New vehicles of any kind are the height of financial irresponsibility, and represent a horrifically bad “investment” in both the short term and the long term.
The age at which any vehicle flips into being a good investment - 10-20 years old (the global minimum of purchase cost + ongoing repair costs) - is the time frame in which EV batteries become exhausted and require complete replacement at many tens of thousands of dollars, completely negating the financial benefits of a used vehicle.
So unless electric vehicles come with batteries that have lifespans in the 30-50 year range, a purpose-built electric vehicle of any age just isn’t a responsible financial decision for anyone who isn’t looking to burn their money for a vanity purchase.
The reason It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) holds up so well is that George’s line, “You know how long it takes a working man to save $5000?” has somehow not aged even slightly.
an ICE engine car will cost much more than $4k to maintain over the life of a Leaf battery
To maintain??
looks at personal financials
What kind of shitbox cars have you bought? I’m on my 12th year of a 2001 Mazda 626, and a look at the Quicken category for it shows all of $1,834 spent on essential (non-cosmetic) parts beyond fuel, oil, and tyres. And yes, that’s across a dozen years, to the tune of about $152/yr.
Granted, it’s only around 200k on the odometer. But it sees almost daily use.
And EVs will be much harder on tyres due to being double to triple the weight, and so will require either much more expensive tyres or more frequent replacement.
The fact remains that 12 years in, I am still financially ahead of any brand-new vehicle, ICE or EV.
That said, no car is an investment, in terms of it appreciating in value. I’m sure you know that just I’ve seen some comments along those lines when people talk about electric cars depreciating.
I would never buy any vehicle that’s 10-20 years old if I have any other options available. A lot of shelf life used up at that point.
I bought a used 2023 bolt this year with only 5k miles on it. My previous car was a new 2008 Kia and I figured out with inflation I paid about the same for that one as I will for this one.
I would never buy any vehicle that’s 10-20 years old if I have any other options available.
If you cared anything about your personal privacy, you wouldn’t touch anything made after 2006 (and a surprising number of vehicles after 1996). They all have black boxes that record all of your driving history, and many models squirt that data back up to the corporate mothership to have your personal and private driving behaviour monetized without your consent. Plus, even what stays on your car is encrypted such that you have zero access to it, and your insurance company can trivially gain access to that data to weaponize it against you in case of an insurance claim.
I would never take a post-2006 vehicle even if it was free, except to immediately re-sell it. Modern vehicles make the Stasi’s surveillance system look like rank amateurs.
I would love to buy an electric vehicle, but
So unless electric vehicles come with batteries that have lifespans in the 30-50 year range, a purpose-built electric vehicle of any age just isn’t a responsible financial decision for anyone who isn’t looking to burn their money for a vanity purchase.
Used EVs can be quite cheap if what you want is a get-around-town car
Where did you get 10-20 years? I spend thousands on fuel for my jeep each year.
And maintenance is lower on an EV. They’re far more reliable
That being said, I plan to buy second hand too
Many tens of thousands for a new battery? Maybe for a Tesla.
Leaf batteries are cheap AF at about $4k, and the rest are all less than $15k
Even then, those batteries last quite a while and tend to have decent waranties attached to them.
Your comment is pretty offbase IMO
The reason It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) holds up so well is that George’s line, “You know how long it takes a working man to save $5000?” has somehow not aged even slightly.
OK, but an ICE engine car will cost much more than $4k to maintain over the life of a Leaf battery
To maintain??
looks at personal financials
What kind of shitbox cars have you bought? I’m on my 12th year of a 2001 Mazda 626, and a look at the Quicken category for it shows all of $1,834 spent on essential (non-cosmetic) parts beyond fuel, oil, and tyres. And yes, that’s across a dozen years, to the tune of about $152/yr.
Granted, it’s only around 200k on the odometer. But it sees almost daily use.
Just casually dropping fuel oil and tires lol, I mean I guess tires gotta have for both, but come on
And EVs will be much harder on tyres due to being double to triple the weight, and so will require either much more expensive tyres or more frequent replacement.
The fact remains that 12 years in, I am still financially ahead of any brand-new vehicle, ICE or EV.
(X) doubt
To a lot of people $4k isn’t cheap when a petrol powered car can be bought for <$1000
What planet u live on where u find 1000 cars???
Dude tires cost 1000
Minimum for a decent car is 5k and average is closer to 10k in 2024
Bro your tires are expensive. I just put 2 on literally last week for $300 including labor.
Where can I buy such a reliable car?
You’re right about buying new cars.
That said, no car is an investment, in terms of it appreciating in value. I’m sure you know that just I’ve seen some comments along those lines when people talk about electric cars depreciating.
I would never buy any vehicle that’s 10-20 years old if I have any other options available. A lot of shelf life used up at that point.
I bought a used 2023 bolt this year with only 5k miles on it. My previous car was a new 2008 Kia and I figured out with inflation I paid about the same for that one as I will for this one.
I’ve been very happy with it so far.
If you cared anything about your personal privacy, you wouldn’t touch anything made after 2006 (and a surprising number of vehicles after 1996). They all have black boxes that record all of your driving history, and many models squirt that data back up to the corporate mothership to have your personal and private driving behaviour monetized without your consent. Plus, even what stays on your car is encrypted such that you have zero access to it, and your insurance company can trivially gain access to that data to weaponize it against you in case of an insurance claim.
I would never take a post-2006 vehicle even if it was free, except to immediately re-sell it. Modern vehicles make the Stasi’s surveillance system look like rank amateurs.
And yes, I work in the security end of IT.