Florida family drives into electric car
problem: a replacement battery costs more
than vehicle itself
Fox Business,
by
Adam Sabes
Original Article
Posted By: NorthernDog,
7/18/2022 10:50:40 AM
A family in Florida drove into a major problem after buying a used electric vehicle: the replacement battery for their dead car wound up costing more than the used car was purchased for. Avery Siwinski is a 17-year-old who's parents spent $11,000 on a used Ford Focus Electric car, which is a 2014 model and had about 60,000 miles when it was bought, according to KVUE. The teenager had the car for six months before it began giving her issues and the dashboard was flashing symbols. "It was fine at first," Siwinski said. "I loved it so much. It was
Reply 1 - Posted by:
MickTurn 7/18/2022 10:58:14 AM (No. 1219892)
Ford Focus is misspelled, you know what I mean!
38 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Sanchin 7/18/2022 11:01:21 AM (No. 1219896)
So I guess the lesson OP is referring to is that car companies are now being incentivized to shaft consumers more with the new EVs and place the blame on Supply problems. The bigger problem is that this con is being orchestrated and implemented via threats and coersion by the government.
23 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Norway 7/18/2022 11:01:38 AM (No. 1219897)
Suckers!
17 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
vhs68 7/18/2022 11:04:28 AM (No. 1219901)
What a Lemon that Focus was!!
Just saying..................
9 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
Jethro bo 7/18/2022 11:07:12 AM (No. 1219904)
But, but, how will she save the environment now?
21 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
volksford 7/18/2022 11:08:17 AM (No. 1219909)
The results of decision makers who couldn't run a lemonade stand .
21 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
mc squared 7/18/2022 11:13:34 AM (No. 1219927)
This is news? Thinking people know that all batteries have a limited life.That car is 8 years old.
24 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
kono 7/18/2022 11:18:26 AM (No. 1219940)
In all candor, I have already pre-rejected the idea of ever switching to an electric vehicle. When they are the only option, I will walk, instead.
Still, the used car's market value can't compare to the new battery's cost. The moment any car is purchased and driven from the dealership, its value drops by half. Adding several thousand miles of usage and four years reduces that even more.
Comparing that to the price of a new battery is either naive or disingenuous. Either way it's a little like comparing apples to orange soda.
9 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
thekidsmom66 7/18/2022 11:19:04 AM (No. 1219942)
#2, the issue is not a supply problem. The issue is that the car is discontinued, and they no longer make batteries for it.
14 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Ribicon 7/18/2022 11:24:22 AM (No. 1219955)
Sorry, no refunds.
8 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Bur Oak 7/18/2022 11:26:14 AM (No. 1219959)
An electric car more than a few years old has a value that is little more than salvage value. This is likely a lot less than what the car seller is asking.
16 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Califedup 7/18/2022 11:37:42 AM (No. 1219973)
Electric Vehicles are the equivalent of the old west patent medicine sold to the gullible townsfolk promising to cure every illness or disease known to man by fast talking traveling salesmen. The latter day lying, swindling hucksters selling this particular scam are people like Musk, GM, Ford etc. and of course the communist death democrats posing as "Save our Planet" warriors.
Electric Vehicles are a scam. Frightening how many ignorant, gullible citizens there are in this country who are ready to swallow whatever they are told by the communist death democrat controlled propaganda media.
Shocking isn't it.
20 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
Luke21 7/18/2022 11:39:34 AM (No. 1219978)
Idiocracy.
12 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
Thos Weatherby 7/18/2022 11:40:35 AM (No. 1219982)
This is why solar isn't quite there yet.
8 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
felixcat 7/18/2022 11:43:58 AM (No. 1219988)
Caught a few minutes of Laura Trump on last night's Fox - The Big Story and very disappointed in her comments about EVs. Her comments and I paraphrase: we all want green energy, we want a clean environment, the cars are just not affordable for most people, blah blah blah.
First off - No, we all don't want green energy. I like birds and bats and am sick of them being slaughtered by the wind turbines or fried by the huge solar farms - that is NOT green. Or the horrific conditions by the miners and the damage to the environment by mining for the rare minerals needed for these car batteries. We have a clean environment here in the USA because with the greater use of natural gas under Trump. The US reduced its carbon emissions. We pump and drill for energy in the cleanest and safest manner possible compared to all other producers. And yes, the EVs are not affordable to most people BUT stop with forcing us to go electric. Let the market and technology and customers create the demand for EVs just as was done with the first cars aka Model Ts.
18 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
stablemoney 7/18/2022 11:52:19 AM (No. 1220001)
Ford should be sued to provide the battery, or take the car back, and provide a car that works.
13 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
mc squared 7/18/2022 11:59:28 AM (No. 1220014)
No manufacturer is required to replace parts for free on an 8 year old car unless it's a safety issue. Think Samsung would give a refund on a aging smart phone when the battery dies?
15 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
DVC 7/18/2022 12:00:23 PM (No. 1220015)
I've repeatedly warned of this issue here. When the battery goes, and they DO wear out, and they wear out SOONER with fast charging rather than slow, overnight charging, they are VERY expensive to replace.
And in this case - not even available. 60,000 miles and DONE.
Well, the jokes on you for believing in electric cars. If your gas tank rusts out (a rare event, but possible) a couple of hundred bucks gets a new one installed. Or less if you are handy and do the job yourself. Don't mess with electric car batteries, touch the wrong part....and you are instantly, irrevocably dead. Zap, DONE.
20 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
Rich323 7/18/2022 12:00:57 PM (No. 1220018)
Wait until Tesla goes out of business. No replacement anything and wait until these lithium batteries expire! Just like the expired solar panels in California. Millions of panels piling up that can’t go to landfills due to toxic chemicals inside of them! Way to go Green idiots!
17 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
Rich323 7/18/2022 12:03:53 PM (No. 1220023)
Number 16 Ford not responsible after warranty expires. Same as old cell phones when companies go out of business or drop model lines. You are SOL after a warranty expires. Try to get an older model IPhone fixed no batteries etc.
12 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
DVC 7/18/2022 12:09:38 PM (No. 1220030)
Re #8, yes, that 50% loss off the lot thing used to be kinda true, of American cars, long ago. It's not been true of the more reliable cars like Hondas and Toyotas for many, many years. Those cars retain 75-80% of value up through 50,000 miles, often.
And today....even more so with the supply issues that the idiot Dems have created.
10 people like this.
I would like to take this occasion to publicly thank the salesman who talked my save-the-planet daughter out of buying a used hybrid and sold her a VW Eos instead.
15 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
virbots 7/18/2022 12:14:46 PM (No. 1220039)
Batteries get less efficient over time. But by the time it needs replacing, replacement costs more than the car is worth. So it's effectively totaled.
Hybrids are the same story.
10 people like this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
coyote 7/18/2022 12:23:36 PM (No. 1220052)
It was perhaps 12 years ago when someone I knew replaced a battery in a hybrid car. It cost $3500 then, but with inflation and much larger demand (manufacturing and replacements) plus the current supply interruptions, $14,000 sounds plausible. There are many problems with electrics, and this is just one of them.
9 people like this.
Reply 25 - Posted by:
formerNYer 7/18/2022 12:25:32 PM (No. 1220054)
Buying a used electric car is as stupid as voting for a D'Rat.
19 people like this.
Reply 26 - Posted by:
Omen55 7/18/2022 12:37:29 PM (No. 1220067)
This is the most important questions on EVs.
1)How long will the battery last?
2)How much to replace?
Get a real car.
11 people like this.
Reply 27 - Posted by:
MDConservative 7/18/2022 12:38:01 PM (No. 1220069)
This is a classic case of buying a pig in a poke. The girl wanted it because "I loved it so much. It was small and quiet and cute." Her parents apparently had more money than automotive knowledge...and 60,000 miles is nothing on a car today. Reviews and experience indicate this car is a dog. Doubtful anyone bothered to look. Still, what Avery wants, she gets. And then the fun begins...
9 people like this.
Reply 28 - Posted by:
jacksin5 7/18/2022 12:49:03 PM (No. 1220090)
This is another example of the near future where car owners will be pushed into Mass Transit.
10 people like this.
Reply 29 - Posted by:
DrOstrow 7/18/2022 12:59:32 PM (No. 1220106)
Be interesting to know what that 'car' cast when new, divide into 60,000 and find the
TRUE cost per mile since the 'car' is now worthless.
Will bet a 10 spot ( hey, I'm not wealthy ) that the cost per mile is a heck of a lot more
than a Corolla with 180K on the ticker, still running and still getting 30+ MPG !!
7 people like this.
Reply 30 - Posted by:
sw penn 7/18/2022 1:04:13 PM (No. 1220109)
If you have ever seen the high altitude shots of solar plants
they're not green.
They're black.
No sane people who were actually concerned about "global warming"
would bark and clap like trained seals
while their "elites" painted their planet black
for money...
3 people like this.
Reply 31 - Posted by:
JayD 7/18/2022 1:07:43 PM (No. 1220114)
You used to be able to work on and fix almost any problem with your car. Then they regulated automobiles so heavily, mostly for environmental concerns, that the casual owner or hobbyist no longer had any chance with the high-tech components. Ninety year-old cars with gas engines can still run, but an eight year-old EV is a pile of scrap because the power source is out of date. This is the stupidest time I've ever seen.
7 people like this.
Reply 32 - Posted by:
DVC 7/18/2022 1:08:28 PM (No. 1220115)
Actually, not so, #23. When the hybrid batteries die, and they WILL, the car just reverts to being a somewhat overweight gasoline powered car. The ONLY advantage to a hybrid is the energy recovery in regenerative braking can be re-used, where the braking energy on a normal car is entirely turned to waste heat.
So...your hybrid won't store any energy in braking, so the normal brakes have to do it all, and you get no gas mileage boost from the recovered energy. So, a gas car with the disadvantage of hauling around a dead battery and a heavy motor-generator unit which is fully integrated into the motor-transmission unit, so not practical to remove to save the weight.
A lower performing, lower gas mileage car than with the battery working....but it will still drive pretty well, unlike an EV with a crapped out battery, which is as useless as your old cell phone when the battery went bad. Either replace the battery (and pay the eyewatering price, if you can find one) or scrap it.
6 people like this.
Reply 33 - Posted by:
EJKrausJr 7/18/2022 1:17:00 PM (No. 1220135)
Green is the new red, deeper in debt red that is. Plus the disposal fee for the old batteries. Who said EVs were man's gift to the environment? Butt Pete?
7 people like this.
Reply 34 - Posted by:
bad-hair 7/18/2022 1:31:30 PM (No. 1220157)
Speed Limit 60
Fords Do the best you can.
0 people like this.
Reply 35 - Posted by:
MDConservative 7/18/2022 1:39:16 PM (No. 1220166)
#29 - MSRP for this car was $29,170. Let's not forget she paid $11,000, for how many miles? Doesn't say.
One review: "Imagine driving by gas stations and waving instead of stopping. That's me, now that I own an Electric Focus. And, there are many places with free electricity in Sacramento, including my employer. In the Bay Area, I have access to the carpool lane even when driving solo because it comes with the "clean-air sticker." If I run the air conditioning, I get 70 miles; otherwise, I get closer to 90 miles per charge. Overall, I love my Ford Focus Electric."
2 people like this.
Reply 36 - Posted by:
Starboard_side 7/18/2022 1:49:41 PM (No. 1220185)
Is this the very first dead battery in the EV market?
Doubtful, but where are they being recycled? There is a TON of very precious elements in these batteries, which should be recycled.
I remember when I was choosing between a couple of vehicles, and after doing the math, realized the Prius would only save a few dollars each month but was over $10,000 more. It never "paid" for itself with the fuel savings.
Even with the higher gasoline prices, i doubt it would pay for itself, but makes people feel good about themselves, I guess.
6 people like this.
Reply 37 - Posted by:
JimJr 7/18/2022 1:49:44 PM (No. 1220186)
With "old fashioned" cars, if you blow up the engine, you can go to the junk yard and get a replacement. Old batteries are just old batteries.
5 people like this.
Reply 38 - Posted by:
red1066 7/18/2022 2:22:58 PM (No. 1220223)
Now she can walk which will save the earth even more.
4 people like this.
Reply 39 - Posted by:
ussjimmycarter 7/18/2022 2:39:31 PM (No. 1220231)
I wouldn’t sit in that bad boy! You will get your chestnuts roasted…real fast when she blows!
0 people like this.
#36 - Re that Prius. For a laugh and a half, check out the South Park "Smug Alert" episode (Season 10, episode 2) in which Kyle's dad buys one and then becomes so full of himself for helping save the environment that he moves his family to San Francisco, where the Broflovskis can be with other like-minded idiots. Smug - not smog - then settles over the town and Cartman embarks on a rescue mission to even-smuggier San Francisco to rescue Kyle before the smug from George Clooney's Oscar acceptance speech drifts north and creates a "perfect storm of self satisfaction." I don't know how Parker and Stone think this stuff up.
Trailer: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0783418/
3 people like this.
Reply 41 - Posted by:
jeffkinnh 7/18/2022 5:04:18 PM (No. 1220369)
$29,000 MSRP and the car is unrepairable junk in 8 years. I have 3 gas vehicles that are 20 years old and all still running. Yes, I have had to put some money into them to keep them up but the parts have always been available. How much you want to bet that lithium for these batteries, that comes from China, is in short supply and Ford is focusing on getting batteries for NEW electric vehicles instead.
And Brandon wants us ALL to have one of these massive boat anchors.
3 people like this.
Reply 42 - Posted by:
3XALADY 7/18/2022 5:14:24 PM (No. 1220374)
And I bet that seller four years ago was thanking Jesus for answering his prayers when young Avery fell in love with his Ford Focus.
2 people like this.
Reply 43 - Posted by:
rochow 7/18/2022 8:38:08 PM (No. 1220539)
Not only that but imagine all these batteries later on when we will have fields of un-disposable electric car batteries. Now that is really very green. One wonders if the 'Beast" will have electric batteries. For some reason I don't think that will ever be the case!
0 people like this.
Reply 44 - Posted by:
mifla 7/19/2022 3:45:03 AM (No. 1220755)
Sounds like a great RNC ad for the next election.
0 people like this.
Reply 45 - Posted by:
Faithfully 7/19/2022 8:18:23 PM (No. 1221828)
Electric cars that need to be re-powered for an hour or more. Think about it. While you are thinking about that think about the government telling you to turn down your A/C because you are a drain. How stupid do they think we are?
0 people like this.
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The car is essentially worthless. A bitter lesson learned by the 17-year old.