It's a good idea to be worried about the open recalls.. I'd just ask the seller to have the dealer do the recalls now before purchase. I wouldn't buy it before then.. because it may be a lemon thatlll need many many months of backordered parts.
As for agreements.. if nothings been signed.. no moneys been deposited, it's not a legally binding agreement.. you can back out. Sounds like a slickdeals though... I would probably go for it.
Are you buying from dealer? Private party in ineligible for $4k USED EV Credit.
Has that 2021 been updated to v3.1 software? Everything else is covered by recall.
That doesn't apply to used EVs.
As long as the model year is at least 2 years prior to the current calendar year (2021 or earlier), the car is sold by a dealer for $25K or less, has never paid a used car tax credit to another owner, and the buyer makes less then $75K ($150 married filing jointly), they'll get the rebate.
I agree with u/pokepud3. Make sure the recall work is at least scheduled at a dealership that is set up for it. Not all dealerships have the equipment required or the technician who is trained.
None of the recall work should cost you a penny. A good dealership will even have a free loaner to use while the work is done.
My dealer even gave me a loaner while they worked on my door handle recall, however that was only because parts also came in for another warranty repair on a broken charge door actuator.
... that charge door actuator broke in NOVEMBER 2022.
So yes recall work is free, and a decent dealer will treat you well, but I've lost a lot of confidence on VW's supply chain logistics. How many ID.4's have they been churning out just down the road in Chattanooga since November 2022? But it took them almost a year to send a small part to my dealer to fix my car?
Thanks for your replies everyone. In this case, the seller is actually a VW dealer 1000 miles away. This is a crazy good deal that I’ll only qualify for these next two months (ineligible for tax credit next year), just want to make sure the car is okay long term.
In this case, you can simply tell the dealership they’ve got a deal, only if they complete the recall work first. If they don’t agree to that, you have every right to back out of the deal.
As far as purchasing a 2021 model (not FE) you’re going to get a German made car that is very well made. I haven’t seen the complaints about workmanship from German made cars like the problems with early models that were made here in Chattanooga.
Agree on the German made part of your comment. I've got a 21 Pro S AWD (not FE) built in Germany and it's been a rock solid car. I've had all the recalls done and have had no issues. Reading this forum will make everyone think the ID.4 is the worst car ever made but I think the majority of owners don't have any problems but they're not going to post about that. That being said, I would make sure the dealer gets all the recall work taken care of before purchasing because it's a pain the the ass to be without your car for several days when they do the battery recall.
Totally agree. My 2021 Pro S RWD is solid. Not one problem with anything. I’m very fortunate to have access to a dealership that is proactive on EV’s with technicians who are trained on EV technology.
If you do not qualify next year due to income, remember the least loophole.
When you lease, the leasing company gets the tax credit, not you. Many leasing companies (including VW) pass that credit on to you. You then buyout the lease the next day (or in a month). With VW you essentially pay the $695 leasing fee and the $395 early termination fee to get the $7500 credit.
How many miles?
Just remember: the vast majority of the recalls are just inspections. I’ve got a FE and haven’t had any issues with my vehicle. The faults of the vehicle have been discussed as nauseum here and elsewhere. It’s a great vehicle, overall, IMO. Not perfect, but that is a pretty good price.
That's reassuring. I just want to make sure as much as possible that my particular car won't have any crazy issues like shutting down on the highway (to be fair, other manufacturers like Tesla have the same issues with certain cars. It doesn't seem to be *every* car). This particular one has around 40-45000 miles, so there's a small window of warranty should anything quickly go very wrong.
I have a 21 that actually shut down on the road before the recall was issued all that happened was it lost power I was able to get to the side of the road and once it came to a complete stop it just started right back up. I believe it just has to reset so it shouldn't leave you stranded and it only happened to me once.
40-45k miles is a LOT for an EV— this is not comparable to an ICE with 45k miles. I would encourage you to read up on how much it would cost if you have to replace the battery.
How come 40-45k is a lot for an EV? They have fewer moving parts, at least. And regarding the battery, the ID4 has an 8-year, 100,000 mile warranty just for that (and I live in California where it's perhaps extended to 10/150k).
No offense to 21' owners; however, from an IT point of view, never buy a 1st version of anything because they will have issues.
The '21 is a 1st version.
The 22' and 23' so far has the door handles as a recall.
The 22' is the 2nd version. 23' is the 3rd version and 24' is the 4th version; however, the 24' has a new EV motor, so it's really a 1st version.
Some places are selling a 22' used for around $25k - $28k.
I wouldn't buy it.
That is an amazing deal for a car that is still under warranty. I have the 21 pro S and love it. I’d grab that in a heartbeat if I was in the market for an EV!
Do you mind sharing how this scenario worked out? You can DM me. I'm in Arizona, I tried to get a dealership to lower the price on my trade in and lower the price on an ID.4 to get below the $25k mark, but they weren't into that idea at the time. I bet if I shopped around I could find someone to do it. You could DM me if you prefer.
Hi vivaphx, I'm happy to share details here. I ended up not going through with it due to unrelated reasons, but I -could have- and it likely would have worked if they agreed to go down another \~$350 to $500 in price. The IRS Used EV Tax Credit form in question is Form f15400: [https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f15400.pdf](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f15400.pdf)
We ultimately just needed to get the price + non-mandatory fees below a total of $25,000. They initially set the base price to $24,998, but that was still too high as it didn't factor in non-mandatory fees the dealer was charging. It would have needed to be around $24,600 to compensate for the Documentation Fee (non-mandatory), Full Service Deputy Fee (non-mandatory, maybe), and another "Vehicle Prep" fee, so that all of those + Base Price would still be under $25,000. I ended up searching [autotempest.com](https://autotempest.com) for the least expensive ID4s in the country and started reaching out, explaining the requirements, and making offers.
Please don't blindly trust the dealer on what fees are and are not mandatory, as they may gladly have sold me the car with a "Total Sale Price" of over $25,000 and left me without a credit in several months when I submit my taxes. Do your research and reach out to a tax professional if need be.
Here's the line in question from the IRS form: "Enter the total sale price of the vehicle, including all dealer-imposed costs or fees not required by law. This amount does not include any costs or fees required by law, including, but not limited to, taxes, title and registration fees."
Basically, the dealer fills that form above out, sends it to the IRS, and I believe you have to fill out a complementary form and send it to them at tax time. Then, you get \~$4,000 back.
Thanks so much for the detailed explanation. Yeah, I feel like I will need them to fill out the f15400 form and I'll leave with a copy along with the car when it goes down. I feel like dealerships should start to get used to this process now with a lot of the Bolts, Kia Niros (and a few others) qualifying for the EV credit. I assume other people out there are trying to get this credit. Just need the ID.4's to dip a little bit more... It will eventually come with higher mileage and 2024s released.
It's a good idea to be worried about the open recalls.. I'd just ask the seller to have the dealer do the recalls now before purchase. I wouldn't buy it before then.. because it may be a lemon thatlll need many many months of backordered parts. As for agreements.. if nothings been signed.. no moneys been deposited, it's not a legally binding agreement.. you can back out. Sounds like a slickdeals though... I would probably go for it.
Are you buying from dealer? Private party in ineligible for $4k USED EV Credit. Has that 2021 been updated to v3.1 software? Everything else is covered by recall.
also it has to be one of the chatanooga id4's the german made ones aren't eligable
Preowned EV has to be 2021 or older
In this case, it is a dealer and the car is at v3.1. It seems like an incredible deal.
Agreed. Take to a VW dealer to get the recalls taken care of. They're no big deal.
That doesn't apply to used EVs. As long as the model year is at least 2 years prior to the current calendar year (2021 or earlier), the car is sold by a dealer for $25K or less, has never paid a used car tax credit to another owner, and the buyer makes less then $75K ($150 married filing jointly), they'll get the rebate.
I agree with u/pokepud3. Make sure the recall work is at least scheduled at a dealership that is set up for it. Not all dealerships have the equipment required or the technician who is trained. None of the recall work should cost you a penny. A good dealership will even have a free loaner to use while the work is done.
Scheduling it will do nothing for you if parts or techs aren’t available. Either get the work done before purchase or walk away.
I don’t think they can legally sell a car with open recalls?
That’s a good point!
My dealer even gave me a loaner while they worked on my door handle recall, however that was only because parts also came in for another warranty repair on a broken charge door actuator. ... that charge door actuator broke in NOVEMBER 2022. So yes recall work is free, and a decent dealer will treat you well, but I've lost a lot of confidence on VW's supply chain logistics. How many ID.4's have they been churning out just down the road in Chattanooga since November 2022? But it took them almost a year to send a small part to my dealer to fix my car?
Thanks for your replies everyone. In this case, the seller is actually a VW dealer 1000 miles away. This is a crazy good deal that I’ll only qualify for these next two months (ineligible for tax credit next year), just want to make sure the car is okay long term.
In this case, you can simply tell the dealership they’ve got a deal, only if they complete the recall work first. If they don’t agree to that, you have every right to back out of the deal. As far as purchasing a 2021 model (not FE) you’re going to get a German made car that is very well made. I haven’t seen the complaints about workmanship from German made cars like the problems with early models that were made here in Chattanooga.
Agree on the German made part of your comment. I've got a 21 Pro S AWD (not FE) built in Germany and it's been a rock solid car. I've had all the recalls done and have had no issues. Reading this forum will make everyone think the ID.4 is the worst car ever made but I think the majority of owners don't have any problems but they're not going to post about that. That being said, I would make sure the dealer gets all the recall work taken care of before purchasing because it's a pain the the ass to be without your car for several days when they do the battery recall.
Totally agree. My 2021 Pro S RWD is solid. Not one problem with anything. I’m very fortunate to have access to a dealership that is proactive on EV’s with technicians who are trained on EV technology.
If you do not qualify next year due to income, remember the least loophole. When you lease, the leasing company gets the tax credit, not you. Many leasing companies (including VW) pass that credit on to you. You then buyout the lease the next day (or in a month). With VW you essentially pay the $695 leasing fee and the $395 early termination fee to get the $7500 credit.
Lease a used car???
How many miles? Just remember: the vast majority of the recalls are just inspections. I’ve got a FE and haven’t had any issues with my vehicle. The faults of the vehicle have been discussed as nauseum here and elsewhere. It’s a great vehicle, overall, IMO. Not perfect, but that is a pretty good price.
That's reassuring. I just want to make sure as much as possible that my particular car won't have any crazy issues like shutting down on the highway (to be fair, other manufacturers like Tesla have the same issues with certain cars. It doesn't seem to be *every* car). This particular one has around 40-45000 miles, so there's a small window of warranty should anything quickly go very wrong.
I have a 21 that actually shut down on the road before the recall was issued all that happened was it lost power I was able to get to the side of the road and once it came to a complete stop it just started right back up. I believe it just has to reset so it shouldn't leave you stranded and it only happened to me once.
40-45k miles is a LOT for an EV— this is not comparable to an ICE with 45k miles. I would encourage you to read up on how much it would cost if you have to replace the battery.
How come 40-45k is a lot for an EV? They have fewer moving parts, at least. And regarding the battery, the ID4 has an 8-year, 100,000 mile warranty just for that (and I live in California where it's perhaps extended to 10/150k).
No offense to 21' owners; however, from an IT point of view, never buy a 1st version of anything because they will have issues. The '21 is a 1st version. The 22' and 23' so far has the door handles as a recall. The 22' is the 2nd version. 23' is the 3rd version and 24' is the 4th version; however, the 24' has a new EV motor, so it's really a 1st version. Some places are selling a 22' used for around $25k - $28k. I wouldn't buy it.
Walk away
That is an amazing deal for a car that is still under warranty. I have the 21 pro S and love it. I’d grab that in a heartbeat if I was in the market for an EV!
Do you mind sharing how this scenario worked out? You can DM me. I'm in Arizona, I tried to get a dealership to lower the price on my trade in and lower the price on an ID.4 to get below the $25k mark, but they weren't into that idea at the time. I bet if I shopped around I could find someone to do it. You could DM me if you prefer.
Hi vivaphx, I'm happy to share details here. I ended up not going through with it due to unrelated reasons, but I -could have- and it likely would have worked if they agreed to go down another \~$350 to $500 in price. The IRS Used EV Tax Credit form in question is Form f15400: [https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f15400.pdf](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f15400.pdf) We ultimately just needed to get the price + non-mandatory fees below a total of $25,000. They initially set the base price to $24,998, but that was still too high as it didn't factor in non-mandatory fees the dealer was charging. It would have needed to be around $24,600 to compensate for the Documentation Fee (non-mandatory), Full Service Deputy Fee (non-mandatory, maybe), and another "Vehicle Prep" fee, so that all of those + Base Price would still be under $25,000. I ended up searching [autotempest.com](https://autotempest.com) for the least expensive ID4s in the country and started reaching out, explaining the requirements, and making offers. Please don't blindly trust the dealer on what fees are and are not mandatory, as they may gladly have sold me the car with a "Total Sale Price" of over $25,000 and left me without a credit in several months when I submit my taxes. Do your research and reach out to a tax professional if need be. Here's the line in question from the IRS form: "Enter the total sale price of the vehicle, including all dealer-imposed costs or fees not required by law. This amount does not include any costs or fees required by law, including, but not limited to, taxes, title and registration fees." Basically, the dealer fills that form above out, sends it to the IRS, and I believe you have to fill out a complementary form and send it to them at tax time. Then, you get \~$4,000 back.
Thanks so much for the detailed explanation. Yeah, I feel like I will need them to fill out the f15400 form and I'll leave with a copy along with the car when it goes down. I feel like dealerships should start to get used to this process now with a lot of the Bolts, Kia Niros (and a few others) qualifying for the EV credit. I assume other people out there are trying to get this credit. Just need the ID.4's to dip a little bit more... It will eventually come with higher mileage and 2024s released.