Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

jeffgeerling.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

201–210 of 683 posts

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#201

Post by jimnotgym »

mort96 wrote: post #26
FirmwareBurner wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you think this is what puts you off EVs, then you haven't read the horror stories from EV Clinic. TL;DR is many EVs and hybrids (especially European ones) have tonnes of design faults with e-motors and power-electronics that not only make them ticking time bombs(not in the explosive sense) out of warranty, but also have malicious DRM making third party parts impossible to source, and repairs difficult and eye wate…

The DRM thing unfortunately has nothing to do with EVs and everything to do with the computerization of cars. All cars have gotten more and more computerized and harder to repair with more DRM. EVs arguably fundamentally require heavy computerization more than ICE cars, but you're not gonna avoid it in a brand new diesel car either.

That is why I keep fixing up my old Diesels. No DPF, basic EGR, basic computer, no worries.

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#202

Post by haunter »

Okkef wrote: post #128
haunter wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If that were me then for that much money I'd just buy a used Tesla Model 3

A used tesla model 3 in the Netherlands is upwards of 20k euro, so quite a different price bracket.

I see them for 14-15k€ on mobile.de, even as low as 12k€

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#203

Post by yen223 »

1970-01-01 wrote: post #151
prmoustache wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From a purely economic point of view, buying a new car is always a bad idea, regardless of the drivetrain technology.

Exception being those buying new cars, leaving them in storage for a decade or two, and then selling them at auction for 10x.

Over a decade, that storage space will 10x more reliably than the car

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#204

Post by ForOldHack »

lan321 wrote: post #39
zoobab wrote: post #11

Not the cheapest: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuling_Hongguang_Mini_EV "In 2020, the Mini EV had a price starting at US$4,162, and topped out at US$5,607 for a fully loaded model, making it China's cheapest electric car."

He's not in China though.

Oh thank God. The cheapest EV in China is little more than a flashlight with a wind up propeller, (joking/not joking) but not as safe. No one it their right mind could compare it to a leaf to a tesla.

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#205

Post by ForOldHack »

1970-01-01 wrote: post #166
ponector wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious how much you can get for a brand new 2005 Corolla. And don't forget to add storage costs.

They're not doing it with Corollas. They're doing it with Porsches and other sports cars.

Exactly what Tesla first did. Well, they a first did not have an existing ICE vehicle and based the styling off a Lotus Elise sports car.

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#206

Post by 62951413 »

blitzar wrote: post #71
sillyfluke wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't really follow the secondhand EV market, but it seems to me firsthand buyers are still taking on considerable risk due to the range situation. People who have bought them abroad are sometimes advised to keep the battery between 20%-80-90% full. Following this advice, one person I know told me if they drive like they did their old car they have to recharge after roughly 170 miles, which is super annoying for them…

> recharge after roughly 170 miles ... these cars won't be dead weight or dirt cheap The average car journey is 8 miles. Being an average with a finite lower limit of 0 it is skewed higher by the people who for various reasons drive long distances. You don't need a 1,000 mile range to get to the shops at the end of the street. It helps, but not that much.

A typical Bay Area commute (e.g. to SJ or San Mateo/Redwood City) is 40+ miles one way. A typical weekend drive (e.g. to Half Moon Bay or Sonoma) is a 100-mile roundtrip.

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#207

Post by prmoustache »

geerlingguy wrote: post #100
prmoustache wrote: post #56

> and I found myself with a very short commute, only driving a few miles a day, and a family minivan we use for nearly all the 'driving around the kids' stuff. > > So I wanted a smaller car (get back a foot or so of garage space...) that was also more efficient. All this to say what he really needs was an electrically assisted bicycle instead of a huge and heavy energy wasting vehicle.

Bike would be amazing if the city I live in weren't a death trap for bikes. I had considered it but I do need a way to get 10-20 miles for things like kids' events or to pick up things from stores for my YT work, at least once or twice a week.

I've transported large stuff with my bike mind you, including furnitures and a small tree (in a trailer) and 20 miles is smaller than my longest commute on my bicycle which was 24miles each way.

And that was without electric assist. When I look at the low average speed and time spent in car when I use one in an urban area, it just doesn't make any sense in most cities.

But the safety issue is another story though. Every time I relocated I took that parameter into account before choosing a new place.

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#208

Post by noelwelsh »

potato3732842 wrote: post #155
pjc50 wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meanwhile in Korea: https://driving.ca/auto-news/crashes/hyundai-ioniq-5-666000-...

What is that even supposed to be a rebuttal to? I didn't complain about the longevity of small EVs (they're generally quite good in that regard). Not to pick on you personally but I think it speaks volumes about the type of people who make up HN community that I can come in here with a fairly narrow and niche critique of a product (inflexibility basically), hedge that comment with a "but it's still good for a lot of…

> You can screech about averages and means all you want

> So yeah, I'll keep driving rusted out minivans that make people clutch their pearls.

These antagonistic statements are unnecessary and the reason you are being downvoted.

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#209

Post by hellisothers »

PaulKeeble wrote: post #119
Bairfhionn wrote: post #24

My Problem was always the Range Anxiety. Until I got an EV and realized it's not really an issue. There is always an App for that (and even on my car the software gets improved in that regard). Infrastructure is getting better, even companies starting to see it as a benefit to have cheap/free chargers at their offices to get people back. I see more and more electric trucks on the roads. It feels good.

I think until you have one you don't realise quite what having a range of 200+ miles means in practice. You don't actually drive for 500 miles without a break, that is 8-10 hours of constant motorway speed driving and its not safe to drive that long. So when you take 30 - 60 minutes for lunch on a long drive like that and charge the vehicle you are going another 200 miles before again really taking a break. As it sta…

I would add one thing my family has complained about wrt road trip charging is it’s not just the time you wait to charge, it’s the time and games/anger dealing with all the people in line waiting to charge.

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#210

Post by mschuster91 »

stanski wrote: post #179
mschuster91 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Limiting QC events is easy enough. A daily commuter vehicle can easily trickle charge over night, and even the measly 40 kWh old used Leaf can get you 200km a charge - assuming an average commute of 20 km for Germany, that's a whole work week worth of battery life. The only time you as an average person actually "need" QC is for the yearly vacation road trip, but as the author writes, renting an ICE or chungus electr…

I thought about this too - own a small electric vehicle for 90% of the family needs and rent a bigger SUV when the need arises. Until you do the math and realize that the 3-4 annual trips of multiple days would end up costing thousands of dollars in rental fees per year. Plus the usual inconveniences around renting. Suddenly the math does not look so appealing.

> Until you do the math and realize that the 3-4 annual trips of multiple days would end up costing thousands of dollars in rental fees per year.

First, 3-4 annual multi-day trips that go for longer than 300 km? If one has that amount of disposable income to afford that, go for whatever the biggest Tesla is and use Superchargers along the route, even drives so long they're a safety issue on its own due to fatigue don't get that much longer due to charging because kids will need to go to the toilet every so often even with an ICE.

As for the rental fees: here in Germany, I just checked - a Mercedes Benz Vito, so up to 8 people (or 6 people plus a ton of luggage), that's 50€ a day here. Crossing four digits takes 20 days of rental, that's a lot of vacation time even by European standards.

Post reply on HN