A used Renault Zoe can look like the bargain of the used EV market, and sometimes it is. But a lot of Zoes were sold without their battery. The battery belongs to a finance company, it's rented by the month, and when you buy the car the rental doesn't vanish: it has to be transferred to you, or the seller keeps paying for a battery that's now in your car. Here's how to tell which kind you're looking at, and what to do about it.
Do you get the battery with a used Renault Zoe?
Only if it was sold with the battery included. From the Zoe's UK launch, Renault sold it with the battery on a separate monthly hire agreement, and a version with the battery included, the "ZOE i", was added in late 2014. Renault stopped offering battery hire on new Zoes in the UK in November 2019, so later cars come with the battery. On an earlier Zoe the battery may belong to the finance company, not the seller, and the hire has to be transferred to you.
That timeline comes from Renault statements reported at the time: Carbuyer covered the launch pricing with battery hire in 2012, EV Fleet World and Zapmap reported the battery-included "ZOE i" in November 2014, and EV Fleet World quoted a Renault spokesperson on battery hire ending for new Zoes in November 2019.
How can you tell if a Zoe has a leased battery?
Check the badge, the log book and the paperwork, then confirm with the finance company. When Renault introduced the battery-included version in 2014, it said those cars would be "badged as ZOE i" and "specifically marked out on its V5C documents", to help identify them on the used market, as reported by EV Fleet World.
In practice, do all four:
- Ask the seller in writing. "Is the battery owned outright, or is there a battery hire agreement?" A straight answer in a message is evidence; a phone call isn't.
- Look for the "i" badge on a 2014 to 2019 car, and look at the V5C at the viewing.
- Ask for the paperwork. A seller who owns the battery outright, or has bought it out, should be able to show it. A seller with a hire agreement will have statements from the finance company.
- Treat an advert that doesn't mention the battery as a question, not an answer. Plenty of sellers don't mention it because they don't know, and plenty don't because they do.
What is the advert not telling you?
Paste the advert text and the registration. We read it against the car's DVSA MOT history and our known-faults database, then tell you what the seller left out.
Check an advert now (free) →Who owns the battery on a leased Zoe?
The finance company. In Financial Ombudsman decisions from 2024 and 2025, the lessor of Zoe batteries is named as RCI Financial Services Limited, trading as Mobilize Financial Services. The car belongs to whoever bought it; the battery inside it belongs to Mobilize, and is rented under its own agreement.
That separation has a sharp edge. In one of those decisions, Mobilize had remotely inhibited a leased battery, and the ombudsman accepted that Mobilize "had the power to inhibit the battery". A Zoe whose battery hire isn't sorted out is a car that can be stopped from charging.
What happens to the battery lease when you buy a used Zoe?
It has to be transferred, and it doesn't happen automatically. In the Financial Ombudsman's 2025 decision, Mobilize describes the process: it needs a completed battery hire transfer document, then proposes a new agreement in the buyer's name, which the buyer signs and returns with a direct debit. The 2024 decision quotes the transfer form itself: the registered hirer "will remain liable for the battery and rentals until the new hirer signs a new hire Agreement", and "should not release the vehicle with the battery until [Mobilize] confirms the battery hire transfer is complete".
So, buying privately:
- The seller starts the transfer with Mobilize before you take the car.
- You sign a new hire agreement in your name, and you take on the monthly payments.
- Don't drive away until the transfer is confirmed. If it isn't, the seller stays liable and you have a car whose battery belongs to someone with no agreement with you.
From a dealer, ask them to show you the transfer has been arranged, or that the battery has been bought out, before you pay.
How much does a Zoe battery lease cost?
It varies by the agreement's date and mileage allowance. In the two Financial Ombudsman cases, the rental was £59 a month on an agreement taken out in March 2018, and £48.98 a month on one from October 2021. Ask the seller for their latest statement, because the figure that matters is the one on the agreement you'll be taking over, and factor it into the price: multiply it by the months you expect to keep the car before you compare a lease Zoe with an owned one.
Can you buy the battery out on a used Zoe?
Yes, it's been done, and the price is quoted case by case. In the Financial Ombudsman cases, Mobilize offered to settle one agreement for £1,176 in June 2023, and quoted £2,840.40 to a dealer and then £2,706.00 to the owner for a battery purchase in 2024. Those are individual quotes rather than a price list, so ask Mobilize for a figure on the car you're looking at before you agree a price with the seller. A buy-out figure is also a negotiating figure: a lease Zoe should be cheaper than an owned one by at least the cost of owning the battery.
Is the battery covered by a warranty on a lease Zoe?
Differently. Renault UK's warranty page says its battery warranty covers the "i" versions only, and that where the battery is leased, "separate terms and conditions apply" under the hire agreement. On a Zoe with an owned battery registered between late 2019 and mid 2020, the page shows 8 years or 100,000 miles, with the capacity it promises stepping down from 80% in the first three years, for cars registered from 1 March 2020. Read the warranty terms for the exact car, and on a lease car read the hire agreement's terms on battery capacity before you sign it.
Used EV battery health explained covers how to get a measured battery health figure, which matters on any Zoe whoever owns the battery.
Is a lease-battery Zoe worth buying?
It can be, if the price reflects the lease and the transfer is done properly. A lower purchase price with a modest monthly rental can suit someone who wants a cheap town EV and would rather not carry the battery risk. What makes it a bad buy is not knowing: paying an owned-battery price for a lease car, or driving away before the transfer's confirmed.
Do the sums both ways: purchase price plus the rental over the years you'll keep it, against the price of a comparable owned-battery Zoe, or the lease Zoe plus a buy-out. Then check everything else on the car, which what to check before buying a used EV lists in order.
Which of this can a check answer for you?
The concession first, and it's a big one: no car check can tell you whether a Zoe's battery is leased. The hire agreement sits with Mobilize, not on any register a check reads, and we don't see it either. The seller and Mobilize are the only reliable sources, which is why the written question and the transfer confirmation above matter more than anything a report says.
What a check can do is everything else about the car, and it reads the same official records as anyone. Our free scan reads the full DVSA MOT history and plots the mileage, which tells you how much of an 8-year, 100,000-mile battery warranty would be left on an owned battery, and it reads the advert, so whatever the seller has or hasn't said about the battery is right there next to the record when you message them. It also checks the known faults for the Zoe, which include the on-board charger failing and leaving the car unable to charge. And it gives you a verdict and a risk score, free, with no card. The Zoe doesn't have enough documented faults yet for a model page, but our Renault page and the Renault Clio page cover the rest of the range.
The Provenance Check adds outstanding finance on the car itself, theft and write-off records, and the keeper history, and includes the Smart Check's questions for the seller and a figure to negotiate from. Finance on the car and a battery lease are separate things, so a clear finance result doesn't answer the battery question. You still have to ask.
So what should you actually do?
Put the advert and the registration through the free scan, then send the seller one message: is the battery owned outright, or on a hire agreement, and can they show you the paperwork? If the car's still worth chasing, the same report upgrades on the same link with nothing re-run, so nothing's wasted if the answer to that message is the end of it.
