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You miss the point. Most people don’t buy new cars. Most people buy second hand vehicles. They now risk degraded batteries and a huge incidental cost. My car
by iasay 4y ago
You miss the point.
Most people don’t buy new cars. Most people buy second hand vehicles. They now risk degraded batteries and a huge incidental cost.
My car cost me £5000 second hand. The cheapest EV battery replacement here is £12,500. I could write that car off twice for the price of a battery and still have enough money to go on holiday.
When you buy the bottom end of the second hand EV market which is realistically what most people will have to spend on, you’re looking at the 160 mile range leaf. With an 80% battery that’s 128 miles of range. Which is near useless for the average user. I couldn’t even drive to see my mother in it without charging twice on the way.
I will not own an EV as the incidental risk trade off is too high and the up front cost of a new EV is too high.
- rightbyte 4y ago> 128 miles of range. Which is near useless for the average user Maybe if that is your only car. As a commuter or grocery car it would be fine.
- iasay 4y agoWhy would you want a car that can be used only for those tasks leaving you to seek other forms of transport for leisure and family? The main positive factor of vehicle ownership is destination and route flexibility and if you trade that away then the advantage is gone.
- rightbyte 4y agoThe main cost for cheap 2nd hand cars is the fuel in my experience. So you can have a cheap fuel commuter car and a "real" car for trips and towing your boat. Requires parking for two cars though. But since we are talking about an EV it requires a house anyways since most apartments have no charging.
- iasay 4y agoYeah but you can manage the fuel within your cash flow. Difficult to get credit and manage the purchase of a large expensive car. And having two cars is too expensive as well.
- rightbyte 4y agoTrue. The setup kinda requires that you need two cars in the first place.
- jsjohnst 4y ago> And having two cars is too expensive as well. Maybe so, but the average American family has about 2 cars. Lots of sources for that, but here’s one from top of search results: https://housegrail.com/how-many-cars-does-the-average-american-own/ https://housegrail.com/how-many-cars-does-the-average-americ...
- qwytw 4y agoSome families have to 2, 3 or even 4 cars. So it might not be such a bad idea.
- ceejayoz 4y agoWe have two combustion cars, a Corolla and an Outback. The Corolla gets everyday use, the Outback goes on long trips or if I need to haul some furniture. An EV to replace the Corolla would be ideal. Perfect spot for this scenario.
- NickNameNick 4y agoReplacing major components of an internal combustion vehicle will frequently cost more than the car is worth. That's usually the cause of scrapping a vehicle in places where structural rust didn't get it first. What would it cost to replace the engine or gearbox of your car?
- iasay 4y agoThey do below a certain point yes. But at that point you just buy another one and drive it until the engine falls out. This is how most people operate. On my vehicle an engine costs about £1275 to put a refurb in it. Gearbox about £550. There is no rust anywhere on my 8 year old vehicle. People run like this out of financial necessity. They don’t have enough income to run an EV.
- mmaurizi 4y agoSo batteries on EVs generally don't fail dramatically, they slowly lose range over time. So someone buying a used EV will presumably buy something with enough range for them to get around, and then over time if they notice the range starting to decline to the point that it might be an issue, they'll have some time to save up & trade in their car for a better one. Their current car won't be worthless on the used market and someone who doesn't have as large of range requirements (e.g. a 2nd car for commuting) will still buy it. There are other issues that can prevent an EV from charging at all, but they have usually cheaper fixes than a whole battery pack replacement like you're talking about.
- dfadsadsf 4y agoMay be UK is especially cheap for car repair but costs you mention are unrealistic for major repairs on those components. I had gearbox problems on 10 year old car and independent mechanic suggested to sell car to scrap yard - in his opinion trying to fix it will end up costing more than car is worth. It was before Covid inflated used car prices though. From quick check in google: If you are extremely lucky, you’ll get your transmission replacement completed for $2,500 all in. If yours is one of the more expensive types, it could easily range to $6,000 or even more.
- wpearse 4y agoMy EV is 1/10th of the cost to run and maintain than my diesel car. I’m more than happy to spend an extra 20-30 min charging on a 4 hour drive when I choose to drive the EV. My diesel has also done just over 340,000km and it’s pretty shot. Hard to start on cold mornings and I’ve had to sort out some leaky injectors and seized joints on the driveshaft. There’s another couple of hundred thousand kilometres left at best. The EV is coming up to 100,000km and it stills drives just as spritely as the day I got it. The battery is showing 100% state of health and I’m convinced it’ll happily do a million kilometres or more.
- Peanuts99 4y agoMost journeys (80%+) are under 15 miles.
- jsjohnst 4y ago> With an 80% battery that’s 128 miles of range Sounds perfect for the average American as a daily commuter / errands car. Yes, no road trips without inconvenience, but that still doesn’t make it useless, it makes it a great secondary car instead.
- princeb 4y ago> 80% battery that’s 128 miles of range i know i am not an average user but that's like a month of driving for me.
- turtlebits 4y agoEVs aren't for everyone, especially if you have long range requirements. My daily work commute is under 6 miles round trip. That said, 20% degradation after 10 years isn't a huge deal for me. I'm sure in that time, battery replace/refurbishment will be much cheaper. There is a company in Oregan that will replace a 40kwh Leaf pack for $7000 .
- adrianN 4y agoJust out of curiosity: is a car really the best option for a 6 mile round trip? That's a distance where I'd consider walking.
- jsjohnst 4y ago> Just out of curiosity: is a car really the best option for a 6 mile round trip? That's a distance where I'd consider walking. Walking!? So 1.5-2hrs each way to get to work? On really hot or cold days, that’s going to be torturous. Had you suggested riding a bike or maybe a scooter/moped I’d have not said anything, but suggesting folks walk that distance felt a bit off the mark.