|
|
|
Any GTAM'ers own an electric vehicle?
- Thread starter PrivatePilot
- Start date
Priller
Well-known member
Jumping in on this thread as I'm increasingly of the desire to minimise my participation in the global oil business. Reducing our CO2 footprint and cutting costs are side benefits, but it would sure be nice to not be contributing to Shell/Imperial/UAE/Saudi/etc profits in such a direct way.
I have zero interest in lining Cult Leader Musk's pockets too, so I'm left with the usual suspects. I know I should read the 460-odd pages in this thread, but I'm hoping the more knowledgeable here can save me the trouble, especially as the landscape changes constantly...
Right now I have a 120 km round trip commute, three days a week. It's 90% QEW, so stop and go for long stretches. On weekends, my wife typically drives similar distances, so I'm assuming roughly 480-500 km/wk. I had looked at possibly a PHEV, but the added complexity of both ICE and electric in one vehicle is a concern for me, and the electric ranges are so short that I'd be on gas before I got to work, let alone headed back. 300+ km range is more than enough, providing overnight charging keeps me topped up in between.
My first question is installation cost for a Level 2 charger. I'm assuming I'm sort-of best case scenario there, as my panel is basically on the opposite side of the wall to where I'd want to mount the charger, and I have a spare 220V circuit leftover from when the house was split into two units. Installation would essentially involve drilling a hole in the basement wall and running about 3' of cable, I think. Any idea on a ballpark for what I should budget to get one installed?
As for what's out there, the Kona seems to be the outstanding value at the moment, though the Bolt also lines up well (would have to put aside my long-held fears of buying a GM product).
I have seen some stuff about some nightmare issues with Hyundai and battery replacement issues on the Ioniq after what appears to be minor damage (video link from Motormouth YouTube here:
), and while the issues are limited enough to be anecdotal, what concerns me is Hyundai's confused and contradictory response, which seems to be weighing the possibility of bad PR vs screwing over their customers.
So my second question is beyond those two, any other recommendations? Have looked at the Volvo EX30, but it's priced way too high for what it is (and is priced on par with the Kona in Europe, so they're just tacking on a Euro-prestige premium here despite being made in China). Once you get north of $50k for what is essentially a subcompact, the value proposition starts to fade fast...
My third question relates to anyone's opinion regarding long-term value. While I normally shy away from leasing as good financial planning, in this case I'm thinking a 48-mo lease may be the way to go, and then decide whether to buy out or hand back based on used values at that point. Any experience or advice on this front?
Any insight would be much appreciated...
I have zero interest in lining Cult Leader Musk's pockets too, so I'm left with the usual suspects. I know I should read the 460-odd pages in this thread, but I'm hoping the more knowledgeable here can save me the trouble, especially as the landscape changes constantly...
Right now I have a 120 km round trip commute, three days a week. It's 90% QEW, so stop and go for long stretches. On weekends, my wife typically drives similar distances, so I'm assuming roughly 480-500 km/wk. I had looked at possibly a PHEV, but the added complexity of both ICE and electric in one vehicle is a concern for me, and the electric ranges are so short that I'd be on gas before I got to work, let alone headed back. 300+ km range is more than enough, providing overnight charging keeps me topped up in between.
My first question is installation cost for a Level 2 charger. I'm assuming I'm sort-of best case scenario there, as my panel is basically on the opposite side of the wall to where I'd want to mount the charger, and I have a spare 220V circuit leftover from when the house was split into two units. Installation would essentially involve drilling a hole in the basement wall and running about 3' of cable, I think. Any idea on a ballpark for what I should budget to get one installed?
As for what's out there, the Kona seems to be the outstanding value at the moment, though the Bolt also lines up well (would have to put aside my long-held fears of buying a GM product).
I have seen some stuff about some nightmare issues with Hyundai and battery replacement issues on the Ioniq after what appears to be minor damage (video link from Motormouth YouTube here:
So my second question is beyond those two, any other recommendations? Have looked at the Volvo EX30, but it's priced way too high for what it is (and is priced on par with the Kona in Europe, so they're just tacking on a Euro-prestige premium here despite being made in China). Once you get north of $50k for what is essentially a subcompact, the value proposition starts to fade fast...
My third question relates to anyone's opinion regarding long-term value. While I normally shy away from leasing as good financial planning, in this case I'm thinking a 48-mo lease may be the way to go, and then decide whether to buy out or hand back based on used values at that point. Any experience or advice on this front?
Any insight would be much appreciated...
@SunnY S installs charger connections in your area. He is anti-receptacle as he has seen some melt so he leans towards hard-wired. My guess is high three or low four figures for the install (you supply the EVSE). Electricians aren't cheap and you will probably run into minimum call pricing as there isn't a lot of material or time involved (installation may be cheaper if they supply EVSE as they can make some money there).
Most manufacturers are a nightmare when it comes to minor ev battery damage. Nobody wants to assume the liability so they all trigger replacement of an expensive component for a hit that would be ignored on an ice vehicle. On the other hand, MP's moms ICE car also got written off for a minor collision so maybe all cars are becoming disposable.
I think you can get the VW ID.4 now. I probably wouldn't as they had substantial teething pains. May be worth a look just to get an idea though. Mach E is bigger and more expensive than the options you are currently considering.
Long-term value is a giant crapshoot. IIRC tesla isn't allowing vehicle buyouts at lease end. I'm not sure if other manufacturers have followed suit. Personally, I wouldn't want an EV lease I couldn't buy out. Much of the savings of EV will come after the lease where you have no car payments, minimal fuel payments, minimal maintenance etc for a very long time. Ultimately, it's about the numbers, I suspect you will find the lease rates are crap as they dump the liability for a falling market onto the lessee. I wouldn't want to assume the downside without being able to profit from a potential upside (eg reasonable buyout at lease end).
Mostly into the US market?
I've actually considered this plan also. Lease out a car, put in about 10k or so toward the lease, and then the remainder from my trade to be used in a HISA to just draw the lease payments from there while it earns a pittance of interest.
The plan would be to let the (approx) 15k remaining to be used toward payment of the lease, and then just buy out the car at the end.
I would only put down the 10k to make the payments more palatable and understand it may be lost in case of a total loss accident, but that's the risk that each person has to do.
The benefit is if battery tech makes a huge advanced leap, you're not left with an outdated technology and can get on the new tech without losing one's shirt. The other benefit is typically the buyback is lower than retail, and one knows the history of the car.
As for me, what would the brain trust focus on here:
- Bolt / Kona / Mach-E as a full EV?
How's your Polestar @LBV?
You`re always going to be behind current tech, as soon as you buy the thing the next 'upgrade' is about to hit the market. Just need to decide what can you live with. If you can currently charge at home and you have a backup ICE/Hybrid then I would say current tech is sufficient.
Sure, 1 year later 10 minute supercalifragilisticexpialidocious giga charging may launch, oh well. Necessary? Nah.
Still doing awesome for me ... I did the lease option over 4 years (only way to get the Fed rebate is 4 yrs) for the reasons mentioned: 1. I'd rather invest the $, 2. Not sure where battery/charging tech will be in 4 years.
If the car is still relevant to me in 4 years I may just buy it out (or buy it back as I suspect the resale will be less than the lease salvage).
This is a bit bigger than what I need but for anyone looking for a Mach-E sized vehicle, I personally think it's gorgeous (Polestar 4 coming out in a month or 2):
My normal pattern has been to keep vehicles until they start becoming questionable, and that remains the plan with the Bolt. It will be worth a rounding error when the time comes to move on. If that's several years from now, I'm fine with that. It does what I need it to do.
Follow-up on the door striker issue.
www.threads.net
If the upper screw was not threaded into anything, there's a much bigger problem than someone not tightening it enough. That should be a weld-nut on the inside of the B pillar (because there's no access to the inside of it). If that weld-nut was not there...
Ron Ames (@amescoestate) on Threads
Inceltruck owners are now using duct tape to fix problems that should have been resolved on the production line. Just innovation things.
www.threads.net
If the upper screw was not threaded into anything, there's a much bigger problem than someone not tightening it enough. That should be a weld-nut on the inside of the B pillar (because there's no access to the inside of it). If that weld-nut was not there...
Don't give Boeing ideas... RE the DIY door fix.
Too many ugga duggas on the production line and spun the nut off? Isn't that one of Musks things? Conventional auto manufacturing wastes way too much time and money on things like proper torque during assembly. Assembly staff can just as easily count three ugga duggas to get bolts properly tight.Follow-up on the door striker issue.
Ron Ames (@amescoestate) on Threads
Inceltruck owners are now using duct tape to fix problems that should have been resolved on the production line. Just innovation things.
If the upper screw was not threaded into anything, there's a much bigger problem than someone not tightening it enough. That should be a weld-nut on the inside of the B pillar (because there's no access to the inside of it). If that weld-nut was not there...
Who knows. If the nut wasn't there then it either was never there to begin with, or it was there but broke off at some point (and is now rattling around at the bottom of the B pillar). Either way is no bueno.
It's also possible that it was there when the vehicle left the assembly line, perhaps hanging by a thread, but broke off afterward, e.g. due to someone slamming the door. STILL no bueno. If it was welded in place, it wasn't done properly.
Focus on the product, disregard who runs it. Trust your GM instincts
Currently, the Tesla is simply the best EV on the market for the masses today,
Buy the EVSE yourself. If you're a data junkie like me, buy a connected one like a Chargepoint. Otherwise there are lots of options out there. Sounds like the actual connection should be reasonably simple honestly so if it were me I'd get a few quotes and not go with just the first one you get.
We had a Hyundia EV and it was a great car. And they've got better since - they'd be top of the list for me honestly for our next EV, I really love the Ioniq5 for example.
They do depreciate, and sometimes, they depreciate faster than an ICE, no denying it. If you're not against used and are looking long term vs a short term lease, seriously, look at something a few years old but sold at the original manufacturers dealer so you get a "Certified Pre-Owned" thing like GM does on their own used car lots. You can probably save a significant amount of money vs buying new.
Posting that statement on literally the same page of the thread showing some laugable pictures of the Cybertrucks build quality is a great example of the fact you have your reality distortion field cranked to 11.
I guess Musks hissy fit demanding 10 micron accuracy on build quality was thrown out the window like so many other claims and promises.
Musk Demands ‘Sub 10-Micron Accuracy’ for Tesla Cybertruck Build Quality in Leaked Email
"If Lego and soda cans, which are very low cost, can do this, so can we," Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote in a leaked email.
www.thedrive.com
In related news, it looks like the CT resale market has deflated already. Looks like there will be a lot of speculators taking delivery who are going to end up stuck with these things instead of selling them for the inflated profits they envisioned. I wonder if this will translate to mass cancellations of waitlist postiions.
Tesla Cybertruck resale market loses all momentum
Tesla Cybertrucks were getting more than twice their value on the resale market just a few weeks ago, but the...
electrek.co
|
|
|
|
|