• kudra@sh.itjust.worksOP
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    15 days ago

    I have bought two secondhand electric cars and about to buy my third. Most people still don’t understand this isn’t quite as risky as it appears.

    • Whirlybird@aussie.zoneM
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      12 days ago

      It costs half the price of a new EV to replace the battery. Buying a second hand EV means you have no idea how the battery has been treated, and you know the clock is already ticking until you have to shell out a massive amount of $ for a new battery.

      • Drop Bear@theblower.au
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        12 days ago

        @Whirlybird @kudra
        The condition of a used EV depends on how it’s been treated. EVs are not alone in that.

        In general, the battery of a modern EV can be expected to last for the useful life of the vehicle. “… scientists discovered that battery replacements were very rare, with only about 1.5 percent of EVs needing a replacement – and almost all of those replacements were under warranty.”
        https://www.greencars.com/expert-insights/research-shows-ev-battery-replacements-very-rare

        #ElectricVehicles
        #EVbatteries

        • kudra@sh.itjust.worksOP
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          12 days ago

          Correct, new EVs have even better batteries than first gen too. My first EV I replaced the battery, but not because they’re was anything wrong with it: that battery likely would have lasted at least twice as long, but an enterprising engineer created a battery upgrade that doubled the original range in the same footprint, and we can expect further improvements in batteries, so I expect to upgrade again in future, maybe 10-15 years, and double the range again.

          Old EV batteries can be reused and make ideal off grid house batteries.

        • Whirlybird@aussie.zoneM
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          9 days ago

          A small study by a pro EV company, reported on by a pro EV site…yeah nah lol.

          The warranty is what matters. Unless an EV is 10% of its sale price, if it’s even within 2 years of its warranty on the battery ending it’s no deal. Might it last 10 years past the warranty retaining ~70% of its capacity? Sure. It’s possible. Could it also just drop dead at the drop of a hat, or capacity just drop like a rock? Absolutely. One of those scenarios will cost you almost the price of a new car, the other won’t.

          • kudra@sh.itjust.worksOP
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            9 days ago

            It was a facetious question. Clearly you wouldn’t with such misguided preconceptions.

            • Whirlybird@aussie.zoneM
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              8 days ago

              “Misguided preconceptions” lolololol

              Any battery powered device that costs more to replace the battery than it costs to buy a new device is not a smart purchase when it’s close to or outside of its warranty period. The risk is not worth it.

              It’s like you don’t even understand the point being made. If a EV battery was good for “the life of the car” (let’s say 350,000km or 20 years) then the warranty would be 350,000km or 20 years, wouldn’t it?

              Answer me this - why is the battery warranty 8 years / 100,000km with 70% capacity (or whatever the km limit is, can’t remember off the top of my head)? Why don’t they guarantee it for 15 years? 20 years?

              • kudra@sh.itjust.worksOP
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                8 days ago

                An incorrect assumption you have made is that batteries fail at a higher rate than major components on an ICE car. It’s a misunderstanding of the relative risk. Like how people hop in their car every day no worries but are afraid to fly.

                Also is 100,000 miles or 160,000 km, not 100,000 km as the current warranty standard. And like any new technology, they really don’t know exactly how long they are going to last, so at this stage manufacturers are hedging their bets.

                https://www.drive.com.au/caradvice/new-data-reveals-the-battery-life-in-used-electric-vehicles/

                https://www.theengineer.co.uk/content/news/assurances-on-battery-health-could-boost-used-ev-sales-report/

                • Whirlybird@aussie.zoneM
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                  6 days ago

                  Again missing the point. My assumption wasn’t that batteries fail at a higher rate than “major components” on an ICE car - it was that if/when the battery fails it’s exponentially more expensive than any component failing on a ICE car.

                  If you buy a $50k ICE car and the entire engine dies out of warranty (which isn’t what happens generally, just parts of it would), a whole new engine will cost you probably $3k-$4k installed. Battery dies out of warranty on a $50k EV? ~$20k to replace……for a car that’s worth probably $10k by then.

                  Do you see the difference? One means you literally send the car to the wreckers and have no car, the other means you’re back on the road in the same car a week or 2 later.