I've Been Driving an EV for a Year. I Have Only One Regret | Hacker News Reader

I've Been Driving an EV for a Year. I Have Only One Regret

wsj.com

2 pointsgnicholas4 comments

> Leasing my Mach-E was the right thing, and more are doing it. Leasing made up over 35% of new EV financing in the first quarter of 2024, up significantly from 12% in 2023, according to global data company Experian. It makes sense for such fast-moving tech. When my lease expires in two years, I expect better batteries, chips and more.

Part of the reason leasing is popular is that the current batch of incentives offers some rebates only if you lease. Some vehicles qualify either way, but a decent chunk of them it's only if you lease. I would have liked to have seen numbers here that show it's actually better to lease. If you only have a vehicle for two years, the bit about low-maintenance is mooted, since most vehicles have little maintenance in the first couple years anyway.

The flip side of the rapid tech churn of electric vehicles (and thus the popularity of leasing them) is that used electric vehicles are available for dramatically less money than new cars.

I just purchased a ten year old EV for literally 10% of what its listed price when new.

Stupid move, if you must rely upon it. But for us, it can be an in-town utility grocery getter, even local job commute, all-weather vehicle that is safe at highway speeds... A BMW the price of a golf cart.

How does your car insurance treat the vehicle in terms of replacement cost? Does the low FMV predominate, or the high sticker price and high cost of repairs?

We've looked at doing this as well. Our commutes are so short that a vehicle with only 50 miles of range would work for 90% of our trips. Such a vehicle is nigh-useless to many people, but for us it's a great complement to an ICE or PHEV. It helps that we live in temperate climate, so we never really have to deal with the freezing temperatures that would knock off 20 or 30% of the range.

Since I paid for the car without borrowing money, there was no need to insure it for damage; I only carry liability insurance.

No "collision" (another car hits mine) or "comprehensive" (a coyote drops a safe on it) insurance.

I lose if my car gets damaged. But insurance premiums are negligible, a dollar per day.

For the other used EV I purchased, my wife asked me to get an auto loan. The car value is $18,000 and the lender requires a certain amount of insurance on the car. The insurance alone is more than $100/month.

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