I have a very old diesel that I maintain religiously to make it last as long as possible, and whenever possible, I ride the bus. It's not that I wouldn't like a new car - and particularly an EV, those cars are attractive for a lot of reasons - but they all spy on their users nowadays and that's a big no-no for me. For that reason and that reason alone, I've refrained from buying a new car for years.
But now I have a good reason to buy an EV: my employer has installed solar panels on the company's roof, is in the process of installing charge points on the parking lot, and is offering all the employees free charging.
So I'm on the market for a small electric econobox to commute roughly 30 miles per day. I don't want anything fancy: just an honest-to-goodness little car with a steering wheel, an accelerator, a brake pedal and doors that lock. That's it. I don't care about creature comfort, I don't care about radio, GPS or anything else. I just want a car. And of course, of upmost importance to me, I want a car without telemetry, that doesn't spy on me and doesn't report to the mothership.
So far I think the best option is to buy one of the first gen EVs with a 2G or 3G connection that plain doesn't work anymore, and have it overhauled. The problem is, I might want to buy a more recent, possibly more efficient vehicle. Also, good luck finding someone competent to service a battery pack in my area.
If I went for a newer vehicle, what would be the best make/model to disable the internet immediately after purchase without any side effect? I've read that some models report a fault until the internet connectivity is restored, so those would be out of the question. And of course, if the antennae / SIM / 4G PCB or whatever needs to be disabled are super-hard to find, it wouldn't be ideal either.
Any way to convert a modern car into an honest vehicle, or should I keep riding the bus and give the opportunity offered by my employer a pass?
Pull fuse 31 on your Chevy Bolt and it will disable the cellular modern.
With no side effect?
That's great advice! That sure puts the Chevy Bolt near the top of my list. Thanks!
It for sure disables OnStar, I'll test shortly on mine to see what other side effects I get
I guess what I mean by side effect is the vehicle refusing to start to force you to "fix" it, or artificially reducing performances, or (lesser evil) leaving an error code and/or a light on on the dash all the time. If it loses GPS, OnStar or some other connected feature, well... that's a small price to pay for privacy.
I wouldn't use GM's infotainment navigation unless I had no other choice including old fashioned maps and map quest printed directions. OnStar uses the cellular connection to talk to OnStar servers and call OnStar. I've never paid for OnStar, don't see the real value in a subscription for it. If it loses Bluetooth like Sponge Blue said, you can get a separate Bluetooth speakerphone and use it instead.
I think I heard somewhere that it loses your microphone on Bluetooth, but I could be wrong. Just FYI.