New basic EV truck

[Oaktree]

In the case of an EV with no dealer system, IMPO the owners are screwed when anything in the propulsion system fails. Normal mechanics wont touch it in my experience.

Dealerships that carry EV's are required to have trained technicians to service them.

Maybe true, but he was asking about alternatives to bringing it to a dealer.

Then again, according to the EV fanboys EVs never break so it's a moot point.

" In Wisconsin, auto manufacturers are prohibited from selling directly to consumers. Instead, they must sell their vehicles to dealerships, which then sell them to the public."

Not to say that I enjoy the "dealership experience", but I do like to take my time looking when I'm vehicle shopping. Kick the tires so to speak, take a test drive, see how comfortable it is, how intuitive the controls are (or in many cases these days aren't), etc. Having to order a vehicle online is a deal killer for me.

Some greedy dealers tacked on huge markups above MSRP in recent years.

Greedy dealers have always tacked on huge markups on high-demand vehicles.

To give a personal example, I own a GM vehicle in which the infotainment system has been buggy since day 1. GM has not managed to fix the bugs in over a decade, despite some of them being pretty fundamental, e.g. no heat. That lack of repair (for whatever cause) doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies about GM's ability to write code, nor their post sales commitments to customers. So, yeah, I'm never considering GM again. Despite initially denying the sales, GM's quietly, and illegally selling customer driving and location data doesn't help my warm and fuzzies, either.

Good luck with that. It seems that most manufacturers are in the same boat, actually from what I've seen and read GM's system is one of the better ones. Everyone jumped on the high tech interior bandwagon, but few, if any have gotten it right. It's either buggy, clumsy and unintuitive or a combination of the two.

I don't like automakers selling that info either, but good luck trying to avoid it.

 

[EddieWalker]

My success with YouTube videos has been very limited. I'm probably somewhere around 10% fixing something after watching a bunch of videos.

My wife's minivan was overheating. I looked on YouTube and in a dozen videos, they all said it was one of three things. Almost every video was the same. They showed how to test to see which sensor was bad, and even how to replace them. I ended up replace all three sensors without fixing the problem. My mechanic found the problem and fixed it in an hour. It had nothing to do with those sensors, it was and AC issue.

My zero turn wouldn't start. 26hp Kawasaki engine that was used in a bunch of different brand mowers. I've been watching videos almost every day to figure it out. It's been three weeks, and I still don't have it running right. I have progressed to getting it to start, and then run, but I still can't mow with it.

The thought of doing my own repairs on an Electric Vehicle is like performing surgery on myself. It's just not going to happen.

 

[2manyrocks]

Evs have enough voltage to kill someone. Doing the wrong thing could fry more parts of the system and these parts are not cheap.

 

[5030]

They certainly do (have enough juice to kill you). I remember back before I retired from the heavy truck dealership I worked at, we were the warranty repair facility for the first generation UPS delivery trucks (Freightliner chassis) and any time one was in the shop, it was cordoned off so no one but the qualified technician could access it, simply because not knowing the technical aspects surrounding the electrical power required for the electric propulsion unit could kill you instantly. We had a specially trained (by Freightliner) technician that worked on them. I suspect the same thing applies to any EV. With no defined dealer network, the Slate EV truck could become lethal to anyone working on it that was not 'schooled' in the aspects of an electric vehicle. and...

Here in Michigan at least, there is a State Law that states that no vehicle can be retailed to the public that isn't sold from an authorized brick and mortar dealer. The 'buy from the Internet' don't work here as Tesla found out when they started out. I do believe they have 'brick and mortar' dealers here now as I see more and more Tesla's on the highways here.

 

[WM75Guy]

My local GMC/Chevrolet dealer said it would have cost them $500,000 per each of their 3 locations to be able to sell the Chevrolet/GMC EVs. Since they predicted very low demand they passed. They can still service everything on a GM EV except for the drivetrain.

 

[tradosaurus]

My success with YouTube videos has been very limited. I'm probably somewhere around 10% fixing something after watching a bunch of videos.

My wife's minivan was overheating. I looked on YouTube and in a dozen videos, they all said it was one of three things. Almost every video was the same. They showed how to test to see which sensor was bad, and even how to replace them. I ended up replace all three sensors without fixing the problem. My mechanic found the problem and fixed it in an hour. It had nothing to do with those sensors, it was and AC issue.

My zero turn wouldn't start. 26hp Kawasaki engine that was used in a bunch of different brand mowers. I've been watching videos almost every day to figure it out. It's been three weeks, and I still don't have it running right. I have progressed to getting it to start, and then run, but I still can't mow with it.

The thought of doing my own repairs on an Electric Vehicle is like performing surgery on myself. It's just not going to happen.

Good news is only maintenance you will have to worry about with an EV is windshield wiper fluid and tires. 80% less moving parts in an EV than an ICE.
I'm glad I'm to the point I don't have to worry about the constanct maintenance items that go with an ICE.

 

[5030]

Other than the Li-Ion battery self combusting at a very inopportune time.

Just got a notice from my insurance carrier that if any of my rentals have an attached garage and if there is a loss from fire, they won't cover the loss if there is an EV or any battery powered vehicle or conveyance parked in the garage and / or charged in the garage...

They ALL have attached garages btw.

 

[5030]

Besides WW fluid and tires, don't forget about brakes and in the case of a Tesla, the battery cooling and heating fluid and lighting bulbs as well. LED's do have a defined lifetime... Tires especially will be a big expense in as much as an EV platform weighs appreciably more than an ICE platform, consequently tires will wear out faster.

 

[Oaktree]

I'm glad I'm to the point I don't have to worry about the constanct maintenance items that go with an ICE.

"Constant maintenance items"??? When was the last time you bought a vehicle? It's not 1967 anymore, modern vehicles don't require a lot of maintenance.

 

[Jstpssng]

They ALL have attached garages btw

Your post is exactly why I won't have an attached garage.