Why You SHOULDN'T Buy An Electric Car Right Now

we spend a lot of time on this channel talking about the world of cleaner greener safer and smarter vehicles i mean that is our whole shtick it's the whole reason for this channel and if you watch this channel more than occasionally you'll know that we have a tendency to focus on battery electric vehicles because that's what most of the team here at the channel drive and it is to be frank what we feel is the most sensible and sustainable way to get people dumping the pump and shifting to a more environmentally responsible transportation future oh and by the way if you are someone who doesn't watch the channel more than occasionally it's okay really really it is i mean there's a whole lot of stuff on youtube these days that's competing for your attention and who doesn't want to watch another labrador reaction video i mean labradors are so cute but seriously we we know who you are we have the power of the analytics anyway with all of the electric cars we cover on this channel and our remit of helping people get the information they need to make their own informed choices about what their next car should be fueled by you'd think that we would want you to go out right this instant and buy an electric car like right now without delay except today i'm here to tell you something completely different there is no way right now that most of you should be buying an electric car in 2021 it is a pointless stressful and frankly problematic endeavor that's depressing our team more than that one time at ces that we thought we'd be able to nip back to the media suite and grab our boxed lunches courtesy of mandalay bay only to discover that our presser had run over and all that we were left with was stale cookies and cold coffee it happened and we do run on coffee well most of us do winter can't do caffeine but nikki i hear you ask the electric vehicle world is wonderful today there are so many choices coming down the pipeline the kia ev6 the volkswagen id4 the tesla model y the hyundai ioniq 5 and the ford mustang marquee and let's not forget for those with many zeros after numbers in their bank account the lucid air sedan with more choice in the eevee world than ever before why in the blazes are you telling people not to do the thing that you've been telling them to do for more than 15 years the answer boils down to several things primarily demand chip shortages and a dramatic shift in the way that many car companies are selling electric vehicles so today i'm going to go through some of the reasons why you shouldn't be buying a new ev this year detail some of the things you should be aware of if you really do need to get behind the wheel of a new ev and explain how you should go about buying your next electric car first let's look at the elephant in the room no not the elephant in the womb that's a completely different problem involving texas i'm talking about the chip shortage and everything that it's doing to the ev marketplace thanks to kovid and the subsequent panic that ensued in many industries around the world we saw most automakers adjust their predicted vehicle output for 2020 and 2021. every modern car internal combustion engine electric or otherwise uses hundreds or thousands of discreet microcontrollers they're responsible for controlling everything from the abs system and infotainment to the throttle response body control and even what happens when you unlock the door and as i'm sure you'll know the auto industry's original response to kovid 19 namely pushing their parts supply orders downwards only then to discover that orders weren't going to be as hard hit as they'd anticipated really screwed up their supply chain especially when the manufacturing slots once taken up for automotive computer chips were quickly snapped up by electronics manufacturers looking to get extra components made for everything from peloton bikes to brand new playstations automakers found that they had to shut up plants temporarily change production plans for new vehicles delay launches and even remove some packages like premium audio systems or driver assistance technology in order to just cope with that chip shortage simply put automakers still haven't recovered and while some automakers are now starting to think about ramping up their production towards pre-pandemic levels there is not a single automaker out there that hasn't been impacted and this has caused a couple of big things to happen first demand is most certainly outstripping supply this is especially true for really popular cars tesla for example even though it managed its chip shortage really well and came out of the chip shortage far better than most automakers has reportedly sold out of all of its allocated vehicles for this year during the pandemic it prioritized the production of higher end models over entry-level models but now even range-topping performance models ordered this year are unlikely to arrive until sometime next and this in turn means that more car customers are buying vehicles off spec that's ordering them online often without a test drive rather than the old-fashioned way of doing it driving down to a dealership test driving a car and then making a buying decision often based on what the dealer had on the lot at the time of course buying online isn't new if you are a tesla customer you might not find it particularly unusual as tesla has never used a traditional dealership model and has always encouraged you to make your orders online but for many car buyers in the mainstream world that process is an alien one despite there being many advantages to buying a car online versus the old school dealership model like having a fixed price structure a pressure free buying experience and the fact that you can take your time with your purchase decision and if you are willing to wait six months or more between ordering your car and actually having your car delivered something that's almost inevitable when buying online during a global pandemic you still might find it's possible to buy a new electric car this year or early next but if you're someone who looks for a more casual purchase experience the hey kids let's go down to the dealership and get a new car yeah don't even think about it because demand is really high right now it really is a seller's market dealerships that are getting cars are able to sell them before they've even been driven off the transporter not only that but every dealership is marking up their vehicle in some way or another i've seen examples of the ford mustang mark e command anywhere from five to ten thousand over asking the same for other evs in the marketplace and we've even heard of horror stories of dealerships adding far more there is thankfully a growing number of dealerships across all brands who've woken up to the idea however strange it might have seemed to them at the time that price gouging will affect their long-term reputation thanks to social media and thus committing to selling customers a car at msrp might be better for their business long term but there are still really unscrupulous sorts out there willing to stick on a massive dealer adjustment fee because frankly someone somewhere is going to be rich enough or stupid enough or willing enough to pay the massive price just to do so this whole price adjustment price gouging thing can get bad whenever a new model launches but right now it is a lot worse because of the global pandemic constrained global supply and oh a little thing called the chevrolet bolt ev and bolt euv recall it's a well known fact that when most people switch to an electric car they're reticent to switch back to gasoline and although there are a significant number of bolt ev and bolt euv owners who are more than happy to wait for their car's new battery pack a large number of bolt owners including myself who have grown tired with the length of time the recall is taking the mixed messages and almost complete lack of communication from gm that they just want to get rid of their car many are looking to sell their bolts and some are even asking gm for a buyback deal and that means for the most part they are also looking for another car to buy another electric car and then there are a bunch of brand new evs that are just about to launch including the kia ev6 and hyundai ioniq 5 in north america as well as plenty of compelling all-electric models in europe many of these models have also been slightly delayed due to covered and or chip shortages and again demand is already outstripping supply it's kind of like the perfect storm there's a global shortage of news cars there's a global shortage of new cars there's a massive recall campaign involving one of the more popular non-teslas on sale and more people than ever before want to get behind the wheel of an ev and because of that both new and used electric cars are selling at or above the asking price and you like me might find that frustrating unfair or a little illogical but frankly as long as there's someone willing to pay more to get something it'll continue that is capitalism take cars like the chevy sparky v and fiat 500e cars that haven't been made for a long time short-range hot hatches that are great fun around town and would make the perfect second car or commuter vehicle for many eevee fans out there 18 months ago you get a great example of these two older evs for well under eight thousand but now you're gonna struggle to find anything listed for less than twelve people eagerly getting buy-back deals on their chevy bolts are not helping they're looking to get into something more affordable and proven to tide them over until their next big ev arrives in fact our very own winter tashlin got an incredible deal from a local dealership on his bolt ev and sold it to the dealership he ended up buying a short range think city for a super low price just to tide him over until the eevee marketplace has recovered and our very own kate walton elliott keen to get out of her bmw i3 before its extended warranty ended found herself in a very similar position with very slim pickings at the price point she was willing to pay even if her bmw i3 sold to a car chain for far more than she thought it would so how can you get around all of this how can you easily buy an electric car in 2021 without getting screwed the short answer is you can't but first if you already have an ev consider sitting on it until the market improves but if you really are looking for a new ev and you must have one find a dealership you're happy working with and consider putting down a refundable deposit most automakers and most dealerships are happily offering these right now because they know if you change your mind back out and ask for a refund there's enough demand for them to still sell your car for a profit but if you do this you do need to make sure that you're gonna find a dealer who was willing to honor that msrp and please get it in writing before you put money down this week we were given the chance to get behind the wheel of a ford mustang mark e ahead of the one we'd actually ordered getting made but that second car the car in question was at a dealership who wanted significantly over msrp while the original dealership we're working with even though we're gonna have to wait for the car a little longer has confirmed that they're happy sticking with msrp buying this way does ensure that you get the car you want and while you do have to wait it does feel like the safest way in 2021 to get behind the wheel of a new ev if you're not looking for a new ev however i'm going to advise you wait right now every single used ev is in high demand even used chevrolet bolt evs that have not had the recall fix are selling for stupidly high prices and unless you are really strapped for transportation you will find yourself paying way more than you should be for any used ev of course there are always exceptional circumstances which means that might not be possible or practical with potential new ev tax credits on the way in the us and new models soon due to flood the market the prices of used evs will eventually top out and then begin falling we've just not reached that point yet finally if you are a bolt ev owner i feel your pain i really do but this week after talking to our vault advisor i realized that most of us really are in a bit of a catch-22 situation you can get a buyback from gm and maybe get a good deal on that but what do you replace your car with or you could sell it to a local dealership mega chain or independent used car specialist and maybe walk out with extra cash than you might have thought but again what would you buy to replace your car well how about an msrp swap sometimes called a vin swap it's of course an option if your state has good buyer protection laws but in that instance you are almost guaranteed a path back into a gasoline vehicle unless you feel comfortable going with and waiting for a brand new bolt euv or bolt ev with a fixed battery pack and most owners aren't while i'm not happy with how gm has handled its customers or this recall i do think that many of us are currently trapped even though it sucks waiting for a battery replacement and then selling your car might be the smarter financial choice have you just purchased a new or used eevee this year did you manage to battle the odds and get a good deal and what advice do you have for other ev fans leave your thoughts below that's it for today if you liked the video be sure to give it a thumbs up and don't forget to subscribe to this channel and our two other channels that's transport evolve take two and transport evolve shorts i know that while a fair few of you are already subscribed the analytics tell us that most of you aren't so please do subscribe and hit the bell help us out let us know below what you thought of the video and remember play nice if you're not fond of the youtube comments section then you could continue this on our discord server it is free and i will leave the link below thanks on behalf of the entire te crew go out to the folks on my right for being our 15 to 49 a month patreon supporters special thanks to our 50 a month patrons that's david jannakula andrew martin guido draco brophy wolf tesla in the gong sean ueda gordon c ragine fellas anonymous freak jim burness carl hodgson anthony coats ricky leong brian martin laura sanborn rory litwin and denny hyde and our deepest gratitude to our 100 a month patreon supporters john lyons marcel ward reggie watts jp fagerback will graylin matthew dropnic christopher jones paul conway ellery hensley and ian and welcome to our new patrons i know that not all of you are listed but thank you so much for joining us in this past week if you'd like to join the ranks of wonderful supporters you'll find links below to patreon bitcoin and kofi and of course you can also buy your very own tea swag like the fabled bolt ev shirt at our red bubble store thanks for joining me and as always keep evolving

Channel: Transport Evolved

Views: 164,462

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Id: VDSQMvANp3w

Length: 16min 50sec (1010 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 08 2021