St. Pete family: Electric car battery replacement costs more than car

[Ptarmigan]

St. Pete family: Electric car battery replacement costs more than car
https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/electric-car-battery-replacement-costs-more-than-car/67-46243c70-124b-43e9-9a6e-fca01dc40cc4

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla — Electric cars have become quite popular lately. And with gas prices and inflation, it seems like a great way to help the environment and save money in the long term.

But... what happens when the battery needs replacing? And what happens when the replacement battery costs more than the car itself?

For a St. Petersburg family, that is the exact position they found themselves in.

Avery Siwinski who is 17 years old was excited to get a car to drive herself to and from school. Her parents spent $11,000 on a used electric car for her. It's a Ford Focus Electric. The car is a 2014 model, with 60,000 miles.

The battery to replace the car cost as much as the car itself. Is it worth it?

[franksolich]

So.....$14,000, not including installation and labor.

[Eupher]

This is the 800 lb. gorilla in the room that the environmentalist wackos simply refuse to discuss.

This past weekend I spoke with a Tesla owner who loves his car. He's owned two of them so far.

He said the original battery in the car lasts about 200,000 miles. That might be generous, but that's what he said.

I asked him what he did with his first Tesla. He said the dealer gave him a $50K trade-in. Not sure I believe that, but that's what he said.

I asked him what he'll do when the cost of replacing a battery is more than the vehicle is worth and he replied simply, "Get rid of the car."

I asked him what happens when nobody will take the car, due to the cost of dealing with the expended battery?

No response to that question.

Nope, we're not ready for this EV bullshit. Maybe in ten years when the cost comes down, but not yet.

Turn the oil and gas back on, SharterJoe. You don't know what you're doing. Just admit that you f'd up and you're going to fix it.

Crickets (of course).

SharterJoe's taking another nap.

[SVPete]

A couple posts I did on another discussion site:

At 8 years old, that battery was near the end of its useful life. The girl and her parents "should" have asked if the battery was original equipment, and when told it was, walked away. But MSM largely haven't told people about the limited battery life of EVs and high cost of replacement, so the girl and her parents didn't know to ask. Battery life is a little better now, maybe on the order of 10 years, but whether 8 years or 10 years, replacing the battery will cost more than the car is worth. Assuming a suitable replacement - form, fit, and function - is even available.

This is approximately true of hybrids, BTW.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

A cyber-acquaintance recently went through the battery replacement rigmarole with his Prius. He knew the new battery would cost more than his Prius was worth, but really loved his car.

I have no "thing" against people buying EV or hybrids, but I do wish the MSM would stop virtue-izing the vehicles and inform potential buyers of highly important information such as EVs' range, how that range is affected by accessories, terrain, and temperature, limited availability and types of chargers, battery life and replacement costs, the stability/volatility risks of lithium batteries, and the environmental effects of mining lithium and rare earth metals, and the difficulty of recycling worn out batteries.

Increasingly efficient power supplies and controllers for computers and other electronics have been my career for over 4 decades, so I'm no Luddite. But I would not willingly buy an EV or hybrid, due to the issues I outlined above.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

https://instapundit.com/532013/ Unfortunately, the TWSJ from which this blogpost quotes is behind a paywall, but it illustrates my comment about lithium battery stability.

Sean Nemeth, the owner of a plug-in hybrid Chrysler Pacifica, was perplexed when earlier this year he received a rather surprising recall notice, advising him to park his vehicle outside and away from structures.

The notice informed him that his particular model is at risk of catching fire—even while stationary and turned off—and the cause is still unknown.
...
His predicament has become more commonplace in recent years with the expansion of electric-vehicle sales and more car companies confronting incidents of parked cars suddenly bursting into flames, including those involving more-traditional gas-engine models such as the Ford Expedition.

As a precaution, auto makers are issuing “park outside” orders that instruct drivers to park in the open air and away from houses and structures that could be potentially damaged if a fire were to occur. In many cases, the remedy isn’t immediately available, leaving drivers to figure out what to do with the vehicle in the interim—sometimes for months.

At least 31 recall campaigns covering 3.3 million vehicles have been launched with park-outside orders in the past decade ...

Automotive spontaneous combustion anyone?

[freedumb2003b]

Sean Nemeth, the owner of a plug-in hybrid Chrysler Pacifica, was perplexed when earlier this year he received a rather surprising recall notice, advising him to park his vehicle outside and away from structures.

The notice informed him that his particular model is at risk of catching fire—even while stationary and turned off—and the cause is still unknown.
...
His predicament has become more commonplace in recent years with the expansion of electric-vehicle sales and more car companies confronting incidents of parked cars suddenly bursting into flames, including those involving more-traditional gas-engine models such as the Ford Expedition.

As a precaution, auto makers are issuing “park outside” orders that instruct drivers to park in the open air and away from houses and structures that could be potentially damaged if a fire were to occur. In many cases, the remedy isn’t immediately available, leaving drivers to figure out what to do with the vehicle in the interim—sometimes for months.

At least 31 recall campaigns covering 3.3 million vehicles have been launched with park-outside orders in the past decade ...

I would sue for storage costs.  You would have to rent in an RV storage type place and probably need 4 spaces for safety.   I would also sue for a rental car while my car was unavailable to park in my garage.

If I am NOT afraid of Insurance Companies I sure as hell am not afraid of Car Manufacturers.

[Old n Grumpy]

So how much fossil fuel do you have to burn to charge your EV?

And how are the batteries disposed of? Are they recycled?

Those are the questions that need to be answered  as well as the pollution from mining and manufacturing the batteries.

And where does all the plastic's incorporated in the cars come from?
could it be that evil oil?