1 in 5 EV owners ditches electric, goes back to burning dead dinosaurs - California study

[freebeard]

I'd be one of those jerks gaming the privilege to my advantage.

That's an odd way of saying 'I'm not inflexible'.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

I looked up public chargers in my town and unless I'm missing something they are silly expensive, only for Teslas, or free (well sort of, they are in a paid parking garage).

The paid ones are $.16 a minute flat rate. Granted they can supply more than my car can take but I would be a fool to charge there. It would cost about a dollar per mile.

I have a feeling the "free" ones are always taken by downtown professionals who get to the parking garage first thing in the morning. I as a downtown shopper will never be able to use them. Plus I skip the paid parking anyway and walk a whole 3-4 blocks instead.

Yes, public chargers are expensive. In some cases more than putting gas in an ICE car so I don't see much reason for someone without home charging to buy an EV or PHEV.

The way chargers price electricity varies by state law. Some require a price per kWh, some require a time based price, and some leave it to the owner of the charger.

He in the Portland, OR metro public cars are expensive but sometime less than paying to park. I have only used them to get a parking spot downtown.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

only for Teslas

The first public chargers I saw in my country were meant initially for BMWs, while nowadays most have 2 different plugs as there is no single standard plug for all manufacturers. On a sidenote, the Renault Twizy imported from Spain is fitted with a built-in retractible cord for the 3-pin local (Brazilian) standard outlets which is different from anything else, and AFAIK is the only which doesn't require the cord to be manually plugged everytime it's recharged at a normal power outlet.

[Isaac Zachary]

What's the most sensible solution? What's the pros and cons overall?

Plug-in hybrid as only car:

Pros:

• Can drive around town on electricity and not have to worry about long distances.
• Having one car can reduce total ownership costs.
• You may not need more than a normal 120V outlet to charge from.

Cons:

• Car has two drive trains that could break down, and you wouldn't have an alternative vehicle besides renting.
• Can't take advantage of multi-vehicle insurance.
• There are very few plug-in hybrid models to choose from.

EV and ICEV as two cars:

Pros:

• Again, you can drive around town on electricity and not have to worry about long distances.
• Although overall cost would likely be higher than just one car, you can put fewer miles on each car, using them for what they're designed best for.
• You can take advantage of multi-vehicle insurance.
• The vehicles could be very different. For an example, the ICEV could be a pickup or SUV.
• If your daily miles aren't too far, you might be able to get by with just a 120V outlet for charging.

Cons:

• Have to purchase, maintain and park two vehicles.

EV only:

Pros:

• Having one car can reduce total ownership costs, maybe.

Cons:

• You have to get a more costly EV so you can drive farther, or be willing to take public transportation like bus or plane.
• The charging infrastructure isn't great and won't be for a while, at least in most places.
• All the other one-car disadvantages I've mentioned, unless you have two EV's.

[redpoint5]

I'd just point out that something like a plug-in Prius (Prime) in principle isn't more complex than its hybrid counterpart. It's the same drive train with a larger battery and onboard charger. Reliability should be similar to that of a hybrid.

The way to save on insurance is to switch every couple years to get the new customer discounts. Pain in the butt, but with everything online these days can be accomplished in 45min.

[ksa8907]

I loved my EV volt. But... I needed more space and the only EV minivan is $40k.

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by ksa8907

I loved my EV volt. But... I needed more space and the only EV minivan is $40k.

That was kind of my reasoning for not getting a plug-in hybrid. The Volt or the Prius Plug-in might have worked. But I don't think either are as big as the Avalon I ended up getting. And now I'm looking into getting a used minivan, but not one that's more than $10,000.

[Hersbird]

Originally Posted by ksa8907

I loved my EV volt. But... I needed more space and the only EV minivan is $40k.

Well the Pacifica PHEV has at least $5000 in factory rebates and starts at $42,000 msrp with destination. I bet somebody would sell one for a few thousand under MSRP say $40k, which is $35k after rebates. Then if you can take the $7500 federal tax rebate that puts it down to $27,500 which is about the least expensive new minivan you can buy gas, hybrid, or PHEV.

[ksa8907]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

Well the Pacifica PHEV has at least $5000 in factory rebates and starts at $42,000 msrp with destination. I bet somebody would sell one for a few thousand under MSRP say $40k, which is $35k after rebates. Then if you can take the $7500 federal tax rebate that puts it down to $27,500 which is about the least expensive new minivan you can buy gas, hybrid, or PHEV.

I bought a much... much cheaper used minivan.

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

Well the Pacifica PHEV has at least $5000 in factory rebates and starts at $42,000 msrp with destination. I bet somebody would sell one for a few thousand under MSRP say $40k, which is $35k after rebates. Then if you can take the $7500 federal tax rebate that puts it down to $27,500 which is about the least expensive new minivan you can buy gas, hybrid, or PHEV.

Ya, I wouldn't be able to take full use of the tax credit. It looks like this year I might have less than $1,000, if that, in tax liability. Plus my budget is around $10,000. Which is why I'll buy a used one when they get cheap enough.