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by xienze 246 days ago
It is because people are incentivized to just wait for the "better options" that everyone knows are coming soon. Or, let's say you bought one and had an accident that totals the car but oops, the steep depreciation curve means you have to go out of pocket to pay off a total loss. No one wants that.
2 comments
joshuaissac 246 days ago
> you bought one and had an accident that totals the car but oops, the steep depreciation curve means you have to go out of pocket to pay off a total loss

That can happen with a conventional car as well, which is why gap insurance exists. The regular insurance should still give you the replacement price (which would be the depreciated value).

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xienze 246 days ago
Yes but again, the steeper depreciation curve makes it more likely to happen.
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RhysU 245 days ago
The gap insurance will be more expensive. Resell still matters with gap insurance.
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rjdj377dhabsn 246 days ago
Always waiting for "better options" is often irrational. You should buy what's best for you today.

If the value of your EV has dropped to $10k and you get paid out that much for an accident, then in theory you should be able to buy a similar condition EV on the used car market for $10k. What's the problem with that?

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xienze 246 days ago
> Always waiting for "better options" is often irrational. You should buy what's best for you today.

If you're trying to get people to switch en masse to EVs, it's not good for everyone to be in perpetual "ehh there's gonna be way better ones around the corner" mode.

> If the value of your EV has dropped to $10k and you get paid out that much for an accident, then in theory you should be able to buy a similar condition EV on the used car market for $10k. What's the problem with that?

The problem is when your loan balance is $20K and you're only getting a $10K payoff...

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IAmBroom 245 days ago
Again, you're attempting to use logic to convince reality to change.

People make irrational decisions. That's a fact.

People "should" do things they don't. That's a fact.

The question is not, "What would a logically-driven being do?", but "What are people doing?"

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