2026 is shaping up to be a strong year for budget-friendly electric cars. There’s a refreshed Nissan Leaf that lists for just under $30,000 (if you set the destination fee aside). We’ll soon get behind the wheel of the revived Chevrolet Bolt—with a new lithium iron phosphate battery, it also carries a starting price in the $20,000s (again, ignoring the destination charge). And as you near $40,000, your choices broaden: the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Chevy Equinox EV, Toyota bZ, Tesla Model 3, Ford Mustang Mach-E, and Subaru Solterra all fit that price range, and several of them are very competent cars.
But suppose you only want to spend a fraction of that. You won’t be buying new, but neither do about three-quarters of American car buyers, and that’s perfectly fine. A few weeks ago, we examined what counts as the used-EV bargain basement—vehicles that cost $5,000 or less. If you’re comfortable with limited range and slow charging, going electric on a shoestring is doable. If you’re willing to spend roughly twice that, however, many more options become available.
As before, we emphasize that you should have a reliable place to charge an EV if you intend to buy one—typically at home overnight or at work during the day. In this price bracket you’re unlikely to find something that takes full advantage of DC fast charging, and relying on public AC chargers can be stressful. You’ll likely encounter some battery degradation, but for the vast majority of models with active battery cooling that wear should be small; about 2 percent per year seems to be the average.
EVs in the US commonly come with an eight-year, 100,000-mile battery warranty, though cars in this price range are often too old to still be covered. If possible, have an independent EV specialist inspect the vehicle; if that’s not feasible, some models offer diagnostic apps you can use. At minimum, take a test drive—ideally after a full recharge—to see how much range the car reports.
