Electric Vehicles

[Yppej]

I took my car in for service today and noticed an EV charging and started talking to the workers about it. They said there is no cost and never will be a cost to charge as Kia corporate covers this for all certified dealerships. They said the only maintenance you need are tires, cabin filters, and brake fluid changes. I would think there are other things they are forgetting like replacing windshield wipers, but if gas prices stay high the costs of owning over time could become comparable to gas powered vehicles.

However, the range is the issue. Currently it is 100 to 520 miles and would not work for me, since I would never get a home charger and run up my electric bill. That defeats the whole purpose, plus my utility company uses primarily fossil fuels so it's not green either.

I asked my boss once about getting a charger at work as there aren't many around and it would draw people to our store but he said no.

[jp1]

When I retire I plan to trade in my car for an EV. By then I expect charging will not be an issue. In the meantime SO would like to get one when he trades in his current car in a few years. His work has chargers that are free and we’d still have my gas car for any long trips we might take. He drives about 50 miles/day round trip to work so it would work well for us.

[Rogar]

However, the range is the issue. Currently it is 100 to 520 miles and would not work for me, since I would never get a home charger and run up my electric bill. That defeats the whole purpose, plus my utility company uses primarily fossil fuels so it's not green either.

If the whole point is to avoid high gas prices, would you not still come out quite a bit a ahead even with a home charger?

[Yppej]

If the whole point is to avoid high gas prices, would you not still come out quite a bit a ahead even with a home charger?

No. My utility is one of the most expensive in the country. Most expensive in New England, in the top five in the country which includes places like Alaska and Hawaii.

[Rogar]

I guess it's nice when an employer provides free charging stations, but I suspect as the popularity of EVs grows other charging stations will require payment since electricity isn't free. My rich Tesla neighbors have solar panels, which I guess helps.

[beckyliz]

The local utility company has 2-3 chargers in front of their building a block away from where I work. I walked by a little while ago and there were 2 cars charging. I am seriously thinking of buying a hybrid around retirement (2-3 years). I live in "fly-over" country and I am also concerned about not enough charging stations if I decide to travel. We'll see what it's like at that point.

[jp1]

A Tesla with a 100kwh battery has a range of 335 miles. So 10 kWh of charge is roughly equivalent to a gallon of gas. We also have expensive electricity. Our ‘all in’ with taxes and surcharges is about $.31 per kWh. Charging at home would cost us the equivalent of $3.10 per gallon of gas.

[ApatheticNoMore]

My bf seriously looked into electric cars when he got a car. I got a car when I was unemployed so feared the price of spending on an electric of even hybrid would be at the cost of economically making it, so I drive a honda civic now, oh well.

I mean sure Teslas have a long range. But when you look at more affordable cars like Nissan Leafs, especially the cheaper (lower range) models, the range drops. And that's really a more realistic price point than a Tesla. So it presents some problems.

If you are able to charge every night even the limited range is probably ok, you can just charge at night, that would be possible at this apartment as I park near the door, so I kind of wish I had an electric car, but not really for most apartments. Though there was a two story apartment someone was running a cable out of the upstairs window to the street for. So if you're motivated enough I guess ....

[Tradd]

APM, one of my neighbors was trying to do that - charge their EV with a cord out the window. The problem is that you’re never sure what parking spot you’re going to get since there is no assigned parking. I heard through the grapevine that someone complained (condo complex) and the guy stopped putting the cord out the window. I haven’t seen the EV in a few weeks so maybe he sold it since he couldn’t charge it at home.

[bae]

I have been completely satisfied with my EV experience of the past 3 years.