I thought I was going back to gas.
As the end of my two-year Chevy Blazer EV lease approached, I felt stuck. Ideally, I didn’t want to spend more than $10,000. That knocked all of the long-range, modern EV options off the board. So the choice was between a gas-powered all-wheel-drive SUV—essential if I wanted to keep exploring California’s public lands—or a Chevy Bolt.
Neither sounded right. In the end, neither was. I couldn’t deal with the Bolt’s lack of fast charging and its flimsy seats. But more importantly, I just couldn’t go back to gas. For a ton of big and small reasons, I won’t ever buy a gas car as my daily driver ever again.
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Source: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs
I’ve Become An Old Man
There’s a reason my search was doomed from the beginning: I’ve spent years and years poring over used vehicle ads in my free time, and somewhere along the way a pre-COVID pricing got stuck. To my out-of-date mental model, $5,000 buys you a decent car that needs some fixes. $10,000 gets you something a few years old but broadly good. And $20,000 is plenty.
Those numbers do not reflect today’s reality. I'm an old man reminiscing about the good olde days. Go shopping for a $10,000 AWD SUV today and you’ll mostly find vehicles that are either over 10 years old, have over 100,000 miles, or are known for being extraordinarily expensive to maintain. You’d be lucky to find one that doesn’t have at least two of those boxes checked.
I know what many of you are already careening toward the comments to say: Yes, I am aware that most people do not “need” an all-wheel-drive SUV. But I have spent dozens of nights camping in my vehicles at unmarked, backcountry campsites over the last few years. I have gone deep in the desert and miles off pavement. These are not well-traveled places, and getting stuck or breaking down can be incredibly dangerous.
I took this photo after a 15 mile off-pavement camping trip in the mountains. I don't need to do that, but I want to, so I will.
Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs
So I wanted something with a reputation for reliability, enough clearance for a forest road—any Subaru or RAV4 will do—and ideally a comfortable suspension and cabin for far-flung adventures. For $10,000, I was simply out of luck. Lexus RXs were in the 150,000-180,000-mile range for that price, and while there were cheaper European options, I have spent too much time chasing electrical gremlins in BMWs to want that life again.
But even the cheap and reliable options came with gas-car compromises. They all would need spark plugs and transmission fluid changes and the combined forces of a thousand moving parts just to keep them at their baseline. They’d be shaking and rattling and polluting all the while.
Two years ago, these things didn’t feel like a compromise. They felt like table stakes for having a capable vehicle that could take me all of the places I want to go.
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Source: InsideEVs
Now, though, I know there’s a better way. I know that I can do 1,200-mile trips into rural Utah, that I can car camp, that I can drive off-pavement, that I can sleep in my vehicle, that I can blast down mountain roads—that I can do everything I need or want to—all without burning a drop of gasoline. It’s not just possible; it’s better, and I’m not going back.
Used EVs Are The Best Cars In The World
It’s not just that I can live without gas. It’s that I want to. After two years of EV ownership, I’ve gotten too used to the million ways in which electric cars are better. I’m used to never visiting grimy gas stations and paying out the wazoo. I’m used to blasting up the steep hills in my neighborhood on a wave of instant torque. I’m used to going for every microscopic gap in traffic without having to wait for a downshift or a turbocharger to spin up.
I’m used to leaving my dog in the car with the A/C running on hot days, all without having to leave the car vulnerable to being stolen. I’m used to having a climate controlled cabin to sleep in for cold weather camping adventures and summer desert expeditions. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: EVs are just plain better.
Most of all, though, I have gotten used to not worrying about my car. Through owning 13 or 14 internal-combustion cars in the last seven years, I got used to the truly baffling number of ways they can break. The non-car-curious among us often only find out about a part’s existence and importance when it strands them on the roadway or leads to a four-figure repair bill. Even assuming nothing breaks, the maintenance alone is enough to drive you nuts and drain your wallet. As I write this my fiancé’s 40,000-mile Ford Escape is acting up, likely due to fouled spark plugs. It surely needs new transmission fluid, too.
My EV gives me hope that we can actually solve our biggest problems.
Photo by: Ralph Hermens
All cars will still experience some issues as they age. But over two years of driving the Blazer, all I had to do was rotate the tires. If I own one for another five, there’s nothing on the horizon except for new tires, eventually. The brakes were still essentially brand new when I turned my car in, as I almost exclusively use regenerative braking, and nothing else is prescribed for the foreseeable future.
The Blazer EV is the best fit for my needs. But it's not the only great used EV deal. Low-mileage Tesla Model Ys, Hyundai Ioniq 5s, and Ford Mustang Mach-Es are all available for under $25,000, and they're all great cars.
Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs
My car did everything I wanted for two years, with no worries. It was comfortable, smooth, fast, and sophisticated. Its technology worked great, its drivetrain was flawless, and it had a dozen little quality-of-life features I’m not ready to give up.
So I bought another one.
My New Car, Same As The Old One
Two years ago, I leased a 2024 Chevy Blazer EV LT2 AWD with the optional panoramic moonroof in Radiant Red Tintcoat. Two days ago, I bought a 2024 Chevy Blazer EV LT2 AWD with the optional panoramic moonroof, this time in Riptide Blue Metallic.
I suppose you could say I have a type.
The only difference between my new Blazer and my old one is the color. I prefer the "new" one's Riptide Blue Metallic paint.
Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs
Both cars are essentially identical, with 17,000 miles on the Blue-zer compared to around 14,000 on my old red one at turn-in. Otherwise I had no real qualms: All 2024 Blazers came standard with a 360-degree camera, heated seats, a heated steering wheel, faux leather bucket seats, a 17.7-inch display with native Google Maps, adaptive cruise control, automatic collision braking, a fully digital gauge cluster, and 279 miles of EPA range.
The RS model got you cooled seats, a head-up display, heated rear seats, bigger wheels, ambient interior lighting, and a cool front light-bar. But those bigger wheels made the ride far harsher, and the cooled seats were made of an Alcantara-like micro suede material. Given how often my car seats see muddy dog prints, ocean water-drenched swimsuits, desert sand, and copious amounts of dog fur, this was a non-starter.
The only option, then, was moonroof or no. I love the sun, and driving with all of my windows down and the roof open, and I extra-love that Chevy still gives you a physical sunshade rather than just some half-assed heat-resistant coating, so that was a yes. Point is: I needed a nearly identical car. My lease deal was great, but the buyout price was about $18,000 above market value, so I went back on the market for a used version.
I certainly wasn't about to buy new. Used EVs are the best bargains on the market, thanks to aggressive depreciation, the lowest running costs of any car group, and the inherent reliability of modern EV batteries.
Another reason I love the Blazer: Not only is the interior spacious, but it still looks new after two years of abuse. It feels like it's built for many years of service.
Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs
I ended up in a Blazer EV this time for all the reasons I did the first time. I love its 8 inches of ground clearance and Subaru-besting approach and departure angles. I love its one-pedal drive mode and its auto on/off feature. I like the way it looks, and I love the color.
Most of all, I’ve had a lifetime of rolling the dice on cars. They’ve usually been cheap, risky, and mere months away from pricey repairs, and I haven’t stuck with them for long.. This is different. For less than $24,000, I got a car with more range than I need, enough clearance to reach any trailhead I pick, another six years left on the battery warranty, and none of the compromises that come with a gas car.
That was well worth the extra money. Because when average Americans catch on to how reliable and delightful used EVs are, these deals will be gone. Get ‘em while you can.
Contact the author: Mack.Hogan@insideevs.com
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