[watersb]

The flip side of the rapid tech churn of electric vehicles (and thus the popularity of leasing them) is that used electric vehicles are available for dramatically less money than new cars.

I just purchased a ten year old EV for literally 10% of what its listed price when new.

Stupid move, if you must rely upon it. But for us, it can be an in-town utility grocery getter, even local job commute, all-weather vehicle that is safe at highway speeds... A BMW the price of a golf cart.

[gnicholas]

How does your car insurance treat the vehicle in terms of replacement cost? Does the low FMV predominate, or the high sticker price and high cost of repairs?

We've looked at doing this as well. Our commutes are so short that a vehicle with only 50 miles of range would work for 90% of our trips. Such a vehicle is nigh-useless to many people, but for us it's a great complement to an ICE or PHEV. It helps that we live in temperate climate, so we never really have to deal with the freezing temperatures that would knock off 20 or 30% of the range.

[watersb]

Since I paid for the car without borrowing money, there was no need to insure it for damage; I only carry liability insurance.

No "collision" (another car hits mine) or "comprehensive" (a coyote drops a safe on it) insurance.

I lose if my car gets damaged. But insurance premiums are negligible, a dollar per day.

For the other used EV I purchased, my wife asked me to get an auto loan. The car value is $18,000 and the lender requires a certain amount of insurance on the car. The insurance alone is more than $100/month.