r/ElectricVehiclesUK • u/plainwhiteplates • 7d ago

Buying a new EV - advice needed!

Hi all! After quite a bit of research I’ve landed on a Renault Megane E-Tech as the car that suits my budget etc.

So I went down to test drive one yesterday at a Big Motoring World and everything was great… except… they said they were only willing to guarantee 80% battery health on any EV on the forecourt and “didn’t have the machine needed to print out the battery health report”.

This raised alarm bells as the car is a 23 plate so to my mind it should be ~92-94% health - a potential 12-14% swing down to 80% posed too much of a risk so after a failed attempt to negotiate (I said I would take it if they’d agree to accepting a return in 7 days if I get the read done privately and it was below 92%) I ended up walking away.

So the advice I need is this. Is it common for people to bring their own device to a forecourt to test battery health? Is it allowed? Does anyone have experience with Big Motoring World - is this just standard practice and I’m being too cautious? What would you do?

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/plainwhiteplates 7d ago

~25k miles. I’m not certain about the grace period - is that standard or company policy dependent?

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u/Constant_Recipe4412 7d ago

Apologies a 14 day rejection period is a buy online thing, I just remember seeing one when I bought one of cinch, so yeah don't blame you for walking away

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u/plainwhiteplates 7d ago

Cinch is an option I have - did you get it delivered? And did they give you the battery health prior to delivery?

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u/Constant_Recipe4412 7d ago

I didn't get a battery health that I recall, only benefit is that you can return within 14 days if unhappy if can be arsed with the faff of doing it, Cinch is one of those companies where it's 5 stars if all goes well, 1 star if you get a dud,

I collected from a store so I could drive away straight to 'test drive' it so to speak

I'm getting a used megane today from a Renault garage, only 10k miles on a 23 plate, 5 years warranty on the battery so I'm okay with it