I need a new car, and I really want to go full electric. I’m wondering if anyone regrets buying one? What are the downsides?

  • bluGill@fedia.io
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    18 days ago

    A modern car is far more reliable than anything from the 1970s or before. Sure you could repair those older cars, but also you had to repair those older cars. I’m old enough to remember people bragging about getting 100k miles on a car - they had to check the oil every day, and most days add more. Today a ICE will go 300k miles with minimal maintenance, checking oil is not a common thing for people to do.

    • oxjox@lemmy.ml
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      18 days ago

      I’m not arguing that. My argument is actually because cars are far more reliable, doesn’t that decrease their resale value as more and more modern convinces are added to newer cars?

      You’ve got a window of less than ten years on a modern car where then the technology in it is so old that few people would consider purchasing it to keep it for another five - ten years.

      For example, my mom just bought a '24 Subaru with a huge touch screen in it. Will it keep working in ten years? Probably. Will anyone want to buy that phone on wheels in ten years? Not likely. I just bought a 2013 Mini Cooper. It “has bluetooth” but it’s strictly for (shitty sounding) phone calls and not audio streaming. I’m one of few people who’s okay with this because I’ll only drive 1500 miles a year.

      Whereas a 25 year old car in 1998 was, aside from your accurate claim about reliability, perfectly fine as a daily driver. If you can find one and are capable of proper maintenance, you could still drive a 1960s car today. But because modern consumer tastes expect advancements in vehicles the same as they expect them in phones, I just don’t see used cars living as long as older cars have.

      So, it’s not so much about the ability for a vehicle to remain on the road but consumer choice.

      • Blaster M@lemmy.world
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        18 days ago

        1500 miles a year… I do that in two weeks.

        I absolutely would drive an ev if I could afford it, but I have a few years to go before my current car is worth a trade… and where I live I have no ability to charge at home, which is the one thing that would save me a lot of money.