Where is the EV sweet spot?
The exact same place where you'll find a sweet spot on a cell phone.
About 10 years ago I got a Galaxy Note II from a guy who worked as an execuitive at Home Depot. They had given it to him with all the bells and whistles, brand new, for about $750 back then (about $1300 in 2024 dollars).
Two years later when it was no longer popular or on the cutting edge of cell phone technology, he sold it to me for only $200 (Thank you Craigslist!). I even got a nice protective case, a side phone holster (which was all the rage 10 years ago), and durable chargers for the phone and car.
I kept it for five years and sold it for $100. Then I bought a couple of small beater phones that cost me nothing in the end over the next year. When I saw the right opportunity? I did the same thing.
This time it was an LG G5 that was nearly $700 brand new. This one cost me only $180 and came with a boatload of extras. Four years later? I sold it for $100.
It cost me less than $200 to have a perfectly nice cell phone for nearly 10 years. With a perfectly nice EV? It's the same exact formula. Unless you're a hardcore EV guy who likes blowing your financial brains out for the technology or the coolness factor.
Do your bank account a favor. Don't be that guy. He's a schmuck! Instead get an EV that will do the job perfectly well for five years. Let the fashionista take the hit.
Do you have a garage? Is a lot of your driving in-town? This 2015 Nissan LEAF is the rolling version of a high quality, low cost cell phone An enjoyable EV without the high cost and wealth destruction that comes with 'newness'.
Right now I have a 2015 Nissan LEAF S that has under 32,000 miles on it and 12 out of 12 bars thanks to it being equipped with the durable 'Lizard' battery. The range is a bit over 80 miles. But if you have a garage and are willing to set the timer so that it keeps performing at an 80% to 20% cycle, this LEAF with will comfortably give you all the in-town driving you realistically would ever want or need.
The price at my dealership near Atlanta? $7995 and if my customer qualifies for the 30% used car tax credit... it ends up costing them just under $5600. There are other EVs and PHEVs that have already fallen off the radar which offer similar value propositions. The Honda Clarity, Honda Insight, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, and Chevy Bolt are all classic examples I see every week at the wholesale auctions.
So let's say you kept this LEAF for five years of in-town driving at 8,000 miles a year, and then sold it for $3500 with around 75,000 miles on it? The cost of ownership? Insanely low. By my calculations it ranges to about 20% to 30% of the average.
Less than $500 a year in depreciation ($420).
Charging costs that are 50% to 80% cheaper than gas, and if you are lucky enough to live where electric companies offer free overnight charging? You're easily saving over $5,000 a year in fueling alone over five years.
That's exactly where the sweet spot is in today's EV market. Buy a well kept model that fits your needs after the fleeting popularity has subsided. Keep it for above five years. Sell it at a reasonable price. Rinse! Repeat!
And the punchline is that this method works for a non-EV too. It's just that government subsidies and media driven unpopularity are making some EVs cheaper than where they would normally be.
The exact same place where you'll find a sweet spot on a cell phone.
About 10 years ago I got a Galaxy Note II from a guy who worked as an execuitive at Home Depot. They had given it to him with all the bells and whistles, brand new, for about $750 back then (about $1300 in 2024 dollars).
Two years later when it was no longer popular or on the cutting edge of cell phone technology, he sold it to me for only $200 (Thank you Craigslist!). I even got a nice protective case, a side phone holster (which was all the rage 10 years ago), and durable chargers for the phone and car.
I kept it for five years and sold it for $100. Then I bought a couple of small beater phones that cost me nothing in the end over the next year. When I saw the right opportunity? I did the same thing.
This time it was an LG G5 that was nearly $700 brand new. This one cost me only $180 and came with a boatload of extras. Four years later? I sold it for $100.
It cost me less than $200 to have a perfectly nice cell phone for nearly 10 years. With a perfectly nice EV? It's the same exact formula. Unless you're a hardcore EV guy who likes blowing your financial brains out for the technology or the coolness factor.
Do your bank account a favor. Don't be that guy. He's a schmuck! Instead get an EV that will do the job perfectly well for five years. Let the fashionista take the hit.
Do you have a garage? Is a lot of your driving in-town? This 2015 Nissan LEAF is the rolling version of a high quality, low cost cell phone An enjoyable EV without the high cost and wealth destruction that comes with 'newness'.
Right now I have a 2015 Nissan LEAF S that has under 32,000 miles on it and 12 out of 12 bars thanks to it being equipped with the durable 'Lizard' battery. The range is a bit over 80 miles. But if you have a garage and are willing to set the timer so that it keeps performing at an 80% to 20% cycle, this LEAF with will comfortably give you all the in-town driving you realistically would ever want or need.
The price at my dealership near Atlanta? $7995 and if my customer qualifies for the 30% used car tax credit... it ends up costing them just under $5600. There are other EVs and PHEVs that have already fallen off the radar which offer similar value propositions. The Honda Clarity, Honda Insight, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, and Chevy Bolt are all classic examples I see every week at the wholesale auctions.
So let's say you kept this LEAF for five years of in-town driving at 8,000 miles a year, and then sold it for $3500 with around 75,000 miles on it? The cost of ownership? Insanely low. By my calculations it ranges to about 20% to 30% of the average.
Less than $500 a year in depreciation ($420).
Charging costs that are 50% to 80% cheaper than gas, and if you are lucky enough to live where electric companies offer free overnight charging? You're easily saving over $5,000 a year in fueling alone over five years.
That's exactly where the sweet spot is in today's EV market. Buy a well kept model that fits your needs after the fleeting popularity has subsided. Keep it for above five years. Sell it at a reasonable price. Rinse! Repeat!
And the punchline is that this method works for a non-EV too. It's just that government subsidies and media driven unpopularity are making some EVs cheaper than where they would normally be.
