Also of note: it’s almost always worse for the environment to replace a working gas car with an EV.

I see this sentiment repeated a lot, and it strikes me as … incomplete.

If measured at just the individual level this is absolutely true. If you own a current ICE car, 100% of the resources and energy used to create that car have already been expended. Essentially its already been “paid for” in CO2 for the creation of the vehicle (but not the operation of it, for forget that for now). Disposing of a perfectly working CO2 “paid for” ICE car to buy a new BEV that takes on the “bill” of “paying for its CO2” is environmentally negative.

However, this ignores that these actions don’t happen in isolation. You don’t DISPOSE of your old well running ICE car. It goes to a new owner, not the trash heap. Running used cars have to come from someplace, and people replacing their old dead ICE (or very poorly running) cars may not be able to buy a BEV today because they are still relatively high compared to well running used cars.

I wonder if there isn’t actually a net benefit to the environment for folks that want a BEV parting with a well running ICE car. The oldest cars on the road today usually have the worst emissions. Those owners may be hanging onto those old ones because better running, better emissions used ICE vehicles are more expensive and out of reach. So trading in a well running ICE would push down prices on better used cars allowing buyers in that segment to truly scrap the worst polluting cars on the road.

I’d like some real evidence before I throw my full weight behind this opinion and I haven’t found enough through my quick google searches. One article supporting this position (which one isn’t enough) is here. Its talking about Western nations exporting used vehicles and these are usually the oldest, which are the worst polluters.

If anyone has reputable evidence or articles for or against this. I’m interested in seeing them.