On petrol: for $3.60 at rate of $1.25/L, I will get 2.88L petrol. If you get 13Km/L, you will get 37.44 Kms.
$3.60 / 37.44Kms = 0.096/Km

This is 2c/Km difference is when battery is fully functioning at its full capacity. I am sure after 2 years of usage battery will not perform (like any other batteries).

So, where is the benefit of Plug-in-Hybrid?

Thank you.

Click to expand...

First of all, you probably won't get 50km on every full charge, probably closer to 40 in suburban use.
Secondly, it takes about 9kWh to charge from "empty", as the car will normally not discharge below 25-30%

If all you want is to save $ in daily running cost, this car is probably not for you, if you like being "green", get sucked in by hi-tech and would like a car that is different, go for it.

When petrol is not much more than $1.00 per liter and your electricity is over $0.30 a kWh, the pure running costs will be very similar on petrol or electric.

However, when this vehicle is used primarily in short runs, as many, if not most, privately owned cars are, it is essentially a zero emissions car and that's what it is all about!

Battery capacity may go down over time. But that does not mean 'fuel' efficiency goes down too ... For sure EV range will go down a bit. But so will number of kWh per full charge.

I'm not saving as much as I did in September when it was warm but I'm still saving money compared to previous diesels and importantly to me reducing emissions :mrgreen:

Electric costs me 10p kW and full charge is between £0.90-£1 and this will last 20-30 miles - petrol is around £5.20 a gallon which using my worst mpg of 44 (which is rare) works out approx three times the price on petrol compared to electric :?

I'm lucky enough to commute within EV range during week and use electric although takes a lot of fiddling to stop ICE kicking in now it's cold here

I use petrol at weekends though which is knocking my mpg down - I hope it's going to rise again in summer and over the year will be higher than it is right now

I cautiously dipped my toe into the phev but now I'm thinking full EV might work for me next time which is shocking everyone who knows me - I've been a petrolhead all my life :shock:

I get cheap rate overnight at 6p/kWh so there's no contest re running costs, especially as now I'm retired and most of my driving is within EV range, or requires minimal ICE.
Yesterday's 70 mile drive gave me 80mpg from a full charge start.