electric car for commuting

[Donald]

I was reading the latest issue of CR and they had an article testing some electric cars. Would it make sense to get one for commuting and keep my others. My work just put in an electric charging station (free) and the mileage is such that I would never need to charge at home, only work. While the electric car is not cheap, there is a $7500 tax credit I believe.

Of course things could change making the car not all that useful and/or having to pay to charge it.

 

[HerrStig]

I'd wait for one iof the inexpensive "all electric" cars from Nissan or other suppliers. A "tax credit" just means OTHERS have to help pay for YOUR money saving purchase. Tax credits are no substitute for basic market viability.

 

[The Critic]

I would be quite concerned about the battery lifespan on these unproven setups.

The range has also been known to vary significantly with temperature changes, and the range may decrease overtime - so I hope your commute is short.

 

[SuperDave456]

I'd keep my money for the time being.

$40,000 bucks buys a LOT of gas.

Pay off your current vechicles, and save your money.
Pay cash for the electric vehicle down the road. We still don't know how or what they do after 100,000 miles when your battery needs to be replaced.

And +1 on cold weather performance questions. You really don't know what you are buying until it is sitting in your driveway and you personally get to measure what type of mileage you get.
(Sarcasm/)Its not like car companies go out of their way to lie about gas mileage.I'd imagine that they'd never do the same for electric vehicles. (/Sarcasm)

 

[supton]

It's like anything else: do a cost/benefit analysis. Vehicle will last x miles / y years, and thus costs z dollars in depreciation. Tires and brakes should cost about the same as anything else over that span, leaving just electric cost per mile. Now, if you trust the battery manufacturers claims, figure on b battery replacements, getting c cost for batteries. And ending up with some lump sum to cover those x miles / y years.

Then figure out what a normal car cost would be, and factor in oil changes and maintance etc. Go with what costs less for those x miles / y years. Everything else is conjecture.

 

[gathermewool]

If you're looking solely to save some money, then buy a 3-4 year old well-maintained sub-compact. You'll not only pay 1/3 of what you'd pay for a new electric vehicle, but you'll also be able to flip it easily without losing too much money if you decide a year or so later that you don't want it any longer. You'll also save money on longer roadtrips where you don't need all of the space available in your other rigs.

 

[VicVinegar]

I've seen a few Nissan Leafs rolling around, so some folks obviously think they have value, but if saving money is the goal, a used Civic is probably a better bet.

Maybe if the Leaf was the same price as a Versa, but it isn't.

 

[kam327]

Ford just announced a least on the Focus Electric for under $300 a mo. and under $1,000 down. That's a great deal and I would have seriously considered that a year ago when I bought my gas Focus. I use the Focus primarily on my 22-mile commute which would be perfect. My only hesitation would be the rare occaision I want to drive 50+ miles somewhere on the weekend and I'm not guaranteed to find a recharging station on the other end.

But it would only make sense if you had to replace a car. If you're thinking of getting one in addition to your current cars, unless you spend well over $300 a month in fuel it would likely not make financial sense.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

I would do a cost analysis on Lease vs Buy. Hybrids dont seem to hold resale up here (can find prius low $$ everywhere). And I would wonder how the 100% electric would do. I do know they are avaoi;lable and very scarce - the market in new england is not anywher near the saturation point on plugins. The Leaf (renault) and the new Honda Fit plug in look viable. NO warmup, no radiator, no motor oil (OMG?!), no trans fluid - no gearbox! If you have another (family) car for necessary long trips - i would think E is the way to go for work commute and short trips.
Go for it. I would love to own one.

 

[eljefino]

I like the lease idea. Gives you an out if the winds change. The stakes are high to just make assumptions based on the current conditions: look at California reneging on the car pool lanes for single occupant hybrids once they got popular. When you lease see if you can negotiate a better buyout price, it's there if you want it later and you can duck out if you don't.

To zig when others zag, get a moped or park the car a mile closer to home and bike the rest of the way.

 

[NHGUY]

You could probably buy one of those 1970s "Doorstop" style electric "Sebring Vangard CitiCars" for pretty cheap.....

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Originally Posted By: HerrStig
I'd wait for one iof the inexpensive "all electric" cars from Nissan or other suppliers. A "tax credit" just means OTHERS have to help pay for YOUR money saving purchase. Tax credits are no substitute for basic market viability.
Then pull Gov money or incentives to Farmers, Universities, Big Oil Co's or Big manufacturers who may wish to locate in your town. I catch your drift but too late. Feel me -I paid over $70,000 in my town for schooling someone elses kids.I have none, I got nothing (but educated kids in town)

We are all socialists ... to a point.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Originally Posted By: NHGUY
You could probably buy one of those 1970s "Doorstop" style electric "Sebring Vangard CitiCars" for pretty cheap.....
What happend to the Corbin 3 wheelers? Just convert to Ni hydride

http://www.corbinsparrow.com/

 

[Phishin]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
get a moped or park the car a mile closer to home and bike the rest of the way.


That's what I do. We have similar weather Donald. My truck drinks gas at about 15mpg's....but I need a truck sometimes to pull my boat. And I need a winter vehicle. I only have about a 4 mile drive to work.

But I purchased a Honda Ruckus scooter. It runs 44mph, and get somewhere around 110 mpg's. It's a 2009. I got 16k miles on it. The scooter cost me $2100 OTD. Very minimal maintenance (one set of tires, and 2 new belts) so total investment to own one was $2300 with purchase price.

To go 16k miles on my scooter at $3.50/gallon cost me $509 in gas.
To go 16k miles in my Nissan Altima (it gets 26mpg's) costs me $2154 and it would cost me $3733 in my truck. So, in 3 years, the scooter has paid for itself....and I only ride it 6-7 months out of the year!!

I also own this 1986 Honda Elite 250, which goes 75mph and gets 65mpg's. It's gotten about 6k miles of usage since 2009 as well.

Scooters can be cool bro. And they are run and easy to wrench on. Tons of parts and ideas on modifications.

 

[cptbarkey]

the nissan leaf price drop perked me a little bit since it will now be built stateside, but its still not a very serious vehicle in my opinion with only 100 mile range.

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Originally Posted By: HerrStig
I'd wait for one iof the inexpensive "all electric" cars from Nissan or other suppliers. A "tax credit" just means OTHERS have to help pay for YOUR money saving purchase. Tax credits are no substitute for basic market viability.
Then pull Gov money or incentives to Farmers, Universities, Big Oil Co's or Big manufacturers who may wish to locate in your town. I catch your drift but too late. Feel me -I paid over $70,000 in my town for schooling someone elses kids.I have none, I got nothing (but educated kids in town)

We are all socialists ... to a point.
Not willingly. "Big oil" gets to depreciate, just like everybody else, including YOU if you own a rental. Haters call the oil depreciation allowance other than what it is, an incentive to EXPLORE, but YOU want the GAS there every time you need it, right? So do I, but your CAR tax credit doesn't buy ME one.

 

[HerrStig]

Maybe you can import a "Gee Wizz" from the UK. Clarkson loves 'em.

Actually short and regular commuting service might make sense for electric car use, but there is always the day you need to go somewhere else outside the range.

 

[Norm Olt]

Originally Posted By: Donald
I was reading the latest issue of CR and they had an article testing some electric cars. Would it make sense to get one for commuting and keep my others. My work just put in an electric charging station (free) and the mileage is such that I would never need to charge at home, only work. While the electric car is not cheap, there is a $7500 tax credit I believe.

Of course things could change making the car not all that useful and/or having to pay to charge it.


Who gets to pay for the "free" charging station at your "work"? The taxpayers, your company's customers, a mystery philanthropist?

Nothing like this is really "free": it is only an attempt to make somebody else pay for what some people think they are (naturally) entitled to...

Cheers!

 

[Vikas]

what is that contraption shown above the scooter?

 

[sciphi]

If you have a second vehicle with longer range for those odd days when the electric is not enough, I'd think hard about it. It makes sense when a lot of driving is brief hops on high-traffic interstates and sitting at lights.

Our next car will be hybrid or electric. But the next car purchase is 10 years away. Hopefully in that time BEV prices will have come down significantly.