Considering buying used iMiev

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Kingomri

New member
Joined
Oct 8, 2014
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1
I just discovered that there actually is a used market for EVs. Due to low federal taxes, I could never really take good advantage of the full federal tax credit, so buying one new was never justifiable.

I'm beginning to consider buying a used 2012 iMiev (ES), but I have a few questions I wanted to run past people who are more knowledgeable than I.

1. How concerned should I be about the potential for battery life degradation by previous owners? How would I test this prior to buying a vehicle?
2. Is any special equipment I would need installed at my house for charging? If so, roughly what would it cost?
3. Any tips on a rough price point I should be looking at?
4. Reading threads here, it appears the battery warranty does transfer, which is obviously a major concern.
5. When the battery warranty does expire (8 years will probably come before 100k miles since it's a 2012), is it feasible to just toss a new battery in the existing car (since presumably Li-Ion batteries will be significantly cheaper in 6 years or so)?

Thanks for your time!
 
Kingomri, good for you for considering a used i-MiEV. Let's see if I can address some of your very valid concerns. You didn't mention in what part of the world you are located, as that may affect some of the answers.

1a. How concerned should I be about the potential for battery life degradation by previous owners?
Not much, as the vehicle's battery management system does a good job of protecting the battery pack. Probably the worst thing for the battery is to leave it fully charged and unused in a very high temperature environment for an extended period of time. In any case, you still have about six years left on the battery warranty, and Mitsubishi has so far been quite good at replacing the few defective batteries which have popped up.

1b.How would I test this prior to buying a vehicle?
Let us know where you are located and maybe there is someone on this forum with an Android app called 'CaniOn' and a special bluetooth OBD adapter who could do a quick battery check for you. Alternatively, you could probably take it to a Mitsubishi dealer and ask them to do a battery check, but the veracity of such a test is still open to question.

2. Is any special equipment I would need installed at my house for charging? If so, roughly what would it cost?
Depends on how many miles/day you intend to drive. There are some on this forum who simply use a normal 120vac outlet and the Mitsubishi EVSE (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment - commonly called a charging station) that comes with the car. Its recharge rate is about four miles/rechargehour. For more-rapid charging, this EVSE can be modified by http://evseupgrade.com/ to not only increase the current draw at 120vac (thus speeding up recharging) but also enable it to work on 240vac and triple the recharge rate. A professional Level 2 EVSE (240vac) can be be purchased nowadays for about $500, and if you can't use an existing 240vac outlet then your biggest cost element will be having an electrician run a dedicate 240vac to a dedicated charging station location. If you have a dryer outlet in the garage you may simply need to buy/make an adapter for a L2 EVSE.

3. Any tips on a rough price point I should be looking at?
$12K would be a good starting point, depending on location, vehicle condition, etc. (the usual). Since the car is quite rare, you may be able to find a bargain because so few people know about it. A brand-new i-MiEV is not much more than that if you were eligible for all the possible Federal and State benefits.

4. Reading threads here, it appears the battery warranty does transfer, which is obviously a major concern.
Yes, no problem.

5. When the battery warranty does expire (8 years will probably come before 100k miles since it's a 2012), is it feasible to just toss a new battery in the existing car (since presumably Li-Ion batteries will be significantly cheaper in 6 years or so)?
Most of us are content to cross that bridge when we get to it, and it would be reasonable to expect Mitsubishi to have some sort of a trade-in/rebuild scheme available in five years. What is happening with early hybrid cars such as the Prius and Honda Insight is that third parties are rebuilding those battery packs at very reasonable prices.

Hope this helps and feel free to pelt us with specific questions.
 
We just bought a 2012 iMiev with 2300 miles on it for just over $10,000. Mark Mitsubishi also replaced the battery pack in its entirety. We've put about 700 miles on it since we bought it a couple of weeks ago. We are thoroughly enjoying driving past the gas stations, in fact they don't seem to exist any more. We installed a 240v outlet in the garage, which works well. The range display shows 70-80 miles consistently after charging. We don't speed and use Eco most of the time. Also, Phoenix is flat. At the moment, we are :D
 
Phximiev said:
We just bought a 2012 iMiev with 2300 miles on it for just over $10,000. Mark Mitsubishi also replaced the battery pack in its entirety. ... We installed a 240v outlet in the garage ...

Welcome to the MyiMiEV forum. This is my favorite forum, and my i-Miev is my favorite car. The more I drive it the more I like it. No gas is truly a big deal. Speaking of deals, you got a great deal on your car with a new battery. Wow!

Which EVSE are you using with your 240VAC outlet?
 
Welcome to the Forum & congratulations on your Miev purchase "great deal"
Hope you enjoy many safe miles.

Phximiev said:
Thanks. We are using an AV Turbocord, which seems to work quite well.

I purchased an AV Turbocord as well, right away when I bought my car for the added 240v mobile charging capability, ( It's Mitsubishi approved) but I only use it 2-3 times a month.

I imagine you use yours daily. What level do you charge at mostly 110v or 240v?

If you get a chance several (months down the road) It would be nice if you could share your evaluation of the AV Turbocord EVSE .
Curious minds want to know.
 
There is a 2012 Black MiEV ES located just north of Philadelphia with quick charge and only 971 miles listed for $10,995.
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I may also be in the market for a used i. I'm looking for SE trim w/Premium Pkg + battery warmer.

I stumbled upon a website that allows one to see a "build sheet" or "Original Equipment List" for the car in question.

Put this in your browser, then add the VIN: http://www.mitsubishicars.com/rs/file/monroney?vin=

-Bob K.
 
steeve said:
I may also be in the market for a used i. I'm looking for SE trim w/Premium Pkg + battery warmer.

I stumbled upon a website that allows one to see a "build sheet" or "Original Equipment List" for the car in question.

Put this in your browser, then add the VIN: http://www.mitsubishicars.com/rs/file/monroney?vin=

-Bob K.

Here's another thing you could do!

I called up my local Mitsubishi dealership and asked the parts department if they can look up the standard and optional equipment list by the last 8 digits of the VIN in their system and send me a copy of the list. They offered me a fax but since I don't have a fax, I asked them to print it as a PDF and email it to me. So they did! Now I know exactly what came with my 2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV SE Premium!

You could probably also stop in in person and ask for a printout but now I have a digital copy for future reference and when I sell the EV years later!

Edit: Oops, never mind, what you suggested gives the same results and is easier and faster. My mistake.
 
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