The maintenance cost and future price advantages of electric vehicles before gas-powered cars could be more than offset by their rising insurance premiums. Repairability has to be baked into the EV production cake now.
I’ll probably buy an electric car one day, but I’ll be paying a lot of attention to its repairability. We have to make sure brands understand that « programmed obsolescence » isn’t accepted by everyone!
Lawmakers should fix that. Nothing a consumer can do here. If you know up front you can avoid a brand, but with the OTA updates and stuff they can just pull a bait and switch.
Why do you think Aptera will be better on this issue? I was very disappointed by the decision not to paint their vehicles. It’s hard to see how that won’t lead to a substandard product.
It looks very modular, with company claiming a right to repair philosophy.
The painting seems to be aiming for a lower emissions vehicle, cheaper costs. Given that the body is not metal replacing panels should be easier if they get damaged.
Not to mention battery size doesn’t need to be as large, so replacing it should be viable.
I’m hopeful but still got see how everything shakes out.
Cheaper costs for sure. Not sure about the rest. I understand the environmental costs associated with paint but it’s an important part of weather proofing in the current production model. Vinyl wraps just aren’t going to perform as well or last as long, are shifting a big cost onto the consumer, and raise questions about the longevity of the product. This will also have large environmental cost due to shortened lifespan.
I’m glad they’ve mentioned right to repair but I’d like to see where that rhetoric is backed by action. Otherwise it’s just more capitalist spin.
The typical number from the industry is 3-7. And realistically, we’re looking at the low end here—sun exposure is the most important factor. It’s a fucking solar car. Maybe if you live in Alaska and park in a garage all the time it could make it to 10 years but if I buy an aptera I would park it in the sun. I also live in one of the sunniest climates in the US. I don’t want to have to spend thousands redoing this every 3 years.
I thought about putting down a deposit but decided against it for this reason. I’ll want to see how they do for a few years on the road before buying in. Especially with the recent price increases.
I put down a deposit recently, like last month, but I have a similar outlook. I wanna see how they do after a few years to see how they hold up first. But if they look good and start selling like hotcakes I might be glad I put a deposit down early. Otherwise I’ll cancel and get a Chevy bolt begrudgingly.
I wanna be optimistic because I do want Aptera to at least push the whole industry towards more repairable efficient and cheep evs.
I hope so but I just feel like disappointment is inevitable in this corporate production model. Even if people set out to do the right thing, the economic system forces people to behave the same ways.
Even if they turn out to be what they are, they will just get acquired at the end of their cycle of enshittification. If this shit is not regulated, the market weeds out consumer friendly options.
I hadn’t heard of them, but looking it up it seems like tech startup garbage. You don’t need to re-invent the car. It looks like they made a silly design just to stand out. It also sacrafices a lot for that design. It’s a two seater with very little storage room and probably not great for taller people like me. It also seems to have very little space for crumple-zones, so I’m curious as to how safe it is in an accident.
They listen and say “We hear you but the data shows you much rather have the Witcher 3 running on your dashboard and webcam more easily monetize this.”
I’ll probably buy an electric car one day, but I’ll be paying a lot of attention to its repairability. We have to make sure brands understand that « programmed obsolescence » isn’t accepted by everyone!
Lawmakers should fix that. Nothing a consumer can do here. If you know up front you can avoid a brand, but with the OTA updates and stuff they can just pull a bait and switch.
This consumer will be doing his part by not buying any car made after 2018
But they do. Individual action can’t right systematic wrongs.
You might want to take a look at Aptera. If we’re lucky they’ll sell their first cars in 1-5 years
Why do you think Aptera will be better on this issue? I was very disappointed by the decision not to paint their vehicles. It’s hard to see how that won’t lead to a substandard product.
It looks very modular, with company claiming a right to repair philosophy.
The painting seems to be aiming for a lower emissions vehicle, cheaper costs. Given that the body is not metal replacing panels should be easier if they get damaged.
Not to mention battery size doesn’t need to be as large, so replacing it should be viable.
I’m hopeful but still got see how everything shakes out.
Cheaper costs for sure. Not sure about the rest. I understand the environmental costs associated with paint but it’s an important part of weather proofing in the current production model. Vinyl wraps just aren’t going to perform as well or last as long, are shifting a big cost onto the consumer, and raise questions about the longevity of the product. This will also have large environmental cost due to shortened lifespan.
I’m glad they’ve mentioned right to repair but I’d like to see where that rhetoric is backed by action. Otherwise it’s just more capitalist spin.
I think I heard mentioned that they expect the wrap to last 5-10 years, which isn’t great, but not terrible.
I don’t think they have a choice with right to repair, as changing their stance would be detrimental to their following.
The typical number from the industry is 3-7. And realistically, we’re looking at the low end here—sun exposure is the most important factor. It’s a fucking solar car. Maybe if you live in Alaska and park in a garage all the time it could make it to 10 years but if I buy an aptera I would park it in the sun. I also live in one of the sunniest climates in the US. I don’t want to have to spend thousands redoing this every 3 years.
I thought about putting down a deposit but decided against it for this reason. I’ll want to see how they do for a few years on the road before buying in. Especially with the recent price increases.
I put down a deposit recently, like last month, but I have a similar outlook. I wanna see how they do after a few years to see how they hold up first. But if they look good and start selling like hotcakes I might be glad I put a deposit down early. Otherwise I’ll cancel and get a Chevy bolt begrudgingly.
I wanna be optimistic because I do want Aptera to at least push the whole industry towards more repairable efficient and cheep evs.
I hope so but I just feel like disappointment is inevitable in this corporate production model. Even if people set out to do the right thing, the economic system forces people to behave the same ways.
Even if they turn out to be what they are, they will just get acquired at the end of their cycle of enshittification. If this shit is not regulated, the market weeds out consumer friendly options.
I hadn’t heard of them, but looking it up it seems like tech startup garbage. You don’t need to re-invent the car. It looks like they made a silly design just to stand out. It also sacrafices a lot for that design. It’s a two seater with very little storage room and probably not great for taller people like me. It also seems to have very little space for crumple-zones, so I’m curious as to how safe it is in an accident.
They listen and say “We hear you but the data shows you much rather have the Witcher 3 running on your dashboard and webcam more easily monetize this.”