Little background first. I own a 2026 Tahoe I just bought thats the family hauler and I can also use it to tow my hellcat for racing. So I have a tow rig and don't need the lighting for towing because I know it sucks at that. Some races I have to tow for 700miles each way (trailer and car weight about 7000lbs).

My daily beater is a 2006 F150 with 230k miles, it's going to either go to my son for his first beater or I will put it out to pasture soon as it's getting on it's last legs. So I'm looking for a daily that I can use for Home Depot runs and going to/from work that's comfortable.

I noticed that used Lightnings have dropped like rocks, I see 2022 Lighting Platinums for between 30-40k with less than 50k miles. Pretty tempting for my new daily "beater".

Is a 2022 lighting platinum a good truck, or should I spend more for the later years? Are there any problems in the early lightings that were corrected in 2024/2025?

 

Man, 30-40k for a daily beater is unfathomable to me. I shop in the sub 10k space and that is still a stretch.

That being said, I would factor in high voltage battery replacement into your total cost of ownership when buying a used EV. Especially if you plan to keep it as long as your 2006.

 

A Lightning, or ANY used EV for that matter, is a money pit and should be avoided at all costs. There is simply NO "secondary market", e.g. "used" for these vehicles due to the replacement battery costs...which exceed the value of the vehicle.

 

Huh, I can go online and find thousands and thousands of used EVs for sale so obviously there is a secondary market. To say otherwise is silly.

 

Anti EV opinion or facts ?
Only reason for me ( not buying) would be that its discontinued . That said.. poo poo because of replacement battery costs.. not true. Sure its an expense. But so isnt owning any vehicle..

 

I agree in 5-10 years all the screens and electronics will look dated. It’s out of production so it will be harder to maintain.

what is the life and replacement cost of the battery? I’ll have to look into it.


I know EV’s are treated like appliances so maybe in a few more years they will be giving lightning platinums away for 10k due to the battery end of life?


EV resale is pure ****. I’d never buy a new one. I am considering because they are nice and the values are plummeting. I figure if you get in on the lower half your pain will be minimal.

 

yea there is. That’s why I’m here. The depreciation is making them look ok now. I just am looking to see if this is a fools errand if the battery costs 10k on a truck I buy for 25k.

i bet in 1-2 more years a 2022 platinum would be 25k.

 

Google says 40-50k to replace the extended range battery in a platinum and it has a life of 10 years. Not good!

that means a 10yr old lightning you’d have to pay someone to take it with a dead battery! You’d be negative 30k just to get it moving again.

Unless economical Battery replacements happen all these trucks have zero life when the battery dies. They get junked.

 

Yea, but in 8 years, you'll be able to order replacement battrys from scAmazon, fleBay, and Aliexpress for like 12 dollars anyways.

 

The fact that there are so many used ones for sale, means no one is buying. That means there is no secondary market. Kind of like 2018-2020 V8 F150s that have not already had the engine replaced by Ford, no one wants them but the uneducated to do not research.