New buyer seeking advice

[mek363]

Hi all,

I found this ad for a local iMIEV for sale and started researching it. I have a very short commute < 10 miles and don't see the need to use it for much more than that. However, I live in Minnesota and it does get very cold. Wondering if this looks like a good deal and what questions I should ask. For example, it's not clear what trim level this is (and I'm not even sure what the differences are). Is the battery likely to still have a good charge?

https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/csw/ctd/d/montrose-2012-mitsubishi-miev-41xxx/7387587768.html

Thanks!

 

[JoeS]

mek363, welcome to the forum.

The car you are looking at is a SE (alloy wheels and a nicer interior), but it does NOT have CHAdeMO dc fast-charging, which limits its utility for longer trips.

Even though it is a relatively low-mileage car, you should ask the seller to provide a battery capacity readout, because a lot depends on how the battery had been cared-for. For reference, a new car had a battery capacity of around 45Ah, so I would expect this car to be around 38Ah. Mitsubishi does not warrant battery degradation, but will replace the entire battery pack if an internal cell fails. This car probably less than a year of battery warranty left.

The ad has a few minor errors: there is no cruise control nor tilting steering wheel, and I don't believe it has hands-free bluetooth for the phone.

An important feature in your part of the world is the ability to pre-heat the car while it is still plugged in: the car should come with a Remote which enables pre-heating or pre-cooling, as well as controlling the charging times. A replacement from Mitsubishi can cost $1000, with programming to mate it to the car. If you pre-heat the car, use the heater/defroster and the seat heater, that should serve you just fine for your short commute. The i-MiEV handles well in the snow. The car cannot be pre-heated without the Remote.

A ten-mile commute is trivial, hopefully you have a garage to keep the car inside, and charging using a plain old 120 wall outlet will work just fine.

 

[Don]

Joe's given you pretty much all the advice you need, as usual - He's very knowledgeable about these cars

I wouldn't worry too much about the Minnesota cold - They sold these cars in Canada and Norway and cold hasn't been much of a problem with them, other than extreme cold does shorten the range a bit as the battery has less energy when it's cold

The price seems fair for a 40K car in the USA - I would definitely negotiate that down by $500 or so if the remote doesn't come with the car. I don't find it all that useful, but in a cold climate, it would be handy to preheat using AC power. The heater in these cars works, but it's a real energy hog and would probably take about 1/3rd of your range away in the winter and there's really no way around not using it as you'll need it to keep the glass clear on cold days

Good luck with the purchase and welcome to the forum!

Don

 

[mek363]

Thanks @Don and @JoeS for your helpful advice!

 

[tigger19687]

I see the ad is still up so I guess you didn't buy it.
According to Edmunds these cars are not worth that much, closer to $2500 for an outstanding car.
By the color of it, I am going to guess that it is one of the original cars out. So Battery would be out of warranty, 8yr/100000 miles no? Then there is WHO would work on it? You would need to make sure that they have an EV Mechanic, not all do.
I just noticed ... Seems weird that it is at a Small rinky dink auto repair shop and they own it. I Highly doubt that they have an EV Mech and as mentioned before there is no Blue tooth etc.

I think at Auction about 4 years ago they were getting about $2-3k for these in great condition off of leases. Not sure what they are getting now.
Ask for a Carfax too

 

[mek363]

@tigger9687 Thanks for your additional thoughts. I am still thinking about it. The price seems good compared to other listings I've seen and Blue Book, even considering how old it is. You are right service is a consideration. There are several Mitsubishi dealers around. I suppose I should confirm with them they could service it.

 

[epiclarisse]

I didn’t even think about pre-heating an electric car. Thanks for the advice! I really want to try driving an electric vehicle, and a car from the Japanese domestic market seems to be the best option. I like Japanese cars because they are well-made and highly functional. And I don’t expect any unpleasant surprises from this Mitsubishi i-MiEV than from a Tesla, for instance.
Initially, I thought about buying the car of my dreams - https://www.jdmbuysell.com/buying-guide/nissan-silvia/, but then I realized I actually needed a car for going from home to work and vice versa and not for racing. I needed this car when I was in high school, but now it seems too late.

 

[alphayash]

I didn’t even think about pre-heating an electric car. Thanks for the advice! I really want to try driving an electric vehicle, and a car from the Japanese domestic market seems to be the best option. I like Japanese cars because they are well-made and highly functional. And I don’t expect any unpleasant surprises from this Mitsubishi i-MiEV than from a Tesla, for instance. VidMateOld Version VidMateFMWhatsapp
Initially, I thought about buying the car of my dreams - https://www.jdmbuysell.com/buying-guide/nissan-silvia/, but then I realized I actually needed a car for going from home to work and vice versa and not for racing. I needed this car when I was in high school, but now it seems too late.

That's a very good advice, I am also interested in buying a new Car, but was conflicted among the on which I desired and the one which is more functional.