So I have a Jeep that's now four years old. At what point would it make financial sense for me to purchase a replacement EV for it, considering that the only costs incurred at this point are fuel and maintenance costs? If I was going strictly by the numbers, I'd think that keeping and maintaining the Jeep would be the wise financial move for many, many years, assuming that no major repairs are needed.
Just FYI, my Jeep has only needed oil and filter changes over the four years I've owned it. Tires, brakes, batteries, all original, Even the wiper blades. So than oil and oil filters, I've only needed to buy gas for it. I'll probably need tires in a year or two, maybe new batteries (It has 2, a primary and an auxiliary). Brakes are probably 90% remaining. So overall, it's been a pretty inexpensive vehicle to maintain so far.
It's normal for people to think in terms of "it still works, I might as well keep it", but paradigm shifts break conventional wisdom.
When you reach a point where you drive less than 2000 miles annually on that Jeep (due to cost of fuel and you have a short-range EV for commutes), and your maintenance costs includes:
- a trickle charger to keep your 12v batteries charged, because you didn't drive it in the past 2 weeks (lead-acids self discharge)
- replacement tires, because the rubber compound ages and dries out, especially if you don't use it.
- bi-annual smog checks, even if you don't drive it much, and potentially an ICE vehicle ban sometime after 2035 (New Jersey follows CARB, so new ICE vehicles are already banned by then)
- oil-changes every year (at minimum).
Those are all costs just to OWN the vehicle, not operate it. Cars are not trophies, they perform a function. And if you don't use it, then the cost of maintenance becomes a burden. Plus your vehicle continues to depreciate, so you're losing the used-vehicle value, the longer you keep it.
Once its utility is diminished by the cost to operate it (because fuel WILL get more expensive as the demand and supply dwindles), you'll reach your trade-in way point.