I’ve been thinking about getting an electric car
The off lease Fiat500E and Chevy SparkEV are two low milage used cars with great price points. They both look good in the reviews I’ve watched. Both have (around) 80 mile ranges. My commute is 22 miles. Because I’d be charging over night, I don’t think I’d have to install a Level 2 charging system for speed charging. And I wouldn’t be using this for long trips, just communting.
BUT – I don’t have solar, so would I just be robbing Peter (Exxon) to pay Paul (Delmarva Power)? How much does it actually cost to go electric?
The literature says to figure out my cost of charging at home, multiply my vehicle’s kWh/100 miles figure by my electric rate. That figure will give me the cost per 100 miles. I’ve risked humilation by running the numbers and showing my work below. It looks CRAZILY in favor of going electric, but you may have sensed that I don’t trust my math. Are there any science types out there who have crunched the numbers?
Anyone plugging in at night, and by passing the pump?
Hit me up in the comments, or IRL.
My computations assuming the average residential cost in DE per KWH = $o.1226
Fiat 500E 30 kWh/100 miles (30 x $0.1226 = $3.68 per 100 Miles)
Chevy Spark EV 28 kWh/100 miles (28 x $0.1226 = $3.43 per 100 Miles)
Internal Combustions Assuming $2.20 per gallon:
My car 30 mpg. (30 x $2.20 = $66 per 30 miles)
If it was that easy I’m sure you would see a lot more of them on the road, but definitely worth looking into.
Yeah. That’s why I’m at the “What am I missing?” stage.
You might be able to get pertinent info from Charlie Garlow charliegarlow350@gmail.com . He’s a down state electric car guru. Built his own once from a Porsche 911. Still has it plus a Chevy Bolt which I also own. I don’t keep stats like he does but I can tell you I’ve not noticed any rise in my electric bill from at home charging. Keep in mind range diminished considerably in winter. Mine drops from 250+ miles now (summer) to about 180 – 190 in winter. Maintenance costs are almost nil on an electric. No oil, No tune-ups, only tire rotations. I have 16000mi on my bolt and have only rotated tires twice. I would also encourage you to check out off lease Bolts as well. Very solid vehicle. You may contact me directly if needed.
Your math is bad. Your internal combustion model gets 30 mpg, so it takes 3.33 gallons to go 100 miles; 3.33 x 2.20 = $7.33 per 100 miles.
I strongly recommend you never prepare your own tax returns.
Yeah. I knew something was off, and figured that out after I got in the car to get groceries.
Anyway electric still better but not as Crazily better.
It is useful to look at the total cost of ownership, taking purchase price, maintenance, and the expected lifespan of the car into account. Google TCO for electric cars.
My take is that it is currently better TCO to buy a lightly used ICE with decent mileage, while waiting for the purchase price, battery technology, and maintenance cost of electric cars to improve.
Most repairs are more expensive on electric cars, and if you get into even a minor accident, any savings vs. ICE is blown away. Also, for electric cars, cabin heat has to come from the battery. I assume EV heat is stingy, unless you want to drain the battery. One of the good things about ICE is abundant cabin heat in the winter.
As long as gas stays around the current price, electric won’t have the TCO edge for some time to come, especially not without solar. If you want to be greener, you will probably have to pay for it.
How do you figure? Isn’t a new fender the same price regardless of power train?
I haven’t done the math in a while. But I’m on my second Chevy Volt. Obviously I’m a big fan and I was extremely disappointed that they discontinued the model.
I do know that after the initial purchase price (which can be a little on the steep side) the cost of ownership is negligible. Maintenance is just tires for the most part as was already stated. And the electricity it takes to get around is miniscule. In fact, it costs so little that it’s not hard to find a public charging station that is FREE to charge up at. The catch there is that you typically don’t want to hang around a public charging station for hours ….
I’m happy to have a more in depth discussion with anyone who is interested. Or to let anyone who is curious take a test drive.