Thanks to the phenomenal depreciation that’s hitting almost every EV on the market, today’s Nice Price or No Dice Taycan asks almost half what a new model would cost. Let’s see if that makes it worth plugging in.
“Large and in charge” is the best way to describe yesterday’s 1978 Oldsmobile Toronado XS. Other equally fitting descriptors might include “land yacht” or “gravity-altering,” owing to the car’s gargantuan size. As big as it presents, that Olds didn’t come with an equally massive hit to the wallet. At least that was the takeaway from the 56 percent Nice Price win the barn find behemoth’s $9,800 asking price earned.
Prices on EVs are all over the place these days. If you spend any time at all on Reddit, you’ve no doubt come across posts by people vacillating over whether or not to move on a bargain basement Hertz rent-a-Tesla sale, concerned that the car will continue its downward spiral as depreciation sucks the value out of it, space vampire style. Consumer distrust over massive losses in electric car values is probably a contributing factor contributing in emerging manufacturers like Rivian and Lucid not meeting their sales goals.
However, as they say, there are two sides to every coin. For every early adopter and rich person unworried about a financial hit, there’s a slew of folks ready to swoop in when these products of interest hove into economic view.
Today’s 2020 Porsche Taycan 4S is a prime example. This electric sport saloon cost well into six figures when it was new just four model years back. That’s comparable to an epic and shame-inducing-if-it-could-be-remembered weekend in Vegas, putting a new model out of the reach for many. Thanks to depreciation, however, this one is asking just about half that, making it much more of a compelling proposition.
Porsche introduced the Taycan to much fanfare for the 2020 model year. It rides on an all-electric RWD/AWD platform shared only with the Audi e-tron GT, a car few people buy when the better-looking and better-badged Porsche is available for similar cash.
While three years and change in age, this Taycan 4S doesn’t seem to have had much use. The ad claims a mere 3040 miles on the clock and “as-new” condition. That mileage seems woefully low, but who knows what people wealthy enough to be able to afford to sell such a car at a significant loss actually do with their free time?
As noted, the car is promoted as having had very little use, a claim seemingly validated by the ad’s photos. It’s painted in Mamba Green and is upholstered in what’s either partial leather or Porsche’s Race-Tex faux leather. In typical German fashion, the cabin is monotone black, which can either be seen as elegant and businesslike or boring.
The Taycan (Lively Colt in Turkish, apparently) is a low, compact design and happily forgoes the pretense of a full bench in the back. Instead, it’s proudly a four-seater with air outlets and USB slots for both positions and an emesis basin for whatever in between. There won’t be much opportunity to chill in those seats while the Taycan is charging, though, as the platform’s 800-volt architecture means juice-ups from 20 to 80 percent capacity can take less than 25 minutes on the right plug.
This being a 4S means it comes with dual motors for a total output somewhere north of 520 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque. Actual numbers will depend on whether the car has the standard 79 kWh battery or the 93 kWh performance pack. The ad doesn’t say which.
In fact, the ad doesn’t say anything about the car other than it being a one-owner whip, having a clean title, and showing that crazy-low mileage. The car is offered by a dealer and is presented on a number of classified sites at different price points. On Craigslist, it’s listed at $69K. Over on CarGurus, it’s a ridiculous $74K. We’re going with the Facebook Marketplace ad, which has the car at a far more reasonable $64,000.
What’s your take on this EV at that $64K asking? Do you feel that’s a deal? Or for that much, is this not a Porsche that’s ripe for the taking?
You decide!
Facebook Marketplace out of San Luis Obispo, California, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to FauxShizzle. for the hookup!
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