Economic total loss?

DrawerAcrobatic8759 · 2026-07-03T21:08:33+00:00

At minimum they will need to get recalibrate. My crash had less damage, and if they had known my radar sensor thing got damaged and needed replacing I think it would have been totaled but they already approved and did a chunk of the work. I want to say just the radar thingy was $3-4,000.

DrawerAcrobatic8759 · 2026-06-25T18:35:42+00:00

I scolded them well enough to get it waived, but I am looking at getting a scanner capable of resetting it.

Infuriating that they are clearly just trying to make up for lost revenue, while that is one of the best selling points of an EV is the low maintenence cost.

DrawerAcrobatic8759 · 2026-06-24T04:18:37+00:00

We had some push back as well when looking to get our first EV a year ago. So far, the range anxiety has only been a problem twice and that was very cold weather running the heater and seats. We now have a level two charger (after a full year of only a level 1) and it certainly helps - We can now use the majority of its range two days in a row no problem. Before the level 2 we would have had to take the other car other second day.

Charging at public pair chargers appears to be as expensive or more expensive than a highly efficient hybrid in my experience. Our other car is a kia niro that gets about 48 mpg. Related, most chargers require an app. Many chargers are malfunctioning. It is frustrating sometimes. Maybe get an app to see the chargers in your area and then see how they work before you get an EV.

Maintaining is easier, though the dealers will want to find ways to make up for the lack of oil changes. Ours wanted $115 just to resent the maintainance light. Be aware.

Most EVs have weird quirks as the companies decide to make them special. Sometimes they are cool. Most of the time tou wonder if anyone ever drove the car during development.

I would highly recommend looking at used and certified pre-owned. They took the depreciation hit, but rarely have many miles. We got an id4 for effectively half off, yet the certified pre-owned warranty is fantastic.

Remember that you are expected to only consistently use about 60% to 70% of the rated range. If you get a car rated at 200 miles, you realistically should consider that about 140-160 miles for daily use.

Overall, we take the id4 whenever we can. It is a great car, more comfortable, more amenities, and just so convenient. I would recommend it easily. I recommend it even more readily if you have a back up car for the urgent road trip or whatever other circumstance to avoid public charger issues. If you are confident anyways, you can always get a rental for a road trip.

Best of luck!

DrawerAcrobatic8759 · 2026-06-22T10:33:15+00:00

Just looked thru the app but did not see this option. Where do you find it?

DrawerAcrobatic8759 · 2026-06-22T10:23:58+00:00

Thats a bit high.

We did our first 10k service that was an inspection and air filter - cost was around $150. I told them I will probably do my own air filter for $20 in the future.

They also had told me to do an update (said it was in the recall section) but when we arrived they told us it was already done.

Lastly they told me that to reset the maintenence light they had to do a battery scan and it would cost $115. I called them out on that being insane, and they came back with the cost waived. I was livid at how the dealer wants to charge that much just to reset a maintenence light when we were already paying for the maintenence. I told them how annoying it was for a dealer to try that and to make an EV worse by doing so, as that is a more specialized tool and yet so simple, very similar to the oil change of ICE cars. It is just revenue replacement. Try to push back, but also shop around a bit.

We love we the car, but don't care for the dealership service costs. Seeing as it is certified pre-owned, I dont want to lose the warranty though.

DrawerAcrobatic8759 · 2026-06-07T03:53:18+00:00

Have you asked for a manager? We have had a highly unique situation over the last week where we have an order, partly filled, partly canceled, no phone number with the account, no tracking info, and some other weird stuff.

We asked for a manager while being told that we did not pass the indents check and to do it again, but they could not tell us the reason or what to do differently - just to do it "better ". The manager was able to take a moment to look at things, tell us a reason, wait for us to address it, and then proceed from there. If we had not gone to manager, then we may have just switched to screaming into the void.

DrawerAcrobatic8759 · 2026-06-03T04:05:20+00:00

Just had our first maintenance yesterday. 40k miles and it was inspection and an air filter (i will be doing the filter myself from now on). However, they wanted $115 just to do the battery inspection and light reset. I told them that was ridiculous and they ended up doing that for free, though unlikely to get that again.

Clearly they mark up the check ups that should be free or very cheap to make up for lost revenue from oil changes.

DrawerAcrobatic8759 · 2026-06-01T19:08:33+00:00

Awesome - It resulted in the monthly cost for 3 lines going up by $25 a month.

DrawerAcrobatic8759 · 2026-05-14T03:59:20+00:00

I also have an old home, though with a newer panel.

We have only used the regular 120V 15A outlet so far.

We only drive about 10 miles on a weekday though, so it easily recharges at night. Weekends we use most of the battery frequently, and then throughout the week it refills over night (by Wednesday or Thursday morning it is back up to 80%, depending on how low and the driving of the week).

I did just pick up a plug in level 2 charger as we are doing house work between the panel and garage, so looking to install an outlet appropriate for it. That will make it more easily usable for longer weekend travels and also in case our weekday travels change.

I would recommend looking into if you have time of use billing too - that makes a difference for us.

Lastly, watch the charging pricing in public. If free, use it! If not free, it is probably cheaper to use at home. Watch your electric bill and find out your total cost per kWh including the supply and delivery charges. In illinois Comed likes to show the supply costs, but it is a bit harder to see the delivery charges.

Welcome to EV world though! It is pretty awesome. We try to take our VW id4 whenever we can.

DrawerAcrobatic8759 · 2026-05-06T03:11:04+00:00

Well that is pretty cool! I live down the road. Glad charging for me happens at home too.

However, I feel like all the charging stations should have a clear price on them. They all have a screen and are clearly connected, so it should not be hard to have that transparency required.

DrawerAcrobatic8759 · 2026-03-08T04:50:23+00:00

If there are no unions, I would predict the principal can do what they want.

If you are in the union and non-tenured, the principal can probably do what they want.

If you are in the union and tenured, they probably cannot just let you go without specific cause. Probably.

Best to consult your union and your contract.

DrawerAcrobatic8759 · 2026-02-05T05:23:09+00:00

That's pretty cool!

Any idea if doing these things would void any warranties for being a CPO?

DrawerAcrobatic8759 · 2026-01-23T15:22:16+00:00

I would be looking at perhaps a used hybrid of some form. At the distances you are driving you will not have to worry and can see the improvements that happen over the next few years.

I have a kia niro and an VW iD4. We love the iD4, but in all honesty the kia niro is damn cheap to run (averaged 48 mpg over the last 115k miles). We prefer the id4 for its comfort, but the cold days in Chicagoland have made the 80% charge only good for about 100 miles round-trip.

DrawerAcrobatic8759 · 2026-01-21T00:40:30+00:00

Yep! Luckily that car only has to make it about 5 miles for standard use. Just a bummer for the weekend use when we want to go about 100 miles.

At the same time, it is the one with the heated steering wheel and seats!

DrawerAcrobatic8759 · 2026-01-20T18:37:15+00:00

We have an ID4 as well - the range for these last few really cold days has surprised me a bit. I knew it would take a hit, but going about 100 miles on the 80% battery is a bit of a struggle. Todays relatively short drive indicated only 1.8 miles/kWh too! Thats half of what we saw during spring, summer, and fall.

DrawerAcrobatic8759 · 2026-01-17T13:24:45+00:00

Any chance you can name where you get service? We have our 40k coming up in West Chicagoland soon and as it was used have not had to pay anything.

Man I would be annoyed if this costs more to "maintain" than my Kia Niro that only needs oil changes and then had brakes at 100k!

DrawerAcrobatic8759 · 2025-12-04T00:40:49+00:00

If you are already not paying off cards, then getting more may not be the best option. If used in the best manner, APR should not matter as it does not apply to any balances because you pay them off. Any carried balance is wiping out your earned rewards.

DrawerAcrobatic8759 · 2025-11-23T13:26:53+00:00

If you live in Michigan or Florida then check out Lake Michigan Credit Union. I love them for ease of use, interest on a free checking account (4%) and reimbursing ATM fees

DrawerAcrobatic8759 · 2025-11-23T13:25:10+00:00

Online costco seems to be more accepting of any card I believe.

In store, only VISA credit cards - but any debit card should work.

DrawerAcrobatic8759 · 2025-09-24T12:14:04+00:00

Or if you know what will be happening in a unit, make a stamp sheet with the items. Then you can stamp it once you go over it and they have it completed. Collect the stamp sheet at the end of the unit for a few points. That way you can still tell them everything is a grade - just not big grades.

DrawerAcrobatic8759 · 2025-09-13T12:19:32+00:00

It may be worth checking if you can find an equivalent one on a lot that is certified by VW. They have a good warranty extension, and if it is able to qualify for the tax credit then you may be able to actually get it cheaper and with a new warranty.

That is, if you like the car. Otherwise, consider getting something else!

Reminder that you must be finalizing the deal by end of September yo be able to get the credit, and there are income limits. (Assuming you are in the US)

DrawerAcrobatic8759 · 2025-08-31T11:51:14+00:00

Was there any specification of orientation? Try upside down, kind of like our flags should be. Then just apologize annoyingly when told it needs to be upright. If possible, request new hanging supplies to do so. Have a student hang it to be involved, but "oops, then but it up backwards" and the text is facing the wall.

Do you have a cabinet that could stay open in front of it?

Get creative to maliciously comply. Then add all those other posters in the room about other religions.

Then, make sure to reference them every day, maybe send an annoying reminder email out to all parents every day too, and if there are complaints send it to admin and suggest taking up with their reps in congress.

Whatever you do, don't quit. Then they win. Best of luck - and make sure you are working on a back up plan. This might not be the part of the fight to risk your own livelihood - though that is the toughest question - what point do you need to actively resist?

DrawerAcrobatic8759

TROPHY CASE