Any Electric Vehicle Owners Out There?

[Platinum-blonde]

Hi everyone!

I’m still in love with my old BMW 5 series wagon, but it’s starting to become a money pit. As a matter of fact, it’s left me stranded twice within a month. It’s getting too hot in AZ to put up with that cr@p.

Anyway, I’m seriously considering an EV. However, I’m concerned about the true cost (installing the charger, electricity bill increase). I would love to hear some real world experiences. I’m also concerned about running out of battery. Does the battery drain when it’s parked during the work day? I don’t have a charging station at work.

It’s going to be a major lifestyle change, as I have two littles in car seats, but I think an EV is the most economical option. We are spending a small fortune in daycare, and getting a new vehicle wasn’t in our budget until both kids are in school (3 more years). I don’t want to worry about budgeting gas and maintenance.

Thanks for any insight!!!!

 

[Octo2005]

Sorry to hear about your car troubles - being stranded is never fun.

My husband bought a Tesla last summer, I don't drive the car much but I might be able to answer some of your questions. It is a little different than driving a car with an engine and the acceleration/deceleration takes a little getting used too.

As far as the electric bill, I would have to go back and really compare, but I don't remember it being a crazy jump in the bill.

Yes, it does drain some battery just sitting, but thus far it has not been a problem and my husband's work is a good 45 minute drive from home.

The biggest expense, aside from the car of course, was getting the charging station installed. The unit itself was only $500 or $600, but you need an electrician to run the power line from your panel to your garage. It may not be an accurate representation of the market because there were only a handful of electricians in our area certified to do the install but it was VERY expensive. If I recall it was over $4000, but that included the cost of charger and they had to run the line a ways and go thru walls.

There are no maintenance expenses such as oil changes and things like that but expect to have to bring it in once a year for service. I don't recall what exactly they did besides rotate the tires, but again it was several hundred dollars.

They do give you free streaming radio which allowed us to cancel our Satellite radio, so there was that savings. In the long run, I am not sure given the large upfront cost that the gas savings is really a wash for quite sometime.

 

[kama_s]

I have a Tesla. My electricity bills haven’t seen a major spike. I have charging programmed to off-peak hours. Installation of the charger shouldn’t be more than 1000-1500$. Canada offers a partial rebate on this cost. Battery drainage is minimal, as long as you are not in very cold climates. Expect to see more drainage in extremely cold weather as the battery needs to be kept warm. I have a 90D, so get around 400km mileage, I have never been in a situation where I was extremely low or concerned about my battery life. I also have a baby and a car seat fits fine in my Model S.

 

[OoohShiny]

Depreciation of a new(er) car > ongoing maintenance of an older car, generally speaking!

@teslagirl1234 has one of the sportier versions, IIRC, but aren't they about $90k? That's a lot of ongoing maintenance and petrol... lol

 

[Arcadian]

I didn't get an EV this lease, as I'm waiting for more choices to come out and battery prices to come down (thereby making it at least somewhat parity with ICE.

With EV's you pay a premium to be an early adopter right now. Yes there are some excellent cars out there. You don't have to get a tesla (lets face it everyone dosen't have that money) and plenty of people are happy with Chevy Bolt and Nissan Leaf (the Leaf is passive cooled, which, if you live in a hot area, you will see degradation in about 3 years)

Jaguar just came out with the iPace. Gorgeous but it will be big bucks.

You also have a lot of choice in the hybrid department, from Kia/Hyundai/Toyota/Audi etc. And lets not forget the original bubble car, the BMW i3. If you live in a compliance state you're in luck because you get even more choice!

Dependent on the state you may well get additional tax rebates, and the national 7,500 tax rebate is still in effect as well.

The bad about EV's is the loss of value. they drop value very very fast right now. If you're hot to get into a Tesla, loo k for certified preowned. (they may or maynot still have that program, best to check their website)

Basically though, if you can wait a year, 2019 will have a lot of new stuff out.

https://www.greencarreports.com/ great website to read up on stuff, and they're not too fanboy and girl about Tesla (and though I have tesla stock, that fanboy stuff gets on my nerves..)

 

[Platinum-blonde]

Thank you so much for the information @Octo2005 @kama_s @OoohShiny & @Arcadian!

You all have given me some very good insight, and some things that I hadn’t taken into account.

I had no idea that the Leaf might not be the best choice where I live. That’s good to know! I’m actually looking at the BMW i3. Their lease prices are right where I would like to be. I would love the Tesla 3, but I don’t think I can wait that long to get one

Hearing the difference prices for the charging station is interesting. The salesman I’m talking to says that he’s heard from customers that it’s a couple grand. I guess I’ll have to get some quotes. I spend roughly $40/week on gass so it might pay for itself after a year or so.

Hmmmmmm. So much to think about. I’m off to checkout greencarreports.com...Thank you for sharing everyone! I’ll have a better idea whether or not I’m getting rid of my car by the end of this week

 

[VRBeauty]

I have a plug in hybrid, and I really like it from the powertrain standpoint. On many days when I'm just driving around town and it runs on just electricity. For longer trips it gets very good mileage thanks to regenerative braking and other little tricks that are part of the hybrid package. Plus it has exceptional passing capacity thanks to the electric boost. It charges in about six hours plugged into a standard 120 outlet. When I first got the car I figured the electric miles cost about 1/3 what the ICE miles cost.

It does have one very annoying quirk. If the main battery runs down for any reason, the car shuts down. You have to use the mechanical key to open it, and you can't even change gears. Not sure if that's just my make/model, or if it's true of all hybrid engines. My boyfriend bought an auxiliary battery thingie after it happened at his house. It's cheap insurance. HOWEVER, my car also has a much better warranty, including roadside assistance to 100k, because it falls under California's electric car rules. (Those rules should also apply in 12 other states that have opted in to California's program.)

 

[Octo2005]

Hearing the difference prices for the charging station is interesting. The salesman I’m talking to says that he’s heard from customers that it’s a couple grand. I guess I’ll have to get some quotes. I spend roughly $40/week on gass so it might pay for itself after a year or so.

The charger itself was not the main cost, but you have to have an electrician come and run a 220 line to wherever you want the charger, which can add up very quickly depending on the length of cable and configuration of your house. Not sure about other models but the Tesla came with an adapter to plug in a regular outlet, unfortunately it didn't charge quickly enough for how far my husband drives daily.

Best of luck with whatever you decide!

 

[baby monster]

There are online calculators to price out gas vs electric cost of fuel. I live in an area with high cost of electricity and no off peak discount. When I did the comparison, EV charging came out more expensive. This on top of installing a dedicated outlet because regular plug doesn't charge fast enough. I looked at Honda Clarity.

 

[OoohShiny]

I spend roughly $40/week on gass so it might pay for itself after a year or so.

Don't forget that you Americans have it pretty good in terms of fuel costs - over here petrol is around £1.21 per litre at the moment, so with the GBP/USD exchange rate around £1/$1.40 at the moment, a US Gallon (3.875 litres) at UK prices would work out as:

3.875 * 1.21 * 1.40 = $6.56 a gallon

It looks like you're currently paying about $0.80 per litre, according to this site:
https://www.globalpetrolprices.com/USA/gasoline_prices/

so that's, what, about $3.10/gallon? So UK fuel is over twice the cost of US fuel!


Personally speaking, I'm doing around 25,000 miles a year at the moment in cars that do about 35 miles per (UK) gallon (= 30 miles per US gallon, as UK gallons are 4.54609 litres). As I use Super Unleaded (because the cars run better on it) which is about 5p/litre more expensive, my fuel costs for the year work out as ((((25000/35)*4.54609)*1.25)*1.4) = $5683, so $109 a week...

 

[Platinum-blonde]

@Octo2005 One of the salesmen said that he’s had the i3 for two years now, and hasn’t put a charging station in his house. He does have the luxury of charging it at work though. However, he said that if the it can get a pretty good charge overnight...

@baby monster Where I live we do get off peak rates for EV charging, and a lower registration fee (registration is based off of value).

Which plugin hybrid do you have @VRBeauty?

I pay $3.98 a gallon for premium, so you’re right on the money @OoohShiny! I only average 21.5 mpg

Thanks again for all the insight! It’s be invaluable... although, my practical hubby is now saying we should get a minivan

 

[VRBeauty]

@Octo2005

Which plugin hybrid do you have @VRBeauty?

I pay $3.98 a gallon for premium, so you’re right on the money @OoohShiny! I only average 21.5 mpg

Thanks again for all the insight! It’s be invaluable... although, my practical hubby is now saying we should get a minivan

I have a 2013 Ford C-Max Evergi. I like it a lot, but it's a model Ford discontinued this year. I understand the hybrid technology in my car as that used in the Honda Prius. One of my friends has a Chevy Volt. It uses a totally different technology and gets about 40 miles per charge. He really likes his car too!

 

[Octo2005]

@Octo2005 One of the salesmen said that he’s had the i3 for two years now, and hasn’t put a charging station in his house. He does have the luxury of charging it at work though. However, he said that if the it can get a pretty good charge overnight...
That certainly is a great perk to be able to charge at work. We tried just charging with the standard plug when he first got it, but it was not charging fast enough to replenish the battery overnight and over the course of the week it was just not sufficient for his needs. Again, he drives about 38miles each way to work and can't charge while at work. It might be ok for people that don't drive as far.

Thanks again for all the insight! It’s be invaluable... although, my practical hubby is now saying we should get a minivan Oh no, not a mom-van! I agree with you I didn't want one either.

 

[Platinum-blonde]

hmmmm... I’m a bit sceptical about my standard outlet being able to fully charge the car. Although, I only have an 8 mile drive to work, so who knows. The downside is that the i3 has about half the range of the Tesla 3.

I think that I’m going to try to make my car last another year... and try to get the Tesla. It turns out the it’s the water pump that needs to be replaced. So, the repair wasn’t as costly as I feared. Plus, as I mentioned before, the hubby is really pushing for the minivan. As practical as it may be, I just don’t want to drive one. I like to have fun when I drive.

 

[LJsapphire]

I'm looking to go electric for my next car.

I used to have a 14 year old Honda that did 31mpg approx and at the time I was paying £250 a month in fuel.
Decided to get a Mercedes on lease (diesel) which almost paid for itself in savings. I'm on my 2nd Mercedes; which does 45mpg in warm weather/40mpg cold weather/ up to 60mpg on a long run, and my fuel is down to £70 a month.
The current one is a better spec and its a coupé rather than a saloon so costs more per month but I really enjoy having it.
I have another 18 months left with my Mercedes so hopefully something good will come along before then. My DF suggested the Jaguar I-pace but it's a crossover SUV and I'm not keen on the big wheels. I like smaller sportier cars.

 

[Platinum-blonde]

@LJsapphire Mercedes has an EV. Sometimes they offer loyalty discounts... I too like sportier cars. It sounds like there will be a lot more EVs to choose from when you turn in your lease.

 

[LJsapphire]

@LJsapphire Mercedes has an EV. Sometimes they offer loyalty discounts... I too like sportier cars. It sounds like there will be a lot more EVs to choose from when you turn in your lease.

only a B class over here afaik - I'm not keen. They haven't been very popular over here. <200 registered in the UK.
The Mercedes EQ is due in 2019. Again it's an SUV crossover and at an estimated £55K would probably be too expensive. Hopefully there will be more options at the end of 2019.

 

[Arcadian]

@Octo2005 One of the salesmen said that he’s had the i3 for two years now, and hasn’t put a charging station in his house. He does have the luxury of charging it at work though. However, he said that if the it can get a pretty good charge overnight...

@baby monster Where I live we do get off peak rates for EV charging, and a lower registration fee (registration is based off of value).

Which plugin hybrid do you have @VRBeauty?

I pay $3.98 a gallon for premium, so you’re right on the money @OoohShiny! I only average 21.5 mpg

Thanks again for all the insight! It’s be invaluable... although, my practical hubby is now saying we should get a minivan

Look up the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid....