Mastodawn

Jeff Geerling Sep 4, 2025

I bought the cheapest used EV, and just posted a video going over my experience with my first EV.

*And* why I don't think an EV isn't the right option for most car owners in the US (at least not yet).

Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQQtFnLefqw

And a blog post, if you're more textually-inclined: https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2025/i-bought-cheapest-ev-used-nissan-leaf

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Jeff Geerling Sep 4, 2025

"don't isn't" hehe oops!

But to explain a little more: EVs are substantially more expensive, require access to charging infrastructure that many don't have, and have extra complication where gas cars don't due to 100 years of gas infra investment.

That doesn't mean I don't think they're a great option for some people. Or that we shouldn't invest in EV infrastructure. Just that right now, like for our minivan, there's no EV equivalent that would fit our family's use case (for any price).

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Chris Ferguson Sep 4, 2025

@geerlingguy I understand your perspective, though I think many more people WOULD be able to be happy with an EV than THINK they would.

But I that's not the same as it fitting MOST life styles and needs yet, as you specified.

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Raptor

@ChrisFerguson @geerlingguy especially with the battery size on the 2026 models most ev's you're looking at only needing to charge once a week even with a good sized commute if you can't trickle charge for some reason (I really only use my L1 charger off 120v, it's more than enough to keep my car charged overnight). A surprising number of people still don't realize you even CAN charge at home, lots of people think you can only charge at the quick chargers or the L2's at grocery stores.