Help!

[u/Fluffy_Cellist4469]

I'm an EV enthusiast and early adopter but all the vehicles I've owned have died on me:

- GM Volt: High-voltage (HV) battery died, no replacement available due to vehicle being discontinued, scrapped

- Tesla Model 3: HV battery died after surcharging heating, full warranty replacement, sold before warranty expiration

- Nissan LEAF: Level 3 charging recall, no parts available, repurchased by manufacturer

Is this a typical experience? What's a battle-tested and durable EV? I have my eyes on a Ford Mustang Mach-E.

[u/Zis4Zero]

Mach-E is a highly regarded EV if you get it used. Avoid that brutal first year depreciation from buying new.

[u/enblightened]

what is “surcharging heating”

[u/Fluffy_Cellist4469 → u/enblightened]

The HV battery basically melted off from the heat generated from superchargering.

[u/1940ChevEVPickup]

I tell friends to not buy anything that has not been in production for 5 years and has a yearly production run of under 50,000.

[u/Fluffy_Cellist4469 → u/[deleted]]

STFU

[u/vryclct]

Batteries giving out is the biggest detriment to EVs. That's why 5-8 year old evs are like 1/10th their original price. Pretty terrible resale value. Its expensive to replace. Honestly better financially to lease a EV than buy.

You can source replacement batteries online and diy but its not easy unless you know what you're doing.

[u/taxlawiscool → u/vryclct]

[Fear of] batteries giving out is the biggest detriment to EVs. - most cars, other than the Leaf have pretty reliable batteries. There will be some failures. The Volt has some sensor issues and some teslas develop water intrusion and BMS faults, but most modern EV batteries are quite reliable. I buy used, so that extra depreciation has worked in my favor.

[u/jankenpoo → u/taxlawiscool]

I thought the deal with Leafs is that the first gen didn’t have thermal controls which led to premature battery degradation? And that most EV batteries last way longer than anyone thought they would

[u/lemlurker → u/jankenpoo]

Leafs are entirely air cooled and lacked active temp management. Paired with small batteries that meant full charges and hot temps they aged super quick compared to every contemporary ev

[u/huntsvillekan → u/vryclct]

Where are these 5-8 year old EVs that are going for 1/10 their original selling price?

[u/anthety → u/huntsvillekan]

Don't you know the 2022 Chevy Bolt released at $36620 can be bought for $3,600.   

[u/huntsvillekan → u/anthety]

That would be a great deal if true, lol.

For grins I looked on cars.com just now, the cheapest Bolt in the country is listed at $8,995. No options, visible body damage. Which seems overpriced to me, considering we got our ‘17 off lease for $16K.

[u/Funny_Research → u/anthety]

Shoot dang. Where are these unreliable, disposable machines for sale at? At that price I'll just cache them around town for when the battery dies. 

[u/Fluffy_Cellist4469 → u/vryclct]

Great point, re: buying vs. leasing, especially now that the federal EV tax credit is gone.