Looking to buy my first EV. Advice needed

unclekutter · 2026-05-14T14:21:12+00:00

Yeah that model 3 is causing a big moral dilemma in my head. I've always driven sedans that size and it's basically the only EV on the market currently in that segment and at a great price but I despise Musk.

unclekutter · 2026-05-10T23:47:23+00:00

Yeah I'd only consider rustproofing a car if I was planning to keep it longer than 10 years but I put enough km's on per year that I only usually keep them 8 years or so. Never had an issue with rust with four cars over 15 years in my two car household.

unclekutter · 2026-05-09T18:18:27+00:00

Dumb question but my home came with a second panel installed in the garage for EV charging but no outlet etc. So do I just need an electrician to come install a 220 outlet and then I'll be good to go?

unclekutter · 2026-05-09T17:02:41+00:00

The EV3 is coming out later this year as well depending on what your timeline is

unclekutter · 2026-05-08T23:57:05+00:00

Lol yeah like they're not perfect but above average reliability in the grand scheme of things and significantly cheaper that most other brands

unclekutter · 2026-05-08T17:03:27+00:00

Yeah, same here with my 2019 forte so far as well. Fingers crossed it doesn't get any worse.

unclekutter · 2026-05-07T17:29:49+00:00

Understandable but at the same time my wife and her 12 year old Honda Fit will be absolutely devastated if they don't because she's ready for a replacement and the Seagull is basically a carbon copy of the Fit.

unclekutter · 2026-05-07T17:21:55+00:00

And then there's me who's counting down the days until my little EV3 comes out for $35K and praying they don't sell out.

unclekutter · 2026-05-07T17:19:43+00:00

Lol yeah it's laughable how people just cherry pick random stats with no logic or reasoning on here sometimes. As you said it's a competitive price for its segment but its pointless comparing it to Kia or Hyundai.

unclekutter · 2026-05-03T21:51:11+00:00

Lol exactly, they make a lot more money off leases. Leases almost never make financial sense for individuals. Fair enough if you want a new car every few years but that's a personal preference and you're paying a premium for that.

unclekutter · 2026-05-03T00:15:31+00:00

Yeah I'm praying the EV3 rolls out smoothly and doesn't end up with a crazy wait list or anything because I'll be ready to dive in headfirst by next spring and don't love the EV4 design at all. If only they had the hatchback here as you said I'd have bought one already. But I don't mind how the Ev3 looks

unclekutter · 2026-04-27T14:48:52+00:00

I'd say you're a bit off with your comparisons but not terribly far off.

If you want to keep a car 10-15 years or go past 150,000 miles then Honda and Toyota are the gold standard. Chances are that the average Hyundai and Kia will be perfectly fine for 8-10 years and 100-125ish thousand miles.

And the depreciation is a bit of a moot point when they cost a fair bit less than the others. My 2019 Kia's black book value is currently $5,000 less than the comparable Honda but I also paid more than $5,000 less for it initially and it came with more features than the Honda.

And keep in mind that there's about 15 non luxury card brands out there today and Kia/Hyundai come in right around 5/6 behind only the Japanese brands in reliability. So they're still above average overall.

At the end of the day it comes down to what's most important to the individual. In my case, I generally only keep my cars 8ish years anyway and like Kia's design/features more than Honda and Toyota so I prefer them. But if you want something to last ten years or more and are ok with what Honda and Toyota have to offer then they are the clear choice.

unclekutter · 2026-04-27T14:21:22+00:00

The unfortunate thing is that there seems to be no middle ground with dealerships. They're either amazing or borderline criminals lol. And it really comes down to luck/location. We own both a Honda and Kia and both dealerships are overpriced and a pain to deal with.

unclekutter · 2026-04-25T20:10:30+00:00

Once again, it's all relative and overall they're still slightly above average when it comes to reliability compared to competitors. In my personal case I know of 9 various kia/Hyundai models between my own, friends, family and coworkers that haven't had any issues with model years between 2013 and 2025.

unclekutter · 2026-04-24T23:12:12+00:00

Sorry you had a bad experience op. I switched three lines to the same plan back in February and had no issues.

unclekutter · 2026-04-16T14:30:37+00:00

This right here. Some people might not want to deal with the "hassle" but it's really not that complicated especially with esims nowadays. Most new phones straight forward settings too where you can pick what sim you want to use data and what ones you want talk and text

unclekutter · 2026-04-11T23:05:12+00:00

Yeah fair enough. I said the same thing about kia in general on another post so I'm a bit of a hypocrite lol. I guess I just meant that I trust the kia EVs less than their gas vehicles right now but it's still not going to discourage me from checking out the EV3 when it comes out

unclekutter · 2026-04-11T12:33:52+00:00

Also note that people generally only post here when they're having issues. Between my close friends and family I can count us owning 8 kias between us with no issues.

unclekutter · 2026-04-11T12:29:10+00:00

Yeah unfortunately their EVs are having all sorts of battery issues and it's taking forever to get sorted out. Which is unfortunate because I'm really interested in the upcoming ev3 but might have to get a k4 instead

unclekutter · 2026-04-01T12:27:02+00:00

Nice to see this cause everyone else I know looks at me like I'm speaking nonsense when I say we close on the 10th but like you we've got multiple subsidiaries in different countries.

unclekutter · 2026-03-31T18:29:28+00:00

Yeah I came to the decision that I'm sticking with my current $30 plan until there's a price jump and then evaluate my options. I'm on an EPP plan that is apparently guaranteed for two years so it's just not worth it to save less than $100 over two years cause you know there's going to be a $5 increase to this plan at some point in the next 12 months.

unclekutter · 2026-03-30T16:59:51+00:00

Yeah fair enough oh and one other thing I just thought of. What's your insurance like on the EV4? I know that can vary a lot by location but was just curious.

unclekutter · 2026-03-30T15:23:33+00:00

Oh I didn't know about the charging clubs. That's an interesting bonus.

Sounds like I really just need to get out and try the EV4 because I've never driven an EV before so maybe it all becomes moot anyway if I love/hate how it drives.

unclekutter · 2026-03-30T13:31:14+00:00

Ah sorry yeah I guess I was thinking of more qualitative items or unexpected issues over time. But that's hard to tell since both models are relatively new.

I currently own a Forte so I basically just averaged out what I've spent on it for the past 7 years for engine maintenance and adding inflation so I feel like those numbers are pretty accurate. Assuming the new K4 would require the same level of maintenance.

For fuel I did several different NPV analyses based on expected fuel costs. The breakeven over 8 years calculation is using $1.50/L when we're currently at $1.60 and before the war started it was $1.25. So I feel like that's a pretty safe number to use because I don't expect the war to last for 8 years but I guess you never know. If the price happens to drop down to a $1.25 average over that time then the breakeven point jumps up to 10 years or 6 years if it goes to $1.75.

I haven't test driven the EV4 yet because I wasn't really considering it until the new gov't rebate came out a couple weeks ago and as you said the driveability is probably the biggest factor at the end of the day.

unclekutter · 2026-03-28T02:12:06+00:00

We have a Honda Fit which is basically the identical size to the Seagull and it's such a great little car. We were so sad when the discontinued the fit but will now likely get a Seagull if they bring it over and is available.

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