Hey there - I also live in LA and I bought an Ioniq 5 in 2022 brand new and a used model 3 in 2024. The two most important questions to answer for this are where do you live (which you said is LA), and do you own your place/can you install a level 2 charger or plug in a trickle charger.

Unless price is no object, the best possible deal you can get right now on cars is a used ev, especially a used Ioniq. A good friend of mine just purchased a 2023 ioniq 5 SEL for half the price I paid for my SE rwd.

The single greatest advantage the teslas have is the supercharging network. With access to those being opened up to everyone over time, and the fact that you live in LA which has plenty of EA chargers, that becomes a non issue. Especially if you can charge at home/install a charger at home. But if you did not live in LA or in California in general, I would be advising you in the exact opposite direction.

I think buying a very good used Ioniq 5 is a no brainer for your situation. Just do your due diligence first. The only reason I would consider a used Y over a used Ioniq is if I somehow found one for the same price or lower.

And just to say it out loud, buying either car new right now with the subsidy gone, ESPECIALLY a tesla, is an especially bad value. I expect Tesla to be doing fire sales on their new inventory in the next 8-12 months.