Bargain Car Hunters Drive Next Wave of US EV Sales
Posted by mpgomatic@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 72 comments
Cheap used EVs are game changers. Could a $5K beater (with just basic collision) and solar carport free up enough cash over the long run to allow folks to live a more comfortable life?
Think about the dough we each spend on fuel, financing and comprehensive coverage every year.
Hnry_Dvd_Thr_Awy@reddit
Cheap used EVs are goated. Just gotta avoid the really shit ones like the early LEAF. Chevy Bolt for $10-14k is an insane value.
mpgomatic@reddit (OP)
I’ve been watching the Bolt market for a while. $10K with nearly new battery is wild. Gotta find a way to make the seats more comfortable.
SwissMargiela@reddit
Gotta get a seat bead cover like the taxi drivers have. Those make sitting on anything a decent experience
mpgomatic@reddit (OP)
Thx! I just spent ten minutes looking for a set without tariffs.
SizeableFowl@reddit
Its why I went with an Ioniq 6. $20k for a 3 year old car with 20k miles, that wasn’t assembled with parts bin garbage? I get it is double the price, it’s still a pretty sweet bargain.
regardballs@reddit
I did the same thing but at another price point. $60k for a used taycan turbo s with new 2nd Gen battery installed by Porsche warranty. feels like a brand new car for 70% off msrp
SizeableFowl@reddit
What’s your preference between the NA Miata and the Fiesta ST?
I ask because I owned a Fiesta ST for a few years, and primarily bought it because I couldn’t get my knees under the steering wheel of an ND miata.
regardballs@reddit
the fiesta is is the closest ive ever felt to driving a miata in a vehicle that i can fit a carseat into. this is including owning similar weight cars like brz, GD STI, Gc8, VB wrx, FG2, Ep3. i even bought an rx8 and dd it for a while before the fiesta to see if it would work for me lol.
i think its something about how whimsical and twitchy the fiesta feels when driving and how eager the power band is with the punchy tiny turbo. even though its fwd the lift off overseer makes Cornering very similar to a miata in terms of fun factor, more so than the rx8 which has a way longer wheel base and more planted GT feel.
its such a more capable car than a stock NA miata, and if i was to try and race a friend down a mountain road and actually win id take the fiesta over my relatively stock NA.
ive owned 6 miatas but my first fun car was an NA miata so for me it's more of a nostalgia thing, on a nice day literally nothing beats a miata with the top down but in an NA I can really only drive it around town at this point before it becomes too fatiguing lol
Egg_Tart_Eater@reddit
How do you like the Taycan as a Fiesta / Miata owner?
regardballs@reddit
I anticipated it would be more comical due to the Weight and HP difference, but the taycan drives so well for its weight its not as crazy as i thought.
both my cars feel like metal shit box death traps after I get out of the taycan, and they feel broken when accelerating until I get used to the ICE power band difference again.
i thought id never want to drive my fiesta again, but they are so different its actually refreshing to get in and drive. the taycan feels like a super car, extremely refined, polished, but i am never taking it > 5/10ths in normal driving. its just too fast. but its also so comfortable i dont really care? and knowing I can destroy almost anything in a drag race at any time while it costs me $7 to refill the range is great. it also just looks sick lol
the fiesta on the other feels extremely raw with the turbo, manual and 2600lb curb weight. It's my beater so I never have to stress about door dings or whatever vs in the taycan and in that sense its fun, I can be bouncing off the rev limiter around a corner with 0 fear in a way i never could in my taycan.
the miata feels so vintage at this point that its its own vibe. I honestly drive it like an old man. just cruising around town trying not to think about getting t boned at a red light and leaving my wife a widow lmao
Responsible-Meringue@reddit
http://i.imgur.com/Daeo8or.gif
Guess I'm buying a taycan. Fuck a hyundai
regardballs@reddit
do it!! been watching the market for a few years, we are at tbe bottom of the depreciation curve. starting to see flat prices but higher mileage.
Egg_Tart_Eater@reddit
Love this. Thank you for sharing. Sounds like I need to test drive a Taycan! I love the FiST and Miata platforms so it was great to hear your experiences & comparisons.
Responsible-Meringue@reddit
Im shopping these. What's your take on the turbo v s v base. Non turbos are dipping into $40k territory and looking mighty tasty. Downside risk if something goes wrong is sky high tho
regardballs@reddit
so i did a LOT of research. People will say to avoid x year or trim or whatever. IMO: a little known secret is any taycan with a battery replacement done during or after 2024 automatically gets the j1.2 battery which has none of the problems of the early years.
so look at carfaxs and find anything from 2020-current with a new battery. you dont get more range but it has 20% more capacity, which is great for longevity cause you can charge to 100% and you're only really at 80%.
another fun fact: the motor in the taycan with performance battery + is the same as the turbo s... a company called MAPEV sells a $2k kit you plug into your car and it unlocks 750hp like the turbo s. this comes with its own controller so any warranty work you just put the original controller back in the car and its undetectable. it takes about 20 min to install with a screwdriver.
every base taycan wagon has performance battery + so... yeah lol. you miss out on PCCB and some other small stuff but its a great value, I was looking for one before I found a cheap turbo s.
Responsible-Meringue@reddit
Interesting, is there cooling kit other modifications to the turbo s kit? Wouldn't put it past me to just chip down the base trim. It's practically Porsches ethos
regardballs@reddit
I think its identical from base motors with pb+ to turbo s, its just detuned. you just dont get rear wheel steering, air suspension, brakes and wheels.
abarthsimpson@reddit
Wow thanks for this post. How do you search for battery replacement?
regardballs@reddit
generally in the car fax / history report it will have a line item for recall with battery replacement specified. if its done 2024+ you're good to go. i was able to ask the dealer for the warranty receipt and it has everything there. warrantied for a cool $48k 🤣
schwartzki@reddit
I test drove a Cross Turismo 4 and while I loved everything about it...was kinda slow for a EV lol. (cross shopping used i4 M50/Ionic 5N's)
SavageryRox@reddit
TIL that a 4.1 0-60 is considered slow for some people's daily drivers.
SizeableFowl@reddit
I don’t get it either. Once things are in the 6 second range they tend to feel fine to me. Anything faster is just icing on the cake.
PEEWUN@reddit
Tbf, they did say "slow" for an EV. Most electric models are comfortably sub-4 second cars now (for some reason...)
Ancient_Mai@reddit
Brand new Taycans are worth 70k as soon as you drive them off the lot though. There’s an interesting video about what you need to do to get allocated a GT3RS and taking a loss on a Taycan turbo seems to be one of them
regardballs@reddit
previous owner paid $205k for it with all its options lol
r00000000@reddit
I'm jealous, I love Taycans but like someone else said, I'm a bit scared off by the new platform and some of the frequent issues I'm seeing on the Taycan sub, and I can't stomach a major issue occurring on one.
regardballs@reddit
when i bought mine I asked where the charger was, and was told they couldn't give me one cause there is currently a recall on them due to catching on fire 😂
mpgomatic@reddit (OP)
Ioniq 6 seems like a lotta car for the dough. I’ve heard great things about it. Need to put some miles on one.
XGC75@reddit
Battery lifetime is an overrated concern. Batteries in cars don't degrade like phone batteries. 200k miles might show a 15% degradation. In fact I rented a bolt euv with 65k miles and 100% estimated capacity
-Racer-X@reddit
the move is to get the upgraded bolt seats from a junkyard with heating and cooling
mpgomatic@reddit (OP)
I’ve sat in hundreds of seats over the years. If I’m swapping in something, it’s gotta be insanely adjustable. My back hasn’t forgotten the bargain basement Sparcos I bolted into my Civic.
-Racer-X@reddit
fair enough! I just know the base model seats on that car are basically the plastic seat on the bus with a covering
BeerorCoffee@reddit
You can improve them a lot with some thick memory foam cut into a square and put under the cover.
mpgomatic@reddit (OP)
Very cool! Thx!
WigginIII@reddit
Second gen (2018) Leaf is like 6k with 120m range. Perfect A to B commuter car.
Hnry_Dvd_Thr_Awy@reddit
Where are you seeing them for that price?
WigginIII@reddit
Carfax. I was mistaken and I meant 8k. But you can find ones with some accident damage history for 6k.
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TheDirtDude117@reddit
I really have been looking at an EV to replace my GTI as a daily driver but they're all either attempting to copy Tesla or VERY economy car like. The eGolf is the only not horrible one but they're uncommon.
dedboooo0@reddit
beater prius on liability is the only smart choice if you are making sub 120k
SwissMargiela@reddit
I’m gonna die millions of dollars in debt and all I’m gonna have to show for it is a lifetime of happiness
dedboooo0@reddit
pretty apt statement for a society with no concept of family, responsibility, or anything else beyond one's self
SwissMargiela@reddit
Idk if you’re like 12 but you sound like an angsty teen lol
dedboooo0@reddit
truth hurts
r00000000@reddit
Priuses are too overpriced, and a lot of Americans on mostly highway commutes don't need highways. IMO Toyotas are a status symbol to flex how responsible you are but the real financially responsible cars are good cars from brands with a bad reputation so you don't pay a premium for the badge.
dedboooo0@reddit
thats true for camries and such but in the last two years in CA ive seen a fuckton of serviceable priuses for 3-5k
r00000000@reddit
I wonder if JDM imports are depressing the market over there, because I noticed in west coast Canada, they have cheaper Priuses than here, and it's a double whammy because salt is killing these older Japanese cars before their mechanical reliability can really manifest.
dedboooo0@reddit
im sure the weather is a considerable factor. older mazdas that rust like shit for example are completely viable around here
Shmokesshweed@reddit
You can buy a Hyundai, but you're not getting the reliability or resale value.
There's very rarely a free lunch.
dedboooo0@reddit
when you’re browsing cars at 6k and below how much resale value do you really need? plenty of free lunches out there
people just dont know and dont care to know about them because they think themselves above those things
Shmokesshweed@reddit
Fair enough.
r00000000@reddit
I'm somewhere that charges tax on used cars so the resale value on old Toyotas is fake because you're losing money to tax, but if you keep cars until they die then the inflated prices on used Toyotas become a disadvantage. I definitely there's free lunches in the car market rn like used manual Fords, Teslas, and some more enthusiast cars like 718s and Astons too but ofc this doesn't apply to the low budget discussion.
throw_me_away3478@reddit
Check out my flair lol. 45k cad for a fully loaded SUV and 300km summer range. Hard to beat that tbh
Sjetware@reddit
The etron is such a steal - I got a fully loaded prestige model with all the options basically ticked for 40k usd. It's such a fantastic family vehicle.
ComradeFausto@reddit
I leased a Hummer Pickup last year at the end of the tax credits. No one is really talking about it on a widespread level, but assuming gas prices stabilize next summer, and summer of 2028 the market is going to get flooded with EV lease returns and all EVs are going to be pretty good deals. Residuals were bumped so high no one is buying the cars out and the sales numbers were all astronomical (relatively speaking) last June/July/August/September.
These Hummers that stickered over $100k new will be readily available I believe in the mid $40ks by next summer. Audi E-Trons, Taycans, etc will all likely be unbeatable value propositions. I think you'll see the SS Blazer EV in the mid-high $20ks with 615hp.
PhilosopherChemical1@reddit
Most people here still think "EVs are bad, gas is good." I guess I used to think that too... But they'll change their minds once they feel that instant torque and the guilt-free joy of flooring it without wasting gas/money.
costafilh0@reddit
Sales?
Most are leases. Thank goodness. Most people are not trying to ruin their finances.
KyleSherzenberg@reddit
We just bought a 2015 Nissan Leaf about 2 weeks ago for $3300. It has about 70 miles range, which can probably get me through a whole work week, but I plug it in every night just in case. For what it is and how much it cost, it's been great so far. We have a 2001 Toyota Corolla and a 2017 F250 Super Duty for other things
mgobla@reddit
Bad car but since this is about deals: There are deals for sub 2k miles Jeep Wagoneer EV and Dodge Charger EV for $32k.
West_Ad9229@reddit
That is insane.
Hnry_Dvd_Thr_Awy@reddit
https://www.automotiveavenuesnj.com/inventory/-2C3CDBCK9SR536937
Holy crap you aren't kidding. I just need to paint 01 on the door and a [censored] flag on the top of this one and drive it around and really confuse people.
pdp10@reddit
Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia. It's okay, you can say "Virginia" on Reddit.
Hnry_Dvd_Thr_Awy@reddit
No not that one
Ceolan@reddit
Just got the wife an EQS for 40k. She's absolutely smitten by it and it's perfect for her commute. Got the longest possible extended warranty for it, just in case.
j_knolly@reddit
‘Bargain’ being used very loosely
Goldpanda94@reddit
Yup I got a 2 year old 30k miles i4 eDrive40 for half price basically and it's been amazing as a daily commuter. I'm saving about $2.5k on gas each year and there's like no maintenance aside from brake fluid every 2 years.
If I was only financially motivated, a Polestar 2 woulda made the best sense $/performance wise. I woulda made up the cost of that in gas savings in about 8 years of ownership and use.
mulletstation@reddit
What if we unlocked nuclear fusion in the next few months
band-of-horses@reddit
Yeah, and monkeys might fly out of my butt.
mpgomatic@reddit (OP)
A lotta folks have been working on it for a long time. It’ll happen one day.
xuon27@reddit
Tried buying but the tax season is upon us and cars are $2k-$5k more expensive just because, I'll see what happens after July.
aquariuminspace@reddit
Yeah I'm in this situation right now and shopping around. It is amazing what depreciation can do ri a $60-80k car and makes them very tempting for a daily. The cost of installing a level 2 at my house would be made back within the first year, by a large margin, fron gas savings.