Battery based vehicles of today and tomorrow pt 2

[Roric]

That is good plan.

By signing up for SS at age 70 instead at age 62 the larger SS payout pays for a new Tesla every 3 years and monthly fuel savings pays for the FSD package that I need. Driving the most USA made and safest car for me and others that I met on the road is icing on the cake.

There seems to be multiple ways to skin a cat on the cheap. I bought new in 1973 ($2150)and then again in 2023 ($47.5K). As you buying well worn used cars for 50 lean years turned out to be for the best at our house. Potentially having an used Tesla to pass to a kid every three years helps jumpstart my brain each morning.

Thanks for sharing your automotive plan.

Here is what I did (and some of the 'why')
YMMV

I purchased a new 2023 Chevy Bolt 2LT $32,600
Trade-in value -9,000
Federal tax credit -7,500
State tax rebate -2,500
This years' gas savings (+/-) -750
net out of pocket $12,850

Some of the why:
The money was from IRA savings that in a short number of years
We have to start taking R.M.D.s on that would raise our tax bill.
I believe car prices are 'out there' and will not be coming back.
I could not have trust in a used car at the net out of pocket price.

Again, YMMV

 

[California]

In automotive circles California was known second to Michigan for automotive and Oakland was called the Detroit of the West and many still call it that even as auto has left...

Hayward Fremont is nearly adjacent. The auto plant there was initially GM, then a GM/Toyota partnership, and now it is Tesla's home base. There's still major automobile fabrication in the Oakland region. Now its EV's.

 

[California]

Why bother? If someone has a religious attachment to climate change denial, you're not going to convince them with logic or good data, especially on an internet tractor forum.

You're just mucking up the forum, arguing with someone who will never believe anything you put in front of them, no matter how undeniable. You might as well be arguing with a flat-earther.

I don't see it as arguing with an individual but rather putting the conclusions of modern science out where the undecided, and curious, can learn a little more.

As Agvg from Norway told us, what wawa posted was the opinion of two individuals, presented as if their view is supported by a university study there.

I hope the general readers of this thread will consider the credibility of all points of view in making their own conclusions.

 

[ultrarunner]

Hayward is nearly adjacent. The auto plant there was initially GM, then a GM/Toyota partnership, and now it is Tesla's home base. There's still major automobile fabrication in the Oakland region. Now its EV's.

We had Ford, Chevrolet, GM, Pontiac, Toyota, Oakland, Doble, etc. just in the Bay Area.

My Model A was built in Richmond and we watched mom’s Toyota build in Fremont.

Industry from Auto to Aerospace was the Bay Area plus just about every name in Tech, Marine and Biomed…

Maybe having so many top Universities fueled the growth?

Can’t go a day without learning of another major company downsizing or leaving…

 

[California]

Industry from Auto to Aerospace was the Bay Area plus just about every name in Tech, Marine and Biomed…

Maybe having so many top Universities fueled the growth?

Yeah. When I was a starving student I worked part time for a specialty manufacturer of precision, special-order synthetic rubber O-rings. And the owner said he had a source nearby for the special precision rounded lathe tools he needed to cut the mold grooves in the large steel plates that went into his heated presses. This was in west Berkeley, in the industrial zone next to the freeway. Now 60 years later I see he sold to a larger company, which eventually consolidated manufacturing elsewhere, and the site now has apartments.

 

[wawajake]

 

[wawajake]

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

View attachment 826916

Sure had some fantastic cameras in 1045!
Joking...I get the point...

 

[Grumpycat]

That sucks

Have you considered getting a drive unit from a salvaged car?

We do that with ICE vehicles. Buying a replacement engine or transmission from a dealer is never an affordable option. Find a wreck and buy the parts you need.

BTW, this type of stuff is what concerns many folks. EV’s are ok until something happens. I know a number of poor folks and they can keep old vehicles on the road without spending thousands of dollars.

For example, we had three guys over for dinner last night. None had anything newer than a 2006.

It seems the drive algorithm to the motor is custom tuned to each unit. So there is some magic to marrying a drive unit to the vehicle. 057Tech sells a custom controller bundled with drive units for retrofit use. Haven't heard back about possible repair of mine. But they say they will not sell their controller separate because it is tuned to each drive unit in their shop.

So, even then how lucky could I be? Only $4000 repair? With a dodgy result?

 

[Grumpycat]

Since they're offering a 4-year warranty on the replacement part, and if this has been your only repeat issue with this car, I'd be inclined to replace the drive unit. Without doing so, your resale and trade-in are low, and this buys you some time (3+ years?) to think about your next move, rather than rushing it now.

This would be the 3rd drive unit, 2nd replacement. Original was replaced just short of 8 years. This one is 1 year 10 months.