EV use can be more expensive than gas

[gregtay]

New luxury car comes with free 3 year maintenance and really needs oil and filter changes. Not a good comparison imho.

Even 5 years old car does not need 70% of what you mentioned

You might want to check that statement. Most luxury brands have done aware with included maintenance for the first 3 years.

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[iansriv]

Just focusing on the energy cost. There are some variables that make an EV cheaper to drive. As others have mentioned-charging away from home will be more expensive. Then there are some that have solar and free charging at work. That literally makes the energy cost zero. I don't necessarily agree with EVs being more fun to drive. My experience with ICE sports cars was much more fun but that's not why I got the R1.

 

[Carmelbythesea]

California being the exception - gas is currently hovering at 7$ a gallon near me.

 

[Kylechoffman]

In CA, any vehicle is expensive to gas up weekly. Our 06 xc90 which my teen drives costs well over $100 (21 gallon tank @ $5 a gallon) a week to gas up with driving to school and work. Said teen has been driving our 2018 model 3 to work and school which costs about $12 a week to fill up. $400 vs $48 in a month. If you can stick to using free chargers at hotels, Rivian network or sign up for the Tesla membership to leverage discounts at superchargers, you should be fine.

 

[cohall]

EV car is not a good finance decision. You spend more money on EV tax, depreciation due technology change, tires, etc.

If you charge at home it is cheaper than gas, public chargers are 1.5-3x more expensive than gas.

It is fun to drive, it is nice gadget , but not a good finance decision

The obvious answer is it depends on each individual’s personal circumstances. Blanket statements like above don’t work.

In 2+ years of ownership I’ve paid an average $0.11 per kwh. That’s approximately 1/3 of the cost of gas for equivalent range. My depreciation has been quite good, given I received the discounted pricing. My tires are doing just fine, will easily make it to 25k, which is better than my S6 tires did. And zero maintenance other than tire rotations until 75k. Oh, let’s not forget the $11k I got back in state/federal rebates.

I’m coming out WAY ahead in owning an EV vs an ICE truck. It’s not a gadget, it’s my daily driver vehicle and I treat it as such. The fact that it’s the best and most capable vehicle I’ve ever owned is just a bonus.

 

[Oyabro]

I can’t say the same. I charge at home 90% of the time with an average kWh price of 4.56¢ (11pm - 5am). For the month of April is cost me $28 versus spending over $150 on my previous F150. I’m in Austin and power is provided by a Co-op.

 

[Kylechoffman]

EV car is not a good finance decision. You spend more money on EV tax, depreciation due technology change, tires, etc.

If you charge at home it is cheaper than gas, public chargers are 1.5-3x more expensive than gas.

It is fun to drive, it is nice gadget , but not a good finance decision

My 2018 Model 3 driven 65000 miles mostly charged at home at 11 cents a KWH cost under 2k to fuel but add in some costs for supercharging on trips lets say 3k. If I drove my 06 xc90 those same miles, total cost of fuel would be $16-21K. My xc90 registration cost is almost the same as my model 3, the xc90 eats tires and brakes so that is a wash. You could argue a new ICE vehicle (assume 2018 model year to compare) would be much more efficient vs my XC.

This doesnt factor in the maintenance costs which are considerably higher on the ice car. I would say this was a great finance decision.

 

[shap]

I can’t say the same. I charge at home 90% of the time with an average kWh price of 4.56¢ (11pm - 5am). For the month of April is cost me $28 versus spending over $150 on my previous F150. I’m in Austin and power is provided by a Co-op.

Like cohall said it depends on your circumstances. Most of Austin is covered by only 1 provider, Austin Energy, with 13c per kWh, so ~3 times more expensive than your rate. Gas cost here $2.89.

My point was to say - if you buy EV to save money - think again, as it may not save you anything, depending on your lifestyle (many road trips for example).

 

[shap]

My 2018 Model 3 driven 65000 miles mostly charged at home at 11 cents a KWH cost under 2k to fuel but add in some costs for supercharging on trips lets say 3k. If I drove my 06 xc90 those same miles, total cost of fuel would be $16-21K. My xc90 registration cost is almost the same as my model 3, the xc90 eats tires and brakes so that is a wash. You could argue a new ICE vehicle (assume 2018 model year to compare) would be much more efficient vs my XC.

This doesnt factor in the maintenance costs which are considerably higher on the ice car. I would say this was a great finance decision.

Right, and in your case it was a good choice. But you also compare the xc90 with the not very large sedan, M3. If you look at a similar-size hybrid, it would require 1600 gallons of gas and would cost you ~5k in Texas or ~8k in CA. You also add $200 EV tax per year here in Texas and the difference becomes negligible.

 

[Kenmecca]

Talking only about fuel cost....Right now it doesn't make sense if you have to rely on public charging 100%..

Now, a gas car is not anywhere near as fun to drive and when talking about a 4x4 SUV rembrr has will come with lots of maintenance to include:

1. Oil changes
2. Serpentine belt
3. Engine air filters
4. Transfer case fluid changes
5. Front and rear differential fluid changes
6. Transmission fluid change
7. Fuel filter

You don't have any of that with an EV.

No, just 12k batteries after 8 year warranty runs out

 

[Treebeard]

Have you ever compared your expenses on ev vs gas. I used my r1s this weekend and charged it a bit at a public charging station. It was $.50/kwh. It cost me $12.50 for a 57miles added miles. I then realized that it's actually going to cost me more to do a long drive with EV rather than a gas SUV. I would spend about $60 to get about 400 miles added for a range rover evoque while it would end up costing me about $87 to charge multiple times to get up to 400 miles added.

What are your experiences? Is charging in public always going to be costly?

I just did a 3200 mile trip, cost me 544 bucks in electricity and I drive in conserve mode with the stock 21". Cheapest charger was FPL, Florida Power and Light at .30, RAN .36, Mercedes .36, EA .53, Tesla .52. At home I pay .145.

 

[Gee Bee]

Depends on kw cost

home .22
Office .11
On the road .38 to .52

I have a road trip from Cali to Wisconsin

Since Iam solo trip

I will choose the Porsche Turbo S convertible, the back roads are beautiful.

GB

 

[cbrcanuck]

Depends on where you live and how you charge. In BC we have (allegedly) the most expensive gas in North America but pretty good electricity prices. Home charging is a fraction of gas pricing (like a fifth $/mile for a comparable ICE vehicle I think, but would have to run the numbers again). But public charging? Not so much. Plus the extra costs for higher insurance, more money on tires, more expensive vehicle, etc. For me lifetime costs will definitely be less with the EV, but not considerably so, and when it comes time to sell depreciation may completely throw that equation out of whack!

 

[kwgeo]

Have you ever compared your expenses on ev vs gas. I used my r1s this weekend and charged it a bit at a public charging station. It was $.50/kwh. It cost me $12.50 for a 57miles added miles. I then realized that it's actually going to cost me more to do a long drive with EV rather than a gas SUV. I would spend about $60 to get about 400 miles added for a range rover evoque while it would end up costing me about $87 to charge multiple times to get up to 400 miles added.

What are your experiences? Is charging in public always going to be costly?

I've done a couple of long trips, over 1,000 miles each, and figured average cost using only public chargers is about the same as gas. That's comparing a similar sized pickup. Not bad, especially considering the fact that the RT1 is a much heavier load. But the truth is that home charging is where the savings and covienience lie. And, of course, maintenance.

 

[TexasBob]

Just noting that this is a bit of a surreal discussion....

None of the alternatives anyone is discussing make any economic sense whatsoever if you are trying to achieve the lowest cost per mile on your transport needs. Any new vehicle is a horrible deal. The RR Evoque? Puhleeze. It has horrible depreciation, maintenance, etc. etc. Cost effective is a ten year old Blazer.

In any of the cases being discussed, you are paying a premium per mile for features you like with little to no tangible economic benefit. Among the non-tangible EV benefits (in addition to the individual vehicle characteristics) is the fact that you are supporting the transition to sustainable transportation.

If you want low cost per mile, buy a mechanically sound used ICE vehicle from an individual. Everything else is just degrees of wasting money.

Oh, obviously, relying on frequent public DCFC makes the fuel cost for an EV higher than gasoline and relying on home electric makes fuel costs much lower than the gasoline equivalent.

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