I think we could all agree that owning a car is an expensive endeavor. Not only do you have to buy it, you also have to pay for the upkeep and sometimes, that can be even more expensive than the car itself.
Avery Siwinski and her family is somebody who knows this very well. She was 17 years old when her family purchased her first car in 2022, and they decided to buy an electric car. They wanted something that she could drive to and from school.
What they purchased was a 2014 Ford Focus Electric, and it had just over 60,000 miles on it. She loved the car but about six months after starting to drive it, she started having problems with it.
The main issue was associated with the car’s battery. She said: “I was really excited. And it was fine at first, I loved it so much, it was small and quiet.”
Suddenly, however, it stopped working so they took it to the shop. That is when they learned that the battery had died, which would not typically be a huge problem.
After learning Ford had discontinued that model and stopped making the batteries, they found that it would cost $14,000 to replace the battery in her car. That was just the cost of the battery, not installation.
The young car owner said: “I know that Ford stopped making the car but it’s frustrating that they stopped making the battery too, so it left hundreds of people without a car to use.”
Unfortunately, Avery’s father had died of cancer recently but her grandfather decided to help with the car. He said: “It turns out this is a pretty common problem with this particular car. The Ford dealership advised us that we could replace the battery, it would only cost $14,000.”
Although it’s true that Ford doesn’t make the battery for this model of vehicle, electric car batteries typically do cost more than what you would pay for a regular car battery. You would pay up to $400 for a regular battery but an electric car battery would cost you as much as $20,000.
Avery’s grandfather had a warning for others. He said: “If you’re buying a new one, you have to realise there is no second hand market out there because manufacturers aren’t supporting the cars.”