Electric Vehicles

Gotta increase both the mileage and the price numbers to get something in the same class but as an EV. 36k EUR gets me in a 2023 EQE with 157k km. A6 and E-class are the same class of car (direct competitors) and EQE is supposed to be the electric E-Class. Using this one for the comparison because it's highly unpopular so about 20k cheaper than a similarly aged BMW i5 and Audi A6 E-tron hasn't been out long enough to get a 3 year old one anyway.

Now compare it to my 1800€ diesel A6 Allroad from 2007 with I don't care how many kilometers because the warranty is over anyway. How many years for that price difference to pay off? Maintenance and diesel have been about 3-4k a year for me, charging would be ~800 a year if I only ever charge at home and never on a public charger and get the official consumption figures. Puts me at roughly 2-3k saved per year on a 30k price difference, in a car that will depreciate more than 2-3k a year for the next 4-5 years. And I know that if you get sudden battery failure, Mercedes will tell you the battery warranty only covers "up to the value of the car", which is less than the battery costs at this point, so you have to put 10-20k up yourself. Suspect other manufacturers are going to claim similar bullshit.

And if you're going to ask why I'm only comparing to the same class: even significantly newer cars from cheaper manufacturers don't compare. Only recently tested a Volvo XC60, suspension was shit. A few years ago tested Hyundai Ioniq 5, suspension was utter shit. Rather be driving a 25 year old S-Class or A8 than a brand new Hyundai or Kia.

EVs will start making financial sense for us folks who know how to use a wrench when you can a used luxury one for 5k and know you can get a known good replacement battery for <2k and motor for ~500 AND can replace them at home.