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This argument started when the original Prius came out in 1997, twenty five years ago. Lots of predictions of "totaled" priuses, an environmental apocalypse, "g

This argument started when the original Prius came out in 1997, twenty five years ago. Lots of predictions of "totaled" priuses, an environmental apocalypse, "gotcha, liberals!" etc. What actually happened: a cottage industry for repairing the battery packs sprung up to meet demand or when they'd fail, which wasn't that often (and indeed, Hybrid Camrys became the standard taxi cab in a number of US cities, racking up hundreds of thousands of miles on their batteries.) There are shops all around the country that do cell replacement now and getting your hybrid battery pack serviced is less painful than a lot of major engine repairs. Bolt EVs were (in large part due to GM's extremely conservative charge profiles for DCFC) seeing much less battery degradation than expected. Right up until the manufacturing defects reared their head...and GM has replaced all the batteries, giving them a very long warranty...8, maybe 10 years? I forget which. > If ev's ever come down in price You can buy several EV models new for under $30k, which is substantially less than the median car price in the US.

mr337 4y ago
Agree with this. This thread also mentioned the early Nissan Leaf, and exact same thing happened, a new cottage industry popped up to support rebuilds and even further range increase.
Gibbon1 4y ago
Notable, in California EV and hybrid batteries get a ten year 150,000 mile warranty. Speaking of Bolts, two years ago you could buy one with 30k miles on it for $15-18k. Can't now! The argument that EV's are too expensive based solely off the purchase price while ignoring everything else gets tiresome. My take is lower maintenance costs and depreciation beats out the difference between the cost of electricity vs gas. 5 cents/mile vs 12-15 cents a mile. That's only 7 to 10 cents/mile difference. EV's cost less to run even if gasoline were free.
- mbfg 4y ago
  yeah, but i'd argue ten years is nothing. I don't doubt batteries will last 10 years, and for affluent people, cars are replaced more often than that. But if you are talking about wide spread adoption, low and lower middle class are going to keep cars much longer, if they can even afford new cars... And speaking of, would you dare buy a used ev car? You probably are talking at least 10K for a ten year old EV, and then if the battery is shot, and you now have to dump another 8K at least. Used EVs, imo, are a risky purchase.

mr337 4y ago

Agree with this. This thread also mentioned the early Nissan Leaf, and exact same thing happened, a new cottage industry popped up to support rebuilds and even further range increase.

Gibbon1 4y ago

Notable, in California EV and hybrid batteries get a ten year 150,000 mile warranty. Speaking of Bolts, two years ago you could buy one with 30k miles on it for $15-18k. Can't now! The argument that EV's are too expensive based solely off the purchase price while ignoring everything else gets tiresome. My take is lower maintenance costs and depreciation beats out the difference between the cost of electricity vs gas. 5 cents/mile vs 12-15 cents a mile. That's only 7 to 10 cents/mile difference. EV's cost less to run even if gasoline were free.

mbfg 4y ago
yeah, but i'd argue ten years is nothing. I don't doubt batteries will last 10 years, and for affluent people, cars are replaced more often than that. But if you are talking about wide spread adoption, low and lower middle class are going to keep cars much longer, if they can even afford new cars... And speaking of, would you dare buy a used ev car? You probably are talking at least 10K for a ten year old EV, and then if the battery is shot, and you now have to dump another 8K at least. Used EVs, imo, are a risky purchase.