Neighbors just had to take their 2016 x3 in. It leaked some oil on the alternator. $3500. Had to be towed as it disabled itself secondary to shorting stuff out. 25k miles isn't really what I'd judge a vehicle on, unless it's from 100 to 125.
The energy advocacy paradox/fear of adoption
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I assumed he meant a generic 25k jog, which would typically be what, just an oil change on a BWM? In which case, not bad, on my fleet that'd be at least 3 oil changes at close to $60 total (or 5 on the older Camry and thus even more).
[I suspect this ignores tire cost? 25k is 5/8's of a set of tires for me, and so that's like $300 in tires. Which is cheap compared to $2,500 in depreciation.]
It will shift the power generation "over the hill and out of sight" to quote one of my engineering friends. The Tv informed drones will be happy thinking they are part of the solution and not the cause. I worked on electric Forklifts, an electric car would be interesting and for certain applications they should work well depending on the cost of service over the life.., I have been thinking about one for the past 30 years.
No, I don’t calculate oils and tires as maintenance. For me oil and tires are like gas, items that you must change. I calculate maintenance as items that are not scheduled.
I don’t calculate cost of transfer case fluid chage, or differential, or transmission, whether that is BMW, Toyota or VW I have. I have snow tire sets on all three vehicles, that is not maintenance cost, that is my choice to have that. I flush brake fluid on BMW 2-3 times during track season, it is what one has to do to stay safe on track.
So, $37 is unexpected cost, car has 102,000 miles, makes 1k miles a week currently.
Not following--usually one schedules maintenance.
Repairs are typically unplanned for. I guess you could schedule a repair, but usually they don't give much in way of warning.
I completely understand the anxiety of being in a traffic jam in an area you are basically stuck in.
A common but shorter one in my area are the bridges and raised freeways in and out of san francisco in bumper to bumper traffic with the occasional "ran out of talent" wreck clogging several of the few available lanes.
The other common one is a 5 freeway mid day LA- San Francisco commute on the 5 where you end up "cater-pillaring" for 5-6 hours up to 85- down to 0 a thousand times. Ill typically see 4-5 rear end accidents every tine I'm foolish enough to make the trip on 3 day weekend. This is a stressful drive when you undertake it and much harder in my half ton truck than my SUV
One of the things that I was moderately surprised by in my multiple borrowing of high end BEV's was the consumption trend in traffic as opposed to a pure ICE or even Hybrid.
In an ICE as soon as you slow down and start cater-pillaring your mileage begins to drop immediately as does the time the car can run on whats left in the tank.
In My hybrid it does pretty well caterpillaring until the AC, or heater finally kill the big pack and then you end up idling like an ICE till it fills then do it all over again, at least the lexus system doenst kill the AC when stopped at idle.
The BEV actually works opposite, the mileage goes up and the time you can spend in the cabin extends as the motor load at speed is a far greater drag than the climate control (especially the new octovalve rigs) sitting in traffic and caterpillaring is much easier on it that steady state cruising. On some level I knew this going in, but never saw a distance to empty actually rise on any prior vehicle.
On the route planning Ive found 2 great online tools, "ev route planner", and "A better route planner" but neither are as slick as what tesla put together, its super easy to pick and determine a route as well as control how much reserve you will have at each stop. They have that down.
What isnt clear to me from our dialog is how often you do stop on your trips.
I was used to stop about every 3-4 hours and trying to jam snack, coffee bathroom, meal and a few emails in each one. Sometimes Id just take a bio break/ coffee refill on one and fill up/ grab lunch on the other.
Its too bad a bigger slicker Volt doesn't exist. It would bridge the gap nicely for most guy that are on the edge of electrics today.
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Ok, repair. Regular maintenance items I don’t calculate as cost. Now, my BMW will in general cost more than let’s say Accord bcs. I track vehicle. I have dedicated set of track tires, I just installed oil cooler from 335 etc. But that is my vanity project, not repair.
I don’t calculate oil change every 5k as something unexpected. But, bottom line is, life is much better being in 3 series than Camry when I drove kids to daycare. I sometimes go to tge Pikes Peak just to hit those 100+ curves for fun. I am not sure I would want to do that to myself with Camry or Accord.
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I agree, oil changes aren't unexpected.
At the start of the year I try to estimate what my cost will be, per vehicle. It's not that hard, I have had an Excel sheet for a budget for years now, with all expected costs on it, largely based on the prior year's data. I know how much I'll drive, so I know how much each vehicle will cost me. Unexpected repairs are hard to "expect" but I try to eyeball it and have that in the budget (have an emergency fund so it's no big deal). Tires are definitely planned for, as are any scheduled maintenance items.
At the start of the year I try to estimate what my cost will be, per vehicle. It's not that hard, I have had an Excel sheet for a budget for years now, with all expected costs on it, largely based on the prior year's data. I know how much I'll drive, so I know how much each vehicle will cost me. Unexpected repairs are hard to "expect" but I try to eyeball it and have that in the budget (have an emergency fund so it's no big deal). Tires are definitely planned for, as are any scheduled maintenance items.
I consider it. I don't "calculate" any of this stuff. I just know some cars require it, some don't, and my Jeep was one that did, and it was a pain every 15K miles. What I am concerned with is how often the thing hard breaks (won't get from A to B), and how much that costs.
Agree on the "volt" thing. I absolutely love the technology. Best of both worlds, no limitations.
As you prob know, I drive a lot. Another 2400 miles this week. The F150 comfortable range is 450 miles per tank. So 2 fuel stops FL to PA. The 1300 mile trip takes almost 19 hours including the 2 stops.
About 5 1/2 to 6 hours between stops. Fits well the the "meal" requirements of noon and 6 pm.
The toyota RAV4 primes are going to sell well to urban folks who want to reduce their carbon footprint with no real impact on their normal usage. Short trips around town will be all electric but with no range issues or worries about charging when they head off on the weekend on a trip somewhere. I know a few families in town who choose to have 1 vehicle purely for environmental reasons who will be looking seriously at these when the time comes.
Being cheap is the best way to save the planet.
Donating surplus money to charity would lead them to create economic activity that ultimately uses energy. So hoard wealth and resources! /s
I have thought about EV for a while when my wife had a long commute and any way to get on the carpool lane for free is good. Back then Tesla was super expensive, Leaf was a bit iffy, but Volt / Bolt / plug in Prius would be the right choice. In the end the math doesn't add up, there is still a section of the road with no carpool lane, and then eventually they stop letting EV gets on for free. Now you pay half price instead. Also finally wife found a job in the same city with no commute. So no more EV worthiness calculation.
I might one day get one, but more likely will end up with a plug in hybrid instead. Something cheaper, something with no range anxiety. My commute is not long and I will just keep driving old cars.
I might one day get one, but more likely will end up with a plug in hybrid instead. Something cheaper, something with no range anxiety. My commute is not long and I will just keep driving old cars.
I think EV's are good for some. But not the majority. Plug-in Hybrids make a lot more sense for the masses. I certainly can't fathom spending the kind of money on many of the EV's out there currently that I would actually want to drive. I'd take a 1st gen Prius over a Leaf any day!!! It's really about practicality to me. It's not only the cost of the EV, but then the cost of adding 220v to my detached garage to charge it. Because a 110v charger will barely even maintain at 0F over night from what I've read.
Iowa winters can be quite brutal on temperatures with no where to charge at work and seeing temps below 0F often the battery will only drain further throughout the day. Try telling my wife we need to keep the heat low to conserve battery....that won't go well.
All in all, tech will only get better. Just right now it's not for the masses in my eyes. I think if they made a Camry and Highlander Plug-In Hybrid they would sell like crazy!!!! They can't even keep RAV4 Primes on the lot. The Camry Hybrid already averages 40mpg real world while the Highlander Hybrid averages 28-30mpg and they are everyday usable cars with hardly any compromise. Add a Plug-In Hybrid version to those with similar EV range as the RAV4 Prime and Toyota wouldn't be able to build enough to keep up. Not to mention the Prius uses plant derived, biodegradable plastics as well, I believe 3rd gen on.
If you really want to talk about energy and conserving the planet, just buy used. Keep whats on the road going and stop producing as many new cars as they do. That's really one of the best ways. I believe Subaru's Indiana plant has had a Zero landfill status for over 20 years now, I'm sure some of their other plants are operating the same way as well.
Iowa winters can be quite brutal on temperatures with no where to charge at work and seeing temps below 0F often the battery will only drain further throughout the day. Try telling my wife we need to keep the heat low to conserve battery....that won't go well.
All in all, tech will only get better. Just right now it's not for the masses in my eyes. I think if they made a Camry and Highlander Plug-In Hybrid they would sell like crazy!!!! They can't even keep RAV4 Primes on the lot. The Camry Hybrid already averages 40mpg real world while the Highlander Hybrid averages 28-30mpg and they are everyday usable cars with hardly any compromise. Add a Plug-In Hybrid version to those with similar EV range as the RAV4 Prime and Toyota wouldn't be able to build enough to keep up. Not to mention the Prius uses plant derived, biodegradable plastics as well, I believe 3rd gen on.
If you really want to talk about energy and conserving the planet, just buy used. Keep whats on the road going and stop producing as many new cars as they do. That's really one of the best ways. I believe Subaru's Indiana plant has had a Zero landfill status for over 20 years now, I'm sure some of their other plants are operating the same way as well.
