For those involved in the Buyback program: what are your plans after?

That is something in the back of my mind but I haven't really hit that except literally twice in 2 years. One time I had a single charger that was just broken and would not work, another time I had a single charger that was being used. Both cases were EVgo. But the 2nd case where it was in use, literally I turned around and was leaving and saw 2 minutes later on the app that the charger was available, so I turned around and went back and sure enough the other people had just left.

I don't worry much if it's Electrify America b/c they have so many chargers at each location even if one or even two are broken or in use, there is usually another 2,3 or 4 available.

If you are concerned though, one way to mitigate this is never let your range drop below about 30 or 40 miles. Always give yourself the ability to get "somewhere" if the charger you go to is completely broken.

 

I thought I'd update my original analysis not only for anyone else's benefit if interested but honestly to help myself work it out as well. I'm still mostly thinking of the same 3 vehicles (but now have an alternate dark horse too). Here's my update:

• RAV4 Prime
  • I have warmed to this car over time. I still hate the red trim and red prime logo (I apparently have a problem with red*) but I do really like the dash (which I'll see way more than the red stitching in the seats) and I also am hearing ovewhelmingly positive reviews from drivers on YouTube. People say the coordination between gas and electric is superb and the car is very smooth and fast. I also love love love that Toyota gives us 4 options when driving:
    • EV only mode (if you have battery charge for it, of course)
    • Hybrid mode (preserve whatever your current battery charge is, for later use)
    • Auto mode (let the car decide)
    • Charge mode (use the gas engine to charge the battery while you drive)
  • I especially like that last one. Do I expect to use it very often? No. But I do love to go camping and could definitely see wanting t a little electricity to be available and I could definitely see charging the car that way on occasion. Either way I just love that they give us the ability to do it if we want. I want to be in control and the RAV4 Prime seems to do that. A lot of reviewers have also mentioned if you put it in EV mode and floor it, it stays in EV mode. I love that too. And finally, it has a heat pump so if you are doing a short trip and it's cold, the engine won't turn on just because you want to heat up the cabin. My Ford C-Max Energi always did that and it was annoying.
  • Finally, and maybe most importantly, these cars are now on lots in NY and MD (I'm in PA) which means I can buy one once my Kona buyback is complete, if I so choose. I have a time frame of having to complete this in the next 2 months or so before I move so the fact that the car is not only available but widely available right now, today, is a big plus.
• Ford Escape PHEV
  • This has dropped to 3rd place in my preferences. However, it too is now starting to finally show up on dealer lots. In fact I see one in Ohio but none in PA. But if Ohio is getting them then I would expect PA to get them too, since OH is not a zero emission state. So hopefully Ford will be selling these everywhere? Anyway, it's still on my list, it still has good range, but I'm not interested in it enough at this point to drive to Ohio and test one out. Yet.
• Hyundai Tucson PHEV
  • Still high on my list. I'm not sure if this is my top choice still or not? Maybe, kind of. But Hyundai doesn't even have pricing on their website yet and I heard directly from them that once the pricing shows up dealers will get stock about 4-6 weeks later. That means nobody is going to get this car until mid to late July at the earliest. Even worse, my PA dealer said they're not getting any and they don't think Hyundai will ship any to PA at first. Which means traveling to NY or MD. Sure , I have to do that with the RAV4 Prime too, it appears, but at least those are available now. All this leads me to conclude my chances of buying this vehicle in the limited time frame I have available are low and decreasing every day Hyundai doesn't slap a price on these suckers on their website.
• Kia Niro PHEV
  • This is my dark horse candidate. It's available now. It's available here in PA near me. *But... the red dash lighting. OMG do I hate that. Can I live with that? Honestly... I don't think I can. But we'll see. Maybe I'll talk myself into it eventually.

So that is my current thinking. A PHEV for the next 5 years and then I will go back to an EV and hopefully by then, an EV with a solid state battery. The RAV4 Prime's range is like 600 miles and I just retired and will be driving a lot in the next ... well.. hopefully for a long time lol. So for me, I think a PHEV is still the way to go for the immediate time being but I definitely look forward to being an EV owner again in the future.

 

What state are you in? There may be a limit to the max deduction for mileage. I would at least get the offer from Hyundai, you may be surprised.

 

I love the Ionic 5 and there was a week or so about 2 months ago where I was telling myself "I want. I will trade in the Kona and get one. I want". So if I was still in that mindset , which I remember well, my answer to you would be: Do the buyback now, get started. It may take 10 weeks before you actually have a check in hand. Put in an order/deposit (should be refundable I think) on the Ionic 5, do it now. You won't get one for months and maybe not even this year. And figure out what to do in the interim. Buy simple dependable transportation from Carvana or private party, drive it until the Ionic comes in, and then trade it in at that time, or sell it to Carvana (they might give you a better price). That's what I would do if I clearly preferred the Ionic 5. If however you just barely prefer it over the Kona EV, I would just get the 2021 Kona EV b/c you can probably get a very good deal on that right now.

Did that help? lol

 

Haha. You could always see what the best price is you can get on the 2021 Kona and put off the decision until then. Maybe they'll make you an offer you can't refuse, or, maybe they'll make you an offer that is easy to refuse and decide to just wait for the Ionic 5.

If you just like the Ionic 5 b/c it has a few nicer bells and whistles but you love the Kona and haven't really felt it was "lacking" then just go with the Kona. If, however, every time you charge you think "this takes too long" and you think the Ionic will be much faster (I think so too) then that would seem a valid reason to upgrade. In other words is getting the Ionic 5 fixing something that isn't really a problem, or is it fixing a problem? That's how you decide.

 

Unfortunately I've always been that way... but it's worse now that EVs are exploding. Uh, no pun intended.