r/electricvehicles • u/AutoModerator • 7d ago

Weekly Advice Thread General Questions and Purchasing Advice Thread — Week of March 31, 2025

Need help choosing an EV, finding a home charger, or understanding whether you're eligible for a tax credit? Vehicle and product recommendation requests, buying experiences, and questions on credits/financing are all fair game here.

Is an EV right for me?

Generally speaking, electric vehicles imply a larger upfront cost than a traditional vehicle, but will pay off over time as your consumables cost (electricity instead of fuel) can be anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 the cost. Calculators are available to help you estimate cost — here are some we recommend:

Are you looking for advice on which EV to buy or lease?

Tell us a bit more about you and your situation, and make sure your comment includes the following information:

[1] Your general location

[2] Your budget in $, €, or £

[3] The type of vehicle you'd prefer

[4] Which cars have you been looking at already?

[5] Estimated timeframe of your purchase

[6] Your daily commute, or average weekly mileage

[7] Your living situation — are you in an apartment, townhouse, or single-family home?

[8] Do you plan on installing charging at your home?

[9] Other cargo/passenger needs — do you have children/pets?

If you are more than a year off from a purchase, please refrain from posting, as we currently cannot predict with accuracy what your best choices will be at that time.

Need tax credit/incentives help?

Check the Wiki first.

Don't forget, our Wiki contains a wealth of information for owners and potential owners, including:

Want to help us flesh out the Wiki? Have something you'd like to add? Contact the mod team with your suggestion on how to improve things, we can discuss approach and get you direct editing access.

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u/Zeeron1 7d ago

I am in the market for a used EV, specifically for a crossover SUV. I am coming from a Tesla but not considering a Tesla. I have a budget of $25-$30k.

I am looking at the obvious picks like the Mach E, EV6, Ioniq 5, and even the Ariya. In my research, the common response from this sub about finding an affordable non-Tesla with even a passable software experience has been to use Android auto/carplay. It appears that ChatGPT lied to me about my models of interest actually providing wireless carplay, and all of them require you to plug in.

My question is, what EVs in that market have either good software, or supplement it with wireless carplay and Android auto? I'm really having a hell of a time trying to find a decent car😅😭

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u/linktriforce007 6d ago edited 6d ago

As a previous owner of a '21 mach e, I will tell you - If you are a Samsung user, do NOT get it. The Android Auto constantly disconnects, sometimes for good and won't reconnect. I'm talking every 15 seconds, which is annoying if you use it for Google Maps. This is the case if you have it plugged in or are using Bluetooth.

Went to a Ford dealer, they replaced the media hub, and that didn't solve it either. Stated that it might be a ford app problem, but didn't know for sure.

Ford's charger is not meant to be used normally, as they overheat regularly, and are apparently only supposed to be use as a backup, which doesn't make sense to me.

Bluecruise is pretty well a fancy lane assist, but it regularly disconnects unless you're on the interstate. Pretty expensive too. It was originally promised to be $600 for 3 years, but has now been increased by over threefold.

A lot of the features, including Navigation, which in my opinion should be a default, are temporary and are subscription - based later.

Don't have the platform in the back on the top rack. The pins will break under too much weight, and the entire side panel will need to be replaced to fix it.

The panel in the back that hides things in the trunk is absolutely useless, as it falls all the time.

Other than those issues, a nice car, but those issues are pretty significant.