Featured Image Credit: YouTube/10 Tampa Bay
Topics: Electric Cars, Money, Technology, Cars
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Electric Cars, Money, Technology, Cars
A family who purchased an electric vehicle for a 17-year-old as her first car went on to regret their decision.
In 2022, Avery Siwinski's family forked out for an electric car so that the teen could drive herself to and from school.
The car in question was a 2014 Ford Focus Electric and had just 60,000 miles on it despite being a few years old.
Avery loved her car, but started having problems with the vehicle around six months after getting it.
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The main issue? The car's battery.
"I was really excited. And it was fine at first, I loved it so much, it was small and quiet," Florida teen Avery gushed about the car to 10 Tampa Bay.
But it 'all of a sudden just stopped working'.
After taking it to the shop, they discovered that the battery had died, which normally wouldn't be too much of an issue.
However, when Ford discontinued the model, they also stopped producing the batteries – and getting a replacement for Avery's car would cost a whopping $14,000, not including the installation costs.
"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," she said.
Sadly, Avery's dad had recently died of cancer and so her grandfather Ray decided to step in and help her with the car breakdown.
He told the outlet: "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."
While the fact that Ford no longer make the model of car Avery had will have contributed towards the price of the battery, electric car batteries in general cost substantially more money than a non-EV's.
Your average car battery might sent you back anywhere between $185 to $400, while an electric car's battery might cost as much as $20,000, as per Digital Trends.
Avery's grandfather went on to warn other buyers to keep in mind that expensive battery replacements isn't unique to Ford Focus owners.
"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," he explained.
The family advised people to do their research before buying an electric vehicle so that you don't run into the same problem they did.
UNILAD has contacted Ford for a comment.