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Purchasing a BYD or waiting

jadeyjade76 | 2026-01-21 12:43 | 35 views

Hi! We were just about to buy either a new Byd Seal or Byd Sea Lion 7 (its a close call which way we go). But a colleague was saying if we bought now it would be a 2025 model and it's better to wait a few short months and get a 2026 build version. They said it would affect future resale (though we plan to drive it for a while) and maybe slight improvements in 2026 for same price in a few months as buying a 2025 build now? Another point mentioned was overseas the byd battery is updated/better and that it's possible it'll come here in the coming months and that we should wait (?) Anyone have any thoughts on the above two points? It would be preferable/ideal to buy now but we could also make do and wait a 4-5 months without *too much* inconvenience if it makes any difference....

Comments (78)
Imaginary_Cancel8985 2026-01-21 12:55

It's kinda like waiting for the new iphone; you can wait if its not inconvenient for yourself or just bite the bullet!

AdditionalNebula6480 2026-01-21 13:05

Wait a few years for them to release the models with LIDAR (google byd gods eye). Then you're future proof for full self driving through software updates and get to enjoy an awesome EV meanwhile.

[deleted] 2026-01-21 13:05

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Eastern_Interest_908 2026-01-21 13:41

What the fuck are you on about. 😀😀😀

tjlusco 2026-01-21 15:15

I like that people point out the enormous financial advantages an EV can provide. There is probably an EV that would suit any lifestyle that would cheaper overall than any ICE car. Barely drive city car, servicing will be your biggest expense. Great, EVs only need serving every two years. Got solar? Even better, you could charge it for free on the weekend. Daily driver insane kms that you’re spending $100 on petrol a week? If you can find an EV that covers your return trip range and charge it at home each night, you’re going to be massively ahead. Doing ride share? Hear me out. If you use wholesale providers and recharge during the day. Free daytime electricity, better than free, get paid to consume electricity. In 5 years time you will not have ICE taxis, it will be cheaper to have cars idle charging during the day than paying for fuel. The economics for it already work out today.

[deleted] 2026-01-21 17:04

There is no resale value in EVs.

gnu-rms 2026-01-21 19:45

> Forget resale that is a petrol car thing. It's a depreciating asset thing, which most cars (unless some rare collectable) are. Not buying a car at all saves you money, the EV isn't making you money.

A_Ram 2026-01-21 19:55

If you need the car soon I would say don't wait. For the 2026 model you would need to wait around 3-4 months. And in 5-10 y when you sell it it will be 2-5k difference.

Harry56 2026-01-21 20:10

Apparently the new Seal is getting the Blade 2 battery but wouldn’t surprise me if you have to wait 6-12 months. Wait 4-6 months to be able to order it, 1-3 months for delivery etc. Vid about the new model that just came out and about it coming to AU in time. https://youtu.be/BMMcDjIR3ts?si=PReI0fApe25bfSpY

Otherwise_Yak_2631 2026-01-21 20:31

This is sensible advice

davel2018 2026-01-21 20:49

The cash back offer at the moment goes a little way to offset the loss of resale value if you buy a 2025 build car. But there are so many variables in regards to resell value that you can’t put an exact figure on that anyway.

ewan82 2026-01-21 20:51

Found the BYD sales person.

ewan82 2026-01-21 20:52

I’d wait. 2025 seal has the old interior. It’s been updated in China. Hopefully seal gets a fairly big update with the new interior for 2026.

Absolutedisgrace 2026-01-21 21:02

Im about to buy a seal and i've been pondering the same thing. I'm going to buy now because the car i like is a known quantity and is very good. There is no guarantee that the new seal is going to be strictly better in my mind as they could remove features that i found attractive. The current model doesn't have any features that i'm not liking, so i'm going to be perfectly happy with it. As other have said, the resale value of the car will be trash when i go to sell it in 10 years, so that won't matter. Like any technology, a new version will always come out and you can't wait forever.

ozdomguy 2026-01-21 21:17

What about the maintenance and repairs on the Chinese cheap built junk over 10 years or is that included in the sales price?

Telmered 2026-01-21 21:19

Worst choice ever, do not buy nothing but headache! Dealer issues, lots of little problems back to fix, back to fix!!

Ok-Koala-key 2026-01-21 22:08

If this was true I would've bought a dirt cheap second hand one.

[deleted] 2026-01-21 22:09

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fued 2026-01-21 22:13

if u are getting premium seal, there will be zero difference. if you are getting basic model, you get some of the premium features for free by waiting.

unwind_8 2026-01-21 22:22

My byd has been broken down for 6 months in the service shop, I still dont have a car.

[deleted] 2026-01-21 22:26

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ewan82 2026-01-21 22:27

Zeekr seem ok. I’d personally wait for the 7GT and I don’t like the fact the stargate headlights have been blanked off for Aus.

[deleted] 2026-01-21 22:31

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PitchPleasant338 2026-01-21 22:40

BYD just increased all battery warranties in the EU to 250000 km. That's 10 times around the world!

[deleted] 2026-01-21 22:41

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GuardedFig 2026-01-21 22:43

I wouldn't even worry about resale value. It mainly depends if the upgrades in the newer model are worth the wait and price difference to you.

ozdomguy 2026-01-21 22:52

You think the battery will last 10 years? All batteries these days are maintenance free but they don’t last a decade.

OzBestDeal 2026-01-21 22:53

Don't forget govt is trying to push for Road User Charge for all EV and PHEV in July 2027. It will be around 3c/km. So 10,000km per year is $300. Still much cheaper for people charge at home, but for people that charge solely on public charging, EV will be as expensive or even more expensive than efficient petrol cars.

[deleted] 2026-01-21 22:53

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ozdomguy 2026-01-21 22:54

If you do less than 250,000 kms in 10 years you would be getting no value out of EV as ICE would be cheaper. It will be interesting to reflect back on these topics in 5-10years and see if I was sadly mistaken and looking foolish or saying “I told you so”.

ozdomguy 2026-01-21 22:55

So do you sell before the 8 years knowing it’s the next persons problem or ride it out?

ozdomguy 2026-01-21 22:56

When you talk about the $25k in petrol savings you are assuming you charge it for free at home or??

PitchPleasant338 2026-01-21 23:04

Electricity is much cheaper than petrol to cover the same distance.  Not to mention oil changes. An ICE car has around 2000 moving parts which needs constant lubrication, an EV just 25.  And BYD has manufactured over 1 000 000 of the Dolphin Surf/Seagull that I bought. Any design and reliability problems have already been ironed out.

DirtyDirtySprite 2026-01-21 23:05

How much does it cost you to charge your car, per year.

[deleted] 2026-01-21 23:10

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ozdomguy 2026-01-21 23:11

What does it cost at home and at a charging station to achieve a set distance eg 500km ? And how long does that take at home and a charging station? Did you need to install infrastructure at home or just using standard power point? I’m genuinely intrigued

[deleted] 2026-01-21 23:14

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ozdomguy 2026-01-21 23:18

How many kWh is your battery in your ev? It does say 1-2% loss. You are very glass half full. So I’m not as tech savvy as you are, so you can just plug your car into your house and it becomes additional solar battery storage that can go both ways ? That’s pretty cool. Don’t need a new inverter or anything? Did your house come with the charging infrastructure all setup? What is the current to charge the EV? And does your solar achieve this all day or middle of the day etc? Thanks for educating me they sound more practical than I had realised.

ozdomguy 2026-01-21 23:20

Not a story that gets shared often. What’s wrong with it?

ozdomguy 2026-01-21 23:23

I have had experience with phev not full ev so this is interesting. My experience is that with a normal power socket it takes many hours of charging to achieve very small charging. This was a Mitsubishi not BYD. The vehicle is also not as fuel efficient as modern diesel for same style of vehicle. How much is the home charging infrastructure?

[deleted] 2026-01-21 23:34

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DirtyDirtySprite 2026-01-21 23:42

I'm not trying to be annoying, I want to bite the bullet myself. How much did the solar panels set you back?

[deleted] 2026-01-21 23:43

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[deleted] 2026-01-21 23:46

? So what if you plan to sell it...? What's the depreciation please?

Mountain-Stage6852 2026-01-21 23:50

We bought the Atto3 new and kinda regret from a value standpoint. It’s lost 40% value in the past 3yrs. If I were to do it again, I would wait and go for an ex demo or certified used with warranty. Those are almost new anyways. Under 5000kms. You’ll dodge that new car tax, unless you really want a new car, or don’t care about money.

ozdomguy 2026-01-22 00:00

You have a very serious solar and battery setup there.

ozdomguy 2026-01-22 00:02

Yes it was a very underwhelming experience with her new toy. I will think about all this when I next stop at the hi flow diesel bowser.

wvwvwvww 2026-01-22 00:13

As someone waiting for the Atto 1, waiting for a BYD has not been my fav experience. Supposed to arrive mid 2025… Put my deposit down in November iirc and still no clue when I will get it. If it really makes no difference to your life then it’s free to be on the hook, but if you actually need a new car waiting for a BYD is tedious.

Nos_4r2 2026-01-22 00:14

How much does it cost to fill up your tank at the hi flow diesel bowser? And how far do you get with it?

ozdomguy 2026-01-22 00:38

Well it’s flexible and variable. $450ish? Depends if I’m towing or cruising or 4wding. But just under 2000. However if I went back to standard tyres, removed the fridge, drawers, roof racks etc etc it would be enhanced. But it has its place in the world.

innocent_brissie 2026-01-22 02:07

What about the insurance differences?

[deleted] 2026-01-22 02:15

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innocent_brissie 2026-01-22 02:17

Isn't EVs have higher insurance than ICE cars? That will affect ROI

[deleted] 2026-01-22 02:19

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Joshps 2026-01-22 03:12

There will always be something newer round the corner…

Eastern_Interest_908 2026-01-22 05:05

Jesus christ how people like you even afford a car? 😀 This isn’t financial literacy this is braindead persons ramblings. 🤦 Your logic is basically: You usually buy a car for 50k so buy one for 20k which means you saved 30k right? So 20k - 30k = 10k profit. Do it 100 times and congrats sir you're a millionaire. 😂

unwind_8 2026-01-22 09:05

Engine stopped working, no diagnosis for 5 months and they finally said low compression. I requested a replacement vehicle 3 months ago but they ignored me. Ive posted a few times in here if you're interested in more info https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/thread/9xv6lk2j?p=103#r75859186

Solaris_24 2026-01-22 09:23

I think the 2026 Sealion 7 may have an improved ride and handling tune. The Seal should be good to go.

Mountain-Stage6852 2026-01-22 12:13

Just traded in for a Model Y Performance

crustytheclerk1 2026-01-22 15:58

So it's a hybrid rather than a true EV and the issue's with the ice component? This is one of the reasons I'm not keen on going to a hybrid. You've got two systems that require service and possible repair, increasing both risk and cost. I'm aware BYD had a few issues with how they treated their lemons, but I think they've lost a few court cases now so hopefully they're starting to play by the rules a bit better.

unwind_8 2026-01-22 16:29

Apologies the title said purchasing a byd

Tiramisu_Powder 2026-01-22 20:09

I would say wait only for the fact that the current stock of BYDs, especially the Sealion, have ants inside them from being stored at Jamberoo.

MaDMaXonReddit 2026-01-23 07:00

The updated cars are already at the dealers - in NSW at least: \- The huge glass roof now gets an electronically controlled blind, and it is pretty effective at keeping the sun out \- The Performance version gets Active Dampers and Premium version gets Frequency Selective Dampers. \- There are other bits and bobs, but for me these two are the major updates for the new model year When I asked them about the upgraded model launched in China, their response was "BYD does not let us in on such info early. Chances are that normal punters like you hear about it on the internet before we get the word from BYD"

Still-Turnover-7141 2026-01-23 07:38

BYD = Buy Your Depreciation

SydZzZ 2026-01-23 11:00

My patrol spend is $2k a year. I guess my ROI will be very poor with EV

[deleted] 2026-01-23 11:02

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SydZzZ 2026-01-23 11:04

My car runs fine. Can’t justify costs right now. I don’t think I have the guts to buy a new car anyway.

lflflflflf_7 2026-01-23 23:34

Total cost of ownership is the right calculation. (Cost to buy + cot to maintain + cost to run - resale cost ) / number of months you owned it for = monthly cost. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It’s always a good idea to wait for a few more months to buy a new car if your current car is working perfectly

anotherpawn 2026-01-24 00:48

I highly recommend test driving a Zeekr X and 7X before making a purchase decision if you haven't already. I think they're miles ahead in terms of driving experience & finish.

Plane_Garbage 2026-01-24 11:17

Lol what an upgrade.

Plane_Garbage 2026-01-24 11:18

Admittedly, I've never bought a new car that I've had major issues with until BYD so I cant comment on other brands after sales. But BYD is abysmal. I'm here getting another one.

anpanman100 2026-01-25 12:25

To answer your question more simply, my car costs about $20 for 500km range charging from a standard power point or $45 from a fast charger. I typically charge at home, overnight charge adds about 100km range so 3 nights a week is plenty for my normal use.

hotsp00n 2026-01-25 21:26

This is 100% the logic behind 'girl math'. What a dope.

[deleted] 2026-01-25 22:14

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hotsp00n 2026-01-25 22:22

You ignored every part of OP's question to expound a deluded logic relating to the differences in cost between ICE and EV cars. OP asked about a 26 vs a 25 model year car. Obviously there will be a different resale. Ignored. OP asked about the potential for new and more efficient batteries being added to BYD cars in the near future. Ignored. You really went out of your way to not answer OP's question. Even if your girlmath (and really that's offensive to girls, so I apologize) made sense, it's not germane to the key thrust of OP's question: Should they buy today or wait for some potential benefits and buy in the future. Your twisted logic applies equally to both scenarios and so all else being equal, doesn't help to answer their questions at all.

Reasonable-Motor7211 2026-01-26 10:05

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