That's absolute nonsense. So what if it's an EV? It still requires replacement door hinges, fenders, panels, suspension parts, wiring harnesses, software updates, etc. Repairing a car is a great deal more complex than simply changing oil or replacing brake pads. All mechanical objects experience wear and tear and require maintenance.
The parts that wear out the fastest and are the hardest/costliest to replace are not all of those though. EVs still have parts wear for sure, BUT it is just in a different league when compared to ICE repairs.
I have a 20 year old civic that I have done nothing to other than oil change/air filter and brakes on (its my kid's car now). Sure the interior is falling apart, but it probably has at least another 100k left mechanically.
Same for a 20 year old Corolla. I'm embarrassed to admit I've never flushed the coolant or brake/steering fluids. Rear drums are OEM with under 50% wear. Did the pads. Rotors may have been replaced once.
Prophylacticly changed the spark plugs... but I think they were fine.
Had to change the wheel bearings which was a pain to diag and even more of a struggle to remove in the rust belt... which an EV won't get around.
EV might have saved me from a couple welder repairs on the exhaust and Macgyvering heat shields. And that $10 intake manifold gasket that always fails (2h shadetree job). Transmission ran dry a few times after a metal line rusted out. Bypassed with rubber hose and runs again like a champ.
I love it but will crumble like a cracker in a collision because rust (but still drive because 1zz-fe).
My similarly aged German car is way ahead on factory corrosion protection. Maybe the Japanese manufacturers have caught up but I won't know if/how far behind the Chinese manufacturers are for a decade or two.
The parts that wear out the fastest are designed to be easily replaceable. Just in a different league sounds like hogwash. I've seen the costs associated with Teslas caught in a collision. What would be a quick panel replacement on a typical ICE suddenly costs 15K plus.
The average ICE will be working with a full range at ten years old. The same will not be true of EVs without a major investment in battery replacement.
No chance an ICE vehicle can go 10 years without an oil change. Spark plugs, coils, fuel injectors, and filters will all degrade in that time, diminishing range.
If you don't do an overhaul and replace your rings, a high milage ICE car will not have the same range as new.
"full range" is a nonsense metric though. Different cars have different tank and battery sizes, and what matters is whether the range fits your needs.
All else equal, a range that degrades from 300 to 230 miles is better than a range that starts at 210 miles and stays there forever.
The statistics aren't backing you up on this.
First major thing to wear out in my EV was the Air Conditioning Evaporator core after less than 3 years.
Never change Ford, never change.
How are people still spouting this nonsense? EVs are more reliable than ICE vehicles. We know this from experience.
The discussion was availability of spare parts, not reliability. And has already been brought up, reliability won't save you from needing parts when someone plows into your rear bumper. Or when suspension parts fail, which they do on every car.
It's the EV folks that are spouting nonsense due to lack of experience. TCO is more than just oil changes.
> TCO is more than just oil changes.
Yeah, duh. EVs still have fewer maintenance items than ICE vehicles. How is this even a talking point anymore?