Used EV vs Petrol: The Real Running Costs

By Márton Kovács, Lead vehicle inspector · Published 2026-06-03 · 5 min read

The short version

Charging at home is the cheapest fuel; relying on public rapid charging narrows the gap to petrol.
EVs need far less servicing — no oil, belts or clutch — and their brakes last longer.
EVs are heavier, so tyres wear faster, and the battery's state of health is the key risk.
The right choice depends on how and where you drive and charge.

The headline case for an electric car is lower running costs, and for many drivers that is genuinely true — but the picture is more nuanced than the simplest comparisons suggest, and it matters a great deal how and where you charge. For a used-car buyer weighing an EV against an equivalent petrol car, an honest, figure-based look at the real costs is more useful than either the enthusiasm or the scepticism that tends to surround the subject.

This guide compares the running costs of a used electric car and a petrol one across the areas that actually move the numbers — energy, servicing, brakes, tyres, depreciation and the battery — and keeps the framing factual rather than offering financial advice. The conclusion, as so often, is that the right answer depends on your own driving and charging pattern.

Energy cost per kilometre

Energy is where the biggest difference lies, and also the biggest variable. Charging at home, typically overnight, is normally the cheapest way to fuel a car by a wide margin, and on home electricity an EV can cost a small fraction per kilometre of an equivalent petrol car. The catch is the other end of the scale: relying heavily on expensive public rapid charging can push the cost per kilometre much closer to petrol, occasionally level with it.

So the single biggest factor in whether a used EV saves you money is whether you can charge it at home or at work, cheaply and overnight, or whether you will depend on the public rapid network. A buyer who can charge at home is in a very different position from one who cannot, and it is worth being honest about which you are before you commit.

Servicing and brakes

Servicing is a clearer win for the electric car. An EV has far fewer moving parts — no engine oil, no timing or cam belts, no clutch, no spark plugs and no exhaust — so routine maintenance is simpler and, on independent figures, materially cheaper per kilometre than a comparable petrol car. There is less to go wrong and less to replace on a schedule, which is one of the quieter advantages of electric ownership.

The brakes tell a similar story with a twist. Because regenerative braking does most of the routine slowing, the friction pads and discs on an EV wear far more slowly and often last much longer than on a petrol car. The flip side, which we check on any used EV, is that lightly used brakes can corrode and seize from underuse, so the concern shifts from wear to corrosion rather than disappearing entirely.

Tyres, depreciation and the battery

Electric cars are heavier, because of the battery, and they deliver their torque instantly, so they tend to wear their tyres faster than an equivalent petrol car — by a noticeable margin, which EV-specific tyres are designed to offset. Depreciation has historically been steeper for EVs, especially in the first year, though recent data shows that gap narrowing; either way it is volatile and very model-dependent, so it is worth researching the specific car. Insurance can also run higher on an EV, reflecting its value and specialist repair costs.

The battery is the EV-specific risk, and it is why a used-EV purchase should always include a state-of-health measurement. State of health expresses how much usable capacity remains, and while fleet data shows a modest average degradation of under two per cent a year, so that most well-treated batteries retain a healthy capacity after eight to ten years, the outliers are exactly what a buyer needs to find. A low state of health is the costliest EV-specific surprise, which is why we measure it rather than estimate it.

Which makes sense for you

Putting it together, a used electric car tends to win on energy if you can charge at home, on servicing and on brake life, while a petrol car can be cheaper to insure, kinder on tyres and more predictable on depreciation, and it avoids the battery question entirely. Neither is universally cheaper to run; it depends on your mileage, where you charge and how long you intend to keep the car.

The practical advice is to be honest about your own pattern — home charging or not, short urban trips or long motorway runs — and then to have the specific car checked, because with an EV the battery's measured health is as central to its value as the engine's condition is on a petrol car. Decide on your real costs and the real condition of the car, not on the headlines.

Which makes sense for you — UsedCarCheck pre-purchase inspection.

Where to read next

Whether a used electric car saves you money depends on how you drive and charge, and whether a particular one is worth buying depends on its battery. Our on-site inspection reads the battery's state of health and checks the brakes and charging behaviour, then reports it all in plain English so you can compare on real figures.

For data on how slowly EV batteries actually degrade on average, see Geotab's large-scale EV battery degradation study.

Frequently asked questions

Is a used electric car cheaper to run than petrol?

Often, but not always. Charging at home makes an EV much cheaper to fuel and it needs far less servicing, but relying on expensive public rapid charging narrows the gap, and EVs wear tyres faster and can cost more to insure. It depends on how and where you drive and charge.

Do electric cars really need less servicing?

Yes. An EV has no engine oil, timing belts, clutch, spark plugs or exhaust, so routine maintenance is simpler and cheaper per kilometre than a comparable petrol car, and regenerative braking makes the brakes last longer — though lightly used brakes can corrode, which we check. Whatever we find, you get the facts in writing and the decision stays yours.

What is the biggest cost risk with a used EV?

The battery. Its state of health determines the car's range and value, and while most well-treated batteries degrade slowly, the outliers are costly, so a used-EV purchase should always include a measured state-of-health reading rather than an estimate from the dashboard range. Everything is geared toward one outcome: a confident, well-informed purchase.

Do you inspect used electric cars on site in Budapest?

Yes. We read the battery's state of health and check the brakes and charging behaviour, as part of used-EV inspections across Budapest, with an English-speaking inspector and an English report, so you can judge the real running costs and condition. We would rather you walked away from the wrong car than regretted a good-looking one.

Would an onsite pre purchase vehicle inspection catch the problems described above?

This is one of the main reasons we recommend an onsite pre purchase vehicle inspection. Our English-speaking inspector examines the car in person, records its condition with photographs, and talks you through what matters and what does not. You then choose with the facts in front of you, not the seller's word.

Márton Kovács · Lead vehicle inspector

Márton has spent over 18 years assessing used cars, from auction lanes to private driveways. He leads UsedCarCheck's on-site inspections in Budapest and writes the technical checklists the team works from.

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