Going to share, and later update, my story of looking for a new electric car. I have owned an all electric car for over 13 years, how many people can say that?
The car has been a lot of fun, I love it. But after 13 years the time has come to move on. For starters the electric battery is fading at an accelerating rate. The car had a range of a bit more than 100 miles when new. Just a year ago I would have told you about 70 miles. I suspect it is now about 40 and I am not sure about that. The air conditioner is also no longer working, an issue in Florida.
I very much doubt you have heard of this 13 year old car. It is called The Think, by Think Inc. Made in Elkhart Indiana it is a little two seater with a plastic body, but is fully street legal and will still go 70 mph. 13 years ago I paid $30,000 for it, but got a $7,500 tax credit for it making it effectively $22,500.
One reason I want to replace it with another electric car is the incredible maintenance record. Over 13 years (and a bit more than 58,000 miles) the car’s maintenance costs are as follows:
-A new set of tires.
-A break job
-A new windshield wiper
That’s it. There have been no oil changes, no coolant changes, no exhaust system maintenance, no timing adjustments, no air filters to replace, and so on. These systems simply don’t exist on the car to begin with. Not having to pump gas, particularly in Indiana winters, as you fill the car with “fuel” from the outlet in your garage is also a plus.
I’m looking mostly in the Crossover SUV category. We want a car where we can fit the nine people representing our children, their husbands and our grandchildren between our two cars, the other being my wife’s (gas hogging) Prius. Cars under consideration include:
- Chevrolet Equinox EV
- KIA EV6Nissan Ariya
- Nissan Leaf
- Hyundai IONIQ 5
I’ll let you know what I choose and why. One factor, some qualify (the Chevy and the Hyundai) for a $7,500 federal EV tax credit but some don’t. To qualify they must be made in USA.
You may have noticed there are no Teslas on that list. There’s a reason for that. Elon Musk has gone full MAGA. As part of that he literally wants me dead. That’s kind of a deal killer.
I’m in the window shopping stage. I sat in the seat of the Equinox at a local Chevy dealer. Compared to my 13 year old two seater, it felt like a freaking luxury car. If there is maintenance required, it is by far, the closest car dealership to my house, so it has that going for it.