Posted on 12/25/2024 5:08:28 PM PST by lasereye
The best time to buy an electric vehicle may be right now. That’s because a $7,500 federal tax credit could soon disappear.
President-elect Donald Trump has said he will move to eliminate the tax credit, possibly as soon as he takes office. It is even conceivable that the tax credit’s elimination could be made retroactive to the beginning of January, which would give EV buyers only a week left to be certain of locking in the credit.
“I would be very inclined to say yes, it’s going away,” said Ivan Drury, director of insights at car buying site Edmunds. While it’s unclear exactly how Trump would eliminate the credit, Drury said he expects it won’t last long into the new administration. It could be done as part of tax legislation that Republicans are promising early in 2025. Or a Trump-controlled Internal Revenue Service could simply issue a new rule making the credit unavailable.
“The simplest route that’s possible, is the one that they’re likely to take,” Drury said.
But the tax credit is only part of the reason that it could make sense for potential EV buyers to act sooner than later. The combination of the federal tax incentive, and weakening sales could make this an ideal time to buy an EV.
The slowing demand by American buyers, and more choices of EV models, led to record inventories of electric vehicles on dealer lots earlier this year, and that glut remains in place. Drury said that 64% of EVs sitting at dealerships are last year’s models, nearly twice the percentage of traditional internal combustion vehicles. Automakers traditionally release the next year’s models in the fall rather than waiting for the new year.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
Companies will drop their prices once the tax credit is gone if they want to sell more EVs.
Think I’ll give this one a pass ...
I don’t move once I get into my easy chair.
No reason for an EV. You’ll lose half your money in 2 years. In 5 years it will be parked.
Anyone that takes car buying tips from CNN..................
The only time I move quickly is when I have to get to the bathroom.
Besides. The EV tax credit doesn't help consumers anyway. The credit entices sellers to inflate the prices consumers pay up front. So when the consumer pays extra up front, only for the govt to later say it gave you more of a refund and pretend it's being nice.
Sitting for a year without any charging...
Good luck getting them off the lot without a tow truck.
You weren’t supposed to mention this! True, though. Major purchase, never rush into it so you won’t get burned.
Gas cars also heavily depreciate when they leave the car lot. The choice to buy a car should never be its resale value (unless it's an antique, etc.)
And an EV is good at saving money, but only for certain use cases. The parameters of your driving habits, your climate, your ability to charge at home, and if you have a 2nd car anyway (our other car is a gas pickup, which is a fallback car for long trips if we ever decide to go on a road trip that doesn't have good charging options for our EV) -- all of those have to be right for an EV to be a good fit. Most people shouldn't get an EV.
We drive our EV 16K miles per year on home charged miles. That's a very substantial gas savings and oil change savings. That makes our EV great for us as our main car. But how many people drive that many miles? People who don't drive a lot probably would spend more on the extra costs of an EV than they'd save on gas and oil changes. And I don't think I'd like an EV in a cold climate.
It will be interesting to see if Mush has any sway on this subject. Perhaps another TikTok flip.
“Sitting for a year without any charging...”
Maybe only a few months.
“Good luck getting them off the lot without a tow truck.”
The battery is warranted.
Let the free market dictate the sales and production of EV’s. I am going to drive my truck until it won’t run any more.
The second reality check came at tax time. It wasn't $3000 as promised. It was a $1200 credit. The promised operational economy was not delivered, nor was the tax credit. The vehicle cost significantly more than the standard gasoline model. It was an economic failure vs what was touted by the manufacturer and government.
An EV operated in SE Idaho would have similar operational problems. There are few chargers in SE Idaho and the weather extremes aren't kind to battery life. Never again on my watch.
No reason for an EV.
I want the $7,500 credit to last until those lower end $7,500 EVs hit the American market, I’ll buy one then.
I’ll consider it when my 2013 Toyota Tacoma dies, sometime around 2045.
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