Replying to @⁨Mustachius_Grumpius@thelemmy.club⁩

We have been wanting an EV (something other than a Swasticar) for our next vehicle and think we could deal with the extended charging times required during a long drive or trip, but we ended up ruling it out.

For us the big problem is the difficulty getting parts and service. Service for the models we looked at is only available at dealers (and only some dealers), and parts are regularly not in dealer stock.

We really don’t want to risk taking a cross-county trip and having the car break down 200 miles from the nearest mechanic. With the additional real possibility of having to wait weeks (or months) for a part, an EV is not an appealing choice for us, at least not yet.

Replying to @⁨blargh513@sh.itjust.works⁩

Yes but other cars can be repaired at any mechanic rather than just at a dealer, which is the issue we were talking about above.

I am well aware of the computerization of cars, how carburetors have not been a thing for more like 30 years, and how generally electric vehicles are better than combustion ones but both are worse than public transit.

en

Replying to @⁨Mandarbmax@lemmy.world⁩

My fears are software/firmware issues or battery pack failure. It’s an impossible problem for the common man to solve and you are beholden to the manufacturer. And at what cost? Minor accident? Manufacturer declares it unfixable and deactivates it. Doesn’t even matter if you repair it. Boo!

I really want one, but I can still repair my current car myself if needed.

Replying to @⁨Mandarbmax@lemmy.world⁩

I have a seven year old Volvo.

It cannot be repaired at a mechanic beyond simple mechanical things. Everything else has to pass through a Volvo dealer because they locked down their software (Vida) and regular mechanics COULD buy it, but it would cost them several thousand dollars a year for the subscription. Unless they are going to specialize, it’s not worth it. I cannot drop my car off at joe’s garage.

There’s no real difference between ICE and electrics in that regard. You can still do basic repairs to an electric like brakes, tires, suspension, etc.