> Nobody wants to buy a second hand EV if it needs a usd10-15k for a new battery and an EV becomes pretty much unsellable at this point without a replaced battery.
Enough people believe this that such cars are the best deal right now, by far. You're more likely to have to replace a Toyota Engine by 200,000 miles (4%) than a Tesla Battery (3%). As long as the battery has liquid cooling (aka not the Leaf) and is relatively large (small batteries do more cycles per mile) and you do a battery health check at time of purchase to look for abuse, the battery will likely outlast the rest of the car, unless you're doing Taxi type milage. In which case you need to ensure you're getting an LFP battery, which should last close to a million miles.
Even Leaf batteries can be fine. A used Leaf might be the best deal going right now due to everyone being afraid of the battery, but if it hasn't been fast charged a ton its fine. Specifically the second gen "plus" models are great due to the larger battery meaning they have less wear.
Its also, by far, the easiest EV to swap a battery on yourself. It might be the only one you can reasonably do in your driveway. As its 8 bolts, 3 plugs, and a quick ECU flash to get a new one going. Its also cheaper ($8k last I looked, for the 62kw model) than any other EV to swap the battery due to the lack of cooling.
Not the perfect EV, but maybe the perfect shade tree mechanics EV.
Enough people believe this that such cars are the best deal right now, by far. You're more likely to have to replace a Toyota Engine by 200,000 miles (4%) than a Tesla Battery (3%). As long as the battery has liquid cooling (aka not the Leaf) and is relatively large (small batteries do more cycles per mile) and you do a battery health check at time of purchase to look for abuse, the battery will likely outlast the rest of the car, unless you're doing Taxi type milage. In which case you need to ensure you're getting an LFP battery, which should last close to a million miles.