Rivian doesn't cost less to drive on long trips

[White Shadow]

Not necessarily BS. His experience was probably similar to mine with the SQ5. Just a quick look at some old records...

When they wanted $1,500 for the front brakes at 40,000 miles, I was done.

Brake job vs oil change? Apples and Oranges, my friend.



Car
Location

Price

2018 Audi SQ5
3.0L V6 Turbo • 62,000 miles
CA 94109
$95 - $116

2014 Audi SQ5
3.0L V6 Supercharged • 90,100 miles
CA 90230
$88 - $108

2014 Audi SQ5
3.0L V6 Supercharged • 30,000 miles
CA 94112
$97 - $119

2019 Audi SQ5
3.0L V6 Turbo Premium • 20,846 miles
CA 95133
$103 - $125

2019 Audi SQ5
3.0L V6 Turbo Premium • 0 miles
CA 95133
$103 - $125

2020 Audi SQ5
3.0L V6 Turbo Prestige • 10,000 miles
CA 95003
$77 - $95

2014 Audi SQ5
3.0L V6 Supercharged NULL • 96,000 miles
CA 95741
$84 - $102

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[56huck]

Here’s a Washington Post article on this exact issue - costs to charge across the US:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/clim.../electric-vehicle-charging-price-vs-gasoline/

Here’s a fee to read this article

 

[grass man]

Now that I've observed the vehicle on longer trips I'm realizing that there isn't much difference in cost per mile vs our V8 powered 2007 Lexus GX470 here in CA.

GX: $5 per gal / 20mpg= .25 per mile
R1S: $.50 per kw dcfc / 2 mi per kwh = .25 per mile

What's everyone else seeing? Home charging costs about half as much so it's like a 40mpg SUV in that case. Although it's classified as 75mpge, you have to fill it with $8-$16 per gal "gas."

Sure, for now, as options are limited in terms of a robust distributed selection/competition, then yes, it won't always shake out as less expensive (although it does in many folks' experience). This begs the question- is saving $ chief among the incentives of using/owning an EV? For me, it's about cleaner energy use, especially over time. Then it's the cost and convenience related to avoiding service and maintenance visits, and THEN it's the time involved with charging access and speed (which continue to improve).
Any vehicle is going to have it's own version of compromise. And for this guy, not paying for and burning as much fossil fuel on a daily basis is simply more congruent with my core values. Just think about the last time you've seen someone idling their diesel rig in a parking lot, or in heavy stop and go traffic. The noise, the stank, and watching the photo-reactive plume spewing at each green light.
As Randy Jackson so eloquently asserted, "That's a nah from me dog."

 

[56huck]

I just did an 1100 miles trip to LA last weekend. I charged primarily at RAN chargers ($0.35/kWh), and once at EVGo (0.69/kWh). The total on the road charging cost was $208 for 529kWh. Not including the initial or final charge at home (my PG$E is $0.45/kWh), which I largely offset with my solar. With CA gas about $4/gal, it’s about a wash with a 20+ mpg car. The big difference for me was the comfort and the lane keeping, adaptive cruise control made the trip drastically better than anything else I’ve driven before. I figure I spent about an hour longer charging than I would have getting gas, but the charging breaks were welcome.

 

[pfiorentino]

I went from a MB G500 10 mile/gal to R1S. An 850-mile trip with the G500, 22 gal tank was 4 fuel stops 12.5 hours. The R1S 17 hours. Not sure electric is for long trips.

 

[Glembi2]

Here’s a fee to read this article

thanks. I’ll update the post with a summary

 

[HaveBlue]

Sure, for now, as options are limited in terms of a robust distributed selection/competition, then yes, it won't always shake out as less expensive (although it does in many folks' experience). This begs the question- is saving $ chief among the incentives of using/owning an EV? For me, it's about cleaner energy use, especially over time. Then it's the cost and convenience related to avoiding service and maintenance visits, and THEN it's the time involved with charging access and speed (which continue to improve).
Any vehicle is going to have it's own version of compromise. And for this guy, not paying for and burning as much fossil fuel on a daily basis is simply more congruent with my core values. Just think about the last time you've seen someone idling their diesel rig in a parking lot, or in heavy stop and go traffic. The noise, the stank, and watching the photo-reactive plume spewing at each green light.
As Randy Jackson so eloquently asserted, "That's a nah from me dog."

Yes absolutely. Lots of reasons to buy the Rivian EV. Environmental, technology (arguable whether Rivian has that mastered), Cool factor car of the future, multi-capability, amazing silent ride; but that's not what the thread was really about. Saving money is not high up on the list due to the cost of a Rivian and apparently not always on long distance. This thread looks at the phenomenon. The situation may get worse as charging companies aren't doing well financially. Likely the constant hardware breakdowns are killing them on service calls. You'll save on oil and filter changes but everything else is basically a car with exceptionally high repair costs. When a dent repair is half the value of the car, gas savings if there was some, goes out the window for sure.

 

[NashvilleR1S]

My little anecdotal evidence:

Drove from Nashville to knoxville and back yesterday. 370 miles. Wouldve cost me about $63 for 1.2 tanks of gas in my 4runner. Charged at RAN and EA for a total of $38.21.

 

[fluffhead]

I get free charging at work. I’ve never heard of anyone getting free gas at work. (I do realize my situation isn’t universal)

 

[TLR1S]

If you can afford two different cars. One for your daily driving and one sitting in your garage for the occasional road trip. Then ICE vehicle for the road trip and an EV for your daily. That's the perfect scenario. Most of us just have one car to use. We have to make the best of it. So best use case for each of us needs to be considered. If we drive locally to work and home 90% of the time and a few times a year take a road trip, something like Rivian makes perfect sense. But if you're constantly commuting long distances or hitting the road monthly for hundreds of miles, obviously an ICE vehicle is more for you.

 

[Honey]

I live in a pg&e area, but i have solar and powerwalls, it's "free" for me to charge at home. When on the road i use RAN, EA, and free destination chargers(volta, chargpoint, when at hotels that support them).
I can charge at work for free too.

 

[ksmauk]

I totally bought my quad R1S to save money. I wasn't even aware of the 835hp, amazing ride, configurable suspension and blowing away Porsches while sipping a macchiato. Now I know what a fool I've been I may have to sell it and buy a Prius.

 

[ozziegt]

When you add $2000 for a set of tires that last roughly 20k miles, that's another 10c a mile. Tires for my Porsche Macan Turbo cost 3.5c a mile. Costs add up quickly. It's only cheaper when charging at home. Which is fine, 90% of our mileage will be charged at home.

 

[Mathme]

The last time I drove the Audi AQ7 to Lake Tahoe and back was about $150 (500 miles @ 20mpg with Premium).

I pay $.15/kWh at each end of the trip for electricity, and my DCFC stops (one at an EA and another at a RAN) for both directions came to $29.58. Total electricity charges for the trip was $47.58.

That's $100 cheaper per trip for me. Paying $.50/kWh on a roadtrip is pretty pricy...and I live in CA

 

[Joules Burn]

Brake job vs oil change? Apples and Oranges, my friend.



Car
Location

Price

2018 Audi SQ5
3.0L V6 Turbo • 62,000 miles
CA 94109
$95 - $116

2014 Audi SQ5
3.0L V6 Supercharged • 90,100 miles
CA 90230
$88 - $108

2014 Audi SQ5
3.0L V6 Supercharged • 30,000 miles
CA 94112
$97 - $119

2019 Audi SQ5
3.0L V6 Turbo Premium • 20,846 miles
CA 95133
$103 - $125

2019 Audi SQ5
3.0L V6 Turbo Premium • 0 miles
CA 95133
$103 - $125

2020 Audi SQ5
3.0L V6 Turbo Prestige • 10,000 miles
CA 95003
$77 - $95

2014 Audi SQ5
3.0L V6 Supercharged NULL • 96,000 miles
CA 95741
$84 - $102

California is an expensive place to live my friend.

I dumped the service records after the car was gone but the the $999.00 and the $931.86 were for two of the 10,000 mile services. One involved brake fluid change and the other transmission fluid.

The $972.11 was for the rear brakes after 22,000 miles. They gave me a $1,500 estimate for the front brakes at 40,000 miles and that's when I decided to move on.

So apples were were over two grand and the oranges were approaching $2,500. Who knows what bananas would cost when warranty ran out.

My Kia EV6 GT-L has 5% brake wear after 28,000 miles and my only service expense has been $30 for a cabin filter.

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