Chevy Bolt, BMW i3, or something else? At $10k, you have lots of EV options

Two of Ars' favorite electric vehicles are now available for not very much money.

See full article...

 

[theOGpetergregory]

When I sold my Prius the new buyer had their own mechanic look it over without going to Toyota

My Tesla reply is based on my own experience selling my model 3 to another person
In this specific case I took my car into Tesla for a tire rotation and air filter replacement and checked everything else and then it got sold to the new buyer

You may or may not understand this if you don't own an ev, but there aren't that many moving parts and there are a ton of sensors in these vehicles and you can access the service menu and run diagnostics

I was laughing at the implication in your statement that there are two types of mechanics:
1) Tesla
2) Competent

But I also understand what you're saying... and also disagree with you. Yes EVs have fewer things to go wrong. It is also reasonable for a prospective buyer to want someone to do an in person physical inspection (as you mention for suspension and brakes among other things).

Where we seem to disagree is that you seem to think there's no reason Tesla should do these inspections while I am of the mindset that they built the car, have better access to all the tools, manuals and software and should be the experts about the car so they should be the ones most likely to do a PPI and the fact that they won't is... not a good thing.

 

[Gnafu the Great]

Maybe hinge is the wrong term. I mean the part that provides resistance so the door stays where you move it instead of opening and closing freely. I've had those break on both of my 15+ year old cars. It's super annoying.

I think what you're describing would be called "detents"

 

[sjl]

I was laughing at the implication in your statement that there are two types of mechanics:
1) Tesla
2) Competent

But I also understand what you're saying... and also disagree with you. Yes EVs have fewer things to go wrong. It is also reasonable for a prospective buyer to want someone to do an in person physical inspection (as you mention for suspension and brakes among other things).

Where we seem to disagree is that you seem to think there's no reason Tesla should do these inspections while I am of the mindset that they built the car, have better access to all the tools, manuals and software and should be the experts about the car so they should be the ones most likely to do a PPI and the fact that they won't is... not a good thing.

That said, considering that they have a track record of lying about and hiding known defects in their cars, I'm not sure that I'd be willing to trust anything they have to say about the condition of any given Tesla - used or new.

In an ideal world where they're an honest company looking to provide good company service (and yes, I'd like a pony too), they'd be the best option to get a used Tesla checked over and given a clean bill of health. The fact that they're not willing to do that doesn't speak well of them.

Best to just steer clear of anything made by the company, IMO. Or pull out the battery pack and use a third party controller to repurpose it as energy storage, selling the rest of the vehicle to a wrecker.

 

[evan_s]

RWD EVs are more efficient than FWD EVs. Jaguar discovered this with the I-Pace, for instance, and wrote a software update that changed eco mode from using just the front motor to just the rear motor. I can’t think of an AWD EV that defaults to FWD and not RWD when it’s in its most efficient setting.

The R1 is front wheel drive with a clutch disconnect for the rear. If you watch any out of spec content you've probably heard Kyle complaining about that numerous times because he doesn't think they do the disconnect well and it's the wrong wheels. I wouldn't be surprised if there are others too.

I also don't think that even if most EVs do use the rear wheels only in efficiency mode that it is a clear indicator that is the most efficient option because there are a lot of other factors that go into that decision. Only using one set of drive wheels is definitely the most efficient but if one is inherently more efficient isn't clear. The choice of front or rear might be impacted by the power balance, types of motors, driving style, type of disconnect, etc. Theoretically, FWD should allow for higher regen because weight will shift forward under braking increasing traction allowing more regen if you are traction limited. From a performance/car enthusiast perspective I think rear wheel drive in efficiency mode with a front synchronous motor is the preffered option but I don't know that is is the most efficient option.

 

[LlamaDragon]

it's pretty amazing how little power is needed for EV charging for most people. 16A@240V will replace most people's daily energy use in 3 hours or so. Will easily do 20% to 80% overnight. That's 150 miles or so, for me.

It could also support a three EV family with overnight charging, and more, if some daytime charging is possible.

I just plug into a bog-standard outlet and do 12A/120V for 12 hours and it's almost always fine. However, on my wishlist is a 50 or 60 amp garage circuit to prep for a 2-EV future with all the necessary charging in the 6 or 8 hour overnight window with the lowest electric rates. I assume in any sane future, such a setup would be the norm, perhaps even a requirement for new home builds. (Though I wouldn't be surprised if government-mandated personal coal generators are the actual future in the US given the current political disaster.)

 

[jsully2549]

I just plug into a bog-standard outlet and do 12A/120V for 12 hours and it's almost always fine. However, on my wishlist is a 50 or 60 amp garage circuit to prep for a 2-EV future with all the necessary charging in the 6 or 8 hour overnight window with the lowest electric rates. I assume in any sane future, such a setup would be the norm, perhaps even a requirement for new home builds. (Though I wouldn't be surprised if government-mandated personal coal generators are the actual future in the US given the current political disaster.)

I've not bothered with home L2 as well, but I also have access to free DCFC. A Tesla Magicdock (V4) charger is also nearby, off peak at 33 cents per kWh. I only charge at home if I let myself get really low or to top off to 100% before a trip.

Off peak times just changed for me. Now 9PM to 5PM. If i pick an 18 hour window for charging, I can get an additional discount if I almost always charge then. But free is free.

 

[LhamoLatso]

The new 2026 Chevy Bolt/Equinox EVs no longer have android auto/apple carplay. The 2023 Chevy Bolt that I have also does not have HD radio.

The Toyota bZ has both android auto and HD radio. That may well be my next car.

Thanks for the survey. It has given me more ideas.

 

[sjl]

I've not bothered with home L2 as well, but I also have access to free DCFC.

DC fast charging can be rough on the battery if you use it all the time. Don't get me wrong, if you need to use the fast charger, then use it. But dumping energy into a lithium ion battery at a rate of 3C or more (my car, at a 350 kW public charger, charges at 220 kW - about 3C) isn't ideal; best practice for battery longevity is around 0.5C. (Which means about two hours of charging time, assuming a steady current.)

So whilst the charging may be free, you're paying for it in non-obvious (and subtle, at least at first) ways.

 

[norton_I]

I don't know... Is it reasonable to expect every electrician to know that all EVs will accept a lower charge rate than what is advertised in the manufacturer literature? I think it could be an honest naivete for an electrician to not know about the j1772 standard and think "the car has a 48 amp charger so it'll draw 48amps and a 60amp circuit is required".

Yes, I think every electrician in 2026 should know that. That might have been excusable a decade ago but not today. If your literal job is to install electrical circuits and hard wired appliances, you should have looked up how EV chargers worked in the past 10 years. It's no different from keeping up with changes in code. The answer to this is found in the first page of installation instructions of every EVSE on the market, because they all have a set of switches inside to select the circuit capacity. It's your duty as a licensed professional to keep up with the field, just like you have to keep up with code changes and local regulations.

Ideally electricians, especially those who work in areas where 100 amp service is common would also know about load management systems. This is a bit more off the beaten path, but damn, isn't the purpose of hiring professionals that they have expert knowledge of the field?

 

[evan_s]

DC fast charging can be rough on the battery if you use it all the time. Don't get me wrong, if you need to use the fast charger, then use it. But dumping energy into a lithium ion battery at a rate of 3C or more (my car, at a 350 kW public charger, charges at 220 kW - about 3C) isn't ideal; best practice for battery longevity is around 0.5C. (Which means about two hours of charging time, assuming a steady current.)

So whilst the charging may be free, you're paying for it in non-obvious (and subtle, at least at first) ways.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with the free charging unless it was also convenient. My off peak rate is $0.09 so my time is worth more than the $5 in electricity I could get from free charging. I'd much rather spend a few seconds to plug it in in my garage and spend the couple bucks in electricity than be stuck someplace even for 15-20 minutes. If I'm stopping there anyway way or it was work place charging then sure free is nice.

 

[jsully2549]

DC fast charging can be rough on the battery if you use it all the time. Don't get me wrong, if you need to use the fast charger, then use it. But dumping energy into a lithium ion battery at a rate of 3C or more (my car, at a 350 kW public charger, charges at 220 kW - about 3C) isn't ideal; best practice for battery longevity is around 0.5C. (Which means about two hours of charging time, assuming a steady current.)

So whilst the charging may be free, you're paying for it in non-obvious (and subtle, at least at first) ways.

I drive so little it won't matter. And limit it to 80% SoC. As well, the charger I use rarely hits my Niro's 80kW limit (1.25C). Usually peaks around 65kW for a bit. But mostly I'm charging at 40kW or so (.625C).

Good advice for those who aren't aware, though.

Plex downloads come in quite handy. And ebooks. Basically I do what others do while home charging. Something else.

 

[jsully2549]

Personally, I wouldn't bother with the free charging unless it was also convenient. My off peak rate is $0.09 so my time is worth more than the $5 in electricity I could get from free charging. I'd much rather spend a few seconds to plug it in in my garage and spend the couple bucks in electricity than be stuck someplace even for 15-20 minutes. If I'm stopping there anyway way or it was work place charging then sure free is nice.

The one I use is frequented by Uber/Lyft drivers. I usually see them asleep or doing what I'm doing, reading a book, watching a vid, etc. Like home, but not.

It's out of the way and not shown on the Chargepoint app anymore, so it's available more often. But if you know, you know.

And I'm at 11 cents off peak. I just don't drive enough to want to spend a few hundred for a new 240V circuit to my garage and a similar amount on a L2 charger. Plus, it gets me out of the house every couple weeks.

 

[boydwaters]

Bought a 2014 BMW i3 and a 2019 Chevy Bolt EV in a package deal a couple of years ago for under $20k.

The Bolt had a factory new battery, and it can easily be driven for 200+ miles.

The i3 had a degraded battery, and lacking the range extender it can do 40 miles in the wintertime.

Irrationally, perhaps, I love it: a concept car EV with an interior from the future packaged in an economy-hatch shape that car enthusiasts tend to hate.

Tomorrow I take delivery on another one, a 2020 model with the range extender.

Buy a cheap one from 2018 with the range extender. Avoid the battery-only model unless you know what you're getting into.

 

[sjl]

I drive so little it won't matter. And limit it to 80% SoC. As well, the charger I use rarely hits my Niro's 80kW limit (1.25C). Usually peaks around 65kW for a bit. But mostly I'm charging at 40kW or so (.625C).

Good advice for those who aren't aware, though.

Plex downloads come in quite handy. And ebooks. Basically I do what others do while home charging. Something else.

Yeah, that shouldn't be too bad. The time factor of driving out to the charger, waiting for the charge, and then driving home then becomes the biggest concern, in my book. Especially when you realise that you're spending all that time for maybe five or ten dollars' worth of electricity.

There's a charger not far from me that used to be free, and within walking distance of a running track and swimming pool. So I'd park there, plug in, then go do a set at one of those two places. Worked well for me. But that charger's now paid (35 cents per kWh - that's AUD), and I can charge for free at home (thank you, free electricity between 11am and 2pm), so that's now no longer a useful trick for me.

Edit: I should make it clear that I am not opposed to chargers being paid. Somebody has to pay for the electricity, after all. When it's a local council - as it is in this specific case - I'm all in favour of the price reflecting the cost of the service. As far as I'm concerned, the only place that charging should be free for the general public is when it's used as a drawcard - eg, shopping centres or similar.

Even then, I've seen so many people abusing the privilege by sitting there way longer than is reasonable, I'm inclined to think that charging generally should be paid, and virtually never free. The tragedy of the commons and all that.

 

[NC Now]

It's your duty as a licensed professional to keep up with the field, just like you have to keep up with code changes and local regulations.

Ideally electricians, especially those who work in areas where 100 amp service is common would also know about load management systems. This is a bit more off the beaten path, but damn, isn't the purpose of hiring professionals that they have expert knowledge of the field?

While I somewhat agree, I also disagree. This is NOT life safety. This is convenience. Codes are about life safety and legal liability. And just now it maybe impacts 1% of the work in most areas. Maybe only 0.01% or less if you factor in the total work of a typical electrician. And many new EV owners also don't get it. And to be blunt, at all and don't want to hear or understand reality. Especially when some of the EV owners are telling them it is "stupid" to not have a 50+ amp setup for charging.

Electricians make good money, and get crap dumped on them by many of their clients and possible clients. Which makes it hard for them to want to spend an hour education a POSSIBLE client.

And for new and remodel work, let's invite builders trying to save a few pennies. Want to come down the tall hall and have a talk about what "house is wired for gig Internet" means in reality?

 

[DanSilov]

I have been driving BMW iX for three years now. Last year my wife bought her first car — a i3s 120A/42.2kWh, and I can tell you it's an amazing car that is so fun to drive in the city! Sure, 120A version is probably more than $10K, but I genuinely prefer to drive i3 over my iX. Suspension could be softer, rear doors are a pain, but other than that it's one of the best small electric cars you can buy, especially for the price. BMW overengineered the hell out of it, it's reliable, has enough tech, yet it is full of physical buttons and controls.

 

[jsully2549]

Yeah, that shouldn't be too bad. The time factor of driving out to the charger, waiting for the charge, and then driving home then becomes the biggest concern, in my book. Especially when you realise that you're spending all that time for maybe five or ten dollars' worth of electricity.

There's a charger not far from me that used to be free, and within walking distance of a running track and swimming pool. So I'd park there, plug in, then go do a set at one of those two places. Worked well for me. But that charger's now paid (35 cents per kWh - that's AUD), and I can charge for free at home (thank you, free electricity between 11am and 2pm), so that's now no longer a useful trick for me.

Edit: I should make it clear that I am not opposed to chargers being paid. Somebody has to pay for the electricity, after all. When it's a local council - as it is in this specific case - I'm all in favour of the price reflecting the cost of the service. As far as I'm concerned, the only place that charging should be free for the general public is when it's used as a drawcard - eg, shopping centres or similar.

Even then, I've seen so many people abusing the privilege by sitting there way longer than is reasonable, I'm inclined to think that charging generally should be paid, and virtually never free. The tragedy of the commons and all that.

There are free chargers at car dealerships near me as well as some state/local government offices. Some are high speed L2 (19kW) some are low speed DCFC (24kW or so) and some are 80KWish. It's for their own reasons and I'm happy to use them.

Some/most of these will on demand tariffs, with energy charges a pittance (under a cent/kWh). It doesn't cost them much to offer this for free if they set the peak demand on their own.

As well, since the US doesn't have a carbon/emissions tax, giving away charging has about the same financial impact as allowing people to burn gas/diesel. Much less that fossil fuels if on a demand tariff.

 

[Deleted member 221201]

I was laughing at the implication in your statement that there are two types of mechanics:
1) Tesla
2) Competent

But I also understand what you're saying... and also disagree with you. Yes EVs have fewer things to go wrong. It is also reasonable for a prospective buyer to want someone to do an in person physical inspection (as you mention for suspension and brakes among other things).

Where we seem to disagree is that you seem to think there's no reason Tesla should do these inspections while I am of the mindset that they built the car, have better access to all the tools, manuals and software and should be the experts about the car so they should be the ones most likely to do a PPI and the fact that they won't is... not a good thing.

I do agree with you that Tesla should do a PPI
and I don’t know why that is the case

I was told a long time ago by Tesla that modifying struts etc would void any warranty and they could refuse to service the car because they wouldn’t be able to tell if anything else was damaged due to parts changes, incorrect torque etc

I did a lookup on PPI’s and the average cost is between $200-$300 at a dealer for gas cars

Had to go lookup and see if Rivian offers that and it’s unclear so I don’t know if it’s an ev thing or just some car makers, Tesla being dominant due to market share

 

[bennett_cg]

The main advantage FWD has in snow is that there is more weight on the driven wheels in a front-engine ICE car. Since BEVs tend to have near equal weight distribution, FWD is all downside and no upside. You get a more complicated front suspension, worse handling, and a larger turning circle for no real improvement in traction. FWD BEV cars mostly exist as cost-saving efforts using shared platforms with ICE cars.

All of which is basically moot when it comes to most US winter-condition driving and utterly not worth mentioning with respect to most US drivers, regardless of conditions.
BEVs aren't a likely daily driver for anyone routinely dealing with untreated roadways during notable snow events: the charging infrastructure simply doesn't exist for the "90 minute drive to town" lifestyle.
As for urban drivers, the perfect weight distribution for a given condition is utterly meaningless if they expect "all season" tires with 40k miles of wear to grip a slush-filled interstate highway during their 30-minute work commute

 

[theOGpetergregory]

I was told a long time ago by Tesla that modifying struts etc would void any warranty and they could refuse to service the car because they wouldn’t be able to tell if anything else was damaged due to parts changes, incorrect torque etc

I don't doubt Tesla told you that, and TBH it's a fairly common line from unscrupulous or unknowing service departments, but it is somewhere between an oversimplification and a lie since the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act protects modifications as not voiding the entire warranty. Modifications only preclude warranty claims on issues actually caused by the modification.

An aftermarket suspension may be justification to refuse a warranty claim on a broken control arm but should have no bearing on something unrelated like bearings, motors or battery modules.

PS. I am not the one who downvoted that post of yours.

 

[YetAnotherAnonymousAppellation]

Still not something I've heard of happening until now.

I've had it happen on 2 different vehicles. I think that if you keep the vehicle long enough, it's one of those things that you shouldn't be surprised to have fail. Just like those gas-pistons that hold your hood/hatch up when open.

I haven't replaced the "door-holder-open-thingies" on my current car because it looks like more work than I'm willing to undertake and it's not something I'm willing to pay someone else to fix.

 

[NetMage]

I've had it happen on 2 different vehicles. I think that if you keep the vehicle long enough, it's one of those things that you shouldn't be surprised to have fail. Just like those gas-pistons that hold your hood/hatch up when open.

I haven’t had any of the gas pistons fail (and I tend to keep cars ten years) on my cars nor the door hold systems. I don’t think we should accept that is normal, but realize the price/quality of some cars means you will have premature failures.

 

[Gnafu the Great]

I haven’t had any of the gas pistons fail (and I tend to keep cars ten years) on my cars nor the door hold systems. I don’t think we should accept that is normal, but realize the price/quality of some cars means you will have premature failures.

I don't consider ten years to be a long time in this context. I have had those kinds of things fail on vehicles older than 20 years, for sure.

 

[afidel]

I don't consider ten years to be a long time in this context. I have had those kinds of things fail on vehicles older than 20 years, for sure.

Yeah, gas struts generally start to go around 15 years in my experience. It's part of that decline that gets me to start questioning the value of the next major repair.

 

[iollmann]

Edit - looks like the Bolt may be roomy enough for 2 boosters and a rear facing baby seat? Time to blow another afternoon absorbing useless car info...

We had 3 in our Model 3, but you are going to have to work for it with extra thin car seats and one rear facing. The good news is the car seats don’t last forever, and eventually one will be out of them and then it gets easier.

 

[iollmann]

I expect that vehicles that are capable of true V2H will have a significantly higher resale value due to comparison shopping with dedicated home batteries. With the added bonus of being capable of going out to retrieve a load of electrons if the power outage is fairly localized.

I’m going to predict that it will make no difference and that dedicated home batteries will be preferred.

FWIW you don’t come home with a load of electrons. All you do is move electrons from one side of your battery to the other.

 

[dboytim]

At this point it's not just this sort of stuff but many electricians just don't know much about installing EV chargers in general and need improvements there to start with. EV chargers are unlike pretty much anything else in the home as they can pull max load for the circuit for hours at a time and nothing else does that. That means doing things correctly is much more important and can be dangerous if it isn't. If you check out the recharge rescue series on the state of charge youtube channel you'll see a number of bad installations, including in new homes. The one in new homes in Oregon is right near me and I could probably walk to the person's house if I knew which one it was specifically.

The electrician that installed a 14-50 outlet in our garage used a cheap one meant for an oven. It works fine, but I don't trust it so a while ago I bought a proper heavy duty one, a torque wrench, and the outlet box to install it all in. Took not long to replace it and now I have much more faith that the outlet won't fail, overheat, or catch fire.

I've also now seen you can buy online (amazon, etc) 14-50 outlets that CLAIM to be EV-rated and cost just $10-15. I certainly don't trust them either - pretty sure they're normal cheap outlets with an EV printed on the face of them.

 

[dboytim]

Did you see the comment I replied to? It was quoted.

In case you need spoon feeding:

"Tune in next time to see if they’re less than $15k yet."

I did see that and misunderstood what you meant. I thought you were correcting him and claiming there were some already under $10k. Sorry for the snark

 

[DanNeely]

The electrician that installed a 14-50 outlet in our garage used a cheap one meant for an oven. It works fine, but I don't trust it so a while ago I bought a proper heavy duty one, a torque wrench, and the outlet box to install it all in. Took not long to replace it and now I have much more faith that the outlet won't fail, overheat, or catch fire.

I've also now seen you can buy online (amazon, etc) 14-50 outlets that CLAIM to be EV-rated and cost just $10-15. I certainly don't trust them either - pretty sure they're normal cheap outlets with an EV printed on the face of them.

I wouldn't trust outlets (or anything else safety critical) of any type on sites like Amazon or EBay that don't care about 3rd party sellers putting up fraudulently certified own name or counterfeit brand name parts.

 

[NC Now]

The electrician that installed a 14-50 outlet in our garage used a cheap one meant for an oven.

Just hardwire.

 

[lukem]

One thing I don't see discussed enough is if you're buying an EV from a private seller or a dealer that doesn't service that brand, who can actually perform a PPI on it? Tesla refuses to do them on a car that they're not selling.

(Assuming PPI is Pre Purchase Inspection).

That's outrageous behaviour by Tesla, locking out other resellers/dealers/private sellers!

I suppose this behaviour highlights the a negative of the combined OEM / retail model used by Tesla. Usually we only hear about the positives of Tesla's model.

Having purchased EVs from different brands from OEM (Tesla) and from branded dealer (Volvo), there's pros and cons in both. My biggest complaint with "service request only possible direct to Tesla via app" is it's hard to talk with a human. Hard to escalate when you're getting mucked around with on time estimates, last minute rescheduling, etc. (Same issue I have with most tech companies though.)

 

[lukem]

Someday when the power company completely wriggles out of paying for my excess solar energy I will be happy to get a cheap used EV to plug in as a house battery . Maybe by then someone will efficiently hack older tesla cars for V2H and I can take one of those off the road, too!

There's rumblings of a V2H/ V2G solution that uses the DC connection so ignores the car's AC inverter.

I heard about it on this podcast episode (which interviews the founder of the wholesale virtual power plant I'm using) - The Shameless Plug ep 3

If the DC solution isn't vapourware, 10k (est) for the inverter and 10k for a 30-50 kWh battery with the ability to move offsite to charge in a long outage is a good solution.

 

[Tayradmax]

WARNING Chevy stopped replacing Bolt batteries and ended up using a software patch for many of these with the possibly faulty LG packs. I bought a certified pre-owned 2020 bolt, specifically asked if the battery was replaced, was lied to by omission, and found out that my bolt was hobbled for the first 8k miles I owned it only being able to charge to 80% which was killer a few times during Thanksgiving. I commute like 20k miles a year so it didn't take ME too long, but it might take others literally years depending on driving habits. The car charges and operates great now that the software mileage limit was exceeded. That being said I still love the car I just hate lying car dealers.

 

[real mikeb_60]

WARNING Chevy stopped replacing Bolt batteries and ended up using a software patch for many of these with the possibly faulty LG packs. I bought a certified pre-owned 2020 bolt, specifically asked if the battery was replaced, was lied to by omission, and found out that my bolt was hobbled for the first 8k miles I owned it only being able to charge to 80% which was killer a few times during Thanksgiving. I commute like 20k miles a year so it didn't take ME too long, but it might take others literally years depending on driving habits. The car charges and operates great now that the software mileage limit was exceeded. That being said I still love the car I just hate lying car dealers.

The replacement battery for 2017-19 cars is essentially the same (capacity and otherwise) as the original battery for 2020-23. All 2017-19 got or are still eligible for battery replacement under the recall. GM did, however, originally promise that 2020-21-early 22 would get new batteries too, then they said no - software could figure out whether it's really needed. Hence the change in what the recall "fix" consists of. It was a major hassle for those who suddenly lost range while the firmware was doing enhanced monitoring, and a fair number of batteries were rejected by the firmware (in some cases bricking the car) and had to be replaced anyway, but apparently GM and LG saved a lot of money in the process (which of course is always the most important thing for a car company once the car has been sold).

Edit: the other thing is that unless the battery got rejected within a very short time after the new firmware was installed, replacement was considered a warranty job rather than the recall. So there was no extended/restarted battery warranty for those, just continued coverage under the original warranty. Only the actual recall replacements got the restarted battery warranty.

I forget the name of the company, but GM along the line bought the (Israeli?) outfit that came up with the firmware.

 

[Defenestrator]

I don't consider ten years to be a long time in this context. I have had those kinds of things fail on vehicles older than 20 years, for sure.

I had one fail on a car after only 3 or 4 years, but.. it was a Fiat and not the only thing that broke in that time.

 

[NetMage]

It's part of that decline that gets me to start questioning the value of the next major repair.

Replacement struts are as low as a $25 dollars and replacing them is easily done at home, or only 20 minutes of mechanic labor? Click and Clack used to say you should fix small issues immediately so you don’t begin to have growing dissatisfaction with your car and then over react to a more serious issue that isn’t a trend indicator.

 

[NetMage]

I have had those kinds of things fail on vehicles older than 20 years, for sure.

At 20 years I expect you to be at risk of having anything failing at any time (though my NSX at 16 years old still had fine lift pistons) and would be looking to replace my vehicle before I’m stranded. (Though two of my much less old cars have stranded me.)

 

[NetMage]

Just hardwire.

This is perhaps a bad time to do that with standards moving to NACS.

The reasons ovens aren’t hardwired apply to EVSE right now while we are still in multiple transitions to BEV.

 

[dboytim]

Just hardwire.

I actually WANT a 14-50 outlet instead of hardwired. There's no other electric outlet near the exterior garage door, so I have an adapter that converts the 14-50 into 4x normal 120V outlets, 2 on each leg of the 240V supply, for when I need to use power tools or anything else that needs power. It's only a few times a year, but it's still super handy when I do need it instead of having to run long extension cords.

 

[TheiMacButcher]

Few new EVs have impressed me so I got a 2022 Audi e-tron Chronos end of last year for 34k. Drove it from Washington state to NYC via southern route over 4,200 miles. 2 Mwh of DC fast charge and still near new battery capacity.