Don't get burned
buying a used EV
A worn battery looks exactly like a healthy one, and it's the most expensive part of the car. Start with the free battery checklist below.
GET YOUR FREE BATTERY CHECKLISTYour free battery checklist
Six checks that tell you whether the battery is worth what they're asking. Print it, or keep it on your phone at the car.
The used EV battery checklist · free
- Get the energy screen photo before you go
Came here from the BATTERY comment? This is the one.
Want complete confidence to buy, haggle or walk away from that EV?
Upgrade to VIP, here's what you get:
The full Don't Get Burned Used EV Kit covers every pitfall to watch for, so you turn up knowing exactly what to check and drive away without a surprise bill later.
Don't Get Burned Used EV Kit
- The battery checklist, plus where the battery health % hides on 23–32 brands available in your region, and which ones need a proper test
- 5 questions to ask the seller, word for word, and what a dodgy answer tells you
- The 9 other traps to cover, one page each: finance owing, warranty, range, charging, software, servicing, add-ons, insurance, resale
- A 10-point scorecard that helps you decide clearly whether to buy, haggle or walk away, with a web version for your phone at the car
Available for AUUSUKEUCANZ
One-off payment · Instant download · Works on your phone
Helpful info
I’ve been looking at a few used EVs and had no idea how to tell if the battery was still any good. This checklist helped me understand what actually matters and what warning signs to look for. Wish I’d found it earlier TBH
Researching buying my first EV and am…
…When I saw Wonderful EV's free battery checklist, I thought it was so helpful in walking me through deciding whether the car was a lemon or not. It even gave me some tips on what to ask for before I booked an inspection from the owner, so that I didn't have to waste my time booking an inspection if they weren't willing to share certain details.
Questions people ask us
What exactly do I get for $9.90?
One payment gets you the full kit as a 40+ page PDF, downloaded the moment you pay, plus a web scorecard you can fill in on your phone while you're standing at the car. Your download link also lands by email and stays live for 30 days and 25 downloads, so you can save the kit to every device you own.
How is the kit different from the free battery checklist?
The free checklist does one job: six battery checks on one page. The kit covers the battery properly, including where the health % hides on your brand, then the nine other traps: finance owing, warranty, range, charging, software, servicing, add-ons, insurance and resale. It ends in a 10-point scorecard that turns what you found into buy, haggle or walk away.
Does it cover my country and my car?
There are six editions: Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, Canada and New Zealand. When you click UPGRADE TO VIP, you'll be able to pick the region for where you're buying your car, and the warranty rules, finance checks and battery testers match your market. Each edition shows where battery health hides on 23–32 brands sold in your region, and is honest about the ones where only a proper test will tell you.
Do I need any tools, or one of those OBD dongles?
Mostly no. Every check in the kit covers what you can get in the car's own screens (whether the battery health is there or not), the paperwork and the questions you ask the seller. For most brands the battery health score is already sitting in a menu, and the kit shows you where. For the brands that keep it hidden, the kit says so, and tells you when a paid battery test is worth the money. If the car you're inspecting is not in the kit, email us on support@wonderfulev.ai and we'll do our best to add it in.
Who's behind this, and why should I trust it?
Wonderful EV is part of Empty Vessels AI, a global EV software company based in Australia, and the kit is made in Melbourne. Every brand page in the kit names its sources, such as the carmaker's own owner's manual, and where no reliable way to read a battery could be found, the kit says so instead of guessing. It's general information, not financial or mechanical advice.