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3x performance for 1/4 of the price by migrating from AWS to Hetzner

https://digitalsociety.coop/posts/migrating-to-hetzner-cloud/
483•pingoo101010•3h ago•273 comments

Ruby Core Takes Ownership of Rubygems and Bundler

https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/news/2025/10/17/rubygems-repository-transition/
130•sebiw•1h ago•39 comments

Live Stream from the Namib Desert

https://bookofjoe2.blogspot.com/2025/10/live-stream-from-namib-desert.html
47•surprisetalk•1h ago•13 comments

How I bypassed Amazon's Kindle web DRM

https://blog.pixelmelt.dev/kindle-web-drm/
1276•pixelmelt•17h ago•379 comments

Meow.camera

https://meow.camera/
363•southwindcg•10h ago•140 comments

Resizeable Bar Support on the Raspberry Pi

https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2025/resizeable-bar-support-on-raspberry-pi
31•speckx•1w ago•5 comments

Let's Write a Macro in Rust

https://hackeryarn.com/post/rust-macros-1/
26•hackeryarn•6d ago•9 comments

Ring to partner with Flock, a network of cameras used by ICE, feds, and police

https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/16/amazons-ring-to-partner-with-flock-a-network-of-ai-cameras-used...
241•gman83•4h ago•163 comments

Claude Skills

https://www.anthropic.com/news/skills
694•meetpateltech•21h ago•367 comments

Next steps for BPF support in the GNU toolchain

https://lwn.net/Articles/1039827/
77•signa11•10h ago•10 comments

Your data model is your destiny

https://notes.mtb.xyz/p/your-data-model-is-your-destiny
311•hunglee2•2d ago•79 comments

Flight Simulator for the Brain Reveals How We Learn and Why Minds Go Off Course

https://now.tufts.edu/2025/10/16/flight-simulator-brain-reveals-how-we-learn-and-why-minds-someti...
30•XzetaU8•7h ago•10 comments

A classified network of SpaceX satellites is emitting a mysterious signal

https://www.npr.org/2025/10/17/nx-s1-5575254/spacex-starshield-starlink-signal
30•8ig8•2h ago•0 comments

Create a Custom Interactive dashboard using SVG

https://0xmm.in/posts/custom_dash/
59•accessonline•4d ago•15 comments

Cloudflare Sandbox SDK

https://sandbox.cloudflare.com/
227•bentaber•16h ago•74 comments

Show HN: OnlyJPG – Client-Side PNG/HEIC/AVIF/PDF/etc to JPG

https://onlyjpg.com
6•johnnyApplePRNG•2h ago•1 comments

DoorDash and Waymo launch autonomous delivery service in Phoenix

https://about.doordash.com/en-us/news/waymo
271•ChrisArchitect•23h ago•604 comments

Codex Is Live in Zed

https://zed.dev/blog/codex-is-live-in-zed
249•meetpateltech•22h ago•48 comments

Gemini 3.0 spotted in the wild through A/B testing

https://ricklamers.io/posts/gemini-3-spotted-in-the-wild/
383•ricklamers•20h ago•243 comments

Virtual Memory for Real-time RISC-V systems using hPMP

https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.04498
11•fork-bomber•1w ago•1 comments

A 4k-Room Text Adventure Written by One Human in QBasic No AI

https://the-ventureweaver.itch.io/tlote4111
114•ATiredGoat•5d ago•82 comments

Show HN: A large format XY scanning hyperspectral camera

https://www.anfractuosity.com/projects/waverider/
4•anfractuosity•6d ago•0 comments

Elixir 1.19

https://elixir-lang.org/blog/2025/10/16/elixir-v1-19-0-released/
335•theanirudh•1d ago•105 comments

Hyperflask – Full stack Flask and Htmx framework

https://hyperflask.dev/
337•emixam•1d ago•129 comments

A liver transplant from start to finish

https://press.asimov.com/articles/liver
81•mailyk•4d ago•19 comments

Talent

https://www.felixstocker.com/blog/talent
186•BinaryIgor•19h ago•82 comments

Lead Limited Brain and Language Development in Neanderthals and Other Hominids?

https://today.ucsd.edu/story/did-lead-limit-brain-and-language-development-in-neanderthals-and-ot...
88•gmays•14h ago•39 comments

Post office in France rolls out croissant-scented stamp

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/article/french-post-office-rolls-out-croissant-scented-stamp/
150•ohjeez•1w ago•69 comments

Understanding Spec-Driven-Development: Kiro, Spec-Kit, and Tessl

https://martinfowler.com/articles/exploring-gen-ai/sdd-3-tools.html
90•janpio•16h ago•15 comments

Benjie's Humanoid Olympic Games

https://generalrobots.substack.com/p/benjies-humanoid-olympic-games
135•robobenjie•17h ago•100 comments
Open in hackernews

EVs are depreciating much faster than gas-powered cars

https://restofworld.org/2025/ev-depreciation-blusmart-collapse/
29•belter•2h ago

Comments

bell-cot•2h ago
You know you're old when - the headline instantly reminds you how fast those newfangled "desktop computers" depreciated, compared to the adding machines and typewriters that they were trying to replace.
gladiatr72•2h ago
Well, sure. EV'S are smart phones on wheels. Are you going to grab your Samsung 5s in 2030, power it back up and use it to store your most sensitive personal data? Even the lowest-end varieties are always-on, internet-conected devices. Their safety and function is on the same tier as today's phone models. Expensive today, junk in 5 years.

Thanks, but I'm hanging in to my old Subaru.

electric_muse•1h ago
I think the most accurate part of your analogy is how fast the technology changes and renders yesterday’s product obsolete.

Just saw the Audi etron gt has amazing deals on used cars. Then I saw a new model coming out with better battery, more power, better range, and more features. Suddenly last year’s model is way less compelling.

jgalt212•1h ago
True. At this point in time I'd only lease an EV. That being said, given that 100% of cars on the road won't be EV by 2030 as some have tried to convince us, I suspect the rate of innovation in EV land to slow as EV investment is greatly curtailed by the car companies.
YeahThisIsMe•2h ago
Weird that this is presented as a problem for some reason.

They're objects that lose value when you use them. That's normal.

high_na_euv•1h ago
Dafuck? No.

It says that it deprecates faster than other type of cars which should be worse in this particular criteria

electric_muse•1h ago
Hey, did you read the article? The newsworthy point is that the EVs depreciate faster than gas counterparts.

But hey, that just means better used EV prices for the rest of us. You can get some high end gently used ones for a great price.

—

“ For Tesla owners in the U.S., their 2023 Model Ys are worth 42% less than what they paid two years ago, while a Ford F-150 truck bought the same year depreciated just 20%. Older EV models depreciate even faster than newer ones. ”

dabbledash•1h ago
Because people prefer their objects to lose value more slowly?

Not sure why this would be hard to understand.

rjdj377dhabsn•1h ago
If they're losing value primarily because better options are becoming available rather than their own functionality decreasing, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
xienze•1h ago
It is because people are incentivized to just wait for the "better options" that everyone knows are coming soon. Or, let's say you bought one and had an accident that totals the car but oops, the steep depreciation curve means you have to go out of pocket to pay off a total loss. No one wants that.
rjdj377dhabsn•1h ago
Always waiting for "better options" is often irrational. You should buy what's best for you today.

If the value of your EV has dropped to $10k and you get paid out that much for an accident, then in theory you should be able to buy a similar condition EV on the used car market for $10k. What's the problem with that?

xienze•1h ago
> Always waiting for "better options" is often irrational. You should buy what's best for you today.

If you're trying to get people to switch en masse to EVs, it's not good for everyone to be in perpetual "ehh there's gonna be way better ones around the corner" mode.

> If the value of your EV has dropped to $10k and you get paid out that much for an accident, then in theory you should be able to buy a similar condition EV on the used car market for $10k. What's the problem with that?

The problem is when your loan balance is $20K and you're only getting a $10K payoff...

IAmBroom•24m ago
Again, you're attempting to use logic to convince reality to change.

People make irrational decisions. That's a fact.

People "should" do things they don't. That's a fact.

The question is not, "What would a logically-driven being do?", but "What are people doing?"

joshuaissac•1h ago
> you bought one and had an accident that totals the car but oops, the steep depreciation curve means you have to go out of pocket to pay off a total loss

That can happen with a conventional car as well, which is why gap insurance exists. The regular insurance should still give you the replacement price (which would be the depreciated value).

xienze•1h ago
Yes but again, the steeper depreciation curve makes it more likely to happen.
lotsofpulp•1h ago
Tesla lowered the prices dramatically in Jan 2023:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1F5IQOynIawoXiJPV...

It does not seem remarkable that a new product takes some time to find its market price, and COGS goes down as supply chain improvements are made.

And there was a $7,500 tax credit at time of purchase introduced in Jan 2023. At least the graph comparing Model Y to Ford F150 seems expected.

rpigab•1h ago
Wierd that we're presenting SpaceX rockets that explode shortly after takeoff as a problem.

They're objects that disintegrate in the atmosphere at some point when you use them. That's normal, it even has a name: rapid unscheduled disassembly.

gregoriol•1h ago
If something looses value faster than something else it can be compared to, then it's considered as worse, meaning fewer people are going to buy it, meaning if you have one, you'll be able to afford less than others in a few years.
rjdj377dhabsn•1h ago
Something's ability to store value is only one factor, and probably not the most important, when you're not buying it as an investment.

A bar of gold will hold value a lot better than a car, but that doesn't mean a car is a worse purchase.

Ekaros•1h ago
Depreciation is huge factor if you buy something for utility.

I think we can say that EV and ICE has nearly same utility, perks on either side. Faster refuelling vs. being able to do it at home.

Now next we can compare operational costs, what is the cost of fuel/electricity and maintenance. With home charging yes EVs are ahead.

But if we take into account Purchase price minus price you get when selling. Well EVs are often more expensive to start with. And then they depreciate more so you get less as an percentage from original purchase price.

Now it can very well be that you come lot of ahead in scenarios where you replace car with new one every 3 or 5 years with ICEs.

So total cost of ownership does matter. And big chunk of that is depreciation. Unless you are one of the few who buy new and then drive it to junk yard.

rjdj377dhabsn•38m ago
Unless a 5 year old EV has lost a lot more functionality than a 5 year old ICE, that situation doesn't seem likely.

If in 5 years, your EV (that had similar utility as an ICE when you bought it) has lost so much value relative to a new EV, then the new EV must offer much more utility over both the old EV and the old ICE, in which case your ICE should have lost a similar amount of value.

IAmBroom•27m ago
Are you trying to use logic to convince the resale value to be higher?
kreetx•4m ago
While I don't dispute EV depreciation (it's a fact, no matter the explanation), then I don't think depreciation is as "huge" of a factor as you make it out to be. People buy new cars all the time, while the added utility over a used car is negligible.

I.e, I've only bought cars that are 10+ years (exactly due to the depreciation factor!), but most other people buy or lease as new of a car as they possibly can afford. Doesn't make financial sense to me, yet it's done so very often.

gregoriol•26m ago
As I said: "than something else it can be compared to"; if we are talking about cars, you compare to other cars, not to gold or even bikes. If this car looses more value than another, then it's shit.
127•1h ago
Easier way to change the battery would decrease the cost of ownership by a ton and decrease the profits of EV companies also a ton. Which I guess is why it doesn't happen.
cr125rider•1h ago
Do you have a source that the labor is more significant than the materials of a new battery?
127•1h ago
I don't claim that. I claim that the process could be improved by a significant margin if there was incentive to do that.
pm90•1h ago
Well, that just means that secondhand evs might cater to people who could not or don’t want to shell out a lot of money for new EVs.

As the battery tech and service infrastructure matures we probably will see less of this though.

christkv•1h ago
We are not at the top of curve where we get getting small incremental upgrades between models. Until the curve flattens out depreciation will be high.
a3w•1h ago
gas-powered cars will become much more expensive to operate. Perhaps not in the US and A, but everywhere the Climate treaty of Paris has any value.

In Germany, you can buy used luxury cars at high discount due to being fuel inefficient for years now, and that is with barely a price increase for gas and barely 1 l/100km to through 3 l/100km cars taking up more market share.

wil421•1h ago
Beside fuel efficiency and the long charge time for EVs, many EVs seem more like non-repairable iPhones than their ICE counterparts. Tesla’s look very safe but seems like you can not replace body parts. Same with Rivian. I saw a guy dent a rear quarter panel and the quote was $45k. Only because the crazy way they manufactured things.

Is BYD any different?

rcMgD2BwE72F•1h ago
> Tesla’s look very safe but seems like you can not replace body parts

What?

https://parts.tesla.com/en-US/landingpage

https://epc.tesla.com/en-US/catalogs/dab210aa-2a7d-43b3-9e9b...

Anyone can by them directly from Tesla.

kreetx•29m ago
Just what I've heard, but an Uber driver told me how he upgraded his older Model 3 suspension to a newer variant because they attach the same way. So at least this part you can swap if you want.
hypeatei•1h ago
Basically, we don't understand batteries and their lifespans that well while we understand wear and tear on an engine quite well. Sure, these concerns are valid, but it seems like you could voice the same concerns over any "early" technology.
Retric•1h ago
EVs range degrades in a meaningful fashion with time and new EVs are improving faster than ICE cars, thus faster depreciation.

The flip side of this is a general over correction as the new car tax break ends used EVs are really compelling today. A slightly used Long Range Model 3 is a far better option than their new Base Model 3.

Eventually ICE cars were designed for their resale value so people buying a new car every 3 or 5 years could afford to spend more money. That’s coming for EVs as the technology improves battery degradation means the range sweet spot will be chosen to keep the used market happy not just new buyers etc.

interstice•1h ago
> EVs are improving faster than ICE cars, thus faster depreciation. This, it’s a bit like comparing the depreciation of gpus in peak innovation years to now. They do similar things but they are in completely different contexts
IAmBroom•32m ago
It's relevant to current resale issues.
silexia•1h ago
Why does anyone accept the government enforced massive downgrade that is switching from gas to electric?
IAmBroom•19m ago
What country are you in? What government enforcement are you on about? And why a massive downgrade? And why don't you change the channel off of Fox occasionally?
rightbyte•1h ago
I don't think the comparison is fair.

The electricity and ICE fuel costs should be included if the battery is included. The battery is some sort of upfront fuel cost in a way the gas tank isn't.

Since mileage wear is proportional to fuel use anyway.

IAmBroom•29m ago
If we were talking cost of ownership, sure.

But we're discussing resale value specifically, and it doesn't matter if you spent $25 or $50 "filling it up" last week when you sell it.

FabCH•1h ago
The article is making a huge mistake though, comparing apples to oranges.

Resale value of EVs doesn't depend on mileage nowhere near as much as ICE cars. EVs are just much simpler machines and electric motors can do a million miles with no maintenance, and the only maintenance you have is the oil in the differential, which is often simpler because it is single-speed. Compare that to thousand different mechanical parts that all wear out in a ICE engine. Which is why ICE cars resale value is determined by the odometer.

What drives EV resale value is the health of the battery, which is influenced more by recharge cycles and straight up passage of time.

And the anecdotal evidence of a commercial fleet going bankrupt and not getting much for their EVs... Well yeah, would you buy from such a source? I wouldn't. They usually don't follow longevity advice for battery charging, because they have to optimize for time-in-use.

As an anecdote, I bought all my ICE cars second hand, and would usually sell them 3-4 years later just before major maintenance was needed. My EV is now 8 years old, runs like the day I got it and had 1 repair, when the motor that drives the window up and down broke and battery capacity is still the same, or if it changed it's such a small change I didn't notice. I don't expect to sell any time soon, if ever. I expect I will just do a battery swap in 5-10 years.

natbobc•1h ago
The article is comparing 2 scenarios that have other explanations: a fire sale of a large fleet and Tesla which has an image problem because of its leadership.

I’m not saying the article is wrong I’d just like to see broader representation (Chevy bolt, lucid air, etc).

interstice•1h ago
Not sure I understand the part about differentials being single speed, aren’t they unrelated?
IAmBroom•34m ago
My take was: the only lube-requiring, wear-out-fast part was the differential, and on EVs they are much simpler, with less to wear out.

ICEs have MANY wear-out-fast parts (where "fast" is relative) requiring lube, and lube itself suggests the risk of frictional degradation.

cogman10•1h ago
My battery is starting to get to unacceptable degradation; I have a 7 year old EV and my top battery percentage is 78% of the purchase.

I inquired about a battery swap and it's around $10->12k. I'm seriously considering it in the next couple of years as I see that as buying another 9->10 years of life for my car.

I might grab a used EV instead, though, as the one thing my car lacks is a heat pump, which kinda sucks in the winter.

Joker_vD•1h ago
> comparing apples to oranges.

In a situation when we're being told to completely give up on apples (ICE cars) and switch entirely to oranges (EVs), I am afraid we'd have to make exactly the comparison you find so distasteful for some strange reason. They are both vehicles, sorry, fruits, after all.

FabCH•1h ago
You do not need to use age on the X-axis.

It's fine to compare ICE and EV.

It's not fine to be shoddy with data.

TechRemarker•1h ago
"which is influenced more by recharge cycles and straight up passage of time" would seem similar to "mileage" since both increase in general the passage of time and driving. But yes, driving two cars equal amount of time presumably the ICE will wear down far more than the equivalent EV so the title is quite misleading to those looking at a glance.
FabCH•1h ago
Not really in practice.

A lot of charging is influenced by convenience and lifestyle rather than miles, for example:

People charge at work from 68% to 75% because is convenient.

People always draining the battery because they don't have charging at home.

Commercial EVs being charged based on loading/unloading schedules etc.

...

cyanydeez•1h ago
So likely the resale value is more percieved tham actual.

Another market failure to adequately assist us in making the best choice.

rasz•35m ago
>the only maintenance

Suspension and tires are the biggest items for EVs. The twist is cheap owner can neglect those and keep driving past service window with ripped bushings and clapped out tires until hitting that magic 3 year goal, then you buy used EV in need of 4 of everything.

PeterStuer•1h ago
So much of this, but not all, could be mitigated with a guaranteed battery "refurbishing" program. Large part of an EV's value is tied up in the battery, which is a (longer term) consumable. So when an EV hits the second hand market, and there is no battery guarantee (or clear and trusted state and history reporting), the estimates on battery value will have to be on the low side, and the overall car value depreciated accordingly.

Traditional gas cars also have wear and tear with parts on the "consumables" spectrum, but these are considered more open to state inspection by a semi knowledgeable amateur, and the car's value is less tied to one specific black-box item.

interstice•1h ago
I think modular and replaceable battery regulations are desperately needed. The sheer volume of waste from used ev batteries even through non battery issues like insurance write offs is likely to be staggering otherwise
bryanlarsen•38m ago
Initial studies show that EV batteries typically last longer than the car. Making a car 10% heavier so the battery can be replaceable will put a lot of strain on our roads, our grid and our wallet for little benefit.

https://www.p3-group.com/en/p3-updates/battery-aging-in-prac...

loueed•1h ago
Computers get old and EV tech is constantly improving. ICE has been stable for decades. Tesla believes they can increase the market value of older EV's eventually by pushing autonomous driving.

I like the direction of https://slate.auto. Module, bring-your-own-computer. We'll see if they allow affordable trade-in's for upgrading battery/motors.

They could also work with CommaAI for autonomy.

tcbawo•1h ago
Is it really true that ICE has been stable? Cars seem to have been getting many innovations, especially with power, torque, and reliability. We probably don't hear much about it because it is low profile stuff and a mature product.
trashb•35m ago
Actually ICE has improved significantly in the last 20 years, even though progress was held back by emission and safety regulations. In the year 2000 a sports car would have around 200/250hp while these days any sports car that wants to boast power has around 500hp or more.

Perhaps you're not into cars much but if you compare top cars on track days etc. you will know there have definitely been huge changes. Though during the last 20 years repairability and reliability also took a hit.

anovikov•1h ago
Aren't they deprecating mainly because new EVs are better? In this case, it is not "derailing" but simply the actual replacement happening. And this effect will become smaller as the industry matures and EV prices stabilise.

At least that's what happened in 2022-2023 when prices of EVs and ICE cars quickly converged. No surprise existing EVs on the road deprecated rapidly.

diego_moita•1h ago
The upside of this story might be a change of culture in EVs in North America. Everywhere else in the world, EVs are cheap cars to urbanites. In the U.S./Canada they're muscle/status cars for rich people. This cheaper second hand market might help popularize them.

I live in Canada where the distances are long and the weather is freaking cold. These are 2 circumstances very adverse to EVs.

But, still, I love my Kia Niro EV. It is the best car I've ever had. The driving experience is so good that it made me enjoy driving; I always hated driving before this car.

EVs run much smoother, are more stable and more powerful. Besides, if you charge them at home, they're far cheaper; even if you don't have solar panels (I do have them, too).

IAmBroom•20m ago
I have never heard of them described as "muscle cars". In the US, they seem like "green" virtue-signalling tech toys for the middle and upper-middle class, to me.

I'd happily buy one if I were a bit more comfortable with their use, but I'm a tech "dawdler".

mytailorisrich•1h ago
In the UK I think most EVs are leased, especially through "salary sacrifice" schemes from employers (which saves the whole income tax on payments). Is it the same in the US?

In such case I suspect the impact is mostly on leasing companies with issues on viability and leasing costs (for consumers).

In UK/Europe this might also explain why depreciation after 3 years is so high: Leasing companies trying to dump EVs returned at end of leases.

nicoburns•1h ago
EVs are simply immature products. The first truly mainstream models (car manufacturers making EVs their flagship model) outside of Tesla were released this year, or maybe last.

The first few generations of smartphones didn't last very long either (1-2 years). But now they last much longer (5-7 years). EV lifespans will expand in the same way as they mature as a product.

instagib•1h ago
I’ve noticed hybrids are filling up dealers lots as well. They can’t sell them or won’t take a big loss on them. “Too heavy, expensive, less cargo space, and not enough benefits.” per sales.

There aren’t many EV’s on the lots either as the configuration team doesn’t see a need to order them from manufacturers if people aren’t buying them.

bryanlarsen•46m ago
A hybrid has a smaller battery, so it goes through more cycles for the same milage than a pure EV. An EV might get 250,000 miles from a battery, a hybrid only half that.
wood_spirit•1h ago
This story doesn’t really gel with my understanding as an EV owner in Europe.

The post says that Tesla hold their value better than Chinese newcomers but that absolutely isn’t the prices I’m seeing in Europe.

In Europe Tesla resale value has plummeted due to brand destruction. Tesla was super popular when they launched as the first realistic EV to hit the main time. But they quickly got a poor reputation for build quality and never delivering on self-driving, and that was before the political damage the owner did which seems never recoverable in at least a generation.

Meanwhile comparable Chinese entrants are so new they aren’t yet at the 3 year mark where fleets sell off to second hand market.

Another interesting thing about non-Tesla EVs is that there aren’t a lot being resold; if you got one, you likely hang onto it. Personally I’ve just not yet let go of my Kia EV6 even though it sailed past the normal trade in point recently.

trashb•43m ago
Tesla mostly focused on the American market anyway. In my understanding there are a lot of facilities for Tesla's that we don't have in Europe like the program where you can buy a refurbished Tesla from Tesla.

Additionally there is a political drive to not trust Chinese manufactured products so those EV's are probably harder to maintain, get support for and in general it is socially considered less status to have a Chinese EV instead of a Tesla. Where in Europe this cultural drive is not as present in Tesla vs Chinese . In my experience in the EU the drive is more about is it EV and the Chinese EV's often offer more features/value for less money.

RickJWagner•1h ago
I’d love to have an EV. I’m not even too frightened about the battery.

It’s just that the cars are aging like iPhones. Last years hardware package, hardware compatibility with latest software, etc are all people seem to talk about on Reddit. I think that’s a factor in the steep depreciation.

I just bought a new Corolla hybrid, it gets 60 miles per gallon and should last a good while. Maybe next purchase.

linuxftw•1h ago
I'm currently leasing an EV for 24 months 7.5kMi/yr. The residual price is over $20k lower than MSRP. Without subsidy and steep discounts, nobody would buy these things. And IMO, the residual is about $5k higher than it will be worth based on low-mileage used vehicles of the same model for sale. That finally gets us to the price, almost 50% lower than the MSRP, which I personally value this car new with 0 miles.

These EVs should be much cheaper. Either batteries are so outlandishly expensive that this will never be economically viable for the vast majority of the world outside of cities, or companies are playing accounting games.

In any case, when purchasing a used EV, you're essentially risking the entire purchase price if you get a battery lemon. Buying a Bolt or what have you for $15-$20k, and having to replace the battery at 60%+ of your purchase price, that's too much risk. Whereas if you bought a used ICE vehichle for $15-20k, and your engine fails, you might might need to spend $1500-5k for a repair, it's not all or nothing. And with a moderate amount of research, you can determine which makes or models are prone to early large repairs.

If EV manufacturers would sell a no-questions-asked insurance policy that guarantees the life of the battery to 250k miles, there would be no issue.

megaman821•25m ago
Manufactures could offer battery inspections and extended warranties. Maybe with more data, I assume at 15-20 years old no one really knows what the failure modes of these batteries will be.
trashb•49m ago
I think there are other factor's beside the battery and EV's being dumped in the market that may affect the resale value that are not mentioned in the article.

First of all I believe that the car manufactures (especially for electric cars) these days use planned obsolescence tactics to limit a car's lifespan at one side, while also promising the buyers that the car could last for far longer compared to their old ICE cars. However this promise often doesn't seem to hold up in the real world which will decrease confidence once the cars start breaking earlier. This is especially problematic when you are running an business calculating in the promised lifespan instead of the actual lifespan, once a business finds out (and does the math) often it will make economical sense to dump the fleet.

On top of that I think a big problem with certain cars on the second hand market is big onetime investments. You can see that already in certain internal combustion engine cars that are know to require a costly fix after x amount of miles. This is quite important in the second hand market since you often have to expect to do the "big maintenance" once you purchase a second hand vehicle as people like to sell slightly before this maintenance is due (and often not tell you).

Where EV's may run for a long time without problems they require costly repairs once they do break. Most EV's are build in a mostly non repairable way, like many modern vehicles, and you have to pray that the parts will be available after 10 years. Also a lot of maintenance on EV's can not easily be done by an enthusiast in a shed as it requires special equipment, certification and skills. Where with an ICE engine you may run into smaller maintenance earlier you are paying these fixes incrementally, and may be able to do a lot of the maintenance yourself.

On top of that I think there is a certain saturation in the electric car market where people that care about buying an EV increasingly have a EV and the people that don't care (or prefer ICE) don't want to invest the additional premium, or uncertainty to buy an EV. For example I don't buy an EV because it's very impractical to charge it where I live and I like the added flexibility (miles) that an economy ICE car can provide.

bryanlarsen•30m ago
A $25,000 used EV with 80,000 miles is not a good deal if you're going to have to spend $20,000 to replace the battery.

If you can get another 150,000 miles out of it with almost no maintenance or repair costs, it's a screaming good deal.

The latter is far more likely than the former, but people don't realize it yet.

https://www.p3-group.com/en/p3-updates/battery-aging-in-prac...

P. S. I will likely be buying a used EV soon.