A SECOND-hand electric car is a smart buy right now.

An 11-plate Nissan Leaf is fetching around £8,975 today — compared to £30,935 new three years ago.

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That’s a massive £21,960 hit (71 per cent) for the first owner.

But it’s also a huge bargain for the next buyer.

Given that you would save around £2,000 a year in fuel, a used Leaf could pay for itself in little over four years.

Plus there’s no road tax, no congestion charge and less to go wrong.

It’s also good for 100 miles on a charge, much more than the average driver covers in a day, and wall chargers are fitted free at home until March.

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Philip Nothard, of car value experts CAP Automotive, said: “Get in quick because the days of electric vehicles looking too dodgy to risk your cash on are disappearing fast.

“It was that fear that made them so cheap on the used market. But now that reluctance is being replaced by confidence, we’re seeing prices stabilise and even rise for some models.

“We’re probably at the bottom of the market price wise, which makes this the best time there will ever be to buy something like a used Leaf.”

We have selected six electric cars below, all one year old with 10,000 miles on the clock, to show how much a used car buyer can save. The new prices do not include the £5,000 plug-in grant.

You can check running costs at .

SIX 1-YEAR OLD DEALS

Peugeot iOn

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Average cost now: £10,295

Cost new: £26,161

SAVING: £15,866

Citroen C-Zero

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Cost now: £10,850

Cost new: £26,161

SAVING: £15,311

Mitsubishi i-Miev

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Cost now: £11,495

Cost new: £28,499

SAVING: £17,004

Vauxhall Ampera

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Cost now: £21,250

Cost new: £33,695

SAVING: £12,445

BMW i3

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Cost now: £23,750

Cost new: £33,775

SAVING: £10,025

Tesla Model S

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Cost now: £49,000

Cost new: £62,680

SAVING: £13,680