Is a used electric pickup actually a smart buy now, or am I missing something?

Oct 15, 2026 Last reply: 15 hours ago 4 Replies

First reply

RafterCrest

I bought a used electric car three years back when the original owner bailed at a loss, and honestly it worked out fine for me. I paid way under what the first owner did, charge overnight in my garage off a regular outlet for most of my driving, and my electric bill went up…

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So one of the big electric pickups got discontinued recently and now the used ones are supposedly selling faster than ever. A guy at work swears the prices on used ones have dropped so much that it's basially a bargain if you can charge at home. I'm torn. On one hand, cheap used EV truck with a huge crew cab and instant torque sounds great for around town and hauling mulch and lumber from the yard. On the other hand I keep thinking about resale value. If the manufacturer pulled the plug on the whole thing, what happens to parts, battery service, software support five years from now? Does a discontinued model become a unicorn or an orphan? For those of you who bought used EVs, did the depreciation turn out to be a steal or a trap? And does it change anything if the truck might get resurrected under a different name in a couple years? Genuinely curious wich way people would lean here.


I bought a used electric car three years back when the original owner bailed at a loss, and honestly it worked out fine for me. I paid way under what the first owner did, charge overnight in my garage off a regular outlet for most of my driving, and my electric bill went up maybe the cost of a couple of coffee runs a month. The battery had lost a little range by then but nothing that matters for my commute. The thing about a discontinued model is that a lot of the parts are shared with other vehicles from the same maker. Suspension bits, brakes, door handles, interior trim, most of that stuff crosses over. The battery and software are the real question marks, so before I bought I called a local independent shop that works on EVs and asked flat out if they'd service mine. They said yes, and that answer mattered more to me than anything the dealer told me. On resale, I just plan to run it untill the wheels fall off. If you're the second or third owner at a steep discount, depreciation alredy happened to somebody else. I'd care more about wether you can actually charge where you park than about the badge on the tailgate.

I'd pump the brakes on the whole thing, honestly. I was in a similar spot with a different discontinued EV a while back and walked away from the deal, and I still think that was the right call. The guy I would have bought from ended up stuck when his charge port started acting up. Only one dealer within an hour of us was even willing to look at it, and the wait for a replacement part stretched into months because they just weren't making stock anymore.

The software side is what really spooked me. These trucks basically stop being trucks if the app or the update servers go quiet, and once a model is dead, you're betting on some bean counter keeping the lights on for a vehicle they already gave up on.

The other poster's situation sounds genuinely fine, but a sedan used as a commuter is a lot lower stakes than a work truck you're loading mulch into. Around here the independent shops won't touch high voltage stuff, so your repair options are whatever the franchised dealer feels like doing.

If it was a few grand cheaper than anything else with a bed, maybe I'd roll the dice. At the prices I was seeing, no chance.

I ran an orphan vehicle years back, a little import whose maker pulled out of the country entirely. Kept it alive with junkyard parts and a Chilton manual on the passenger seat. Here's the difference though, back then I could wrench on everythign myself. With an EV truck half the vehicle is software and sealed high voltage stuff I'm not touching, so handiness counts for less. One thing I'd check before money changes hands: whether the battery warranty transfers to the second owner and how much time is left on it. Some makers cover that pack long enough to outlive most of your worries. Myself, at the right price I'd take the gamble if the home charging situation checks out.

Total lurker here, first post, so take this with a grain of salt. My situation is a bit sideways since I ended up with a used hybrid SUV instead of an EV, but the insurance side surprised me. I got quotes on a couple of used EVs first and some insurers wanted noticeably more, I guess becuase of repair costs if the battery pack gets dinged in a crash. Worth pricing insurance on the exact year and trim before you fall in love with a deal. Also curious about your resurrection theory, do the old ones usally keep getting software updates if the successor shows up, or do they get frozen out?

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