Lucianne.com links to an article in The Drive which reports the story of a man who brought a Chevrolet Volt to a dealer for a new battery. The dealer quoted him $30,000 parts and labor. Blue book quotes the sale price of a 2012 Volt as $12,000 and the article says $10,000, but with a dead battery its value is $0.
You can buy a new Chevy Bolt, also electric, for about $32,000. Why buy a battery for a ten year old car when you can buy a new one for a couple of thou more?
Interesting dilemma, keep your older electric till the battery needs replacing or dump it while it still has some resale value. Nobody will buy one with a dead battery. My guess is nobody will buy one that is several years old, even if the battery is still holding a charge. Batteries deteriorate with time, as well as with miles.
Sounds like electric cars, when the battery dies, are basically junk. You throw them away and buy a new one, like you'd do with an electric razor.
I've got a 2003 gasoline car that is still going strong, it lives at my winter place, gets driven to market. Do we really want cars that we treat like disposable tissues, to be used and discarded after a few years?
