Used EV demand is finally heating up here, with used electric sales hitting records while new ones slide, but many buyers still treat a big odometer number as a red flag on an EV. The following referenced study argues that this approach may be outdated. It analyzed 47.4 million tests under Britain’s MOT, the mandatory annual roadworthiness inspection, and was commissioned by the BVRLA, a UK vehicle rental and leasing trade group, and carried out by independent research organization New AutoMotive.
Mercedes
What The Numbers Show
At lower mileage, there’s almost no difference: between 20,000 and 40,000 miles, 12 percent of EVs failed versus 11.7 percent of gas cars. From around 60,000 miles, though, EV failure rates flatten out near 16 percent while gas and diesel rates keep climbing. For cars aged three to eight with 90,000 to 120,000 miles, 16.5 percent of EVs failed versus 22.1 percent of gas cars, roughly 25 percent less often. Beyond 120,000 miles, it was 16 percent versus 23.5 percent. That fits with real-world outliers like a Tesla Model 3 that reached 380,000 miles on its original battery.
Where EVs Still Struggle
2026 Cadillac Escalade
GM
It isn’t a clean sweep. EVs recorded about 1.8 times as many tire defects as gas cars, especially early models built on combustion-car platforms. Older, low-mileage EVs also showed more brake problems, which researchers linked to corrosion from friction brakes going unused thanks to regenerative braking. Suspension, often blamed on EV weight, actually looked better: 4.7 defects per 100 tests at 60,000 to 90,000 miles versus 6.1 for gas cars. And an inspection isn’t a battery check. It doesn’t measure capacity, so battery health can still vary widely between models.
What This Means On This Side Of The Atlantic
The U.S. has no national equivalent of the MOT. Inspection rules vary by state, and many don’t require periodic safety inspections at all, so nobody can run this analysis on American cars. Failing an inspection also isn’t the same as breaking down. Still, the direction matches what American buyers are seeing: used EVs can beat gas cars on total cost of ownership as long as the battery holds up, and most carry 8-year/100,000-mile battery warranties. The window is narrowing, too, as used EV prices climb again with gas prices. The practical takeaway is to treat mileage as one input rather than a dealbreaker, and pay for a battery health report on anything past 100,000 miles.
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