Dealers profit more from gas vehicle maintenance than from new-car sales or EV service.
Showroom staff may downplay EVs’ lower maintenance because it reduces dealership profits.
Consumer Reports analysis shows EV owners spend about half as much on maintenance and repairs over the life of the vehicle as gas-car owners
AAA’s Your Driving Costs numbers back it up. In 2023, they pegged average maintenance for new EVs at about 8.12 cents per mile, the lowest of any vehicle category they track
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne lab found the same pattern: battery-electric cars run about 40% cheaper per mile to maintain than gas cars.
And you think buying direct from the manufacturer would be different?
An EV manufacturer wouldn’t try to dissuade you from buying an EV, that’s for sure.
Not deliberately, anyway…
I do think that part of why vehicle complexity is spiraling and repairability is dropping off is because manufacturers don’t care about longevity and especially not anyone who buys used cars and has to deal with fixing them after the warrant expires.
I just don’t also need a slimy middleman involved in that shitty process.
Don’t buy a shitty Tesla and they can be repaired just fine.
Tesla has a full range of service utilities integrated right in the car (for free) while Hyundai charges you if you want to swap your brake pads.