I have no doubts about electric cars being nice or “the future”, but the price of these things is still a problem.
A (reasonably) new one with the range I need (~400km+) costs way more than I care to spend. That is partly because batteries still cost too much, but also very much because they still have a tendancy to gatekeep larger range figures for use in luxury cars.
And getting older second hand is still too much a questionmark in terms of how much of a chance there be you’ll end up having to fork over big for a new battery or motor and/or write it off prematurely.
Another problem is that I also have no way to charge it at home and would be fully at the mercy of public charging infrastructure.
And generally speaking as a taller man, I feel some of them can also be quite lacking in terms of interior space.
With the current charger technology, there are very few people who would actually need that kind of a range: you basically have to live in extremely rural areas (so there are no fast chargers anywhere), you need to drive multiple hours a day, and you don’t have any access to charging at home or at work.
In almost any other situation even on a long trip your bladder, stomach or back will stop you every few hours to take a break, which is enough time for a fast charger to top you back up to the next stop.
There’s already so many ev cars in scrap yards due to being mechanically totaled from dead batteries it’s not worth buying one unless you plan to lease or budget for a new battery/motor after the warranty is out. ICE cars at the price of EV cars still last way longer, and can be maintained to continue running without a mandatory motor replacement after a certain number of miles/hours.
It takes a really, really long time for EV batteries to “die.” They absolutely degrade and lose range over time, but you should still be getting significant usable mileage out of them. This sounds like unfounded propaganda to me.
Do you have any source for this? EVs have so much fewer parts which need maintenance or could reasonably have to be replaced. Also batteries these days are gonna last for a long time judging from what I’ve seen.
I see some of the pain points from the original commentator, but it’s partially an unequal comparison, because many people compare used ICE cars to new EVs. But your comment is stating it like it’s snake oil.
I own a 12 year old volt. One of the community apps tracks crowd sourced battery degradation. My pack’s still about 75%-80% of it’s new range. I’m in the center of the bell curve, drive mostly on electric, but it can’t quite make it all the way to/from work anymore. :(
Chevy did a decent job at battery cooling. There are plenty of Nissan leafs that didn’t fair as well.
If I did have to replace my pack right now, (and it’s only a 10kWh) it would be around 8k, but they’re generally not available. None of the used packs on ebay have any assurance that they have any significant life left.
Bluebook on the car is maybe 5k but that is a hybrid. 8k would essentially total the car. If i did manage to get a remanufactured pack (assuming it lasted another decade) it’s still going to need wheelbearings, axels, suspension, steering, HVAC.
Just because an EV’s motor can last longer, doesn’t mean it makes a significantly better long term investment.
I have a 12 year old ICE car @ 172,000 miles and it needs none of those wheel bearings, axels, suspension and HVAC fixes. I would not bundle regular car issues with EV issues since it varies from manufacturer to manufacturer (and even model & year).
The high cost of a battery replacement compared to the cost of the car after a few years is a concern which is seems very relevant though.
Talking about battery replacement for EV is like talking about engine replacement for ICE.
“Sure, ICE car are nice but the high cost of engine replacement after a few 100k km is a concern”
Batteries in today’s EV can last way longer than people expect, changing the battery is really not something that will be fine regularly, not more than changing the engine in current ice car.
Your location likely is helping the cause.
Any car that has live life in a big city where it might snow will eat shit every day on rough roads.
Also, I don’t know a single soul who thinks they need to replace their shocks or struts. They wear out and the car is mostly fine as long as you’re driving peacefully. However, if you ever need to brake quickly or dodge something, those worn suspension components will greet you by not responding well and you could end up having a bad day.
Remember folks, your shocks and struts are a wear item. They usually wear out around 70k. Lower for hard city life, higher for glassy roads. No matter what, they do wear out, even if you’re not aware of it.
Luckily they test shock/strut function at the annual inspection. If it’s below a certain percentage, your car fails.
If they don’t do mandatory inspection in your country, you’re sharing the roads with death traps that could crash into you at any moment because who knows if they even have brakes. In that case, who cares about worn struts?
Anyway, from experience, original struts are usually good for 200-300k km but I’ve seen more than that and still good. On mostly German cars. Of course if you see an oil leak from a strut you should get that pair replaced immediately. At that kind of mileage, you get a handling improvement if you replace them before outright failure, but they’re not actually dangerous at anything resembling sensible driving.
I have no doubts about electric cars being nice or “the future”, but the price of these things is still a problem.
A (reasonably) new one with the range I need (~400km+) costs way more than I care to spend. That is partly because batteries still cost too much, but also very much because they still have a tendancy to gatekeep larger range figures for use in luxury cars.
And getting older second hand is still too much a questionmark in terms of how much of a chance there be you’ll end up having to fork over big for a new battery or motor and/or write it off prematurely.
Another problem is that I also have no way to charge it at home and would be fully at the mercy of public charging infrastructure. And generally speaking as a taller man, I feel some of them can also be quite lacking in terms of interior space.
With the current charger technology, there are very few people who would actually need that kind of a range: you basically have to live in extremely rural areas (so there are no fast chargers anywhere), you need to drive multiple hours a day, and you don’t have any access to charging at home or at work.
In almost any other situation even on a long trip your bladder, stomach or back will stop you every few hours to take a break, which is enough time for a fast charger to top you back up to the next stop.
Why do you need 400km+ range? Is this for a daily/weekly need or a once in a quarter holiday trip style need?
This is the right question - people who have never owned an EV vastly overestimate the range they’ll need, almost always.
There’s already so many ev cars in scrap yards due to being mechanically totaled from dead batteries it’s not worth buying one unless you plan to lease or budget for a new battery/motor after the warranty is out. ICE cars at the price of EV cars still last way longer, and can be maintained to continue running without a mandatory motor replacement after a certain number of miles/hours.
It takes a really, really long time for EV batteries to “die.” They absolutely degrade and lose range over time, but you should still be getting significant usable mileage out of them. This sounds like unfounded propaganda to me.
Not top mention that the batteries can be recycled at end of life to be made into new batteries for other cars.
Source?
Loljk no u don’t
Do you have any source for this? EVs have so much fewer parts which need maintenance or could reasonably have to be replaced. Also batteries these days are gonna last for a long time judging from what I’ve seen.
I see some of the pain points from the original commentator, but it’s partially an unequal comparison, because many people compare used ICE cars to new EVs. But your comment is stating it like it’s snake oil.
I own a 12 year old volt. One of the community apps tracks crowd sourced battery degradation. My pack’s still about 75%-80% of it’s new range. I’m in the center of the bell curve, drive mostly on electric, but it can’t quite make it all the way to/from work anymore. :(
Chevy did a decent job at battery cooling. There are plenty of Nissan leafs that didn’t fair as well.
If I did have to replace my pack right now, (and it’s only a 10kWh) it would be around 8k, but they’re generally not available. None of the used packs on ebay have any assurance that they have any significant life left.
Bluebook on the car is maybe 5k but that is a hybrid. 8k would essentially total the car. If i did manage to get a remanufactured pack (assuming it lasted another decade) it’s still going to need wheelbearings, axels, suspension, steering, HVAC.
Just because an EV’s motor can last longer, doesn’t mean it makes a significantly better long term investment.
I have a 12 year old ICE car @ 172,000 miles and it needs none of those wheel bearings, axels, suspension and HVAC fixes. I would not bundle regular car issues with EV issues since it varies from manufacturer to manufacturer (and even model & year).
The high cost of a battery replacement compared to the cost of the car after a few years is a concern which is seems very relevant though.
Talking about battery replacement for EV is like talking about engine replacement for ICE.
“Sure, ICE car are nice but the high cost of engine replacement after a few 100k km is a concern”
Batteries in today’s EV can last way longer than people expect, changing the battery is really not something that will be fine regularly, not more than changing the engine in current ice car.
Your location likely is helping the cause. Any car that has live life in a big city where it might snow will eat shit every day on rough roads.
Also, I don’t know a single soul who thinks they need to replace their shocks or struts. They wear out and the car is mostly fine as long as you’re driving peacefully. However, if you ever need to brake quickly or dodge something, those worn suspension components will greet you by not responding well and you could end up having a bad day.
Remember folks, your shocks and struts are a wear item. They usually wear out around 70k. Lower for hard city life, higher for glassy roads. No matter what, they do wear out, even if you’re not aware of it.
Luckily they test shock/strut function at the annual inspection. If it’s below a certain percentage, your car fails.
If they don’t do mandatory inspection in your country, you’re sharing the roads with death traps that could crash into you at any moment because who knows if they even have brakes. In that case, who cares about worn struts?
Anyway, from experience, original struts are usually good for 200-300k km but I’ve seen more than that and still good. On mostly German cars. Of course if you see an oil leak from a strut you should get that pair replaced immediately. At that kind of mileage, you get a handling improvement if you replace them before outright failure, but they’re not actually dangerous at anything resembling sensible driving.