the zoe isn't a bad car in itself. If you're fine with the 0 stars, then look out for these:
- My Zoe makes noises while turning the wheels slowly or while stationary, it makes a rubbing, cracking noise. It's the plastic shell of the strut bearings that make this noise, it isn't dangerous but it will develop into a loud crack and you'll eventually have to change them.
- The rear door stoppers also crack sometimes when closing, so check them out by opening them wide or halfway then closing them. Open them wide, wiggle them a bit until you feel the resistance of overcoming the steps being harder, and then push it harder and it should make a loud noise. This requires a replacement a repainting of the parts, just applying grease won't help.
- Boot door squeaks when it's cold, so give that a listen.
- Rear brakes like to rust and are expensive to change due to the fact that the disks come with the rear bearings and are pressed on the axle. Check all 4 brakes on the car especially the rears.
- The undercarriage has some kind of plastic which extends from it to the battery. Mine is bent outwards, even though I did no offroading or came close to anything there.
- Check the battery for damage, scratches are ok, dents are not. If you have a bluetooth OBD dongle, download CarScanner and check the state of health. Beware, some zoes show atrociously bad SoH when cold, so use it in your favour. Renault expects a degradation rate at about 1% per year and 1% per 6000 miles, if it's off by that margin you can argue for a more degraded battery. Most of the time only the BMS will set a too low number, mine showed 91,5% at the end of the summer, now it shows almost 93% after 35.000 miles and 50% DC and 50% 22kW AC.
- Check if the wipers are aligned correctly especially on the driver's side, the factory didn't seem to care so you'll see a different setting on each zoe. It should be parallel to the A-pillar.
- Tyre wear, especially if it has michelin tyres, chances are that it will chew on the outside of the tyres more than the middle, even if you drive with the manufacturer specified air pressure. This pattern appears both on the front and on the rear, if it resembles the same pattern you can negotiate in your favour. Also, if the car has new tyres, drive with higher pressure to alleviate this issue. An alignment issue has been excluded multiple times by my dealer.
- check for engine/transmission noises, mine makes a noise between 25 and 30 mph and it's most hear- and feelable in neutral at around 27mph. Drive up to 30, shift into neutral until you're just below 25mph, if it's silent, then it's good. Just remember to lightly keep the brake pedal depressed to reengage drive. You can shift into neutral but you cannot shift back into drive whithout lightly tapping the brake. If in doubt, simulate it while stopped to get a hang of it and then do while driving. Or keep the car at 0kW recuperation with the brake pedal.
- I don't know how it's in the UK, but on the LHD versions, the drivers side carpet gets all loose and the mounting points for the floor mats also like to pop out. Check these out and use it in your favour if applicable.
- check the buttons on the steering wheel, many of the zoes have the issue that these don't react only when you press them hard, even if you feel them click. If that's the case, you'd need a new steering wheel.
- check the sound of heatpump/AC, it shouldn't be too loud or sound harsh. It should make the buzzing noise, that's normal.
I hope this list will help you get a good deal on one and be a happy owner. If I remember anything, I'll add but this should cover all the things that I know of.
