EV replacement battery costs more than the car

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Family learns unforgettable lesson when electric vehicle battery suddenly dies, replacement costs more than the car

By Chris Enloe
The Blaze
July 18, 2022

Climate change advocates push electric vehicles, arguing they help save the planet and save consumers money over time.

But one Florida family just learned that is not always true.

What happened?

Avery Siwinski, a 17-year-old from St. Petersburg, loved her electric Ford Focus. Her parents spent $11,000 on the used vehicle, a 2014 with 60,000 miles on the odometer. Siwinski described her wheels as "small and quiet and cute."

Then one day, just six months after her parents purchased the vehicle, it suddenly stopped working.

"In March, it started giving an alert," Siwinski told WTSP-TV. "And then we took it to the shop and it stopped running."

The car, according to mechanics, needed a new battery. Unfortunately, a local Ford dealership said replacing the battery will cost $14,000 — and that figure did not even include labor costs. The dealership even made an embarrassing offer of $500 for the vehicle.

But, according to Siwinski's grandfather Ray, the story gets worse.

Weeks after learning a battery replacement costs more than the car itself, Ray Siwinski learned owners of the electric Ford Focus cannot even buy replacement batteries. Ford discontinued production of the vehicle several years ago.

"Then we found out the batteries aren't even available," he told WTSP. "So it didn't matter. They could cost twice as much and we still couldn't get it.

Anything else?

The infuriating story comes as the Biden administration continues pushing electric vehicles over gas-powered cars.

"We’re for cutting the cost of electric vehicles because when you have an electric vehicle then you’re also gonna be able to save on gas, but you’ve got to be able to afford it in the first place," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said last week.

"Now we’re actually starting to see on some models the cost come to where, even if your car payment’s a little higher, your gas payment will be a little lower and you come out ahead," he added. "But the prices still need to come down for most Americans to be able to get an EV."

Indeed, electric vehicles are out-of-reach for most Americans unless the enter into a massive amount of debt.

According to Kelley Blue Book, the average cost of an electric vehicle purchase nearly reached $67,000 in June.