I need a new car, and I really want to go full electric. I’m wondering if anyone regrets buying one? What are the downsides?
Yeah, I bought a Tesla and now regret it because Elon is a dipshit.
That said, I’ve gone over 38,000 miles for less than $900 in electricity. I haven’t had to deal with oil changes or any other maintenance items other than tire rotations and tire replacement (the latter was of my own accord they actually said I didn’t need to yet, at the time).
I recently did a nearly 4hr trip with no need to charge on the way, and at my destination basically filled back up in something like 25 minutes while checking in to my hotel. So, no range anxiety for me.
The ride is nice, the features are helpful to me, and I have had no other issues with the vehicle.
So if it weren’t for Elon I’d love it. I still like it, but I just hate being seen in it now. It’s paid off so the financial cost of getting some other EV doesn’t make a ton of sense right now, so I guess I’ll just drive it until it dies…which at this rate might be a long-ass time.
I read somewhere that people have bumpersticks and stuff that say things like “I got the car before he went crazy” or “if I knew him then, I wouldn’t have bought it”
I’m not a huge fan of bumper stickers, but I might make an exception for this 🤔
Same boat here. I bought mine back when Elon was just “juvenile weirdo who makes dick jokes and smoked weed with Joe Rogan”. Best car I’ve ever owned hands down, no intention to buy anything Elon is selling ever again.
My biggest non-Elon complaint is the lack of Vehicle to Load. That is such an amazingly useful feature that’s ONLY AVAILABLE on the garbage cybertruck.
Isn’t the Cybertruck pretty bad in that regard as well for its size?
I don’t know, but I certainly wouldn’t be surprised.
This is what I’ll now show to lemmy when they again run in their denial circles about tesla being a bad car, or the company going bankrupt soon.
I like the electric part.
What I don’t like is that it’s a steaming heap of spy-ware on wheels with no opt-out ability.
Which may lead to more expensive insurance depending on your driving style, or could be abused for even more nefarious reasons.
That’s not limited to EVs, though. Most modern cars have the same antifeatures.
True, but I have an old ICE that I can keep running for a while. The question is should I spend more than it is worth on maintenance?
A lot of the ice ones can still be bypassed, at least. I dunno if it’s so easy all the all electric tire chewers.
The spyware you are mentioning is in gas cars too. It isn’t exclusive to EVs it is a problem with all new cars.
You’d be hard pressed to find any modern car that isn’t doing that.
I was able to get my Toyota’s DCM disabled and did a data collection opt-out with the company. It was a total pain in the ass and they tried very hard to dissuade me, but it is possible (depending on manufacturer).
Whoa really? How did you figure it out? I’d love to do that with my car, even if it’s a pain.
I disabled the OnStar unit on mine and don’t use any of it’s associated apps.
Make sure that the car matches your expectations.
Don’t trust their range claims, most of the time they are exaggerated and only able to get that range on a perfect day doing constant 45mph without hills.
Do you have a reliable place to charge it? If you don’t have a personal parking place, and cannot install a charger at said place, trusting you have the range you need gets difficult, and expensive. As you have to rely on public chargers that are not very reliable, and worse for battery longevity (level 3 chargers)
Speaking of range. What range do you actually NEED? My opinion is the minimum range should be double the normal daily commute, as most level 2 chargers can add ~18 miles/he charging (overnight charge means 144 miles charge). Double your commute gives you a buffer for the heater, or the grocery run after work. For most people this is only 80 miles… which almost every electric only car can do without issues.
Is the cost worth the vehicle? Buying new is expensive, buying used can be risky. Do your research thoroughly and you’ll be able to decide what fits what you NEED (and that answer may easily be a used ICE vehicle instead)
I’ve had a full electric vehicle for 5+ years now as my daily. But I have always had a personal parking place, with a level 2 charger. I consider electric only to be a commuter car at best. It’s not going to be able to do a road trip. And depending on the car and the commute may even not be able to do a grocery run after work some days. If you have another car that is ICE that you can keep for those times, cool. Or if you are ok with planning, and rent a car when you want to do a road trip, great.
Personally I suggest a plug in hybrid for anyone who can only have one car, and is considering going electric. Prius prime, Chevy volt, Chrysler Pacifica are the ones that have enough range for a short commute, the rest are trying but just haven’t gotten there yet.
I consider electric only to be a commuter car at best. It’s not going to be able to do a road trip. And depending on the car and the commute may even not be able to do a grocery run after work some days.
I really wonder what kind of car you drive. Sounds like a Nissan Leaf or something.
I’ll share a couple of anecdotes regarding my experience with EVs:
My parents live on a farm in rural Maine. They are on their second Chevy Bolt (first was a lease, and they liked it so much that they upgraded to a later generation when the lease expired). It’s an inexpensive, no-frills EV that is their primary means of transportation. Living in the country, the shortest trip they take is likely to be at least 20 miles round-trip. In the past, I’ve borrowed that car for an overnight trip to Vermont. We made sure to charge it at home before the leaving, and drove to Vermont without needing to stop. I don’t recall the exact distance, but it was about 4 hours of driving through rolling hills. We charged it again in Vermont, and drove home the next day.
My partner and I have a 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5 that we bought used for $28k. It’s all-wheel drive and has a battery warmer, both of which are helpful in cold climates. We do not have a charger at home. My wife’s commute is 20 miles round trip, and we are able to charge the car where she works, which we do roughly once a week. Although the car itself is capable of charging very quickly, the charger available to us is a low-power home charger, so it’s nice to be able to leave it plugged in during the full work day. We don’t hesitate to take this car on longer trips, especially if they take the interstate highway system or pass through major cities, where faster charging is always available.
When I bought the car, it was 150 miles away from my house. It was charged to 100% when I picked it up, and the car estimated 300 miles of range. We arrived at home with 50% charge remaining, so I’d say the 300 mile range was pretty accurate.
With this car and our charging habits, daily driving doesn’t really require any special thought or planning at all. For longer trips, anything less than a 150 mile round trip requires no more planning than “I should make sure to charge it within a day or so of the trip, if possible.” For a trip in the 250 mile range, I would definitely prefer to start fully charged, if possible, otherwise I’d want to explore charging options along the way. Only if going over that would I definitely feel the need to investigate charging options at my destination or along the route. A home charger would make things even simpler, but as it is it’s so low-stress that we don’t feel a lot of urgency to get one installed.
I recommend reading Tim Bray’s experiences with several years of EV-only ownership, including some long (1000+ mile) road trips in Canada. Here are a couple:
I live in the western us, where 150 miles isn’t all that far, and 200 between compatible fast chargers can be normal depending on where you’re driving.
In the end it’s all about everyone’s personal situation. Mine is, that battery is only a commuter because there’s no way I can afford the 400+ mile cars (nor am I interested in them anyways)
Yep, I live in the south and we will regularly (several times a year) drive 300 miles or more to visit the various families.
I’ve found that buying used is fine if the car is still under the manufacturers original warranty. Better yet if it has the premium/extended warranty package.
That’s basically the only warranty that you would care about (and actually want to extend), most other warranties have so many exclusions that they’re not worth it. And definitely ignore anyone calling you telling you that they’ve “been trying to reach you about your cars extended warranty.”
I’ve found the range is better than what they claim for stop and go city driving due to regen braking. But otherwise the range estimate is about as accurate as the miles per gallon estimate on a gas car.
It is definitely way cheaper to own than a gas car.
Spot on. Another thing to consider is weather. EVs perform worse in cold weather - lower ranger and slower charging. Some manufacturers are worse than others. Preconditioning while plugged in is super helpful in below freezing temperatures and use the heated seats and heated steering wheel instead of climate control if you can.
Just needs some research if you live somewhere where below freezing temperatures occur at times in a year. Absolutely not a reason to avoid EVs altogether, just know the limitations, what to expect, and how to best mitigate some of the limitations.
Double your commute gives you a buffer for the heater, or the grocery run after work. For most people this is only 80 miles… which almost every electric only car can do without issues.
Is the cost worth the vehicle?
This is where I get grumpy. I feel like that kind of range is a different category of vehicle, and it should be significantly cheaper than an ICEV, since it means I need to plan around the range.
I realize it’s the size of the battery pack, so it isn’t where most of the cost of the vehicle comes from, but still.
When it’s time to replace my current vehicle, I’ll probably go PHEV. But ideally public transit will be solved, so I won’t need to. 🤣
That kind of range is a different vehicle. My 500e I bought for 7k. It’s the perfect commuter.
Do you really NEED to be able to drive 300 miles every day? If so, battery isn’t likely for you. And if you don’t need to, why cry that it can’t?
if you don’t need to, why cry that it can’t?
Because I need to drive 300 miles every few months and a car I own that can do that is cheaper than a car that can’t and renting something that can for the few times I need it. Rental cars are expensive and most come with per mile charges on top of the daily rate.
It takes less than twenty minutes to charge enough to make that in any modern ev. Unless you’re filling up on gas before your trips anyway, you’re still gonna have to stop. The difference in time is negligible.
Gas cars fill even faster. Many EVs don’t charge at high speeds, and not all chargers support high speeds even if the car can. Evs do have the advantage of being fully charged before you leave, so trips that can be done on one charge never need to stop. However longer trips have issues.
Don’t forget that EV chargers are not nearly as common as gasoline. It is rare that someone needs to plan gas stops on a trip, when the gauge gets down to 1/4 you stop at the next town is the rule most people use (there is variation, those who use 1/8 as the rule sometimes run out of gas, some use 1/2). For EV trips you still have to plan your charging stops, particularly if you are getting off the well traveled path - you can still make most trips but you better how the chargers are working when you get there
Not only that, as EVS get more popular those stations will get more saturated. Even with more stations that means longer waits. Imagine a line for gas where it takes 5 total minutes to fill, if that. Now imagine that line with 20+ minute EV charging, per vehicle.
Im not against EVS but there are drawbacks. Acting like there aren’t isn’t doing Anyone any good.
Quite frankly I wish they’d just spend money on public transit.
One thing to keep in mind is that you don’t need the infrastructure of a gas station to have an EV charging station. My wife borrowed my car the other day and topped up at an apartment block. Only one place I went to could be charitably called a gas station, the rest were car dealerships and malls. But I’m also fortunate enough to be able to use an L1 charger at home and work so I tend not to use any.
Not even 20 minutes. If you are doing 300 miles, you probably only need to sit on the charger for maybe an extra 100 miles of charge. That is maybe 5-10 minutes.
Or if you get something like the Equinox EV, you may not have to charge during that trip at all.
My 500e I bought for 7k
A vehicle that can do a daily commute for 7k would be perfect. If you’re talking about the Fiat 500e, it’s 34k in my region. The cheapest used I can see is 22k.
Do you really NEED to be able to drive 300 miles every day? If so, battery isn’t likely for you. And if you don’t need to, why cry that it can’t?
This comes across as hostile.
My complaint is price points. When I get reduced range, I feel like I should pay less. An EV with a range of 120km in the winter for 7k would be amazing. It’d be a decent deal up until 15k. After that, the apparent value drops off. Like I said in my post, a PHEV feels like better value.
Yup I agree for most people the phev is much more logical. Though the complexity comes with lessened reliability and more costly repairs.
I also agree that the low mile capable ev are a bit over priced. I bought the 500e with 20k miles. It has 65k now and I could probably sell it for the same 7k I bought it for.
If you buy a PHEV be prepared for the cost of a gas car and an EV combined
as most level 2 chargers can add ~18 miles/he charging (overnight charge means 144 miles charge).
Level 2 EVSEs (the charger is actually in the car) have a wide cross-section of power delivery. Portable units are usually limited to ~20 amps and will do this level of charge. Installed units with a sufficient circuit can charge at a rate 40 - 60 miles / hour. They are also considerably more expensive and should be installed by an electrician (adding more cost).
For the record, Level 1 EVSE’s (that plug into a US 110v outlet) only do 3 - 5 miles/hour. Important to know for US renters who might not be able to get a 220v circuit to their parking spot.
Is the cost worth the vehicle? Buying new is expensive, buying used can be risky. Do your research thoroughly and you’ll be able to decide what fits what you NEED (and that answer may easily be a used ICE vehicle instead)
This is one of the rare cases where, at least for right now, leasing a new vehicle may make more sense financially than purchasing outright. For one thing, many more cars are eligible for the $7500 federal tax rebate when leased instead of purchased. For another, used electric vehicles seem to lose their value a lot more than ICE vehicles. This is a combination of newer, better cars being released at lower prices than previous vehicles and consumers being unsure of the capacities of older battery packs. The latter is seeming to be less of an issue than feared based on preliminary data, but we really only have long-term results for a few models. The former is much more volatile from the market, though. Elon Musk single-handedly tanked used car values when he dropped prices on model 3 and Y vehicles, and it happens every time they cut prices, but Tesla is not the only electric manufacturer that’s been cutting prices on new cars. While manufacturers would love to sell for high prices, the reality is they need a larger market to be profitable from economies of scale, so as they reduce costs there’s been a general trend to cut prices too, either by cutting prices on existing models or introducing new, less-expensive models.
All of that is to say, it looks like the leasing companies aren’t factoring in enough depreciation on current leases. A lease is essentially you paying for the depreciation of the car. If you’re paying for a $50,000 car to be worth $35,00 in two years but it actually ends up being worth $25,000 in that time you’ve come out ahead, especially compared to if you bought it and tried to sell it yourself.
Teslas are exaggerated, the rest of the market is dead on for range estimates. EVs are great for road trips, you have to stop for bathroom breaks anyway. L1 chargers at home are fine and L2 chargers get you through every day perfectly fine. You only really need L3 for road trips.
Mine is not a Tesla, and its range is exaggerated… Or at least its range has a hidden asterisk that would read “under ideal conditions with a gentle driving style.” It self-adjusts based on my recent driving history, and I mostly don’t let the battery get low enough that I have to care about how precise it is… But it definitely skews heavily optimistic, especially when I first bought the car. It’s roughly the same in that regard as a Tesla is, according to the Tesla drivers I know.
If you’re pushing for the lowest range, lowest cost EV that covers your daily needs, it will be a commuter-only car.
worse for battery longevity (level 3 chargers)
Is this because the power on fast charges is too high and bad for batteries in the long run?
Not "too high"technically. But does put more load on the battery, causing more dendritic growth in the cells.
Battery temperature management seems to be a key limiting factor.
At least a few years ago, and likely still, the reasons and conditions under which the barrier layers in the battery degrade were not super well understood. Heat seems to be a key contributing factor and charging a battery quickly warms up the battery and I suppose not fully evenly within a cell. Not knowing the complete extent of this makes the early LEAF’s lack of actively cooled battery a reasonable choice. Before that, the batteries of earliest Prius cars held up way longer than expected.
Like with a phone: heat and cold is not super awesome for the battery. It seems heat is especially bad for longevity.
Its not to high or bad for them, it’s more like it just pushes the system to its max over and over. They are designed for fast charging.
Its like stretching a rubber band that can go to 3ft over and over. Its part of its design, but it will cause more wear and tear then just stretching it a few inches.
You’re saying it’s not too high or bad for them then you say it will cause more wear and tear. Which do you mean?
It’s within specification, but it isn’t optimal.
I own 2 Teslas and an electric lawnmower since 2018 and I live in the Arctic Chicago area. No regrets besides Elon turning out to be a shitlord.
I am exactly you except I live in the south.
Enjoy the nice weather then, unless you’re so far south your life is at risk… In which case please don’t store your lithium batteries where you store your standing water.
I’m in New England and have had a Tesla for 3 years now. Two years ago we drove it down to South Carolina & back. No issues at all thanks to their supercharger network.
Downsides: Have to go to a gas station to find a squeegee to clean the windows.
Upsides: You have no other reason to go to a gas station.
Sometimes you need to check your tire pressure, too.
The general reduction in scheduled maintenance requirements is really wonderful.
My EV has onboard pressure monitoring. And came with a little electric tire pump.
Too bad if you buy one with a long enough range to completely replace the need to also own an ice vehicle you weigh so much that you have to buy more expensive tires and still need to replace those more often.
I bought my very own gas station squeegee at a car parts store . Life-changing events.
I better get mine, soon.
What about for gas station sushi?
Good name for a band.
Heh. Now that’s a party.
And then, a porcelain party.
Recharge the car when you’re away from home?
Most large gas stations I’ve been to have chargers now.
Good to know. I do more road trips now that I’m not driving an ICE car. Plugshare does list those stations. I have a certain antipathy for ‘petrol’ companies. Something to do with the demise of the human species, to which I’m reasonably concerned about.
deleted by creator
LoL. Lavender Lad, get on your bike and ride off that anger. It’s not harming anyone apart from yourself.
Speaking of doing research, thoughts?
https://www.npr.org/2024/09/23/nx-s1-5074064/ev-gas-cars-environment-skepticism
I’ve gone from the Chevy Volt, to the Bolt, to a Polestar 2, to a Ford Mach E. 7 years in EVs, around 100k miles, with no regrets and no intention of going back to ICE.
I’m not even sure what the downsides are. Maybe longer trips require a tiny bit more planning? The infotainment systems do all the work though, telling me where to stop and how long to charge.
Dang 4 cars in 7 years?
Yeah that’s insanely wasteful
I mean, presumably he isn’t just taking them to the junkyard… Someone out there is probably still driving those cars
And leasing is a thing
Yep and someone got to buy a lightly used EV
I recently bought a used Nissan Leaf. No regrets so far, hoping the battery needs to be replaced before my warranty expires. There’s a good chance…
Probably leasing. Which is blowing a lot of money, but also means he isn’t buying an $80,000 car that won’t be worth hardly anything after it hits 100k miles, because more and more people in the used markets are figuring out when an out of warranty battery goes bad it can cost you $15,000 to $25,000 extra to replace a battery.
Probably. I had a neighbor that leased an Acura yearly. Always got a different vehicle but always in white.
Always white? How damned boring.
Boring yes but easier to see, involved in proportionally fewer accidents, surface scratches are harder to see, remains cooler when parked outside, much easier to resell, always available, doesn’t attract attention, and the base white is normally cheaper…
I completely get it for a lease car. It’s a work vehicle, not a passion project.
I think white cars are also better at retaining value due to being a popular color (for all the reasons you listed).
Do you think he threw them away?
People get so weird and judgey
I haven’t regretted it. Did a road trip across the country. Takes more planning because chargers are more sparse than gas stations, but totally doable. Having a place to charge is a must. I lived in an apartment complex without charging and REALLY had to plan my charging sessions or it could get stuck in the parking garage.
Yeah, I stayed with my parents for a few months while I was house hunting and being limited to Level 1 charging was challenging. I couldn’t recover a full commute’s worth of charge overnight and would start each day with progressively less charge, so I’d have to swing by a L3 charger once a week or so. Still cheaper than gas though.
Privacy and security concerns, most of them are like big tech on wheels. See Telsa and others spying on users during intimate moments. Also most have major security vulnerabilities.
This is the case with all newer cars. If you’re avoiding EVs for privacy then the same reason applies to any car with OnStar, OTA updates, apps for your phone (remote start, locate, etc.) Or pretty much any car made in the last 10 years or more.
I definitely appreciate wanting to protect your privacy and will readily acknowledge that any EV will make that a problem. But almost every car made since the Tesla Roadster has the same problems. Now, if we could get our respective governments to pass laws stopping this BS, that would be really nice.
I have not regretted it. Bought a second EV for my family as well. Most of my extended family have also bought EVs and all had positive experiences. I don’t know anyone who has regretted it.
My Hyundai Ioniq 5 is my favorite car ever! We’ve taken it on two long road trips with very few issues. The biggest issue was one charging station in a rural area had a 2 hr wait to use it. But we typically only take 15-20 mins to charge from 10%-80% on road trips.
Not sure where the top commenter is getting their range issues from. Our level 2 charger at home adds ~250 miles of range in 4 hours. In hindsight probably would have gone a cheaper route of a simple exterior 240V outlet on the wall and a compatible cord to save a few hundred dollars.
Otherwise there’s very minimal maintenance and the car is super easy/fun to drive. Love the 1-pedal driving mode after a short learning period, it’s so responsive that the car feels like it reads my mind on where I want to go/how far to be behind the next car.
Edit: the 2025 Ioniq 5 models are coming with the Tesla charging port, so that will open up a lot more charging stations!
I’m really intrigued by the Ioniq. It isn’t cheap, but it looks great.
Same boat as the other reply, I really like the look and features of the Ioniq. How much space do you have in the boot and in the interior in general?
There is plenty of space for passengers and storage. We traded in a Ford Fusion sedan and the Ioniq 5 has much more storage space than that did. One of the long road trips I mentioned was a camping trip. We were able to bring two big tote bins, a big cooler, a canopy tent for the picnic table, folding chairs, sleeping bags, air mattresses, extra blankets, and two dogs on the back seat. As a bonus, we got an adapter that plugs into the charging port and can power a hotplate for boiling water faster than a camp fire (also serves as back up power for my house if the power goes out, can run an extension cord down to the freezer). There is a small frunk, we mostly use that for emergency supplies.
I’m above average height and can fully extend my legs in both front seats and never have issues with head clearance. I like the space between the two front seats as well being mostly open concept as opposed to the closed spaces in Teslas. Feels spacious for every day driving and on road trips can fit a soft sided cooler as well as a food bag.
I think EV cars are mature enough. A lot of colleague have EVs, Tesla 3, Bolt, Ioniq 5, Soul EV, etc. and no-one regret it.
Me I don’t need one because I WFH and do maybe 4000 miles (6000km) per year, so buying a 60k$ EV compared to a 30k$ ICE does not make sense, for money.
If your #1 priority is to save the planet and not pollute and you have the money, so of course go for it.
Your second paragraph is why I haven’t pulled the trigger yet. I don’t WFH, but my commute is only about 10 miles round trip and most of my errands are done within that same area. My Toyota is 12 years old and only has ~80k miles on it, so it just doesn’t make sense to switch at this point.
That said, I’m casually looking for a new job and my commute would go up dramatically for a lot of options in my field, so I haven’t eliminated the possibility.
Not that buying a whole different car is always financially smart, but you have an ideal setup for getting a cheaper, often lower range EV.
Oh yeah, my next car is definitely going to be an EV, regardless, but it does seem silly to spend the money when A) I drive so little and B) I still have student loans I’m trying to clear out in the next year or so. I’m also secretly hoping that in the meantime Toyota will say, “hey here’s a RAV4 that’s identical to your current one except it’s electric!” because I reaaaally love my car and haven’t found anything to take it’s blocky little place in my heart yet.
I work remotely too so a new car is an unnecessary expense. Instead a purchased a different kind of EV: an electric bike!*
*This is a lie I’ve bought four of them send help
I got by brother to buy an ebike, then get a 100% remote job so he never rides it and give me the ebike he doesn’t use. Do we balance each other out?
If your #1 priority is to save the planet and not pollute and you have the money, so of course go for it.
In the pollution case, it’s better to keep a viable used ICE car running than to go buy a new EV. But that’s completely ignoring the economics of it. Battery is cheap once purchased. And ICE has more maintenance and repair costs.
Better yet get a bike (or ebike) which is much less pollution and improves your health.
i have an e-assist bike and my 1999 ICE little honda and it works out very well.
i cycle into the city when i can. faster, exercise, dont have to pay to park (which is 4 eur an hour)
Ah yes, biking two hours each way when I’m summoned into the office. Something I definitely would get up at 4AM to do.
Either your drive to the office is unreasonably long, or you are driving much faster than legal. For most roads the legal speed is not that much slower than a bike can go - and you spend a lot of time sitting at stop lights. Which to say an ebike is a reasonable option for a lot of people who refuse to even consider it. Though I don’t know your personal situation and so I cannot be sure. (and often the roads you would have to drive on are not safe for bikes which is a real problem)
It’s a 18 minute drive, and it’s alllll highway. When I put it into Maps and choose bike, it’s gonna be a couple hours. I’m pretty much going straight there on highways at 60-70MPH.
I have a bike and LOVE riding, but it’s impossible for me to sub my car out for one. Plus my parents are a 30min straight shot on highways, and my partner’s parents are 25 minutes… the other direction.
For basically everything I need to go to other than the corner store, parks, or the grocery shop, we gotta drive. Actually, we even have to drive to the grocery shop that’s a few minutes’ walk away, because there’s no chance we’re going to be able to bring all of the stuff we usually get on a bike. 35lbs of cat litter, a big box and big bag of cat food, a couple packs of La Croixeses, and 5-8 bags, gotta do car.
I would absolutely do the same as you, but I think I’ve seen pictures of ebikes with that exact load. It looks insane, but good for them!
An ebike would have no problem with 20mph and so the trip would be an hour. I agree too much but also your speeds are unusual.
You should get a wagon for grocery shopping they work well for that type of trip.
I don’t think I will. My time with my family is valuable.
I’ve been wanting a plug-in hybrid, where you’re fully electric under ~40mi of daily travel, and if you exceed it switches to gas for backup. RAV4 prime has been my dream car lately…
I have a 10 year old Chevy Volt. 95% of our households driving is on the 38 miles of battery range. Oil changes every 2 years.
I love mine, Chevy bolt. The biggest downside is that you need to plan road trips more carefully with them, and road trips will just take longer. Once you accept that, it’s actually kind of nice to periodically take 20-30 minute breaks while on a trip.
These problems are greatly alleviated if you also have a fossil fuel car. My partner has a gas car, so if we’re just going for a weekend or there aren’t good charging options, we just take the gas car so we don’t have to worry about charging.
I only regretted that I bought a BMW because it eventually broke down and I had to pay an exorbitant BMw tax to fix it. So high it wasn’t worth it. To be clear the fix itself wouldn’t have been too much if BMW didn’t block third parties from doing it.
Loved having electric though. Next car will definitely be electric. Full tank of ‘gas’ leaving the house everyday. Never having to go to petrol stations…
Sadly that’s not going to be BMW specific for much longer, they’re all taking a page out of that book. 2022 Hyundai, long story on how I managed to kill a single spark plug at 30k miles, but this time last year the part wasn’t listed anywhere. It was FORTY DOLLARS for a SINGLE plug from Hyundai. I’m sure there were alternates that would work but I wasn’t going to risk it over 40 bucks at that low mileage.
If you have a place to charge it and potentially another car to swap/borrow for road trips it is pretty much the best vehicle for city driving/daily commute.
- Charging at home is much cheaper and healthier for the battery. If you can’t charge at home I wouldn’t get an EV.
- Ask yourself how often you do road trips. Depending on where you live a 6-7 hour drive can easily turn into 12+ hours because of waiting around for charging if the chargers are not close enough to each other to utilise charging at the lowest battery % possible. Even the tesla supercharger network can be quite sparce outside of urban/wealthy areas.
- Price - EVs are still quite expensive compared to ice in general, and depreciation can be killer. A used tesla model 3 is basically half the price now compared to what it was a few years ago when new. Check what kind of tax breaks or other benefits you can get in your region or consider buying used.
My EV has been from Minneapolis to Key West, Seattle, Toronto and plenty of shorter road trips. I don’t stray far off the beaten path but I haven’t had issues charging.
