Car lovers?

Yeah, as far as I know, all EVs are wait listed six to twelve months out.

polypusher wrote:

got the loan approved, got an insurance quote that didnt make me angry, and.... can't find the car. No dealer in Washington, as far as I can tell, has an Ioniq 5 on the lot (though several have bait listings). The only human I've been able to contact who was capable of normal human communication says they have a 6-12 month wait list.

The other troglodytes are like "You come put deposit on this other car". What?

I had a very similar experience trying to find a car for my wife a few months back. Couldn't find one anywhere in Texas.

That sucks Poly, but not surprising. The Ioniq is pretty in-demand and they have slow deliveries. Even if they had one you would probably be looking at them asking thousands over MSRP.

We are going to need to buy a car later this year and I'm not looking forward to it even more than usual because of problems like this.

LeapingGnome wrote:

That sucks Poly, but not surprising. The Ioniq is pretty in-demand and they have slow deliveries. Even if they had one you would probably be looking at them asking thousands over MSRP.

We are going to need to buy a car later this year and I'm not looking forward to it even more than usual because of problems like this.

You should try getting on some waiting lists now if there's no non-refundable deposit.

Yeah I really need to figure it out, my wife's lease is up in December and we're not sure what we want to do yet.

Trying to get an Ioniq 5 has been an adventure (and we still don't have one, ranting ensues)

We have 5 local Hyundai dealers. One seems mature, they have a waiting list, friendly staff, and are not charging any markup on the car. The rest are disorganized, aggressive, and incompetent while charging huge markups (10k on a 50k car)

A typical exchange (by email, I refuse to talk to these people on the phone) goes like this:

Me: I am interested in this car with these options, do you have any in stock or do you have a waiting list?
Them: WE HAVE CAR X come see it! (it is not the one I asked about.)
Me: (reiterates the car I want) Also does this car qualify for Washington State's tax exemption for EVs? (It doesnt, it costs just a little too much, but Im testing them)
Them: We have deigned to allow you to take the Federal Tax Credit! (irrelevant), also we give you 2 years of free Electrify America service (all Ioniqs get this) and 10 years warranty (all new Hyundais get this)(They haven't answered a single question)

If I ask 2 questions they'll answer half of one. If I ask one they'll throw a non-sequitur in.
Our best bet is to sit and wait for the sane one (for 3-6 months), or to f*cking hogtie one of the insane ones when they suddenly have a delivery they somehow couldn't predict. I know the xbox controller I ordered shipped from Connecticut Wednesday and is currently in Indianapolis on its way to delivery to me by next Wednesday. How do they not know whats up with 10's of thousands of dollars of car?

So say we all.

i'm thinking about getting a 2015 prius C for about 19k. As you might guess, im looking at purely economics when considering a vehicle. The Prius C seems to go overkill from what i can tell though. From the reviews, it seems like i'll get bored of it after about a year, then have another 20 years to power through until it completely dies.

For 19k, does anyone have a better suggestion for a used car? looking mostly at MPG and reliability.

thanks!

FiveIron wrote:

i'm thinking about getting a 2015 prius C for about 19k. As you might guess, im looking at purely economics when considering a vehicle. The Prius C seems to go overkill from what i can tell though. From the reviews, it seems like i'll get bored of it after about a year, then have another 20 years to power through until it completely dies.

For 19k, does anyone have a better suggestion for a used car? looking mostly at MPG and reliability.

thanks!

A good friend of mine has one of those and loves it. They seem pretty great, but I haven't done any research on them.

Check how well the batteries are holding up. Neighbor had one that needed a several thousand dollar replacement. He had some guy try to do it for cheap, but I'm pretty sure the car turned out to be mechanically totalled by those batteries and he scrapped it.

Not sure of the year. Was likely older with a bunch of miles.

How often do batteries in hybrids go bad?

FiveIron wrote:

i'm thinking about getting a 2015 prius C for about 19k. As you might guess, im looking at purely economics when considering a vehicle. The Prius C seems to go overkill from what i can tell though. From the reviews, it seems like i'll get bored of it after about a year, then have another 20 years to power through until it completely dies.

For 19k, does anyone have a better suggestion for a used car? looking mostly at MPG and reliability.

thanks!

FiveIron wrote:

How often do batteries in hybrids go bad?

We have a 2014 Prius V and love it. It just rolled passed 100k and our battery pack performs great.

It's possible for a hybrid battery pack to eventually need reconditioning, but most mid size and larger cities should have hybrid specialist that can do that for around a grand or two tops (just don't have the dealer do it.) And honestly, most hybrids will probably go well north of 200K before ever needing their batteries reconditioned/replaced if at all.

But, with all that being said. With the crazy prices in used cars right now, I'd suggest looking at the Ford Maverick hybrid pickup that comes in at about 21K including destination fee. It gets 40+ city and the base model is pretty well equipped. If you are looking at financing, the terms and monthly payments are likely to be cheaper on the new Maverick than the used Prius for 19K.

Only problem is that they are largely sold out, though the 23 model should open up for orders in the next few weeks and is rumored to include a PHEV option, price unknown though.

A Corolla would probably be more reliable and newer for the same price. 40mpg vs 46 for the Prius. The Civics from 2018ish are also pretty nice and 42mpg.

Do the redesined LEAFs have a better reputation? I found one for under 20k.

Last 20 years a drove solely cars that cost me 500 - 1000 euro's. The moment something serious broke, I threw them away and bought a new one. A buy usually took me 7 minutes (there is not that much to choose in this price range).

All cars were usually 15+ years old and had in general over 150.000k under the belt.

My list of cars till now:

Toyota Camry

Toyota Carina

Ford Scorpio

Ford Mondeo

Opel Zafira

Fiat Multipla

Fiat Multipla (again)

Ford Galaxy

Suzuki Liana

Kia Clarus

Mitsubishi Pajero

Mercedes C220

---

All in all it seems that I drove for an average of 700 euros every 1.6 years in total which is pretty cheap.

The Scorpio remains my all time favorite with comfort and reliability

The Fiat Multipla is a heck of car with 4 kids. There was no better bang for the buck than these monsters. Fantastic cars with an unusual design.

The Pajero was the most fun racing through the Swedish Woods like there was no tomorrow. The Pajero is said to be indestructible. But I managed to break down the rear axle out of the body (admitted, I really, really abused that car when racing).

The Zafira was by far the worst of them all, while the Galaxy was really pracitcal.

As all things come to an end, the C220 will go to the scrapheap next month, and a complete electric vehicle in the form of an Opel Corsa is waiting.

So something i forgot to talk about, the reason im getting a prius C is bc i have a tiny parking space in chicago that currently takes my ford torus multiple attempts to get in. out of everythign mentioned, does anythign else have the same size as a prius C?

Ahh, in that case, I'd say go for the C. Great milage, reliable and you can actually cram a decent amount of cargo in a C for its size.

Is 19 the going rate in Chicago? Have you checked Carvana and the like. The only thing giving me pause is that 19k is probably pretty close to what it cost new but I know used car prices are nuts, so maybe that's a good deal in the current market?

yeah so i think the new price was 25-26. After looking at what the maverick cost new, what we landed on was just waiting. The ford taurus im driving will have to do for about a year i'm thinking.

The 19k i saw was for a car in nebraska. we pretty much exhausted the nation wide inventory for prius C before we landed on that one. But yeah, 19 is ridiculous. it was a 2015 one owner with 40k miles, but it had extensive hail damage, I don't think it's worth it if i still have something functional for the time being.

Peoj Snamreh wrote:

Last 20 years a drove solely cars that cost me 500 - 1000 euro's. The moment something serious broke, I threw them away and bought a new one. A buy usually took me 7 minutes (there is not that much to choose in this price range).

All cars were usually 15+ years old and had in general over 150.000k under the belt.

My list of cars till now: Toyota Camry; Toyota Carina; Ford Scorpio; Ford Mondeo; Opel Zafira; Fiat Multipla; Fiat Multipla (again); Ford Galaxy; Suzuki Liana; Kia Clarus; Mitsubishi Pajero; Mercedes C220

All in all it seems that I drove for an average of 700 euros every 1.6 years in total which is pretty cheap.

That is some epic Bangernomics. I tip my cap to you.

I'm particularly impressed by the inclusion of two Fiats on your list. Very brave! No one would have blamed you if your list had been Toyotas all the way down.

I love the theory of buying and running a old 'shed', but my love of modern in-car conveniences and my fear of being left stranded on the roadside during one of my rare longer-distance journeys has always put me off in practice.

Modern cars are better made and much more reliable than the ones that our parents drove in the 1970s and 1980s, but they also more complicated. An engine warning light coupled with a car going into 'limp home' mode is my waking nightmare.

What sort of journeys are you using your bangers for?
And have you ever had one them 'die' and leave you stranded?

Bangernomics! I love that word!

Most of them were used in The Netherlands - lots of road so being stranded is like no problem: there is always help within reach. But I used them for all I needed: to drive to work, to drive to my (then) vacation home in Sweden, you name it.

I usually had a tow-insurance, so if a car popped... I knew I would be out there within 2 hours max.

The Liana and Carina left me stranded, they were towed to a junkyard and I never saw them again. Cost me around 4 hours extra travel time in total.

I crashed the Clarus into another car by accident but was able to 'drive' it to a garage with a crashed front and a crooked exhaust pipe. Bought the Pajero there on the spot, moved my stuff and drove on, hahaha.

The Pajero, as I wrote before, crashed it's rear axle through the body when I was murdering that car in the woods. I managed to drive to a nearby garage while the back of the car was kind of wobbling and jumping on the rear axle and bought the Merca C220 over there. Moved my stuff and drove on.

The merca gives motor warnings all the time. Seems the Lambdasonde (oxygen sensor) / Fuel trim bank is not happy. Too much hassle to get fixed. So I bought an OBD II bluetooth reader for a fiver on fleabay and clear the log with my phone. Now the brakes starts making a loud 'bonga-da-bonga-da-bonga' sound when I brake, which is kind of frightening. I use the C220 now only for some long distance travels during the weekends on the highway (usually around 400 km. drive).

I am told that every car has some kind of 'emergency-stop' if real sh*t hits the fan. Other warnings are usually just that your car is breaking down slowly - which in all fairness is normal with 20+ year old cars.

It's a shame that the timeframe at my new job is so important (I can NOT come too late), else I would have prolonged my Bangernomics for some time. But you are right, listening to spotify via bluetooth with a good DAB sound system is a joy I never had before .- and the electric car is so quiet you can actually drive and enjoy a good podcast

Would have loved to drive a volvo and saab to their deaths, though, Who know, when I change jobs again, hahah!

Wow! So before every journey, you check your pockets for keys, phone... and enough cash to buy another banger if the need arises? I like that.

But if you're continuing to drive it for the next few weeks, then you may want to have the brakes on the Mercedes checked at least. They might be a safety issue.

Well, I put in a reservation for an F150 Lightning (the fully electric F150 pickup) 15 months ago and waited... and waited... and waited. People who put in reservations 3 months before me were STILL WAITING to even place an order.

Last Thursday, on a whim, I checked local dealers and one of them had the exact one I was planning to order (down to the color) so I bit the bullet and bought it.

So now, I'm the proud owner of a black F150 Lightning Lariat. It is roughly equivalent to a space ship.

In two weeks, I'm planning on road tripping from Boston to Halifax, Nova Scotia to find out how bad my range anxiety is.

Tach wrote:

Well, I put in a reservation for an F150 Lightning (the fully electric F150 pickup) 15 months ago and waited... and waited... and waited. People who put in reservations 3 months before me were STILL WAITING to even place an order.

Last Thursday, on a whim, I checked local dealers and one of them had the exact one I was planning to order (down to the color) so I bit the bullet and bought it.

So now, I'm the proud owner of a black F150 Lightning Lariat. It is roughly equivalent to a space ship.

In two weeks, I'm planning on road tripping from Boston to Halifax, Nova Scotia to find out how bad my range anxiety is.

Come on, Tach! There's no point in posting without pics... and details of the specification!

Let's have a couple of exterior shots (with something for scale for us Europeans), plus at least one interior shot. And a list of the 'toys'. Oh, and what's your favourite feature on the car?

LOL. Okay, I'll throw some pics in later, but:

1) It's massive. It's by far the largest thing other than a UHaul that I've ever driven. I was previously driving a 2018 Volt (the PHEV is the gateway drug to the full EV). And this F150 is fully 4 feet (1.25 meters) longer. It just barely fits in my garage.

2) It accelerates profoundly quickly. By feel, it accelerates as quickly as the Volt in "sport mode". Which is very fast. If you've never driven an EV, it's definitely different from what you're used to.

3) There's lots of space inside. I'm relatively tall (6 feet/180cm) and my daughters made fun of me because I looked incongruous in the Volt. And hated when one of them had to sit behind me because I had the seat pretty far back.

4) It has all the bells and whistles (tow package, moonroof, hands free driving - which is a terrifying idea I cannot see myself using).

5) The feature I like the most (beyond that fact that it's an EV) is the 360 cameras. It gives a view like a drone flying overhead. Because I'm not at all used to the size of it, being able to see all around is very reassuring.

6) It can charge other EVs. I haven't tried this yet, but it's a very cool idea.

7) It can power your house! Again, haven't tried it yet, but it will serve as a backup battery. Since I expect to be moving back to Nova Scotia in the next three years and Nova Scotia Power is reliably terribly, I expect to get considerable use out of this feature.

8) It's an EV (I think I mentioned this above). I can charge it using the solar panels on my house. I may never visit a gas station again in my life. I changed my mind, this is my favourite feature.

Grats on the Lightning. We needed to buy a truck to pull our camper more reliably/safely and looked hard at them. The tow range just wouldn't cut it for now. I ended up with a 2019 F-150 XLT that will hold us over for maybe 8 years and then we'll see what the EV market has to offer as far as towing.

Around here, they are selling them for $30,000 over MSRP. This is Truck Country and Oil Country. I'm not sure how that has to do with anything, though.

Looking forward to the pictures. Holy Moly, my black F-150 shows the dirt like crazy.

-BEP

bepnewt wrote:

Grats on the Lightning. We needed to buy a truck to pull our camper more reliably/safely and looked hard at them. The tow range just wouldn't cut it for now.

That seems the biggest drawback for EV's right now. Physics just don't allow them to function very well as tow vehicles. That's not an easy problem to solve, either.

MannishBoy wrote:
bepnewt wrote:

Grats on the Lightning. We needed to buy a truck to pull our camper more reliably/safely and looked hard at them. The tow range just wouldn't cut it for now.

That seems the biggest drawback for EV's right now. Physics just don't allow them to function very well as tow vehicles. That's not an easy problem to solve, either.

Yeah, my hauling needs are quite minimal, particularly in terms of distance I need to move things by trailer, so it makes sense for me.

It *may* be that it's solved with batteries in the trailers themselves at some point?

Tach wrote:

It *may* be that it's solved with batteries in the trailers themselves at some point?

I am confident this will be a real thing in 10 years. Along with the EV campers.

We should hopefully have some good options when we retire.

-BEP

Eh.

We didn't have the battery technology 30 years ago to make electric cars.

We didn't have the battery technology 10 years ago to make electric trucks.

We don't have the battery technology today to make electric consumer hauling vehicles. But there's obviously a trajectory to get there....

Tach wrote:

. Physics just don't allow them to function very well as tow vehicles. That's not an easy problem to solve, either.

.... unless I'm missing something here? What's the physics holdup? Aren't we just talking more torque ---> bigger motors ---> higher capacity/energy density batteries?

Kinetic energy =mv^2

Adding mass (i.e. a trailer) is linear growth to your energy budget....

Jonman wrote:

Eh.

We didn't have the battery technology 30 years ago to make electric cars.

We didn't have the battery technology 10 years ago to make electric trucks.

We don't have the battery technology today to make electric consumer hauling vehicles. But there's obviously a trajectory to get there....

Tach wrote:

. Physics just don't allow them to function very well as tow vehicles. That's not an easy problem to solve, either.

.... unless I'm missing something here? What's the physics holdup? Aren't we just talking more torque ---> bigger motors ---> higher capacity/energy density batteries?

Kinetic energy =mv^2

Adding mass (i.e. a trailer) is linear growth to your energy budget....

I agree, I don't understand what your saying. My understanding is that the issue with towing in an electric vehicle is the same as a gas one. More weight/wind resistance = reduced range. The same reason my 4runner get worse mileage when I have my cargo trailer on it than when I don't.

My take is that we will continue to evolve battery technology and it will get lighter/higher density or both and towing and long distance travel will become feasible with electric vehicles.

To clarify, I think electric tow vehicles are inevitable but we have some time to kill before we get there.