@SunnY S installs charger connections in your area. He is anti-receptacle as he has seen some melt so he leans towards hard-wired. My guess is high three or low four figures for the install (you supply the EVSE). Electricians aren't cheap and you will probably run into minimum call pricing as there isn't a lot of material or time involved (installation may be cheaper if they supply EVSE as they can make some money there).Jumping in on this thread as I'm increasingly of the desire to minimise my participation in the global oil business. Reducing our CO2 footprint and cutting costs are side benefits, but it would sure be nice to not be contributing to Shell/Imperial/UAE/Saudi/etc profits in such a direct way.
I have zero interest in lining Cult Leader Musk's pockets too, so I'm left with the usual suspects. I know I should read the 460-odd pages in this thread, but I'm hoping the more knowledgeable here can save me the trouble, especially as the landscape changes constantly...
Right now I have a 120 km round trip commute, three days a week. It's 90% QEW, so stop and go for long stretches. On weekends, my wife typically drives similar distances, so I'm assuming roughly 480-500 km/wk. I had looked at possibly a PHEV, but the added complexity of both ICE and electric in one vehicle is a concern for me, and the electric ranges are so short that I'd be on gas before I got to work, let alone headed back. 300+ km range is more than enough, providing overnight charging keeps me topped up in between.
My first question is installation cost for a Level 2 charger. I'm assuming I'm sort-of best case scenario there, as my panel is basically on the opposite side of the wall to where I'd want to mount the charger, and I have a spare 220V circuit leftover from when the house was split into two units. Installation would essentially involve drilling a hole in the basement wall and running about 3' of cable, I think. Any idea on a ballpark for what I should budget to get one installed?
As for what's out there, the Kona seems to be the outstanding value at the moment, though the Bolt also lines up well (would have to put aside my long-held fears of buying a GM product).
I have seen some stuff about some nightmare issues with Hyundai and battery replacement issues on the Ioniq after what appears to be minor damage (video link from Motormouth YouTube here:), and while the issues are limited enough to be anecdotal, what concerns me is Hyundai's confused and contradictory response, which seems to be weighing the possibility of bad PR vs screwing over their customers.
So my second question is beyond those two, any other recommendations? Have looked at the Volvo EX30, but it's priced way too high for what it is (and is priced on par with the Kona in Europe, so they're just tacking on a Euro-prestige premium here despite being made in China). Once you get north of $50k for what is essentially a subcompact, the value proposition starts to fade fast...
My third question relates to anyone's opinion regarding long-term value. While I normally shy away from leasing as good financial planning, in this case I'm thinking a 48-mo lease may be the way to go, and then decide whether to buy out or hand back based on used values at that point. Any experience or advice on this front?
Any insight would be much appreciated...
Mostly into the US market?Where are those 100,000 rental Teslas going ???
Long-term value is a giant crapshoot. IIRC tesla isn't allowing vehicle buyouts at lease end. I'm not sure if other manufacturers have followed suit. Personally, I wouldn't want an EV lease I couldn't buy out. Much of the savings of EV will come after the lease where you have no car payments, minimal fuel payments, minimal maintenance etc for a very long time. Ultimately, it's about the numbers, I suspect you will find the lease rates are crap as they dump the liability for a falling market onto the lessee. I wouldn't want to assume the downside without being able to profit from a potential upside (eg reasonable buyout at lease end).
My third question relates to anyone's opinion regarding long-term value. While I normally shy away from leasing as good financial planning, in this case I'm thinking a 48-mo lease may be the way to go, and then decide whether to buy out or hand back based on used values at that point. Any experience or advice on this front?
You`re always going to be behind current tech, as soon as you buy the thing the next 'upgrade' is about to hit the market. Just need to decide what can you live with. If you can currently charge at home and you have a backup ICE/Hybrid then I would say current tech is sufficient.I've actually considered this plan also. Lease out a car, put in about 10k or so toward the lease, and then the remainder from my trade to be used in a HISA to just draw the lease payments from there while it earns a pittance of interest.
The plan would be to let the (approx) 15k remaining to be used toward payment of the lease, and then just buy out the car at the end.
I would only put down the 10k to make the payments more palatable and understand it may be lost in case of a total loss accident, but that's the risk that each person has to do.
The benefit is if battery tech makes a huge advanced leap, you're not left with an outdated technology and can get on the new tech without losing one's shirt. The other benefit is typically the buyback is lower than retail, and one knows the history of the car.
As for me, what would the brain trust focus on here:
- Bolt / Kona / Mach-E as a full EV?
How's your Polestar @LBV?
Still doing awesome for me ... I did the lease option over 4 years (only way to get the Fed rebate is 4 yrs) for the reasons mentioned: 1. I'd rather invest the $, 2. Not sure where battery/charging tech will be in 4 years.How's your Polestar @LBV?
You`re always going to be behind current tech, as soon as you buy the thing the next 'upgrade' is about to hit the market. Just need to decide what can you live with. If you can currently charge at home and you have a backup ICE/Hybrid then I would say current tech is sufficient.
Sure, 1 year later 10 minute supercalifragilisticexpialidocious giga charging may launch, oh well. Necessary? Nah.
Too many ugga duggas on the production line and spun the nut off? Isn't that one of Musks things? Conventional auto manufacturing wastes way too much time and money on things like proper torque during assembly. Assembly staff can just as easily count three ugga duggas to get bolts properly tight.Follow-up on the door striker issue.
Ron Ames (@amescoestate) on Threads
Inceltruck owners are now using duct tape to fix problems that should have been resolved on the production line. Just innovation things.www.threads.net
If the upper screw was not threaded into anything, there's a much bigger problem than someone not tightening it enough. That should be a weld-nut on the inside of the B pillar (because there's no access to the inside of it). If that weld-nut was not there...
Too many ugga duggas on the production line and spun the nut off?
I have zero interest in lining Cult Leader Musk's pockets too,
though the Bolt also lines up well (would have to put aside my long-held fears of buying a GM product).
Any insight would be much appreciated...
Speaking of, swapped cars with a friend. Any guesses to what he does for a living?Too many ugga duggas on the production line and spun the nut off? Isn't that one of Musks things? Conventional auto manufacturing wastes way too much time and money on things like proper torque during assembly. Assembly staff can just as easily count three ugga duggas to get bolts properly tight.
My first question is installation cost for a Level 2 charger. I'm assuming I'm sort-of best case scenario there, as my panel is basically on the opposite side of the wall to where I'd want to mount the charger, and I have a spare 220V circuit leftover from when the house was split into two units. Installation would essentially involve drilling a hole in the basement wall and running about 3' of cable, I think. Any idea on a ballpark for what I should budget to get one installed?
As for what's out there, the Kona seems to be the outstanding value at the moment, though the Bolt also lines up well (would have to put aside my long-held fears of buying a GM product).
My third question relates to anyone's opinion regarding long-term value. While I normally shy away from leasing as good financial planning, in this case I'm thinking a 48-mo lease may be the way to go, and then decide whether to buy out or hand back based on used values at that point. Any experience or advice on this front?
Focus on the product, disregard who runs it. Trust your GM instincts
Currently, the Tesla is simply the best EV on the market for the masses today,
Not sure if serious....