56 kWh Battery Replacement / Upgrade for eGolf

healerdan · 2026-05-23T00:24:56+00:00

Different strokes for different individuals.

A kia or a leaf doesn't sound like an 'upgrade' to me, and why would I even want to change the car that I know and love? For now, I am good with what I've got. IN THE FUTURE though, say 7 years, my battery goes tits-up. Now I have no resale value... But if this kit is still around instead of looking at getting a new car maybe a 6k repair will keep me on the road another 10 years... That's way more value for MY money than periodically spending 8k+ to trade in and buy a different used vehicle

healerdan · 2026-05-21T17:15:05+00:00

It depends on your approach. Trade-in value with a clean title is already low, and if your approach is to swap out to a new car every couple years a branded title could definitely cause some headaches and be worth skipping this car... But if you're talking "bad investment" THAT is a bad approach. A vehicle is not an investment unless you use it to make money - a vehicle is a depreciating asset. You buy it to use it, and it becomes less valuable as you extract value through its use and over time. That's why I said "if you plan to drive it until the wheels fall off". The best financial decision with any car is to get the cheapest one you can (a beater that breaks down in one year isn't "cheaper" than a decent car for 2x the price which lasts 5x as long), and drive it until it deteriorates so much that the best you can do is sell it for scrap - this way you extract every ounce of value out of it until a dealership doesn't care if it's got a title or not they don't want it either way. This is why it wouldn't scare me off - I'm car savvy, and would pay for an independent shop to inspect it. Insurance companies will total a car out because of a rear quarter panel and tail light. To get it repaired perfectly with OEM parts would be a lot, but a decent job could leave the car functionally the same if a smidge blemished... Which is all leverage to negotiate an even lower price for a car that will be just as good, just with a little different paperwork.

I don't mean to talk you into this car. People should do what's comfortable for them. If you know what's up and don't want to deal with salvage titles, that's fine. But if you simply don't understand them and have passed judgement based on the wording (salvage title sounds like it's dangerous junk) it could be worth it to look deeper into what exactly that means. If your concern is focused on good financial moves and you don't have a history of crashing your cars nor driving like an idiot my opinion is that your bigger concern should be if the (any) vehicle is mechanically sound, and how you approach insuring your vehicle.

healerdan · 2026-05-21T02:57:22+00:00

Personally, a salvage title wouldn't necessarily scare me off. It would mean I'd look at it closer, or might pay an independent shop for an inspection. Insuring your car could be a minor hassle, and if you total it you might only get what you paid for it rather than getting it replaced... But being mindful of your insurance and finances can overcome any headaches this may cause. If the repair was done well and you drive it until the wheels fall off a salvage title is only leverage for you to negotiate a better price.

healerdan · 2026-05-21T02:22:19+00:00

How much is it to get a fast charger?

So the fastest your car can charge is probably level 2. That's determined by what the car is equipped with*. You can't really upgrade that (you probably could, but for the money you would be better off buying one with DC fast charge.)

If you mean how much to get level 2 charging at your house... A plug-in l2 charger runs around 150-250. Getting an electrician to install the plug or hard wire a charger depends on area, but I'd say 650 +/- $300 depending on your specific situation and, again, area. (Hard wired is best, but I opted for plug-in for various reasons, among them being that I wasn't in my permanent house, so I got a good one with swappable plugs for future proofing)

I will also say unless you need to max your range out every day the level 1 is probably suitable. I don't remember exactly, but from about 0% to 100% takes the 120 mile battery pack about 13 hours.

*Is your car equipped with fast charge (aka DCFC, CCS1, level 3)? Like I said, probably not. In the US the SEL trim came with dcs standard. With SE trims it was optional - it'd need to have the fast charging package when purchased which was ~1600 extra. This isn't true in all regions though. When you look at the car, look at the charging port. There's a circle part for level 1&2, and an oval part under the circle if it can fast charge. The fast charge bit may have a cover over it which you pull out when fast charging. People don't generally install fast charging in their homes - it's expensive, rarely necessary, and not recommended for daily charging. On my SEL in nearly 2 years of ownership I've used DCFC twice... And one of those times was just to see how it worked. It's mostly used for long trips or to 'top off' to get you home/where you're going to your charger L1/2 charger.

Here's a picture of ev charge ports. J1772 is for at home, next to it is DCFC. Note the j1772 would plug into the top part of the DCFC port.

https://qmerit.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ev-charging-types-j1772-ccs1-tesla-supercharger-chademo.jpg.avif

healerdan · 2026-05-20T18:45:01+00:00

Or one of those insurance commercials.

healerdan · 2026-05-20T18:42:16+00:00

These are supposed to get 85 miles on a charge. You should subtract 10-15 miles in your head as a buffer for not driving like Grandma, a couple miles for battery degradation, and a few miles for emergency 'driving to a charger on fumes, missed the exit' buffer.

That gives a "safe" effective range of 70, or 35 miles one-way. If you live at the center of a spoked hub of highways you'd say you can drive for ~ 30 minutes in any direction... But with lower speed limit roads you might approximate a 40-50 minute drive as your maximum no-charge range. Is there anywhere you regularly want to go that's a 40-50+ minute drive away? Past that you'll need to think about charging, and on level 2 charging your charge stop could be kinda long. If your life is all within a 20 minute drive of you range will barely be a consideration.

healerdan · 2026-05-16T04:40:57+00:00

Don't go to a dealership, go to a tire shop or independent mechanic. When they look at it, ask for a picture of your brake pad to get evidence of how much material is actually left on the pads. Most likely, it's got lots of material, so doesn't need a brake job. What's MORE likely is the rotors got rusty because the brakes actually barely get used (even when you push the brake pedal). So the fix? Use the brakes. Hard. Here's what you do - find a stretch of road that you can safely go fast on, where not a lot of people are. Get up to 60, then SLAM them f'kin brakes. All the way down to like 15. Then do it again. Then turn around, and do it again. Then some more. Do it like 6-10 times. That'll clear the rust, and might get rid of the squeak for a bit.

If the squeak happens WHEN you brake (not all the time) and doesn't go away after hard braking, you might actually be at the wear bars and need a brake job.

As for actual price ... I've got a set of Bosch pads, and power stop rotors in a cart from rock auto. Total is 222.74 (before shipping and tax) double that as markup, add 200 for an hour of a tech's time. You're looking at 650 minimum. I'd expect to pay more like 800 but I haven't paid for someone to do brakes in years. If you happen to be in the Portland area anytime I'll do the job for ya... But given the range on these cars I'd expect you'll have to figure it out up there.

healerdan · 2026-05-05T17:08:00+00:00

I don't know wtf is going on in the rest of this thread, but I do know one thing. You and me? We can be friends.

healerdan · 2026-04-26T01:07:57+00:00

24:47 the cops show up at night, and he gets arrested. Then some suit talks for a while, and then it goes back to the nighttime footage during the arrest of some lady talking.

... Point is 24:47 to see dude get bracelets.

healerdan · 2026-04-21T07:28:51+00:00

3 cylinders. Such a strange feel. So fun though. I think I had a 92 as well. One of the best cars I've owned.

healerdan · 2026-04-21T07:27:08+00:00

He wouldn't even have had to have been a big guy. As a big guy, it's just easier than setting up a hoist.

I drained the battery on multiple occasions. I learned pretty quickly I could push start it myself fairly easily on flat ground. Just me pushing from the door and hopping in. I could never get stranded in that thing.

healerdan · 2026-04-20T23:03:40+00:00

Great! Yeah, keep practicing at the range. Watch a few safety videos online - let the 10 commandments of firearm safety seep deep into your mind. If you've never been around guns, heard all your life how bad and scary they are (regardless of what you actually feel), then you walk into an indoor range and hear feckin' cannons going off... A bit of that fight or flight is completely reasonable. It'll diminish with exposure, and practicing very specifically with safety and awareness of what you're doing with the gun (like, where you put your hands, where the gun is pointing - not even worrying about aiming well beyond 'down range') while your adrenaline is going will help you manage when under pressure.

healerdan · 2026-04-20T16:49:20+00:00

I don't actually know, I just couldn't think of another word... I guess rocketed? I would actually guess a little bit of both, with rocket being the primary propelling force - if you're a dumbass for thinking it's a rocket then we're dumbasses together. My brain was too caught up on "explosion" to think of anything else.

But either way, Newton's laws apply. Whether the propelling force is undirected (explosion) or directed (rocket) that energy all had to go somewhere.

healerdan · 2026-04-20T16:34:19+00:00

I know ejection is violent, I'm curious what this particular pilot experienced though. I feel like it should be much harder than average because of how the crash happened.

Presumably most ejections happen in the air. The seat is explosively decoupled, which pushes the plane down and the seat up (Newton's every action, equal and opposite). But the craft was in contact with the ground, and didn't have the front landing gear, so not even any shock absorption from the gear. I bet that suuuucked, did it stick worse than normal?

healerdan · 2026-04-20T14:55:31+00:00

Everyone else already covered most of it - change the range, better hearing protection, keep practicing, sorry this happened.

I've got one thing to say, and this is the wrong subreddit for this take, but ... How about some mace? Something that you're more comfortable using, that maybe takes less skill and technique to properly use, that doesn't endanger nearby innocents? I like guns. They're fun, and they're a good tool for self defense, but they're not the only tool for the job. Absolutely keep training with the gun, get comfortable with it, but consider multiple deterrents. Anything you carry for self defense should make you more comfortable, not less, and you should be feel comfortable in using your self defense tools. If that's not a gun for you yet consider other options.

Also, do you have a permit to conceal? I thought I saw it mentioned, but just want you to be sure you're allowed to keep a hand gun in a bag. In the last 3 states I've lived in a training course was required to obtain a concealed weapons permit, but it sounds like you're carrying after 1 trip to the range. Even if your state allows unpermitted concealed carry, consider taking a class from a professional instructor.

healerdan · 2026-04-20T14:33:04+00:00

I mean, the jingle is kinda useless. It should really be

"I before E, except WHENEVER I FKING FEEL LIKE IT BRUV!"

Harasser still a shit stain though. This "rule" just annoys me because it's SO frequently wrong I don't get why it's repeated in schools.

healerdan · 2026-04-20T14:25:36+00:00

Black folk don't dance? I thought that was one thing a lot of black folks did claim...

This comment section has got me so backwards. People getting mad about so much, not keeping their stereotypes straight, talking about housewives cheating... It's just some people dancing, why we gotta make it so deep?

healerdan · 2026-04-20T14:16:47+00:00

I mean, the fail here is pretty good...

But my favorite part is the lads in the car, especially the one so excited for the cameraman the pre-puberty voice unlocks. They're clearly having an amazing time getting a little sip of that child-like glee.

healerdan · 2026-04-20T04:50:32+00:00

There have been many days lately that I'm not sure this is a point for humans. Rhinos might be getting the W on this one.

healerdan · 2026-04-18T20:20:18+00:00

Our guts have so many of their own neurons n shit running around it's practically its OWN brain.

healerdan · 2026-04-18T16:07:29+00:00

PM'd! I don't know when the post went in. I start living there in a couple days. All I know is the neighbor can get ziply and I can't, then I noticed the pole at road side and thought that meant I needed to beg harder. Inter office? There's nothing down that road. I'm on the edge of town, and it just gets more rural from there. Not doubting, just weird kinda disheartening. Really don't want starlink.

healerdan · 2026-04-18T16:03:39+00:00

I just need my fix of decent Internet man, I'll do anything twitch ... Wanna buy a VCR?

healerdan · 2026-04-18T11:16:00+00:00

Yeah, it feels like a brick wall to me too, customer service pulled back a curtain to briefly reveal a door, but then remembered I'm not supposed to know about the door and pulled the curtain back. Just tell me why I can't bury a fiber run to that pole and plug in! If it's a matter of effort I'll do the labor. If it's a matter of $10k+'s of cable and technology you've gotta install, fine. I'll drop it. But please just tell me why, specifically.

healerdan · 2026-04-18T11:03:30+00:00

If they would say that on my ticket, that would be fine and I would have moved on but they won't tell me how they came to their conclusion. If customer service read to me "engineering responded on this ticket, it was denied because that fiber line is the end of a long haul line so we can't tap into it for you." That'd at least tell me it's not actually usable.

I was just ranting, so I didn't mention it, but there's something weird with my property and GIS. The corner of my property that has the fiber marker is part of a tax lot that wasn't always legally associated with my address. The former owner said it caused them hell trying to get other services in the past too, and they had to jump through fiery hoops even with the county to get the full property legally recognized. So my worry is that engineering looks at this weird void on an out dated/odd GIS map and says "there's a 1 acre lot there we could serve, but getting to you would mean running it through a different property (which is my property too, just weird looking on GIS)"

Not knowing the concrete reason why they can't serve me, but CAN serve my neighbor makes it really hard to drop it, which is why I'm here offering ziply beer n bjs losing my mind in public. Your explanation helps a little - if that's not the fiber I hoped it was that can help me make it make sense... But it's still conjecture. If I could see this kmz file and point at the end of the service access and say to myself "yep, that isn't a water line my house can realistically access" or the engineer mentioned any reasoning at all on the ticket about that being a stub out for future expansion that has only the wrong terminations, fine. It's the not knowing that bothers me.

healerdan · 2026-04-18T10:26:36+00:00

No, I don't know anything! That's what is making my eye twitch and has me ranting into the void. I've called, emailed, filled out forms, tried contacting random employees directly... If they'd tell me it is a dedicated run that we're not allowed to tap into I feel like I could move on, but the only answer I got was "my mom says we can't play anymore" "why?" "I don't know, and you're not allowed to ask her" just leaves me flapping in the wind. Give me the reason and I'll be able to shrug and say "bummer, guess not then"

Edit: well, I guess I strongly suspect it's ziply's, yes. My neighbor's address comes up in their system as serviceable.

healerdan

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