We’re in the process of doing a ground source heatpump. The upfront costs are significant, but with rebates and tax credits, the ROI vs a standard replacement is around 7-8 % at current electric rates, which is good enough for me, and much better than solar or upgrading to an EV would be. since our house is all…

The ideal buyer for this would be someone who

You probably don’t want to look at the S&P returns for that same 72-82 period

I agree completely, it’s a cool car for not much money.  I was more trying to explain the ND votes that always seem to come up on the sub 5k or so price point no matter how good of a deal it is.

It seems like for a significant number of people once a car drops below 5k (rather due to age, miles or condition) they cannot compare it to other similar priced cars but instead consider that entire part of the market to be valueless.

Beyond helping renewables be more viable and improving grid reliability, an EV owner with substantially more range than they need on an average day could in theory make money by purchasing power during low demand demands when prices are low and selling it back during periods of high demand.  The problem is for this to…

Yeah they're not cheap.  On the plus side if you buy a good one and take care of it they don't depreciate much either.  Based on a quick search on similar models for sale mine is still worth about 75% of what I paid for it 20 years ago.  

I have a 22 hp john deere subcompact I bought 20 years ago when I bought my current house on 3 acres. It is incredibly useful, even on a relatively small lot.  If  you are a big do-it-yourself person they are a much better investment than a SxS.

My wife and I rented a jeep and explored southern islands of Turks & Caicos one day on our honeymoon. Having off-road for the past 20 years, the idea of doing it on (what I thought was) a sandbar seemed like it would be a little dull, but the trails were pretty amazing, and challenging in a stock jeep.  The scenery…

I purchased a Viair 400P, last fall for a trip out west where we would be airing tires down and back up for off-roading. It’s a bit more price but works really good. I keep it in my truck so I can up the air pressure for towing/hauling when I need to. I can also use it to fill bike tires much faster than a hand pump.…

Yeah should have looked first not even close.  

Yeah but the reduce maintenance costs will be like getting 30 mpg compared to his xj.

This illustrates a bigger problem, assuming he really wants off-road ability in a midsize SUV, the 4runner is really the only game in town

Wrangler 4xe.  Much better milage and much more comfortable compared to the xj.  It's also surprisingly bigger, and just as capable assuming that refers to off-road.  Price might be an issue it would be close

This was my thought, everything he suggested says 4runner, if he doesn't like the 4 runner he doesn't know what he wants

I completely agree with your logic unfortunately the market does not seem to.  Are these hard to get new?  

Already gone, no surprise, that would have been a steel in the before times.  

You don't have to worry about death wobble when the front tires are off the ground

Heat pump went out at the house, trying to decide if an upgrade to a ground source is worth it.  Kinda sucks, but if I had to pick a time to go without AC/Heat it’s probably the best time of the year

David did a deep dive on the original one, if I remember correctly his guess was ease of construction and/or proof the electric could adapted to traditional drivetrain for purists