bidens incredible transition to electric cars

Smilingreen

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Premium Trim, AWD but not extended range. We didn't see the point in going for the extended range, its my wife's car and we never take her car on long trips, so it will never need to be charged in public

Love it, but I wish they didn't call it a mustang. And this is way over the top, its turned off now...

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Carroll Shelby, standing in the great ever here after, shaking his head and saying: "That ain't no Mustang."

Screenshot 2023-09-09 at 10.23.40 AM.png
 

IReallyLikePizza2

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So far really enjoying the car being electric. Still deciding on a hardwired EVSE and currently just using the included portable charger plugged into my 50a 240v welder outlet

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We plugged it in for the first time and of course it charged from wherever it was pretty quick, like an hour since it was already pretty full. We set it to max charge level at home to 90% to extend battery pack life.

We plugged it in while it was sunny yesterday, completely charged via self-produced solar. Then we went to the store and ran a few errands, just plugged it in when we got back and boom, back to full. The wife is very happy to never have to mess with going to the gas station before work ever again. Pretty weird to think we just drove to the store and back on sunlight.

She will never use the 200+ mile range, so this car will probably never, ever charge outside of our home. Huge win, way more convenience than gas for our use case.

Going to choose an EVSE that is controllable so I can have it ONLY charge on excess solar, will make it even cheaper to charge. On my current electric cost excluding solar, its equivalent to paying around 60c a gallon of gas. Never have to mess with idiots lining up at the gas station when a hurricane is imminent etc.

Maintenance is a joke, other than the usual "Check things" and tire rotation, first thing at 20,000 miles is cabin air filter, and then coolant at 100K miles. Nothing to speak of really.

Annoyingly it doesn't have a darn spare wheel, or even a space for it! So if you get a flat that can't be repaired, onto a tow truck it goes. I found an almost brand new OEM wheel on eBay for $350 shipped, so I'll just keep that at home and if she gets a flat, I'll come out in my truck and swap it. Tires are pretty expensive, they have to be XL load rated because of the weight
 

Starglow

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So far really enjoying the car being electric. Still deciding on a hardwired EVSE and currently just using the included portable charger plugged into my 50a 240v welder outlet

View attachment 171984

View attachment 171985


We plugged it in for the first time and of course it charged from wherever it was pretty quick, like an hour since it was already pretty full. We set it to max charge level at home to 90% to extend battery pack life.

We plugged it in while it was sunny yesterday, completely charged via self-produced solar. Then we went to the store and ran a few errands, just plugged it in when we got back and boom, back to full. The wife is very happy to never have to mess with going to the gas station before work ever again. Pretty weird to think we just drove to the store and back on sunlight.

She will never use the 200+ mile range, so this car will probably never, ever charge outside of our home. Huge win, way more convenience than gas for our use case.

Going to choose an EVSE that is controllable so I can have it ONLY charge on excess solar, will make it even cheaper to charge. On my current electric cost excluding solar, its equivalent to paying around 60c a gallon of gas. Never have to mess with idiots lining up at the gas station when a hurricane is imminent etc.

Maintenance is a joke, other than the usual "Check things" and tire rotation, first thing at 20,000 miles is cabin air filter, and then coolant at 100K miles. Nothing to speak of really.

Annoyingly it doesn't have a darn spare wheel, or even a space for it! So if you get a flat that can't be repaired, onto a tow truck it goes. I found an almost brand new OEM wheel on eBay for $350 shipped, so I'll just keep that at home and if she gets a flat, I'll come out in my truck and swap it. Tires are pretty expensive, they have to be XL load rated because of the weight
So what kind of manufacturer battery warranty is provided and how much would it cost on average to replace out of warranty? I think battery replacement costs and the reluctance of pro EV enthusiasts and climate change activists to discuss it keeps many consumers away from switching to an EV.
 

IReallyLikePizza2

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So what kind of manufacturer battery warranty is provided and how much would it cost on average to replace out of warranty? I think battery replacement costs and the reluctance of pro EV enthusiasts and climate change activists to discuss it keeps many consumers away from switching to an EV.
8 Years/100,000 miles. I would assume replacing the pack entirely would be extremely expensive, but hopefully in the future repairing the packs becomes more popular (Or you know, it just never fails!)

It looks like a 10 year Ford powertrain warranty extensions would cost me about $1800, which isn't too bad either
 

garycrist

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Fix that battery and car to get your money back. Park in salt water and get the
hot dogs and marshmallows out. ;)

Cool Car but, it doesn't look like my 92 Fox GT. We just picked up an Edge ST!
We bleed Blue...oval.
92 GT
97 Explorer AWD V8
08 Edge
22 Edge ST
 

Starglow

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8 Years/100,000 miles. I would assume replacing the pack entirely would be extremely expensive, but hopefully in the future repairing the packs becomes more popular (Or you know, it just never fails!)

It looks like a 10 year Ford powertrain warranty extensions would cost me about $1800, which isn't too bad either
If either the electronics or the battery dies the car is basically totally dead....that's the risk of owning an EV. As a person winding down my career and heading towards retirement, I wouldn't want that potentially very expensive repair exposure risk hanging over my head in retirement on a fixed income.
 

IReallyLikePizza2

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If either the electronics or the battery dies the car is basically totally dead....that's the risk of owning an EV. As a person winding down my career and heading towards retirement, I wouldn't want that potentially very expensive repair exposure risk hanging over my head in retirement on a fixed income.
If the electronics die on a regular car, the car is also dead. And if the engine fails, dead too. Not sure the point?

I would be worried, but its replacing a car with a known block design defect that I'm sure would fail right away. On the Escape forums there are ENDLESS posts of people needing upwards of 5 engine replacements under warranty until they re-designed the head in 2020. Not exactly singing praise about the reliability of ICE cars

If it dies under warranty, oh well!

ICE, Electric, it doesn't matter. You have expensive repairs hanging over your head, unless you buy an old truck with no electronics (I'm all for that!)
 

garycrist

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Some of the cheapest "retirement cars" are found at the bigger Auctions, like Mecum's.
They are already refurbed and looking spiffy, parts are radially available yada yda yada!
 

IReallyLikePizza2

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I'll tell you whats damn annoying, why the HECK are all these cars coming without spares???????? What do I do if I crack a rim or something? Tow it?

Ordered a used OEM one off eBay and will keep in the garage
 

Starglow

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If the electronics die on a regular car, the car is also dead. And if the engine fails, dead too. Not sure the point?

I would be worried, but its replacing a car with a known block design defect that I'm sure would fail right away. On the Escape forums there are ENDLESS posts of people needing upwards of 5 engine replacements under warranty until they re-designed the head in 2020. Not exactly singing praise about the reliability of ICE cars

If it dies under warranty, oh well!

ICE, Electric, it doesn't matter. You have expensive repairs hanging over your head, unless you buy an old truck with no electronics (I'm all for that!)
PCM failures on ICE vehicles are rare and if they do fail replacement costs aren't very high. I've never owned a Ford product and don't expect I'll ever own one. Cars are mechanical machines and they do break down, but the repair cost comparisons between ICE and EV vehicles aren't even in the same ballpark when expensive electronic components or the battery fails. On a Tesla for example, if the video display suddenly dies the car can't be driven and you have to find the nearest Tesla repair center and have it towed, versus just going to Auto Zone to get replacement parts on a ICE vehicle. Tesla will never allow the right to repair your own EV.
 

Starglow

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I'll tell you whats damn annoying, why the HECK are all these cars coming without spares???????? What do I do if I crack a rim or something? Tow it?

Ordered a used OEM one off eBay and will keep in the garage
It was a cost cutting measure by the automakers. They assume everyone has AAA or some other automotive club membership to come rescue them. But yeah....I don't like the idea of being stranded and helpless out in the middle of nowhere, especially in the dark of night.
 

garycrist

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Some redundant questions from an ex-mechanic.

When was the last time you had a flat?
Saw someone with a flat?
How poor of shape was the car you saw a flat on?
The construction of tyres (had to throw that one in) has changed so much
but our experiences aka. memories help us forget the tires were old, dang near bald
and not as great construction nor materials as today's.
 

Starglow

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Some redundant questions from an ex-mechanic.

When was the last time you had a flat?
Saw someone with a flat?
How poor of shape was the car you saw a flat on?
The construction of tyres (had to throw that one in) has changed so much
but our experiences aka. memories help us forget the tires were old, dang near bald
and not as great construction nor materials as today's.
I was driving home from our family vacation late one night on I-40 when I saw something in the road ahead. I thought I had moved over enough to clear it, but I barely glanced it with the right rear tire. Within a half-mile the TPMS light came on and I knew the tire was going flat and I barely had enough time to exit the highway and park underneath a light at a truck stop. I had to unload the trunk of all of our belongings to get the jack and spare tire out. I installed the spare within 30-minutes and we were on our way home again. The original tire got punctured through the sidewall and had to be replaced. So yes....flat tires are not common but in my case I would have been in a huge pickle without having the spare donut tire in the trunk.
 

IReallyLikePizza2

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Some redundant questions from an ex-mechanic.

When was the last time you had a flat?
Saw someone with a flat?
How poor of shape was the car you saw a flat on?
The construction of tyres (had to throw that one in) has changed so much
but our experiences aka. memories help us forget the tires were old, dang near bald
and not as great construction nor materials as today's.
I actually just dealt with this, I'll give you the full story even though its not needed

My wife's car which had brand new Continental DWS06's on it got a gnarly nail, not flat but enough that when she left for work, it was complaining about low tire pressure and it was sticking out enough I wasn't thrilled she would be driving on it.

Took it to Discount Tire on her lunch, but they were busy and couldn't look at the car for a few hours, She had to get back to work but now was sitting in the parking lot with a really bad situation. I drove down there to swap her small donut tire on that the Ford Escape has, and what do you know, last time she was at Discount Tire they royally bamboozled her lug nuts (Yes, I know Ford Lugnuts have this reputation, but they were fine before she got new tires, and utterly destroyed after, I'll share pics if interested)

So now I can't swap the spare on, annoying! We bring the car home with the nail embedded tire, and I get a 18.5/19.5mm socket and get the nuts off, order new one ASAP to be delivered. She takes the tire to the store to be fixed, and drives around that day on the donut which she HATED, its loud, just makes the car handle horribly

After that I bought a matching OEM wheel (Which now is useless! Gah!) and kept it at home. If we had the same situation, I would have told her to come right back home, I'd swap the OEM full size wheel on and we'd put off the whole situation until the weekend and get the tire patched.

IMO every vehicle should come with a full sized spare, even if its just to keep at home

Follow up on the Discount Tire problems. My F150 had 8000 miles on it despite being 4 years old at this point, lug nuts literally never touched. Before I went, I looked at them and took pictures since I knew they destroyed her last lug nuts (I figured that was a one off, accidents happen). I put my 13/16th socket on there and it was a perfect fit as it should be

I get home from Discount Tire, EVERY SINGLE LUG NUT is destroyed. I go down there and find they are using short depth, 12 sided sockets of THE WRONG SIZE! I leave with all new lug nuts free

God damnit Discount Tire. They also had the nerve to argue that a 22mm socket is "fine" for my lug nuts, despite being 13/16ths
 
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