No. of Recommendations: 9
Year One was interesting. I knew I would drive less...but how did that turn out?
"My" car (I do most of the driving, so I driver "her" car more than she does) only had about 2000 miles added last year, and half of that was a round trip drive to see Mom.
The gas cost (her car is an EV) savings is probably $750-1000/year. The reduced maintenance, who knows exactly, but I was driving maybe 6500 mi/year when I was still working, so an oil change less a year or so, and less tire replacements, standard stuff.
I could probably keep it the rest of my life and never get near the wear out point. Though I still want a '68-'69 Torino fastback (red, with a 429, of course).
We got her EV about a month before I retired. The maintenance costs last year were $0. It costs about 5-10 cents/mi to charge it at home, at the slightly better rates the power company offers for EV owners charging off peak. That is phenomenally cheaper than any gas car. The variance in cost is simply a function of whether it is being driven hard in very cold weather, when it gets about 2.2 miles/kwh, or being babied in the summer, when it gets about 4 miles/kwh.
We could probably keep that an awful long time also. Drove it about 10,000 miles last year, and the battery isn't showing a bit of apparent range loss. We charge it to 80% in almost all instances, as that extends the battery life over the years. We got it from a dealer that had used it as a loaner, and it had 5300 miles at purchase, and like many nearly new EVs got it for a song being not-quite-new, at about $26,000 less than a truly brand new one. If you're thinking about getting a car, a 2-ish year old EV is probably a stunning bargain, and I think you'll never go back to primarily gas after going EV. It is fast as hell, too...I can neither confirm nor deny it is faster than a C7 (one generation old) Corvette.
The home chargers aren't cheap. Hardware and install ran to about $1400. Our state gave a partial rebate on that which knocked off about $600. It is delightful, a true game changer, to never go to a gas station and have to smell gas on your hands or whatever. I've done about 97% of the charging at home, with maybe 2-3 longer trips needing a DC fast charger. It is a Genesis, which charges very fast, so the time factor on the road is pretty much a nothingburger.
I think the home charger is a big draw for any potential buyer. It has worked flawlessly for a year, and doesn't start charging until the cheap rate kicks in. Or if you want it to charge right away, the app will cause it to do so if you override it.
We're thinking about a minivan for a road trip friendly ride. Won't be an EV, this time, if we do this - the VW is cool and well rated, but the range is not that grand and it doesn't charge as fast as the Genesis.
