Swapping a 5-Year-Old PHEV for a Pristine 21-Year-Old ICE Car Was Enlightening

Although I always loved station wagons, I bought the BMW minivan because it was the most affordable plug-in hybrid family car I could find back in 2020. This time, I thought I could buy a hybrid station wagon to carry my dogs around on the weekends and travel with my family every once in a while. The problem was finding a ride that could do all that with the budget I had: half of the money I would get with the sale of the 225xe. I had other plans for the other half and was not willing to invest too much money in a vehicle that I would not use that much.

I wanted a frugal car – one that was easy on me when it came to refueling – but no hybrid could fit the bill. I also wanted something powered by gasoline. Although one of my automotive-writing mentors loved diesel engines, I could not follow his guidance on that one. I find the smoke, the smell, and even the noise these mills make repulsive. I could probably cope with all that if diesel engines could burn ethanol or another kind of fuel, but they can’t.

To be honest, Scania developed an additive that allowed its trucks to burn ethanol in Brazil. Sadly, it seems the idea did not catch up. Despite that, I always used ethanol to fill the fuel tank when I lived in Brazil, but that is not an option here in Portugal. This renewable fuel does not interfere with the greenhouse effect because it uses the carbon already in the atmosphere. Fossil fuels are an issue because they increase the amount of carbon, which is what worsens the natural heating phenomenon Earth developed to host life.

Portugal loves diesel vehicles, which left very few gasoline options among the ones I could afford with the requirements I set. Eventually, I gave in to diesel vehicles, especially after I learned some station wagons that I liked could carry seven passengers, such as the Volvo XC70 and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. Most of them had more than 300,0000 kilometers (186,411 miles) on the odometer and were powered by that fuel.

After about one month of searching for a vehicle, I was exhausted. My wife works in a neighboring city, and I had to drive her to work in her car so that I could keep it to take my kids to school and pick them up later. Obviously, she also needed a ride back home. We only escaped beating our personal fuel consumption record because she drives a Suzuki Ignis Hybrid – what a fantastic little car…

I eventually found a blue diesel E220 with 299,000 km on the clock that was the best option until that point. My youngest son protested. He didn’t like the station wagon and wanted me to buy something else. I proposed a deal: if we did not find anything better in a quick search, the E220 would be our new family car. He accepted it.

My wife asked me what would be nice for us, and the Opel Zafira immediately came to my mind. It was not so big that it would not fit my garage or Portugal’s narrow streets. It was also roomy enough to carry the dogs, and the two extra seats it could have would be handy to drive my parents or my mother-in-law around when they visited us. Miraculously, my wife found an ad for a gorgeous 2002 Zafira with 165,000 km (102,526 mi). It looked great in the pictures, so I scheduled to see it the following day.

When I arrived at the store, I could not believe how good the Zafira looked. It was almost as new, and the explanation was a careful previous owner who had the minivan since it left the dealership lot for the first time. The car would not need new tires as the Mercedes: all four were recent, from the same brand and model, and were in great shape. I drove it a bit just to confirm it was as pristine as it seemed and sealed the deal.

Driving it back home, I realized I had gone from a 5-year-old PHEV to a 21-year-old ICE vehicle with no electric assistance whatsoever. It has ABS and airbags, but none of the digital nannies that people are getting used to nowadays. It may sound like terrible business, something you would only do if you badly needed the money, but it brought back some feelings and impressions I had long lost with more recent cars.

The first vehicle I ever bought was a 1978 Fiat 147, a close relative to the European 127. It was (and must still be) as old as me. Apart from an electrical glitch I eventually fixed, it was a reliable little thing that I ultimately sold to my then-brother-in-law. He used it for a while and also traded it, but tried to buy it back a few years later. I believe he still knows the person who owns it.

This is just a tale of how long ICE vehicles last. With proper maintenance, you can keep them for ages. I chose my 225xe because I wanted a plug-in hybrid that still had its battery pack under warranty. There were cheaper options around, such as the Opel Ampera (Chevrolet Volt), but it only carries four people and has a small trunk. Above all, I did not want to risk buying a new battery pack should it fail. People still miss how crucial that is.

Several used EV car buyers are learning it the hard way. Just check those facing BMS_u029 with the Model S. The first Model X was delivered in September 2015, so it is also nearing the end of its battery pack warranty, which means we will soon see similar codes in the Model X, Model 3, and Model Y, in that order. When that happens, the owners of used units of those EVs will face bills between $15,000 and more than $20,000 to replace these battery packs.

Teslas are not the only EVs facing this aging problem. Nissan started delivering the LEAF in 2010, and I wrote about cases of new battery packs sold by dealerships for $35,000 – with evidence. Some people manage to pay less by using battery packs from crashed cars. Sadly, that will not be an option for everyone.

Buying any vehicle with a battery pack no longer covered by the manufacturer is a risky business, regardless of whether it is a PHEV or a BEV. Even hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) can have issues if they do not work without a high-voltage accumulator. Depending on how old these vehicles are, their battery packs can cost more than they do. Ideally, you should always go for a new component with recently-manufactured cells. A used one will have a shorter life.

That should never happen with a used ICE vehicle because you can overhaul its most expensive component: the engine. A used battery pack will still be costly because of demand, which comes both from cars and houses. An accumulator no longer suitable for automotive use can still work well as a stationary energy storage device. Even after it crosses the point of no return, it is an essential source of raw materials. That is why some people say we will never see a classic EV. Yes, some electric cars from the early 1900s survived, but electronics and software may still prove these folks right.

A former boss used to say he loved how “analogical” his Mercedes-Benz 190 felt. I thought he was old-fashioned and attached to the past, but now I get him, especially when living in “computer-on-wheels” times. People could fix a car with a screwdriver and patience. Nowadays, you can’t even replace brake pads without proper tooling and the automaker’s scanner. Although Rich Benoit managed to bring a Tesla Model S from the dead with patience and a lot of work, it would probably be more difficult with the hardware and software issues the company has been facing more recently.

My BMW leasing included maintenance services, so I would always take the car to a dealer to solve anything. It had LED headlights and taillights, so I would never have to change a lamp. As much as I owned both cars, the Zafira gives me more opportunities to know it more thoroughly than the BMW ever did. I can repair it myself, even if I may prefer some stuff to be in the hands of more competent mechanics than I am.

In my search for an impeccable car, I did not think I would want to improve it, and that was a mistake. The old stereo is original, and it works as intended for the time, but I am so used to Android Auto and Spotify that I caught myself wondering about installing a modern sound system. If the car were in worse shape, I’d do that in the blink of an eye. As it is, I feel sorry to modify it. Ironically, that’s because I found a car exactly as I wanted.

I’ll probably come up with more realizations as time goes by driving my Zafira. I have only just begun to deal with it. However, the feeling that I am one of the last people able to buy a 21-year-old vehicle that still runs as well as my car is a bittersweet sensation. We may soon experience a profound change in car ownership that I intend to write about soon. When all vehicles need a battery to work, I fear only new ones will make the cut. Too bad if you can’t afford one.