pyromancy5
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2017
- Messages
- 113
powersurge said:I don't know where the indecision is here. If you keep cars a long time, there is no question..... Buy New. Why but a car where its best years have been enjoyed by the first owner (including the battery aging 3-4 years).
Buy new. Beat the crap out of the car until the battery goes (6-8 years?). At that point you got your first half use out of the car (80-100K miles). By that time, the new batteries will be better and cheaper, and you are then paying (investing) for the Second half of the car's life (100-200K miles)....
I hate when people complain that they will have to PAY for a new battery... They got the first battery for free (included with the car). What you pay for the second battery is for the use of the car for the 8-16 year period of the car's life. So in16 years, you paid zero in gas, oil, fluids, belts, exhaust, tune ups and drive train repairs. Where is the negative??
This. I purchased a 2014 SL with not quite 35K miles on it for 11K. Bat health at 83%. I figured I would get 5 more years out of the battery. Subtracting electricity costs from what I would have spent on gas, plus the maintenance I don't need to have done, I'm saving about 11K in 5 years. If I need to buy a new battery at that point (hope fully cheaper/ more capacity with aftermarket options by then), I'm still ahead... by a significant amount of money. I still win, and I'm not even considering the 43 hours of my time (10 minutes once a week) that I don't have to pump gas, wait for a gas pump, or drive out of my way for a gas station. In 6 months of ownership, we have only had 2 times where we decided to take the wife's ICE car because of insufficient range. The convenience of an EV with a home charger is astounding, and I love it.
I say, treat yourself to the SL, maybe even with the Bose, and start a second bank account to build a fund for your new battery. Set it up to make automatic contributions once a month for however long you plan on your battery lasting you. Then you won't have a "surprise" expense when the time comes.