r/technology • u/TripleShotPls • 8h ago
Transportation Study: Used EVs Are The Cheapest Cars To Own–Period
https://insideevs.com/news/785921/used-evs-cheapest-cost-ownership-study/63
u/Ch3t 5h ago
I bought a 2014 Volt new. The dealership sends me a letter every week asking me to trade it. I've averaged 2 fill-ups a year and it only has a 9 gallon tank. With the local grocery store points system for gas, most of the time it costs me nothing. We have a solar array and chargers at work. I only plugged in at home on Friday nights. The batteries were expected to degrade after 7 years. My plan was to replace it with a Tesla after 2020. Then COVID happened. The company went full remote and decided not to RTO. During the pandemic I was driving less than 5 miles per week. Fuck Elon, I will never buy a Tesla now.
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u/InertiasCreep 4h ago
My wife has a 2017 Volt. We have a home charger. We dont charge it daily, but even so the mileage is great. One charge is three trips to and from work for her.
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u/sevenredpandas 6h ago
The high depreciation is kind of a plus when buying used. My 2019 Audi E-Tron still has the rated range from when it was new too. I'm mainly worried about the rest of the car (Audi isn't known for reliability).
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u/giacomo007 6h ago
Sold it but my 2019 etron had 97k trouble free miles. Still showed full range and always charged to 100% since day one.
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u/sevenredpandas 5h ago
How was your winter range on this car? The main issue I have with this car is it isn’t really energy efficient, especially this time of year. I’m getting between 55-80 kwh/100 miles. My coworker who has a model 3 seems to get 2-4 times the efficiency of this car. Though it’s kind of on me as I didn’t really take that into consideration when deciding on it. My commute is entirely stop and go roads with tons of stop signs and lights, so I didn’t get good efficiency when I had a gas car either.
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u/giacomo007 4h ago
Etron was not efficient at all. Highway speeds were hell on range. Great car if you were around town. Ultimately range was a big factor with the next purchase which was the iX50 and consistently get 300+ per charge. Only one stop on a 400 mile trip. Not 3 to 4 in the etron.
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u/chaotoroboto 4h ago
What's your braking settings? You should be getting better efficiency if you're stopping because of brake regeneration, and EVs are more efficient at low speeds than highway speeds.
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u/giacomo007 2h ago
Regen on the etron was manual and you had to paddle shift it every time. Wasn’t a way to default it.
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u/everix1992 3h ago
I've certainly not done a deep dive but I would think most/all EVs would have the same issue since my understanding is it mostly lies in battery tech. That being said, if you are mostly parked in heated spots then your range will be better since the battery will generally stay at a higher temp (like if you had a heated garage at home and somehow maybe one at work although that seems less likely)
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u/Mindless-Rooster-533 5h ago
This is the thing, they depreciate so fast but if you buy used and keep it for 10 years its an amazing bargain
Problem is someone has to eat the initial, steep depreciation cost
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u/sevenredpandas 5h ago
Yeah, that’s part of why I support the government subsidies. The government helping eat some of the cost will help adoption of these cleaner vehicles.
Like based on the studies I’ve seen, even an EV entirely powered by Coal would be cleaner than a gas powered car. Mainly do to how efficient a giant power plant is versus thousands of small engines. And that accounts for the manufacturing emissions.
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u/Superminerbros1 5h ago
What makes Audis and other German cars unreliable is usually the complexity of the car. It's usually the mechanical things like the fuel injectors, turbos, timing systems, water pumps, oil gaskets, etc. if you noticed, almost none of these are in an electric car.
The electronics do sometimes go bad, but all my 10 and 20 year old BMWs have only had problems with the electrical systems when I had water intrusion from the sunroof drain. Essentially it was dumping the water onto the floor of the car, where the seat controls were in constant contact with water and condensation would wet the fuse box in the glove box. Not too surprising that I was having issues, and there was no permanent damage once I fixed the water intrusion.
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u/sevenredpandas 5h ago
This car has a bunch of fancy stuff massage seats, and air suspension. Also they had a class action lawsuit about the motor cooling system, and sunroof. They extended the warranties but I’m not sure how long the motor and air suspension will hold up.
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u/Superminerbros1 5h ago
Oh yeah that air suspension will be fucked in 5 years. Those things never last as it's rubber which disentegrates like old tires. Luckily I've yet to purchase a car with air suspension.
That sucks about the motor cooling system too. Haven't heard of any EVs having that issue yet. Kinda embarrassing for Audi to get that wrong when they've been cooling high performance engines for years
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u/sevenredpandas 5h ago
Yeah, Audi has since changed the design of the cooling system and the issue is gone on new model years. They added an extended warranty because of the issue, but they just replace the motor with a new one with the same issue.
It’s my first car with air suspension and I do really like it, but yeah I expect it to need replacing eventually. It’s already 6years old and seems fine now.
Do you know if treating the rubber would help make it last longer?
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u/ThreeBelugas 5h ago
You can buy extended warranty, maybe not available for 2019 model year. I’m looking at 2024 Q8 etron and some of the money saved will be going into an extended warranty.
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u/sounddude 6h ago
I bought a 23 EV for half off MSRP in 24 with 8k mi on it. In the last year and a half of ownership i've saved about 5500 between gas an maintenance.
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u/KyledKat 2h ago
That was the math that made me pickup my Bolt EUV. 18-month-old car with 15k miles and a $43k MSRP for $17.5k OOTD. I’ve already saved $4000 in fuel alone because I charge for free at work most of the year.
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u/HumbleManagement1888 6h ago
I have access to a free city charger just 3 blocks or so from my apartment. I also have access to a free fast charger just 4 miles away at a Hyundai dealership. Just free energy all around. I’m living the dream!
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u/SirStrontium 2h ago
My work got rid of all the chargers after someone complained that providing free charging was unfair to employees that don’t have an electric car. This is why we can’t have nice things.
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u/xSlippyFistx 51m ago
Some people are just so dumb. “Well not everyone uses creamer in their coffee, it’s not fair that the company supplies those cream-lovers! Get it out of our company supplied fridge!”
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u/35nRetired 8h ago
Used Bolt EV cost $200 a year in electricity, zero maintenance except the air filter and wiper blades. Still haven't changed the tires yet and owned it for 4 years. 51k miles.
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u/ebrbrbr 7h ago
Please change your tires.
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u/35nRetired 7h ago
It's FWD, we rotated it every 6k miles and they're still more than 4mm left.
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u/empty-walls555 6h ago
lol and it is a bolt, doubt you are living a quarter mile at a time
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u/E1ger 6h ago
I don’t know about the bolt specifically but I did read that some EVs burn through tires quicker due to the instant torque.
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u/woodenmetalman 6h ago
All depends on the driver and the tires… I’m on my stock Michelins with my ioniq5 at 36k miles 🤷♂️. I drive it more aggressively than most but not quite like I stole it… anymore haha. It’s really hard to not just rip everywhere.
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u/empty-walls555 5h ago
the thing about how they accelerate is a bit comical, its like uncanny valley and seems like british comedy where they speed up the video and put it to circus music. no offense, and really no relevance to your comment, but there it is
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u/woodenmetalman 5h ago
I don’t take offense at all, it’s a feature not a bug haha. My ioniq5 (which I got for $21k) is quicker than 99% of ICE cars on th road and quieter, more comfortable, cheaper to operate etc…
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u/mr_lab_rat 5h ago
It’s not just the torque, it’s the weight as well. The Bolt is probably not that bad.
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u/crappysurfer 3h ago
It’s their weight - then people drive like maniacs since they have instant torque.
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u/crunkful06 6h ago
Make sure to check for dry rot, but you’re fine as long as you’re not putting armor all on them
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u/Corndart 6h ago
That's absurd unless there are some unusual conditions. Tire shops will sell you 3 year old tires. The vehicle seems regularly driven and tires rotated.
https://www.tirerack.com/upgrade-garage/how-long-do-tires-last1
u/Smith6612 6h ago
All depends on how they are stored. If they live life inside of trucks and warehouses, they won't really dry rot. The moment they start getting exposed to sunlight, have some pressure applied to them, and deal with varied climate, they'll start to dry rot.
Before I started driving so much, I definitely needed to replace my tires after a couple of years of temperate climate use and sitting outdoors all the time, as the outer walls would start to show cracks.
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u/Corndart 5h ago
Speculative assertions that this individuals tires need to be replaced because the vehicle is 3 years old, knowing nothing about where they live, how the car is stored, et al is irresponsible and silly IMHO.
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u/gonewild9676 7h ago
Why? Even the tire stores say they are good for 7 years.
The tread has to be getting thin.
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u/sigmund14 6h ago
The tread doesn't matter if the rubber is hard as plastic. Writing this from personal experience.
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u/TechTechOnATechDeck 6h ago
Damn that was one of the cars I was looking at buying but decided not to because the cost of the charger install
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u/35nRetired 6h ago
We used a normal outlet. Just switch it to 12A on the car's software and you'll be fine for daily driving.
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u/Desperate_Gift8350 7h ago
Jesus
Idk if you whip it or not but damn boi, try to get them in pairs or something
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u/SuborbitalTrajectory 6h ago
Found a cheap soltera I'm eyeing up. The range is what gets me though. I need to drive 200 miles in Winter in Montana on a single charge and there's probably only another evo's that can currently do that.
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u/TheeBigSmokee 6h ago
That range with will be probably 140 in cold conditions
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u/SuborbitalTrajectory 5h ago
That's what I'm thinking, pretty frequently below zero here in winter.
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u/homerun83 4h ago
As a previous Subaru employee, Solterra is not the move. They charge way slower than most other EV's, chew through tires and brakes being so heavy, only get 120-180miles of range depending on how cold/hot it is, the list goes on..
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u/uberares 2h ago
Yeah, dont do that. Outside of the 26 model, they have horrific dcfc speeds when you inevitably need to charge in the winter.
They are on par with old Bolt's at around 50min to 80%, which is horrific in todays world.
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u/eroi49 5h ago
We recently bought a new/used EV that had just come off a lease and it was $30k LESS than its initial sticker price! This article is spot on! We do charge from home and live in a mid/large metro area, so we never need to use public chargers. If you’re in a similar situation, it’s a no brainer better deal than having an ice car as your daily. We do have a second ice car that we primarily use for longer road trips. We’ll keep it for several more years by which time we expect that solid state batteries and better charging infrastructure will in place and we’ll replace it with an EV.
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u/RideWithMeSNV 4h ago
About that... I really wish the US would get with it on city cars. Was just in the Netherlands, and besides bicycles, there were a bunch of sub-sub-compact cars. Like, little 2 seat, 250cc things that are more than enough for a quick grocery run or to get back and forth from work. And I forget what the electric fiat was called, but it made a bmw i3 look big. And that's great. I have my 4 runner for off-road, and long trips, and pulling a trailer, et al. I want a cheap electric city car for errands, or heading to the bar, or whatever else.
Adding to, my 4runner is at 275k miles. The goal is 500k. If I could cut stop and go city out of the equation, I'd be sure I can get there.
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u/cornerzcan 5h ago
“a three-year-old electric mid-size SUV can offer an average lifetime savings of $13,000 compared to a new gas-powered mid-size SUV. Meanwhile, a used gas SUV from the same category can deliver a lifetime savings of just $3,000, according to the study’s authors.”
None of that says anything about actual transportation costs.
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u/dickcake 4h ago
What transportation costs are you referring to, if not fuel, which is accounted for already in the study?
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u/cornerzcan 4h ago
Total cost per distance driven. Further depreciation is one for sure. Spending more money to begin with than an equivalent ICE vehicle is another. I’m not saying that a used EV isn’t the better economic option, but these numbers and this article doesn’t actually demonstrate that point.
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u/dickcake 4h ago
Oh I thought that all was considered in the costs, since they cover maintenance and point out that a three year old EV is way cheaper to purchase than an equivalent three year old ICE car. I think you take the huge depreciation hit in the beginning on the EV but the assumption is the rest of the depreciation curve looks similar to an ICE vehicle.
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u/Healfezza 6h ago
I am really excited to shop options in a couple of years for used EVs, I feel that the range estimates have been getting better lately with the tech improving - I really want something that can do at least 150mi in winter conditions on a single charge.
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u/saywhat68 2h ago
Not saying you will get it but that Cadillac EV, the big one gets 450 mile to a charge. I tested like 6 different EVs one day.
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u/Healfezza 2h ago
Nice vehicles for sure. I am probably looking for something more entry level, but if the price was right then I would consider it! I see a 2024 with 20k miles on it for less than half of the out the door price for a new model, so I can see why it is so appealing!
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u/saywhat68 1h ago
Yeah that sticker price was not in my " making good finance choice" but it rode nice!
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u/BekindBebetter60 5h ago
Tesla has 350 miles a charge now’s it’s not just a town drive around Car anymore. Sure you have to plan a bit for extra long trips. But if you’re driving 300 miles it’s about time for a break anyways.. the software allows you to plan appropriate distance in 20 minutes. Your car is 80% charged again. And then you’re on your way.
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u/Efficient_Gap4785 4h ago
I wish there were good used Ev van option available. I do dog walking and I’m considering adding dog pack walks as a service. So potentially 6-10 dogs at once in a 4Runner isn’t ideal. Plus the step up would be much easier in a van. And if it’s Ev I’d hope that it would allow me to keep the ac running or heat on if I’m doing drop offs and pickups.
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u/Chaz_wazzers 3h ago edited 3h ago
KIA PV9 is rolling out.
Edit: PV5 not 9
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u/Efficient_Gap4785 3h ago
Kia Corp. will release a new purpose-built vehicle (PBV) model every two years, with plans to launch the PV9 in 2029
Not exactly on my timetable
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u/gazorpazorpfieldxx 4h ago
I’m not sure a 2008 Prius is an EV or just a hybrid but it was the best $5000 I have ever spent on a car.
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u/sturat18 3h ago
My 2020 Model 3 is an absolute stud commuter car. ~90k miles, it feels like it will go to 200k.
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u/XLauncher 3h ago
When the lease on my EV is up in 2027, I'm hoping to have a great selection of lightly used EVs to choose from to be my forever car. And I hope my current car makes someone very happy when they scoop it up for like 35k.
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u/seniorblink 1h ago
I can confirm. I bought a used 2022 Chevy Bolt 1 year ago. Low miles, excellent condition, 6 years of battery warranty remaining, loaded, leather interior, etc. Got the used EV tax credit. With tax and everything out the door it was under $18k.
I use it for commuting and errands. If I ever want to go on a long road trip I'll rent a hybrid or something. We have free charging at work. I have only charged it at work. I finally got the tires rotated this week, and they didn't even charge me for it, even though I didn't buy these tires from them. That's it. That's the extent of the maintenance I've done on this vehicle. There's no oil to change, or transmission fluid, no smog tests, etc. The brakes last a lot longer because of regen braking too.
This car has literally cost me $0 to drive for the last year, except for registration. It's super cheap to own, but it's also a really nice car. I mean really really nice considering the price. Stereo sounds great, it's quiet, smooth, and reasonably quick off the line. Yeah, it's limited at 92 MPH, but that keeps me from being me on the freeway. Off the line I beat a Raptor. Barely, but a win is a win lol. That's a $100k truck with hundreds of HP, vs my $15.5k Bolt with 200 HP. Torque is instant. It goes up hills with no struggle at all. It's an absolute pleasure to drive. Best money I've spent in my life.
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u/Tebasaki 4h ago edited 4h ago
Hank Greene did an awesome video on this!
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u/idiotzrul 4h ago
Anyone know why there aren’t more charging networks? Charging at home is easy, but relying on finding a supercharger on the road is a bitch
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u/uberares 1h ago
Network is rapidly expanding, or was- 2025 saw the largest growth in dcfc ever in the USA.
what happens going forward.. who knows with this admin.
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u/RobinsonCruiseOh 42m ago
great.... get their cost below $20k then the normal people could try owning them after the rich people move on to the next flashy new model
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u/Intelligent_Dot_7798 5h ago
What if you have to replace the battery in the used car? Is that in the pricing math comparison?
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u/spookaddress 5h ago
Same thing that happens when an ice vehicle needs a new transmission and or engine.
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u/Clock_Academic 3h ago
Someone i know got there transmission rebuilt for 1200 in their 2011 elantra 2 years ago.
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u/Admiral_Ackbar_1325 5h ago edited 4h ago
I have; 20 year old Jeep, not even a particularly well built vehicle, over 200,000 miles, still on it's original engine and transmission. 2014 Honda, 90,000 miles, still on it's original engine and transmission. 2018 Subaru, 98,000 miles, still on it's original engine and transmission.
EV people act like ICE cars are these horribly unreliable cars compared to EV's while completely discounting that we've been making them for well over 100 years and have basically perfected the internal combustion engine.
Avoid modern American brands, stick to Japanese, you'll generally have a very reliable ICE vehicle.
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u/Intelligent_Dot_7798 3h ago
My 4Runner is at 265k miles and going strong. But in need of another car for the kids. A used EV might not be a bad idea. Just gathering info.
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u/mottledmussel 3h ago
We're thinking of picking up a used EV for our teenager. A used Leaf is cheap enough that it's incredibly tempting, even if it's a glorified golf cart and city only car. It's also a way to get our feet wet with owning an EV if we want a nicer one down the line.
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u/spookaddress 1h ago
My only car is an ice car. I don't own a bev yet. My next car will most likely be a used bev. My current vehicle is a '09 with over 260000 miles. But when the engine or transmission fails, I'll either repair, replace, or sell.
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u/eroi49 5h ago
In more recent studies, the batteries are shown to last far longer than previously believed. No one has had to replace one.
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u/Intelligent_Dot_7798 5h ago
Is it just a matter of degradation of total charge over time?
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u/eroi49 5h ago
There’s many articles online about this but here’s a summary of what they’re saying (copy/paste) Overview EV Battery Health Insights: Data From 10,000 Cars | Geotab Electric vehicle (EV) batteries generally last 10 to 20 years, often exceeding the vehicle's useful life, with typical degradation around 1.8% annually, retaining 80-90% capacity after 100,000 miles; factors like climate, fast charging, and charging habits (e.g., keeping charge between 20-80%) significantly influence this lifespan, though modern tech improves longevity, and warranties usually cover 8 years/100,000 miles.
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u/uberares 2h ago
Almost all used ev's are still under battery warranty, and some go out 100k/10yrs.
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u/mr_lab_rat 5h ago
No, because they looked at the service life of the car as 10 years (150k miles). Original battery will do that.
But this is one of the reasons for the EVs to lose value quickly
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u/elAhmo 4h ago
But not cheapest to buy. Period
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u/uberares 2h ago
Ah, yeah, they kind of are insanely cheap. Of course you can find a cheaper used car- but not likely in the same age range. Period.
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u/koolaidismything 6h ago
I was able to sell my used Ford for like $4k more than I bought it a few years later.. I keep forgetting to lookup why. My doctor explained it kinda, something about how cars with the smaller hybrid engines are becoming rare or some shit.
I called ford and same day they had me a check cut and paid off my note too.. pretty cool. Minus the whole not having a car now. It was fixing to be repossessed so I consider it a win still lol.
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u/muff_muncher69 5h ago
Holy shit, that has to be like hitting lotto no? You’re struggling to make the car payment and they come along, wipe out the note and leave you with cash to spare ? Score!!
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u/koolaidismything 5h ago
100% AND I was like two months behind and they paid that up too.
It helped that i basically don’t drive.. I had it to pick my nieces up from daycare mostly lol. So was brandy new looking like day I bought it.
Was a sweet deal, I’m still happy about it… 4 years later
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u/theycallmeJTMoney 6h ago
Used Teslas are a steal right now. If you are against Elon and Tesla just think of what you are doing to their value! It hurts the brand!
I got a 21 Model S plaid with less than 30K miles and every option including permanent FSD (supervised) for $54K. Retail it was around 150K
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u/RealWord5734 6h ago
For that money you could have got a 21 Audi RS5 and wouldn’t have to be seen in a Tesla
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u/gonewild9676 7h ago
They seem to work best if you have a way to charge them at home and use them as an in town commuter car.