I am Considering the Question Should I buy an Electric Car today or wait for them to become more mainstream.
This is an important question.
So lets review the Pro’s and Con’s to aquiring an EV Now.
Potential Problems with Electric Cars
Lets not kid ourselves, there are absolutely going to be negatives to buying the EV’s available to us.
Consider the first Model T Form vehicle that was introduced more than 100 years ago.
Sure it was amazing.
It was new and exciting.
It was irrisistable if you could afford one.
On the Flip side in only a few years people didn’t want that model any more.
Why did that happen ?
Becuase getting the Model T on the road allowed FORD to see the problems.
Devise fixes and improvements on that car.
Essentially those early owners were the test group that bought the cars and showed FORD how to make them better.
In many cases A lot better.
I think that nobody wants to be in the test group, I definitely do not want that.
In only 5 years I cannot even imagine how much better the EV’s will be.
That being said, I think the EV’s I’m looking at are a fair bit down the road in improvements.
Tesla has made huge improvements.
When I first saw the GM Leaf it has many faults and issues.
Those type of issues have for the most part been fixed.
How to Calculate the Numbers
When I think about the question Should I buy an Electric Car it comes down to dollars and sense.
If I can save money now or even break even in less than 3 years then I’m interested.
So what does EV Break Even look like ?
The EV I want is above average and in truth is my dream car.
So lets be realistic and consider an Average Cost and Average Quality Electric Car.
The average EV is approximately $ 20,000 more expensive than its comparable Gas counter part.
The average EV has a battery than lasts approximately 10 years so lets consider 10 years as the amortization period.
I drive about 2,000 miles per month, sometimes more.
My car gets about 20 miles per gallon and I’m paying an average of $5 per gallon
This means I’m using at least 100 gallons of gas a month or 25 gallons per week.
In truth I believe I’m using even more.
However lets us the 100 gallons.
I’m paying $500 a month for Gas.
Its hard to get a handle on true Maintenance Costs but I estimate $600 a year.
EV’s save about 50% of the total Gas Vehicle Maintenance costs, so at least another $300 a year.
It will cost on average $200 per month to charge my Car, assuming I don’t have Solar panels.
Annual Costs for gas is about $ 6300
Annual costs for EV is $1300
So I’m saving $5000 a year so I will be saving huge money after the 4th Year.
For sure I’m out looking for my first EV today.
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