I bought a used Mercedes EQS SUV with 13k miles and 2 years of manufacturer warranty last September for almost 1/3 of what it sold for new. I would have never, otherwise, owned such a luxury vehicle. It's been a dream come true.

Picked up a low-mileage CPO Taycan last year ($150k+ original sticker) for over 55% off with a 3-year warranty. Absolute dream of a car—at least until the warranty runs out! I love the concept of battery swapping, but definitely not with the current tech or pricing structure. Also spot on about the Model S: it’s blazing fast in a straight line, but chassis-wise, it handles nothing like the J1 platform (Audi/Porsche).

I bought a 2024 etron gt lease return a few months ago with an MSRP of 128k for half that price. It has every option available and I love driving it. I'm retired and don't put on heavy miles so it works for me.  I also bought an extended warranty so I don't have to worry about those expensive suspension parts. Insurance cost more for this car so keep that in mind when shopping.

2023 RS e-tron GT  owner  here......bought it Audi CPO with 20,000 miles.....$165,453.00 sticker price. I bought it for $66k ....Owned now for 6 months with ZERO issues.  I dont care if it depreciates like a rock....lol... Ive owned many German vehicles throughout the years from every manufacturer.  And this by far is my favorite out of all of them!. I love everything about it. Seriously. Go test drive one for yourself.I think you'll like it.😊😊

Just bought a used E-Tron GT after watching the prices drop. Now they are starting to creep back up, likely due to current political situations, but I think I got a good deal on a lease return, low mileage and practically new car that I plan to keep for many years. Range could be a bit better but for 99% of the driving I do, it's more than adequate.There will always be something newer and better though.

Like a lot of others commenting here, I just got (less than 2 weeks ago) a 2023 E-Tron GT Prestige with RS wheels, fully optioned out, even has the uber-alles sport seats with ventilation and massage, that's SO nice. It had 15k on the odometer, single lease owner for about 6 months per CarFax. Original sticker something like $120K - I paid $54k all-in. Less than half price for a car with one year's normal mileage on it. At a full charge, the range shows 275 miles. I'm getting 3 miles per kWh doing 80+ MPH around North Texas in 100F+ heat.

I had a 2015 Chevy Volt for 12 years before this car, for comparison. 10.5 kWh at best when brand new, after 138K miles, it would only let me use half that, but the gas engine ahem range-extender still got ~40 MPG, but the power was capped at maybe 65 kW - a real dog. Now I've got 469 HP and AWD and 4-wheel steering (522 in overboost mode) so it's like driving an absolute rocket compared to a slug of an eco-box from literally 15 years ago when the first-gen Volt was engineered.

Yes, battery tech is moving faster than ever, and if you're the type that trades in their iPhone every 12 months for the latest and greatest, BY ALL MEANS go buy a brand new $145K E-Tron and then sell it to me in 2 years for half that LOL that's fine by me. This car and the Taycan for $62K sitting next to it with 20k miles are still both AMAZING experiences. Compare to what you can get on the new car market (looking at you, Mustang Mach-E - and not even the GT), they're still loads better. I'm happy to let some corporate lease eat the 40%+ depreciation over a couple years so that I can drive an amazing world-class GT that looks drop-dead gorgeous, for the price of a well-equipped Camry. I can pit stop for 15-20 minutes at a DCFC on the odd road trip and save the entire price of the car.

I was originally shopping for slightly used A6 e-trons in the same age range, 2023+, and found that for just a few grand more, I could upgrade from "nice looking family sedan" to "gorgeous grand tourer" with way more power, way better looks, but a bit less range and for me, that's a perfectly fine trade-off. TBH, at this point, buying a brand new luxury EV is for people who have money to burn, which clearly isn't us. Enjoy your GTs, friends! I know I do!

5:30 - You mentioned "Battery as a service".   This concept was initially set in place with the Model S.  Up until 2022 (I think), the model S battery was designed to be removed exclusively from the bottom with the thinking if they ever implemented this battery swamp service, they would be ready.   This of course never happened.  Now from 2022 and onward, the battery installed is more complex as you have to remove the seats to remove bolts from the inside and underneath the car.

I'm surprised it hasn't dropped even more in value .  The range was hopeless, it weighed far too much, it cost far too much...

Bought a GT last June. 24k mileage, 21 plate. Loved the car and driving experience.  Until end of December.  Dreaded electrical issue came up. Went to Audi. Cleared fault and said it may have been a glitch. Got it again end of Jan. Now August and still not got car back. Was first thought needed modules. Then in March diagnosed that it needed a whole new battery.  Getting newest model battery as a replacement and have a courtesy car but gutted about how long this has taken.  Have received compensation but not the point.  Audi needs to do better.

Integrating "updated" batteries into older cars is difficult if not impossible, depening on what actually changed.
If they got better due to something like just optimized cell chemistry, that can work, if you can fit the new cells into the same space of the older pack.
If they got better due to not only optimized cells, but also optimized thermal management, this can already mean that the entire cooling system for every component in the car would need to be changed.
If they got better due to higher system voltage (400V vs 800V vs 900/1000V) you are likely completely out of luck, since all of the other components like  converters, chargers, coolers/heaters and the electric motors need to be rated/sufficiently tolerant and insulated for higher voltages. This becomes a big and seriously intolerable safety issue otherwise. Simply put: If you just plug an 800V battery pack into a 400V drive train, you are likely to set the drive train on fire or cause insulation failures causing electric hazards.

Unless the original EV was hopelessly overengineered, it likely won't work.

Bought a 22 etron gt a few months ago with 13k miles and definitely took advantage of the price drop. Paid 40K and feel i couldn't have got a better car for that price. Been smiling ever since. The 220 mile range dosent bother me at all. The car is absolutely brilliant.

I don't really see battery swapping being a necessary or even viable service.  With modern batteries performing well (fewer fires, range > 275 miles) and lasting longer (EVs are easily getting into 6-figure lifetime mileage levels now with better than expected degradation), I just don't see the expense/hassle of swapping batteries making sense.  What is most important is having an OTA software update capability with an automaker that is committed to provide upgrade support for 10 years or longer.  As Tesla says, their cars get better over time, and with FSD now well above 90% in terms of capability, this will become a huge differentiator even with models that are just a few years old.  Most legacy OEMs still haven't mastered OTA updates and are still not treating the software in the vehicle as the most important thing.

BaaS would require an insane number of roof batteries to be made.  Not just because you’d need several per battery swapped out to allow for recharge time, but as they are stressed members you’d need an incredible number of battery types.  It flies in the face of the notion of EVs being environmentally responsible.

Expensive cars almost always drop hard because people who can afford them also like to upgrade regularly.  The problem is that there aren't enough people willing to spend BIG money on an expensive used car that potentially has high operating costs.  A couple of exceptions are the Porsche 911 and Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon.  Those cars go against the trend because they're arguably best-in-class vehicles that have earned a cult-style following.

As for the E-Tron GT specifically, the interior doesn't feel special; nothing says "WOW, this is an amazing car and totally worth $150K."  Go back to the 911 and G-Wagon; both those cars feel special when inside them.

I had a 2020 Porsche Taycan 4S and now have a 2024 Porsche Taycan Turbo and absolutely love them.  My buddy has an Audi Etron and it is every bit as cool as my cars.

I’m so happy you mentioned NIO

Battery life and degradation doesn’t seem to be the issue we once thought it was.  

As someone shopping for one, the biggest issue I see is all there extra variables one needs to consider when shopping for one (range, where can you charge, how fast it charges, charging at home, dealing with colder climates, self driving comparisons etc.).  

Most people don’t want to do that much research and they surprised or disappointed after the purchase.  I’ll bet that the Audi buyers commenting here did far more research than the original owners, and probably mostly enjoyed the process.

I love the idea of making the tech open source.

2:37 "So what is the problem [....] Its a little complicated but bear with me"
Was it though? in the whole rest of the video you presented ONE argument: 3:08 "The real issue is the technology, and how quickly [it] evolves". That's it. Not really complicated, isn't.

I have a 2025 Audi Q6 and then bought a 2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S. Yes, it is a little older, and the range isn’t as good, but it still an incredible car… and a bargain!