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

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I decided not to pre-register. They didn't inform me of th
BC-Doc said:
FYI— Canada preorder for coming Ioniq. If Hyundai would buy back my 2019 Kona, I would explore this option in the AWD version.

https://www.hyundaicanada.com/en/co...QAR-DFsiwFqa5et_wTAobVbW8NVTLGqwwC3LTLBBIpePk
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I posted in the Ioniq 5 thread but I've got to say that I'm disappointed with the trim levels available, the colour int/exterior choices.

I'm pretty sure that the base model is positioned as a qualifying version for the federal EV subsidy.
 
Most helpful. First time I've seen specific options, although U.S. might differ a bit.

To get some of the goodies, they make you go to the Long Range version. Here are a few on the Ultimate that are not listed on the base Preferred:
  • Hands-free trunk
  • Rain-sensing wipers
  • Two-way onboard charger
  • Head-up display
  • Driver memory
  • Dimming mirror with Homelink
  • Sunroof
  • Folding side mirrors
Maybe some of them are on the lower Long Range trims; haven't looked yet. But I would prefer not to carry around AWD motors and the extra battery weight. Or pay for them.

And what boring colors.
 
Mattsburgh said:
I just drove my Kona about 650 miles each way to SC and back and had a similar experience. Sure it's a little work to plan ahead where to charge but it's not a big deal. Usually I'm ready to stop and have a break anyway. I was planning to drive it across country this fall, and even mapped out everything and have all my hotel reservations and planned charging stops, but of course now I expect the car will be gone by then. So I wasted a lot of time planning that all out lol.
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my concern has been that I will get to a charger that doesn't work or is in use.
 
Canada. My ideal Ioniq 5 would be the Preferred long range (single motor) with the Ultimate package. I want the longest range but with all the toys. :) I resent losing range for an extra motor and AWD that I do not want. Nor do I want to pay for 20" winter tires and rims and sensors.
 
Jennifer said:
my concern has been that I will get to a charger that doesn't work or is in use.
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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.
 
So, let's say you're a 2019 Kona owner, but you've really got your eye on the Ioniq 5 for a replacement (bigger, more range, faster charging)
How would you handle the buyback situation?

1) Do nothing until late summer, and hope that the buyback situation remains as sunny as it now appears?
2) Execute the buyback now, and get a different car for the short-term? Or
3) Quit your day-daydreaming, and just go buy a 2021 Kona EV, since you've been perfectly tickled by your 2019 for the past 2 years already, and you'll probably save at least $5000 compared to the Ioniq 5, and your 1st kid is going to college next year and the financial aid package was bupkis!

Thoughts?
 
I'm resigning myself to keep my 2019 Ultimate, with the expectation that they'll replace the battery. It's better for my brain to not be thinking about getting another EV, at the moment. The wife also isn't keen on me "getting another expensive car". (yes, that's her view on it, in spite of the clear financial advantages of owning an EV considering that I drive 2,000 miles per month)
 
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.
 
doggyworld said:
I just want them to replace my battery.. I'm still holding out hope they'll replace the batteries eventually. The high mileage on my car makes it not really worth it for a buyback I think.
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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.
 
NRH said:
So, let's say you're a 2019 Kona owner, but you've really got your eye on the Ioniq 5 for a replacement (bigger, more range, faster charging)
How would you handle the buyback situation?

1) Do nothing until late summer, and hope that the buyback situation remains as sunny as it now appears?
2) Execute the buyback now, and get a different car for the short-term? Or
3) Quit your day-daydreaming, and just go buy a 2021 Kona EV, since you've been perfectly tickled by your 2019 for the past 2 years already, and you'll probably save at least $5000 compared to the Ioniq 5, and your 1st kid is going to college next year and the financial aid package was bupkis!

Thoughts?
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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
 
Not really. :)

But yeah, you've pretty much spelled it out. I'm a little stuck between my impulses and my smarts. My impulse is to use the opportunity to upgrade to a faster charging, dedicated EV platform. But it would be more practical to save money and make a lateral move into a newer Kona. (And yes, I reserved an Ioniq 5 last month).

Need to go talk to our financial adviser to see how the heck we're paying for college in the fall, and that might prove "clarifying" in terms of the new car options.
 
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.
 
It wouldn't be fixing a problem we have with the Kona, just improving on it incrementally. Any differences fall pretty firmly in the "wants" rather than "needs" category.

I've never been that into getting the latest new car, until I started looking at EVs 2 years ago. With all previous purchases I just got some reliable model that's been around for a few years. Suddenly with EVs I'm obsessed with the latest improvements, and I'm chasing new models that haven't even arrived yet. It's a strange transformation!
 
NRH said:
So, let's say you're a 2019 Kona owner, but you've really got your eye on the Ioniq 5 for a replacement (bigger, more range, faster charging)
How would you handle the buyback situation?
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I will get either another Kona EV or a Mach-E, and consider it the car I'll drive until I find an EV I really want to keep. Which one depends on price and availability at the time. I figure the possible profit from the buyback will cover any loss on the next exchange.

If it's a Kona, I will be looking hard for a more tricked out replacement. If a Mach-E, I'll have to find whether or not its flaws drive me nuts, and whether Ford really gets behind OTA upgrades to compete with Tesla.

I have already put $100 down to get in line for the Ioniq 5. I'm guessing that after I drive it, and look at what else is coming up, there's more than a 50-50 chance I'll just take my $100 back. But I'm willing to invest the interest on the $100 (just joking) for the option.

Edit: And to respond to your timing question, I am not pushing them, but I'm in the pipeline and will grab the buyout whenever offered, for fear that they will change their minds at some point.

I had also considered buying a used Volt as a temporary car, and would do that if money were an issue. They are excellent driving cars, and pure EVs for 60-something miles, which fits my driving habits.
 
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I keep vacillating between another Kona, which I love (2019 or 2022, depending on which is available), and waiting for the Ioniq 5. Much depends on the buyback offer and the price of the Ioniq 5. I have an ICE car (son's) that I can use in the meantime, so I can wait for what I want. I thought of the Mach-E, watched a bunch of reviews, but hate the idea I can't close off that sun roof. I dislike baking in the summer and the sun beating down on me with no way to escape. And I also don't like the idea of adding after market items to cover it. And the ID-4? Zzzzzzzz.
 
Yesterday, while my Kona was getting three service campaigns (P29 for the third time - manually, OTA via Bluelink, and now at the dealer - plus two I didn't know about), I walked across the street and put down a refundable $500 deposit on a Mach-E. It probably won't arrive in time, but the dealer will be delighted if I cancel my order since they'll still get the car. Playing the field, I'm also in line for the Ioniq 5, as mentioned above.
EVRIGREEN said:
I thought of the Mach-E, watched a bunch of reviews, but hate the idea I can't close off that sun roof. I dislike baking in the summer and the sun beating down on me with no way to escape. And I also don't like the idea of adding after market items to cover it.
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Have you considered a Mach-E Select trim line, which doesn't have the "panoramic" (non-opening) roof? Add the Comfort Package and you get essentially all the features on the Premium trim except the projector headlamps.

My old eyes will need the best headlamps available, so I'll go for an aftermarket cover.
 
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