Would you buy an EV?

[Lanman87]

With the price of both new and used EV's dropping dramatically over the past year, would you consider purchasing an EV?

Personally, I would only consider getting one to use as a commuter and errand car. If there was an EV that cost around $20,000, had a legit 250 mile range, and was safe and comfortable then I would think about getting one. I would never drive it more than 100 miles from my house and rarely, if ever, charge at a supercharger. I live in the south so cold weather would rarely, if ever, be an issue.

Right now I drive about 30-40 miles a day going back and forth to work and running errands. My longest weekly drive is 120 mile round trip to visit my dad who is in a nursing home. If we are going on a longer trip we take my wife's SUV.

In order to convince me to get an EV as our main car it would need to have a legit 400+ mile range and be able to recharge in the time it takes to stop at a gas station to use the facilities and buy a Dr. Pepper and bag of Doritos. We are a long way from that happening.

 

[tango]

I've considered it because most of the mileage I drive is within 40-50 miles of my home so range is unlikely to be too much of an issue. The trouble is even if I only want to drive 2-300+ miles infrequently I don't want to have to stop and wait an unknown amount of time to recharge the car before I can continue the trip, and so an EV as a main vehicle wouldn't work.

Given the mileage I actually drive the savings an EV would offer compared to buying gas would be small, and there's always the concern about needing new batteries and the associated expense. I could probably replace my engine, transmission, brakes and all four tires for less than a new set of batteries for an EV.

 

[Castle Church]

We have two cars in our house. My wife probably drives less than 30 miles a week, so there are no real concerns with her having a EV in regards to distances. I drive far to much for an EV to be anywhere near practical and it is not uncommon for me to have to drive a few hundred miles in one day at the last minute. Our main issue is cost, even with the rebates and discounts my wife can get a new base level car for thousands less than an EV and the amount she spends on gas is minimal, filling up every few weeks now.

To get to that point the price of the car and the price of the home charging station need to be the same or less than a gas powered car.

 

[Albion]

To get to that point the price of the car and the price of the home charging station need to be the same or less than a gas powered car.

But then there are these considerations--the trade-in price of an EV is much less, repairs can be fabulously expensive, and there's even something of an environmental issue (for all who care about such things) in that EVs weigh as much as a commercial truck and do a similar amount of damage to the roads.

 

[Lanman87]

But then there are these considerations--the trade-in price of an EV is much less, repairs can be fabulously expensive, and there's even something of an environmental issue (for all who care about such things) in that EVs weigh as much as a commercial truck and do a similar amount of damage to the roads.

There is also battery degradation, you have to replace tires every 25-30 thousand miles, and insurance cost more. Whatever savings you get in not buying gas or having to do oil changes is eaten up by all the other cost over time.

As far as driving is concerned, I think it would be a blast to own a Tesla performance edition of a Model 3 or Model Y. 0-60 in 3 seconds or so is amazing. The Model S Plaid had the fastest 0-60 and quarter mile of any stock mass production car ever built.

I once heard someone say that Tesla's are toys for rich people and tech nerds. While that has changed some due to the price cuts in the past year, I still think it is pretty accurate.

 

[tango]

But then there are these considerations--the trade-in price of an EV is much less, repairs can be fabulously expensive, and there's even something of an environmental issue (for all who care about such things) in that EVs weigh as much as a commercial truck and do a similar amount of damage to the roads.

But, but, but, but, they are green. The government said so. And think of the money you'll save on gas, er, I mean, think of all the carbon emissions that won't be coming out of the tailpipe.

 

[Castle Church]

But then there are these considerations--the trade-in price of an EV is much less, repairs can be fabulously expensive, and there's even something of an environmental issue (for all who care about such things) in that EVs weigh as much as a commercial truck and do a similar amount of damage to the roads.

All valid points. The truth is that I don't really want to buy one, but it seems eventually it will be inevitable.

 

[Jazzy]

I would not even consider buying one. I live where the weather sometimes gets below zero or in the single digits. I would not want to wind up like these people did:

 

[Lamb]

I'm not interested at all since we live about a half hour from everyplace, which means we need a reliable vehicle. I don't think they're all that reliable because of the charge issues.

 

[tango]

I'm not interested at all since we live about a half hour from everyplace, which means we need a reliable vehicle. I don't think they're all that reliable because of the charge issues.

For local stuff I'm not so worried about charge issues - most of where we drive outside of the immediate area is 15-20 miles each way so well within "normal" range - but the lack of cellphone service around much of the area means that if the car does let you down it's going to involve a hefty walk to find service to call for help.

I replaced my wife's last car for that very reason - it was becoming less reliable and I didn't want her caught with a dead car with no service to call for help for miles, potentially having to walk by herself for an unknown distance in the dark and cold, on a road with no sidewalk.

 

[Lamb]

For local stuff I'm not so worried about charge issues - most of where we drive outside of the immediate area is 15-20 miles each way so well within "normal" range - but the lack of cellphone service around much of the area means that if the car does let you down it's going to involve a hefty walk to find service to call for help.

I replaced my wife's last car for that very reason - it was becoming less reliable and I didn't want her caught with a dead car with no service to call for help for miles, potentially having to walk by herself for an unknown distance in the dark and cold, on a road with no sidewalk.

I would hate to have to flag down some Amish family for assistance by the side of the road!

 

[tango]

I would hate to have to flag down some Amish family for assistance by the side of the road!

Given how slow their buggies are it might be quicker to just walk home...

 

[Forgiven1]

An EV, no. A hybrid, yes.