First car deal ended up falling through for the in-laws. Probably for the best. We hadn't realized that they were still working through 2020 recalls and don't know when they would have got the new battery. MH and I were feeling a little bad about not doing our homework on that. We just presumed they were further along.
I really didn't know why they needed MH and was hoping they'd just go pick up a car if we found one. MH did find a car with only 8,000 miles but it had two owners already. I think the whole third owner thing disqualified it from the used EV tax credit. I could have done some homework to be sure. But... It's moot at this point.
On Friday MH found a 2019 model with 39,000 miles. MH's parents loved it and went to pick it up. Phew!
The mileage is really N/A because the car had an EV battery replacement last year and has a new 8-year warranty with the recall and battery replacement. The car was apparently like-new (in person) and they were very happy with it.
Full price: $24,000
Net $5,000 used EV tax credit and utility rebate = $19,000 net cost.
*Still* the most expensive EV purchased by anyone I know.
I didn't notice until later, but this model didn't have the power liftgate. But they did get the wireless charging (for phone/devices) and so have that one upgrade over our 2017 model.
They are getting their car charger installed today. They are also the only other EV drivers I know that are hoity toity enough to get a charger installed. It's really not necessary. But in this case, a lot of the *why* is because FIL is slowing down and will be unable to get gas for MIL at some point. The appeal is just being able to charge at home. (I guess MIL refuses to pump her own gas. Now she won't have to.)
{We are hoity toity and very much enjoy the luxury of faster charging at home.}
I don't think we were much of the reason for this purchase. I am sure it helped that they were envious of our car and we have only raved about it. But... If you are frugal and want an EV, what else is there? There's cheaper EVs but they have other issues like much less range and battery degradation. If you want a 300-mile range and want a car that will last 15+ years, there's nothing else in our price range. I do also think they are willing to make the leap from gas car to EV because so many in the family do drive EVs. We are not the early adopters in this family.
{May I be so brave and open to change when I am 80 years old! 100% I needed that hybrid baby step before I was ready to take the leap. I have a lot of respect for anyone who just makes the big leap.}
This is a very big perk for us because now we have free charging at their house. I've been so focused on hoping that MH doesn't have to drive down there another weekend and wonder how long until they finally get a car and stop yanking MH around... It's only as I type this out that I am, "Oh yeah! Free charging for us!" Which will probably be a wash if we give them free charging in return. But will clearly be very convenient if we can just charge somewhere that we already are. I see a lot of MH helping his parents in the near future, and the charging situation will make it logistically a lot easier.
February 26th, 2023 at 05:59 pm 1677434380
I also see a lot of posts with people talking about installing solar panels - not just for cost savings but reliability. And when you are manufacturing your own electricity, you stop wanting to pay for the fuel for your car.
I don’t have a car - I live where I can walk most everywhere and there is ‘reliable’ mass transit…but still I ‘want’ an EV. Which would be crazy because there isn’t even any parking on my street…not having a car is definitely the cheapest way to go, but a huge luxury few can take advantage of.