ic engines are overly complicated and fail all the time in comparison to ev |
They don't hold value because most buyers are skittish about EVs and worried about the battery, but in reality this isn't a problem. |
The resale value also tanks because second hand buyers tend to live in townehouses, apartments, and other situations where charging can be much harder.
EVs are still treated and often marketed as luxury cars. Many Audi and BMW drivers have switched to EV’s for performance reasons. So, on top of the EV depreciation you also have luxury car like depreciation. It’s not unusual for EV depreciation to be as high as 50% after 2-3 years even though the battery is still under warranty with a lot of life left. Also, EVs are seeing major changes year to year such as adding heat pumps, more powerful motors or switching from li-pi to longer lasting Iron phosphate batteries. My advice is to get a cheap lease (with Fed tax credit) to protect yourself somewhat from depreciation or to buy a used EV with a model that’s been on the market for a few years so you know what kind of support the manufacturer has given it. I bought a used Ford Mach E 2WD Select that was also eligible for the used EV tax credit. It hits all my needs, but I wish it was easier to add a hitch to. |
Resale prices were terrible because of the 7500 tax credit— why buy used when you got 7500 for buying new. Then there was a used credit and now there’s no credit. |
The credits are still available until the end of September. |
Huh? It's 2025, not 1955. Most gas/diesel engines don't fail at 8-10 years. Not even remotely. Not unless you're driving something crazy like 30k miles/year. Even then, that's gotta be mostly highway driving. |
It’s pretty well known at this point that NMC lithium ion cells in all devices including EV’s degrade about 10% in the first year or two. Iron phosphate batteries don’t but they are not quite as powerful so are mainly used in base models with single motors.
Often there is no further battery degradation after the initial 10% loss even after hundreds of thousands of miles. It depends how often you are draining the battery to 0% and maxing out to 100%. Both are hard on Li ion cells especially if you keep the battery at that level for an extended time. The ideal stable range is to keep the cells at 50-70% charge. (This is about the battery level when you buy a new phone for example.) Again newer Iron phosphate batteries don’t have these issues at all and you are supposed to recharge fully to 100% regularly to maintain reliable voltage readings. |
I have two different friends who sold their Priuses simply because of that issue. Supposedly it is ridiculously easy to steal them on Priuses so it happens all the time (once in a work parking spot, once in the driveway). Both concluded it was not worth the cost/hassle. |
very good point never thought about this aspect |
We bought a used model y long range awd from Tesla’s website. $26k with 35k miles on it. Looks like there are still tons in that range. The purchase price helped mitigate (in my head) whatever resale risk the battery causes. I know guys with old model s’s with 300k miles on them that are still going strong. I wouldn’t buy a new ev, or a used non tesla, but I’m a budget/value shopper. |
You got a really good deal! |
I would actually be more likely to buy a non— Tesla because the traditional car cos were a lot more conservative in battery use/range for the long term bcs they didn’t want annoyed customers while Tesla decided they might as well push the limits of battery management to get more range and attract more customers. |
Audi e-Trons from 2021 and 2022 with less than 30K miles are selling for mid-$20Ks. Crazy depreciation on these.
The Audi warranty on the batter is 96K miles or 10 years. I think these are all coming off pandemic-era leases. The pandemic contractual price to buy these out is really high, so leasees are just returning them to the dealerships. They are trying to get rid of them at firesale prices with absurdly low 1% financing. Maybe the best deal for a luxury vehicle on the market right now. |