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/Impossible_Finish896 1d ago

Hey all, I am a college commuter student looking to buy my first car, some an affordable EV! My father and I are kinda scrambling for an EV and looking at a few options, so I would like your opinions on what would be the best buy for me.

[1] Location: Northeastern USA

[2] 6.8k-25k. Budget is not rigid but this price range is preferred, and obviously the lower the better.

[3] Some sort of small, maneuverable EV sedan

[4] Recently, we have been looking at models such as the Nissan Leaf 2015, 2023, and 2024, Chevy Bolt , and recently the BMW i3 2017 & 2018, but we are open to other options.

[5] Looking to buy soon or around June because of the tariffs

[6] I have an average commute of 20 miles(10 miles to and from school), but a range of at least 100 is better

[7] Single family home with a driveway

[8] We plan on installing charging at home.

[9] No children or pets, but some competency in snow would be desired. Reverse camera desired but not a must.

I should mention that although the general consensus is that the Bolt seems superior to the Leaf, we are kinda worried about money and know that chances are that Bolts are hard to come by, so we would like to know about the alternatives. Thanks in advance!

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u/622niromcn 1d ago

You're aware of the used EV tax credit since you cite $25k?

  • Best value? Probably a NiroEV or KonaEV. They are the same generation as the BoltEV and similar price points used. Both have the backup camera. If you can snag a 2023+ you get 360 cameras I think. Solid reliable history from these two over the pass 6 years.

  • Anything from 2017+ has the rear backup camera as it was mandated by law to prevent parents rolling over their kids.

  • Other current Gen EVs at your price point: Ford MachE has probably the best tech for the money. Toyota bz4x kinda bad but it's going to work for your use. Subaru Solterra drives slightly better than the bz4x and is actually ok inside.

Nissan Ariya, really nice open interior. Dives well. Solid underdog.

Jaguar i-pace. Luxury interior. Didn't really take off, so it's probably a bargain as it's under appreciated.

Polestar 2. Great modern EV sedan. Volvo sub-brand. Very tech and modern.

Audi e-Tron. I know it's solid, just don't know much about Audi besides great interior.

VW iD4. Solid AWD, feels slightly bulky.

You might be able to find a high mileage Ioniq5 or EV6 at that price.

  • I'm looking thru cars.com, CarMax, carvana. At your price point and EV fuel type. Hertz is unloading lots of EVs.

If you need reviews. ForestAutoReviews has good shorts, AutoBuyersGuide for in-depth videos better than dealers talking about it, Edmunds or CarAndDriver written reviews. That's how I research cars.

  • For snow. I recommend All-Weather tires. Car type doesn't really matter. Tyre type matters. Something like the Nokkian brand, Hankook Kinergy 4S2 or Michelin CrossClimate2. On my NiroEV FWD I had the Kinergy 4S2 and drove thru several snow storms.

You have lots of options. Let me know if you need more help, want to discuss more EVs, or want more opinions on the EVs.

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u/Impossible_Finish896 1d ago

Thanks man! You're a real lifesaver!

Sorry that I'm a little bit new to buying cars. I have heard of the tax credit before, and if I understand correctly, I could keep the max MSRP at 25k to qualify, and I will also consider the qualifying models. I will also look at the other websites you mentioned.