If you have already decided to start your own electric car conversion project, the next step is to find a donor car. A donor car is a conventional vehicle that you will be stripping out the internal combustion engine (ICE) and replacing it with an electric motor. There are a few other things that you have to build into the donor car such as battery racks, electric controller, adapter plate, meter gauges etc.
Locating Cheap Donor Vehicle
One thing that most electric car enthusiasts want to know is where to find a cheap donor car. There is one place where you can do your research and it is at www.autotrader.com.
Autotrader.com is one of the largest new and used car listing web site on the internet. You can utilize the Autotrader search engine to help you to find the perfect donor car for your DIY electric car conversion. Here’s what you need to do.
First, go to Autotrader main web site. You should see a search box on the top left. Click on the “Any Make” pull down menu and choose the model of donor car you like. To find a cheap donor vehicle, it is recommended for you to select Volkswagen.
Next enter your zip code and click on the “Next” button. This will bring you to a page where you can narrow down your selection. Select “Used Cars” for the “Search for” category. Then you can select the search area within your area.
Next, select any body style and choose Volkswagen as the model again. Choose the year range for the donor car that you want. If you are looking for cheap vehicle, you may want to select year 1981 – 1990. The next step is to enter your price range.
Get Better Deal With Private Sellers
Here’s a trick you can use to find inexpensive donor car. Select “Private Sellers Only”. You will find better search results because you do not have to pay any mark up fee to the Dealers. Finally, press the “Search” button.
Autotrader search engine will then list down all the car listings as per your requirement. There is a disclaimer though. When anything is cheap, usually the vehicle needs some repair. Make sure you communicate with the seller and really find out the condition of the car. If you want to find cheap donor car for your homemade electric vehicle, you have to do some leg work. It is a good idea to be prudent.
There are many ways you can save on your DIY electric car conversion project cost. The trick above with Autotrader.com, I learned it from Les Oke’s Convert 2 EV. If you want to know more tips and strategies to find cheap parts for your EV Conversion, check out Convert 2 EV e-book.