timing for buying a new(er) car

[TheBeeKeeper]

our 2011 Honda CRV has a bit over 100K miles, bought it used 6 years ago.
We take good care of it, fix everything to keep it in good shape and safe.
I always thought I would drive it to the ground but lately I have second thoughts since for the last 2 years we spent at least 2K$/year fixing stuff like struts, control arms, brake rotors, and all sorts of bushings and bearings.
Things wear faster here in the Northeast with the cold winters and salt (so lots of rust!!)

I would love to get an electric, but the technology evolves fast and I wouldn't want to get a new car anyway.
Do you think in the next 2-3 years there will be more major EV advances? Would the new EVs today still be a good vehicle to drive 3 years from now?

What car would you buy in a year or 2? I would like to have a medium-sized family AWD that can mount a roof rack for bikes and other toys. In a normal year we drive 8-10K miles, 90% of it in a 20-mile radius, rural roads, and very snowy winters.

[Tester]

Toyota rav 4 prime? Expensive new, but who knows, perhaps in 3 years there will be used ones.
80% of your driving should be inside the EV range of that?
It is small, it has awd, it is very close to the CRV?

[Dave1442397]

The RAV4 PHEV is a good option if you don't want to go completely EV.

We're looking at the Toyota Venza, which is a hybrid, and more luxurious than a RAV4.

Another option I'm seriously considering is the Hyundai Ioniq 5, which is coming soon. From what I've seen and read about it, I'm impressed. It's supposed to start around $45k. If it's below $45k, it will qualify for the proposed $5k instant rebate in NJ. Combine that with the $7500 tax rebate, and NJ's proposed $500 towards a level 2 charger, and I'd be sold. Hyundai are also offering free charging for two years, although I doubt I'd use it much, considering how easy it is to charge at home.

I do think battery technology and charging infrastructure will improve in the short term, which is one reason I'm still considering a hybrid over an EV. I just read about upcoming battery tech that will improve charging times (by lowering temps) and extend range by at least 5%. Not a major change, but still.

[RWD]

I would love to get an electric, but the technology evolves fast and I wouldn't want to get a new car anyway.
Do you think in the next 2-3 years there will be more major EV advances? Would the new EVs today still be a good vehicle to drive 3 years from now?

I believe the latest crop of EVs is finally at the point where they won't rapidly become obsolete. There are lots of options now that can do 200-300 miles on a charge today for reasonable pricing (Bolt, Kona EV, Niro EV, LEAF Plus, Mustang Mach-E, ID.4, Model 3). And quite a few promising options in the next year or two as well (Ioniq 5, EV6, Ariya, Q4 e-tron, bZ4X, Solterra, F-150 Lightning).

What car would you buy in a year or 2? I would like to have a medium-sized family AWD that can mount a roof rack for bikes and other toys. In a normal year we drive 8-10K miles, 90% of it in a 20-mile radius, rural roads, and very snowy winters.

I'm with @Dave1442397, the Ioniq 5 looks really good and is supposed to be available later this year (not in all states though). Excellent range, fastest charging, good performance, and decent pricing. It looks small in pictures but don't let that fool you, it has a wheelbase longer than a Hyundai Palisade!

[Model96]

When choosing an EV or Hybrid I will be looking into how much replacement batteries cost when they finally do expire.

[RWD]

When choosing an EV or Hybrid I will be looking into how much replacement batteries cost when they finally do expire.

Battery prices have dropped roughly 90% in the last decade. So chances are replacements will be much cheaper in the future than what you might be quoted today.

And that's assuming you need to replace it at all. Aside from the passively cooled first-generation LEAF batteries EVs have shown their batteries to be quite resilient. And with the current higher range EVs you can spare losing a few more miles than those sub-100 mile range early cars. New batteries may even last a million miles!

Also, in the case that your battery has lost too much capacity you may not even need to replace the whole thing. Prius owners, for example, have been very successful in just replacing individual cells that have gone bad for a fraction of the cost.

[BuffaloStache]

I'm in a similar boat to the OP, but maybe on some different timescales. DW and I both drive 2006 cars, and are also starting to look at replacing them. We were originally going to replace one last year, but with the pandemic and my new working from home arrangement (likely to be WFH 3+ days/week moving forward) we were thinking we'd replace one car with an ICE model this year/early next. Then we'd hopefully get a full BEV in ~2 years or so.

I really like the Kona EV but they seem to be hard to find in all states?

[zolotiyeruki]

Most cars hit a "hump" of maintenance around the 100k mile mark.  Shocks, timing belt, brakes, fluids, etc.  Once you get past that hump, you'll be good for many more tens of thousands of miles.

You say you've spent a couple thousand dollars over the past couple years.  $1000/year is a whole lot less than a new car, or a new car payment.

Have you ever considered starting to do your own car maintenance and repair?  It's not as difficult as you might think, and the dollars you save per hour invested can be impressive.

[Model96]

When choosing an EV or Hybrid I will be looking into how much replacement batteries cost when they finally do expire.

Battery prices have dropped roughly 90% in the last decade. So chances are replacements will be much cheaper in the future than what you might be quoted today.

And that's assuming you need to replace it at all. Aside from the passively cooled first-generation LEAF batteries EVs have shown their batteries to be quite resilient. And with the current higher range EVs you can spare losing a few more miles than those sub-100 mile range early cars. New batteries may even last a million miles!

Also, in the case that your battery has lost too much capacity you may not even need to replace the whole thing. Prius owners, for example, have been very successful in just replacing individual cells that have gone bad for a fraction of the cost.

I hope so! It will be good to get a better idea of which models last longer, just like we know with IC vehicles.

[RWD]

When choosing an EV or Hybrid I will be looking into how much replacement batteries cost when they finally do expire.

Battery prices have dropped roughly 90% in the last decade. So chances are replacements will be much cheaper in the future than what you might be quoted today.

And that's assuming you need to replace it at all. Aside from the passively cooled first-generation LEAF batteries EVs have shown their batteries to be quite resilient. And with the current higher range EVs you can spare losing a few more miles than those sub-100 mile range early cars. New batteries may even last a million miles!

Also, in the case that your battery has lost too much capacity you may not even need to replace the whole thing. Prius owners, for example, have been very successful in just replacing individual cells that have gone bad for a fraction of the cost.

I hope so! It will be good to get a better idea of which models last longer, just like we know with IC vehicles.

https://storage.googleapis.com/geotab-sandbox/ev-battery-degradation/index.html
https://electrek.co/2020/06/12/tesla-data-battery-degradation-limited-mileage-packs-equal/
https://cleantechnica.com/2019/12/16/new-data-shows-heat-fast-charging-responsible-for-more-battery-degradation-than-age-or-mileage/

[alsoknownasDean]

Should be fine as is for a while longer. If you want a smallish AWD wagon, how about a Subaru Forester? Or a Toyota Rav4, Hyundai Tucson, etc.

What's the condition of the underside? Can you purchase a used car from a state with unsalted roads and drive it home?

[nereo]

Most cars hit a "hump" of maintenance around the 100k mile mark.  Shocks, timing belt, brakes, fluids, etc.  Once you get past that hump, you'll be good for many more tens of thousands of miles.

You say you've spent a couple thousand dollars over the past couple years.  $1000/year is a whole lot less than a new car, or a new car payment.

Have you ever considered starting to do your own car maintenance and repair?  It's not as difficult as you might think, and the dollars you save per hour invested can be impressive.

I was going to say basically the exact same thing. $2k over a 2 year period works out to $83/mo to get full-service repairs. Frankly that’s not much. And it’s likely to decrease for a long while until the car gets near the 200k mark.

Regarding BEVs and PHEVs, RWD listed all the ones we are considering (we’ve got a large car with 225k, also here in New England, and will be replacing that once car prices and stock return to some semblance of normal).

[chemistk]

Most cars hit a "hump" of maintenance around the 100k mile mark.  Shocks, timing belt, brakes, fluids, etc.  Once you get past that hump, you'll be good for many more tens of thousands of miles.

You say you've spent a couple thousand dollars over the past couple years.  $1000/year is a whole lot less than a new car, or a new car payment.

Have you ever considered starting to do your own car maintenance and repair?  It's not as difficult as you might think, and the dollars you save per hour invested can be impressive.

I was going to say basically the exact same thing. $2k over a 2 year period works out to $83/mo to get full-service repairs. Frankly that’s not much. And it’s likely to decrease for a long while until the car gets near the 200k mark.

Regarding BEVs and PHEVs, RWD listed all the ones we are considering (we’ve got a large car with 225k, also here in New England, and will be replacing that once car prices and stock return to some semblance of normal).

I'll 'third' the maintenance hump observation. I would bet with a bit more preventative work, that CR-V will sail to 200k. NE winter woes can be easily avoided with a car wash (especially underbody) after snowstorms/salt events.

OP - if you want a good 'excuse' to buy an EV, then just come out and say that!

[darknight]

Most cars hit a "hump" of maintenance around the 100k mile mark.  Shocks, timing belt, brakes, fluids, etc.  Once you get past that hump, you'll be good for many more tens of thousands of miles.

You say you've spent a couple thousand dollars over the past couple years.  $1000/year is a whole lot less than a new car, or a new car payment.

Have you ever considered starting to do your own car maintenance and repair?  It's not as difficult as you might think, and the dollars you save per hour invested can be impressive.

Excellent. I was going to mention this as well, once the "soft" stuff (like brakes, shocks etc) have been replaced the big stuff like trans/engine etc should be just fine for another 100k or more.

To the OP, CRV's are amazing. Keep driving it especially if it's paid off. I have a 2003 jetta diesel (45mpg!!) that has a lot of life left but it's going to be too small in the next 6 months with our growing kids. I'll upsize when I NEED to. Your alternate options are just a fancier version of the same genre of vehicle that you currently drive.

[TheBeeKeeper]

Most cars hit a "hump" of maintenance around the 100k mile mark.  Shocks, timing belt, brakes, fluids, etc.  Once you get past that hump, you'll be good for many more tens of thousands of miles.

You say you've spent a couple thousand dollars over the past couple years.  $1000/year is a whole lot less than a new car, or a new car payment.

Have you ever considered starting to do your own car maintenance and repair?  It's not as difficult as you might think, and the dollars you save per hour invested can be impressive.

I was going to say basically the exact same thing. $2k over a 2 year period works out to $83/mo to get full-service repairs. Frankly that’s not much. And it’s likely to decrease for a long while until the car gets near the 200k mark.

Regarding BEVs and PHEVs, RWD listed all the ones we are considering (we’ve got a large car with 225k, also here in New England, and will be replacing that once car prices and stock return to some semblance of normal).

I'll 'third' the maintenance hump observation. I would bet with a bit more preventative work, that CR-V will sail to 200k. NE winter woes can be easily avoided with a car wash (especially underbody) after snowstorms/salt events.

OP - if you want a good 'excuse' to buy an EV, then just come out and say that!

:-D Ha!
I actually want an excuse NOT to buy anything and keep fixing the CRV :-)
For our family, a car just needs to be safe and bring us from point A to point B.

Maintenance and repairs have been >2K$ per YEAR in the last 2 years, and gas is about 1200$/year, so while it would be nice with an EV not to spend on average 300$/month, I understand the math of buying/financing a 30K$ car

The car is paid and in good mechanical shape, but it is rusty. To minimize salt damage I have to wash the underside after every single drive. Tons of salt on the roads from November-April.

[JLee]

Most cars hit a "hump" of maintenance around the 100k mile mark.  Shocks, timing belt, brakes, fluids, etc.  Once you get past that hump, you'll be good for many more tens of thousands of miles.

You say you've spent a couple thousand dollars over the past couple years.  $1000/year is a whole lot less than a new car, or a new car payment.

Have you ever considered starting to do your own car maintenance and repair?  It's not as difficult as you might think, and the dollars you save per hour invested can be impressive.

I was going to say basically the exact same thing. $2k over a 2 year period works out to $83/mo to get full-service repairs. Frankly that’s not much. And it’s likely to decrease for a long while until the car gets near the 200k mark.

Regarding BEVs and PHEVs, RWD listed all the ones we are considering (we’ve got a large car with 225k, also here in New England, and will be replacing that once car prices and stock return to some semblance of normal).

I'll 'third' the maintenance hump observation. I would bet with a bit more preventative work, that CR-V will sail to 200k. NE winter woes can be easily avoided with a car wash (especially underbody) after snowstorms/salt events.

OP - if you want a good 'excuse' to buy an EV, then just come out and say that!

:-D Ha!
I actually want an excuse NOT to buy anything and keep fixing the CRV :-)
For our family, a car just needs to be safe and bring us from point A to point B.

Maintenance and repairs have been >2K$ per YEAR in the last 2 years, and gas is about 1200$/year, so while it would be nice with an EV not to spend on average 300$/month, I understand the math of buying/financing a 30K$ car

The car is paid and in good mechanical shape, but it is rusty. To minimize salt damage I have to wash the underside after every single drive. Tons of salt on the roads from November-April.

Have you done any undercoating? I use fluid film or woolwax under my truck every fall and it's in spectacular shape so far.

[TheBeeKeeper]

Most cars hit a "hump" of maintenance around the 100k mile mark.  Shocks, timing belt, brakes, fluids, etc.  Once you get past that hump, you'll be good for many more tens of thousands of miles.

You say you've spent a couple thousand dollars over the past couple years.  $1000/year is a whole lot less than a new car, or a new car payment.

Have you ever considered starting to do your own car maintenance and repair?  It's not as difficult as you might think, and the dollars you save per hour invested can be impressive.

I was going to say basically the exact same thing. $2k over a 2 year period works out to $83/mo to get full-service repairs. Frankly that’s not much. And it’s likely to decrease for a long while until the car gets near the 200k mark.

Regarding BEVs and PHEVs, RWD listed all the ones we are considering (we’ve got a large car with 225k, also here in New England, and will be replacing that once car prices and stock return to some semblance of normal).

I'll 'third' the maintenance hump observation. I would bet with a bit more preventative work, that CR-V will sail to 200k. NE winter woes can be easily avoided with a car wash (especially underbody) after snowstorms/salt events.

OP - if you want a good 'excuse' to buy an EV, then just come out and say that!

:-D Ha!
I actually want an excuse NOT to buy anything and keep fixing the CRV :-)
For our family, a car just needs to be safe and bring us from point A to point B.

Maintenance and repairs have been >2K$ per YEAR in the last 2 years, and gas is about 1200$/year, so while it would be nice with an EV not to spend on average 300$/month, I understand the math of buying/financing a 30K$ car

The car is paid and in good mechanical shape, but it is rusty. To minimize salt damage I have to wash the underside after every single drive. Tons of salt on the roads from November-April.

Have you done any undercoating? I use fluid film or woolwax under my truck every fall and it's in spectacular shape so far.

I have not. Can you do that over existing rust? Is it worth it for cars that have been on salty roads for 5-6 winters?

[JLee]

Most cars hit a "hump" of maintenance around the 100k mile mark.  Shocks, timing belt, brakes, fluids, etc.  Once you get past that hump, you'll be good for many more tens of thousands of miles.

You say you've spent a couple thousand dollars over the past couple years.  $1000/year is a whole lot less than a new car, or a new car payment.

Have you ever considered starting to do your own car maintenance and repair?  It's not as difficult as you might think, and the dollars you save per hour invested can be impressive.

I was going to say basically the exact same thing. $2k over a 2 year period works out to $83/mo to get full-service repairs. Frankly that’s not much. And it’s likely to decrease for a long while until the car gets near the 200k mark.

Regarding BEVs and PHEVs, RWD listed all the ones we are considering (we’ve got a large car with 225k, also here in New England, and will be replacing that once car prices and stock return to some semblance of normal).

I'll 'third' the maintenance hump observation. I would bet with a bit more preventative work, that CR-V will sail to 200k. NE winter woes can be easily avoided with a car wash (especially underbody) after snowstorms/salt events.

OP - if you want a good 'excuse' to buy an EV, then just come out and say that!

:-D Ha!
I actually want an excuse NOT to buy anything and keep fixing the CRV :-)
For our family, a car just needs to be safe and bring us from point A to point B.

Maintenance and repairs have been >2K$ per YEAR in the last 2 years, and gas is about 1200$/year, so while it would be nice with an EV not to spend on average 300$/month, I understand the math of buying/financing a 30K$ car

The car is paid and in good mechanical shape, but it is rusty. To minimize salt damage I have to wash the underside after every single drive. Tons of salt on the roads from November-April.

Have you done any undercoating? I use fluid film or woolwax under my truck every fall and it's in spectacular shape so far.

I have not. Can you do that over existing rust? Is it worth it for cars that have been on salty roads for 5-6 winters?

You'd want to knock the loose rust off and make sure you're getting down to base metal, but yeah it'll be fine over existing rust. It'll help slow what's there, so while it won't fix it, it'll help it not get worse.