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2008 Zap Xebra Sedan
Three-wheeled Electric Vehicle
For Sale: $3500 Sold.

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2008 Zap Xebra Sedan

⊕ Click an image to enlarge and cycle through all. Photos taken August 2010 and June 2011.

crow cam

walk around 1

walk around 2

walk around 3

Front

Front under hood

Ding and chip, front driver side door hinge area

Wheel

Exterior rear

Interior 1 - rear hatch

Interior 2

Interior 3

Interior 4

Interior 5

Interior 6

Interior 7

Interior 8 - back seat

Interior 9

Interior 10

Interior 11

Interior 12 - Odometer: 6354 (on 6/8/11)

Interior 13 - PakTrakr

Interior 14 - cheap felt

 

About

This 2008 Xebra three-wheeled sedan was purchased from The Creen Car Company in Bellevue, Washington in July of 2009 by the current owner, Victor Munoz, with a little over 100 miles on it. It is licensed as a car in Washington State but considered a motorcycle for insurance purposes (at least by Progressive Insurance Co.). That means insurance rates are dramatically less than for a car.

Upgrades

The vehicle was purchased with an 84 volt upgrade which offers much better performance than earlier 72 volt versions. A PakTrakr battery monitoring system was added to allow more accurate battery monitoring than the stock voltmeter. The Paktrakr, in combination with also added PowerChek battery balancers, allows you to know when and which battery needs replacing and to replace only that battery rather an entire pack, which is what otherwise would be necessary in a series pack when even one battery goes dead. A Battery Life Saver desulfator was installed as well which helps to extend the life of the batteries. With over 20 years of electric vehicle experience, much of it with AGM batteries, I can attest that these upgrades really do save you money in battery replacement costs. Contact me with questions.

Specifications

Full Disclosure

The Zap Xebra is a great vehicle for errands, short commutes, and for turning heads. This car is fun to drive but it is not suited for everyone. You should know what you are getting into:

Not many Xebras were imported into the US from China where they were made, although much of the conversion to electric happened, I believe, in California. Except for the electric running gear, it is cheaply put together. The gearbox clunks on acceleration. The suspension is primitive and bouncy. There are all kinds of rattles and vibrations. It doesn't do well on rough roads. Yet, this 2008 Xebra sedan runs fine—as good or better than it did when I purchased it new two years ago. There are some parts suppliers still around in the US and there is an active and helpful Zap owner's group at Yahoo with tons of documentation. But you should be a willing tinkerer to keep this vehicle on the road or know someone who is. When body parts start going, be prepared to get creative. The electronics and batteries are not a problem. The batteries are easily obtainable, and the electronics are mostly off the shelf components. Lithium battery upgrades kits are available. I can supply a small digital library of documentation on the vehicle that will be helpful to the new owner.

If you are new to EVs—at least those with lead-acid batteries, be skeptical about range figures from manufacturers. Real driving conditions will easily cut them in half or more. Yes, the Xebra might do 40 miles at 25mph with no stops and no hills on a pleasant day. But in real life you will be lucky to get 20. And realistically if you really want to save on battery replacement costs, you will stay under 10 miles between charges on a regular basis. I have 20 years of EV experience and have managed to eke out nearly 7000 miles on all but one of the seven lead-acid AGM batteries in this Xebra. That's a lot more than most people get from AGMs in EV use, but I drive very carefully: that means always at lower speeds, avoiding hills when possible and, when not, finding alternative routes where I can crawl at 20-25 mph. (You can go faster than that on steep hills, of course, but do it too often and you will pay a price—at least with lead acid batteries.)

Six of the seven batteries in the car now were originally in the car when purchased. I wouldn't expect too much more of them. They are still going strong but AGMs go quickly when they go. The one is a premium AGM (much higher quality than the originals) and should be good for a long while yet.

I can give you many tips on how to drive to maximize efficiency and battery life. But the short answer is drive slowly and for short distances between charges.

Contact me with questions.

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