Values Of Used EVs Plummet, As Dealers Stuck With Unsold Cars

Watts Up With That? ^ | 9/24/2023 | Paul Homewood

[fireman15]

The average cost of second hand electric cars is plummeting by a “phenomenal amount” as they sit for “months on end” without any buyers. Research by online motor marketplace, AutoTrader, revealed the average price for a used EV has dropped by 21.4 per cent this month, compared to a year ago. Marc Palmer, the head of strategy and insights at AutoTrader, told MailOnline: “The used market will now be slower to mature. There will be fewer new EVs registered and fewer used cars coming to market. “There will be sections of the public, especially those who are sceptical, who will want to wait.” The expert explained that used cars are the “biggest” section of the industry, however motorists are likely to “take longer” in the switch to electric.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/24099905/second-hand-ev-prices-falling-driver-lose-confidence/

According to the Mail:

Mid-month figures for September released by AutoTrader – the largest online marketplace for cars – reveal that the average price of a used EV has fallen by 21.4 per cent to £32,463.

Premium sector EVs, including Tesla, BMW, Mini and Mercedes-Benz, were hit hardest – with values falling by up to 24.1 per cent year-on-year.

The data, reported by The Times, showed that prices of second-hand premium sector EVs peaked at £51,704 last August and have since plummeted by more than £10,000 to £39,268.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12551439/used-electric-cars-price.html

The second hand EV is between a rock and a hard place!

Increasing numbers are now coming onto the market, corresponding to the increasing number of new sales in recent years.

Yet at the same time, there seems to be little appetite ffrom buyers. Most new EVs go either to Business/Fleet purchasers, or rich, virtue signallers. Neither sector is interested in buying second hand EVs.

[logi_cal869]

DOUBLE LOL

[logi_cal869]

Yes, and replacing all of the antique nukular power plants instead of relicensing them.

[FlingWingFlyer]

If the dealers can hold on, Sandy Cortez, aka AOC, is going to trade her Tesla for a union model firestarter.

[Tell It Right]

The poster claimed for $6/month he can drive 1,000 miles in his EV.

After that you said his power was subsidized from his work. I should have made it clear that the intention of me posting my numbers was to show how it'd work charging from home unsubsidized.

[central_va]

So YOU THINK he can drive 1,000 for 6 bucks? LOL. NO ONE CAN DRIVE 1,000 for 6 BUCKS.</i>

[Lockbox]

Yes, that’s the one. Thanks, I read so much I forget where I found stuff. The value of Free Republic.

[fireman15]

I have no auto repair experience whatsoever. I mean that. Kudos to you who do.

I never had any formal training when I purchased the Dodge pickup that had bad rod and main bearings. But I did have lots of experience fixing old tractors, motorcycles, and lawn mowers, along with helping my brother rebuild a 1967 Ford Galaxie 500. So, I did know how to use a set of socket wrenches pretty well.

Since that time, I have had many more experiences doing what would have been very expensive repairs if the vehicles had been taken to a shop. I have been very fortunate to always have a covered area to work under. One frustrating problem with more modern vehicles is that there are often many parts to remove before you even get to the actual engine or transmission. There are other vehicles that you have to take the top of the engine off to get to things like a water pump with bad gaskets. Other engines have problematic designs like those with cast iron blocks and aluminum heads that expand and contract at different rates and need jiggy gaskets to try and make up for this challenge.

Congratulations go to you for managing to keep your “98 Taco” going without expensive repairs. I am not completely sure from your description what you actually did but if it worked that is what matters. The only thing that I ever shoved in spark plug holes to try and help with an oil burning problem was this stuff that I purchased from JC Whitney.

I don't remember what I paid for the stuff but it seemed to help for a couple hundred miles and when I did tear the engine down it surprisingly hadn't made that much of a mess. But I wouldn't recommend it on a modern engine especially.

[Tell It Right]

So YOU THINK he can drive 1,000 for 6 bucks? LOL. NO ONE CAN DRIVE 1,000 for 6 BUCKS.

I never said that. I posted that I'd drive 22K miles for $1,080 (if I didn't have solar), which comes out to $49 bucks for 1,000 miles.

Sounds to me like you're trying to hard to find an argument instead of realizing that most FReepers are capable of independent thinking and good at swapping ideas on how each person can figure out what works best for himself. For some people an EV makes sense. For others it doesn't. We should advocate for free markets and letting everybody decide what's best for him.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

EV is the new Edsel (Ford).

[CapnJack]

Good for you!

But that $hit won’t fly in the far northeast with the salted roads, sub-zero temps (only millionaries can afford to build a garage up here - cars stay out in the elements year round), and no employers are going to let you charge your car at their expense (unless you can sneek a 100’ extension cord around the back of the building).

The southern states where you putz around locally is fine, but when it is 20+ miles to the nearest store and you need to travel 75+ miles one way to work ... not so much.

[fireman15]

Of course, there is the silly inconvenience charging thing, the fire problems of not being able to put them out, the electrical hazards in crashes, and other issues.

I have always been a tinkerer. I have added electric motors and gas engines to bicycles, tricycles and quadracycles that I have purchased or built, along with fairings etc... I bought my first 3D Printer with the intention of making parts for these kinds of projects.

I have also taken apart battery assemblies from tools, toys and electronics to repair and refurbish them. Lithium battery packs are temperamental little beasts. When you have cells that are bulging that is a warning sign that you should probably not be messing with them. That has never really stopped me even though I am aware that they can catch on fire or explode.

The problem is that even with redundant safety precautions the lithium based battery packs in electric vehicles have so many cells that out of thousands of battery packs a certain percentage are going to have problems that are not user serviceable and some are likely to catch on fire. When they do there can be big problems especially if the car is inside someone's home while they are charging it.

My friend worked as an engineer assessing the safety of lithium based battery packs. Since that time he will not allow any lithium based devices to be charged in his house while his family is sleeping... even cell phones and laptops which have circuitry and cells which have low charge and discharge rates. The fumes that come from burning battery packs are very toxic.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

My son has a 2016 Ford Escape with 1.6L EcoBoost four-banger. He has put 220,000 miles on. He totally ignored maintenance on. I mean irregular oil changes and that was it! About six months ago, he took a second job at a local tire shop and he and I put together a plan to bring all of his deferred maintenance up to date. He’s been working his way through the car replacing parts (struts, timing belt, coolant, transmission fluid, oil, brake job, bleed the brakes), new tires, new O2 sensors, new thermostat, etc. I advised him to wait for the alternator to fail and the CV joints to indicate incipient failure before changing those.

The only thing that failed after those years of neglect was the starter.

It just passed the California smog test (first test required to renew registration after the eight year period after new ended).

I’m amazed that little car has survived with the maintenance abuse he put on it. It’s a pretty good testament to Ford quality.

I’m thrilled he is finally learning about maintaining one’s car.

[fireman15]

I was just throwing numbers out there as an example.

I get it, but the numbers for used cars have gone batsh*t crazy over the past couple of years. I think that it has something to do with the 35,000,000 illegal aliens living amongst us. I have seen 20-year-old beat up pickups with over 200,000 miles selling for $10,000 or more. It is crazy.

Used 2001 Toyota Pickup with 240,407 miles $17,595

https://www.carfax.com/vehicle/5TEHN72N41Z733028

vs Used 2015 Tesla Model S 114,963 miles $17,995

https://www.carfax.com/vehicle/5YJSA1S18FFP22571

[fireman15]

I am very proud of your son as well. I know few young men who have interest in automotive maintenance and repair. You should advise him to be sure and keep all of the old sensors. They are expensive and very helpful for troubleshooting later.

Also, the inexpensive Bluetooth OBD2 scan tools can be used to watch and record the output of your sensors while you are driving. Some of them cost only about $10 and still work fine.

[JimRed]

EVs are a solution only for certain niches. They have a plethora of problematic issues.

One of those issues (thanks, dennisw)

UK-- 'Electric car' EXPLODES on driveway and sets fire to Merseyside family home after 'battery malfunctions' Mail on line ^ | 24 September 2023 | By PERKIN AMALARAJ Posted on 9/25/2023, 2:16:07 AM by dennisw

[JimRed]

With an electric range of 44 miles and an EPA rating of 52 mpg combined with the gas engine in use, the Prius Prime is simply one of the most efficient cars you can get at its price.

All it needs is a couple of bumper stickers...Bernie for POTUS and TRUMP SUX, and maybe ABORT! ABORT! ABORT! and you're ready to go!

[BobL]

Yep, I’d want to put the car on a dyno and see just how many kwh come out of the battery. Seems to me that if one measures the current and voltage, it can be calculated. And rather than a hard price, the contract would be more like buying an existing home - you start off with a max price, but then bring down the price* after you get the home professionally inspected.

So, I’ll buy your piece of junk Tesla for 20k, but then take off $1,000 for each kwh that the Tesla battery is under, say, 75 kwh.

Perhaps I’ll start up a business doing that.

*depending on what the owner and buyer agree on...maybe don’t bring down the price

[gitmo]

LOL. I googled POF MEANING. The Free dictionary says POF is a two letter acronym meaning …

Acronyms at Free Dictionary

[cyclotic]

I sold my 2006 Pontiac Vibe a few years back. 290,000 miles. A wheel bearing was the only real repair. Clutch was starting to slip when I sold it.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Thanks. I’ve been looking at OBD2 sensors. He borrowed a sensor from a mechanic friend at his golf course job to trouble-shoot which was really helpful.

Interesting thought about keeping all the old sensors. Unfortunately, too late — they were all trashed.

I was looking at various YouTube vids with guys using the mobile apps with the OBD2 tools. I was amazed to see full oscilloscope readings being used to diagnose the engine. And the apps aren’t expensive, either. The information you can get for with an inexpensive OBD2 tool and an app is truly incredible.

What a far cry from me using a timing light to set spark advance and retard and a feeler gauge to set points.