r/EVRoutine

We goof a good review / feedback from one of the app users who found two identical 2023 Ioniq 5 SEL listings last week. Same trim, same color, 180 miles apart. $4,200 price difference. They ran both through an EV receipt checker.

• The cheaper one had an uncleared recall on the battery management system. The seller wasn't required to disclose it. It wasn't on the listing. CarFax didn't flag it.
• The more expensive one had a clean recall status, one owner, and a dealer battery report on file.

The deal was the more expensive car. Some used EV listings look identical but the differences that actually matter are things like recall status, charging history, battery documentation. You have to ask for them or check yourself. Happy to share what questions we recommend before any test drive if anyone's shopping right now.

Over 300,000 EVs are coming off lease in 2026 — up 230% from last year. That's the biggest wave of used EV inventory the market has ever seen, and prices reflect it: non-Tesla used EVs are averaging $23,738 right now.

Some of these cars come with no battery history. Lease returns go through a dealer reconditioning process that cleans the car up visually. The battery gets no equivalent transparency. You don't know if the previous driver was DC fast charging daily, parking in Phoenix heat, or babying it with Level 2 every night.

Before you buy one of these, the questions worth asking:

• Is there any battery diagnostic on record from the OEM?
• What charging method was primarily used?
• Has the open recall status been cleared?

We run OFFOLab, an EV receipt tool to help EV buyers make better decisions. Here's what the data showed across listings we processed in June:

• 34% had price-to-market mismatches of $2k+ (both directions)
• Listings with "battery report available" in the description scored 28 points higher on average
• Salvage/rebuilt title was the #1 hidden flag — often not in the listing title
• Bolt EUV and Model 3 SR had the most consistent GREEN verdicts at current prices

Tool Update: Next week, OFFO would be updating to include complete VIN check (Title, salvage, accident, theft etc) so EV buyers can now get their full VIN history usually given by Carfax which is not designed or specific to EV's. OFFO's full VIN check would be specific to EV's and include other useful tools at only a fraction of the price to unlock all features.

Please drop a comment or feedback if you find this information or the tool useful on the site.

Can someone explain to me, what does it mean to get Long Range EV's?

If someone already has an dedicated Home charger, why does it matter if dealers or youtubers say get a long range EV?

Not talking about range anxiety, more about buying a salvage title, paying market rate for a battery that's already at 70%, or missing that the low mileage listing had three prior owners and a flood event.

Things to check out when purchasing a used EV:

• Salvage or rebuilt titles listed as "clean" on the dealer site
• Mileage that doesn't match across sources
• Listings priced $2–4K above comparable inventory, framed as deals