this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2024
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[Dormant] Electric Vehicles

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Why do used electrics drop so quickly in price? (self.evs)
submitted 5 months ago by root to c/evs
35 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

It's been years since I've checked the used electric market, but I'm seeing cars like the Hyundai Ionic 6 or Polestar 2 for low 30s, where as they were in the high 40s or mid 50s new a year ago.

My suspicion is that:

  1. Normal car depreciation when driven off the lot
  2. General fear of batteries wearing down prematurely, even if the car has ~10k miles
  3. Any applicable federal rebates or otherwise have already been claimed and can't be claimed on used vehicles(?)

Is there any other reason why these drop so quickly? Would buying one be considered foolish in anyway?

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 5 months ago (3 children)

I haven’t looked at the used car market in 5 years, I know that it’s gotten more expensive due to the supply chain, but I’ve bought 3 used EVs over the years, all of them have worked fantastically and all of them were between 38k - 55k new, purchased for 15k-22k off lease. People just hear “EVs are expensive” but don’t take the trouble to actually look for themselves.

Used Nissan Leafs used to be like $7k cars. There are a lot of people who could use a nice, reliable $7k car capable of getting around any city for all practical purposes. But since it can’t go on a Great American Road Trip™, it doesn’t get looked at all.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I'd love to hear more about your experience! What 3 EVs did you buy used and which was your favorite?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago

I’ve bought Volts and an i3. The Volts were I think 12.5k and 12k and the i3 was 22ish. All 3 have been great but the BMW has a lot more compromises as a long distance vehicle. The Volts have been rock solid and super reliable. We only have one left, but it still reads with its normal rated capacity after 10 years.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

I think the trouble is that many people that need the reliable 7k car, also need the road trip capabilities because that's their main mode of using their time off, because owning two cars and/or flying are out of the price range for folks that need a 7k car.

Until that's solved by better charge infrastructure or better range (or both) EVs aren't a good candidate for those folks and they're a sizeable part of the market.