Well, I don't think there's anything simple about almost any car purchase.
I am the exception. I buy and sell cars like most people buy clothes- it isn't a big deal to me and I'm not afraid of a bad transaction. The average person, however, buys a car what, every 3-8 years? There's so much involved in it, everything from safety to self image and affordability. People like us here and on the EVDL are no real exception to the rule. We still cheap out all too often- its no surprise to me that even the EV hobbyists like us are largely unwilling to start with a good car. How many people are actually converting cars that are worth $25k, or even $5k, as they sit? This isn't just a monetary issue. Yes, financing has something to do with it, but not that much, really.
The bottom line for me is that I think most EVs are a pretty lousy value for what they are. Don't get me wrong, I'm a committed EV hobbyist, but I think a $15k EV conversion is a pretty silly and pointless purchase for the person who just wants a car. Look at how hard the OEMs are working to produce a workable EV value proposition- a $32 Nissan Versa and a $40k Malibu that, but for the $8k+ of government price support would be sale-proof to everyone besides young Hollywood types or the occasional retired hippie wannabe. Its a tough sell all the way around, and way worse at the bottom end with a used conversion that offers little support, suspect engineering and components that vary from great, handmade treasures to industrial surplus to Chinese knock-off crap- usually all in the same car. Buying a conversion is such a crapshoot, I'm really surprised that people are willing to buy in the $10k-$15k range at all. I think that very few conversions actually sell for that kind of money.
I probably wouldn't buy a conversion, but rather look for a used factory EV. A rusty Solectria can be found around $4k or less, and that's a pretty good value for the parts, provided they're good. Same is true of a GM S-10, or a Siemens Ranger. At least you kind of know what you should be getting with one of those old OEM vehicles. As the conversion market matures, you can also kind of surmise what you're getting with a Warp 9 (supposing you know whe build date and what the status of its development was at that time,) or a Jim Husted motor, or a Zilla or Soliton controller, Vicor bricks, etc. The conversion work kind of speaks for itself, and there are definitely cars I'd be happy to own, but the vast majority of what I see is just too amateurish to pay good money for, because I'd probably want to redo so much of it anyway.
When I get around to buying a used EV, (and I will because like every other category of car, a decent used working example is always the cheapest way into a vehicle,) I'll drive a hard bargain because its used, and used lead batteries, even if they are a month old, have NO COMMERCIAL VALUE to me whatsoever. I would probably discount lithiums 2/3 from new, unless someone had some damned detailed and complete records on how they've been used. It always kills me when I see an ad for an EV with batteries that are "brand new" from 6 months ago. Lead batteries have a service life of what, 200-300 cycles, which drops to A HANDFUL to NONE if they have been abused? Thanks, but no, I don't want your "new" batteries. </end battery rant>
So anyway, speaking beyond myself again-
No, the "market," or whomever you think is out there waiting to buy an EV home-built or limited-run conversion, will not support profitable resale of such a vehicle, unless you are Wayne at EV-Blue or a handful of other guys who probably aren't really making any money converting cars.
Its not a bad thing, just the state of affairs we're in. Drive oil prices back up to $150/barrel, and I'd be willing to re-evaluate my opinion...
TomA
