cheaper to operate than an electric car?

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by Ecky

A used Leaf does seem to have some great value, but in this thread it was already discussed how the Leaf's battery pack is poor and prone to degradation not seen in other EVs.

It's also covered by a 5 year 60000 mile capacity warranty.

You can buy a 2015 leaf for about $8900 with over half the warranty left and almost all the years

Not a bad battery lottery to play at the new Chevy Cobalt price.

In my case I have been watching the $5000 ish Chevy volts with high miles to replace my apparently elderly cobalt .
No volts have had battery replacement due to "aging" or capacity.
Sparkle is at over 340000 miles, no capacity loss and only maintenance item was his recent replacement of the classic fwd bearings chevies like to blow.

I have also been watching the $5k imiev s which also have minimal capacity loss.

[spdfrk]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

But put all those saved maintenance expenses in the bank, in order to (partially) cover one big battery replacement a number of years down the road.



Well, that's been my point all along. Figuring operating cost as just electricity vs gas is misleading.

It depends on your locale as to what they're move heavily subsidizing - gasoline or electricity. Canada seems to have cheaper power and the U.S. is much more heavily into subsidizing gasoline. There's no way that with exploration, research, drilling, processing, and distribution that the real total cost is $2 per gallon. It's closer to $5 here in Canada.

Also people fail to realize for electric cars that there's hardly any ongoing maintenance except for tires, alignment, and maybe brakes. Then if the battery isn't maintained right, the battery is possibly the biggest thing.

People see so short term so the sticker shock freaks them out.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

The true costs of fossil fuel is MUCH higher than the cost at the pump.

No argument there.

As our grid gets cleaner and cleaner, so do EV's.

But the converse is true. If the morons elect bunches of idiots who shut down nuclear plants, or vow to bring back coal, then the grid gets dirtier and dirtier, and so do EVs.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by rmay635703

It's also covered by a 5 year 60000 mile capacity warranty.

Which doesn't do much for the large segment of the public who don't (and often can't afford to) buy cars less than 5 years old.

You can buy a 2015 leaf for about $8900 with over half the warranty left and almost all the years

Once again, paying that sort of money for a car kinda blows holes in the "cheap to operate" argument. Though it might be cheaper than an equivalent IC car, it is not cheap.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

No argument there.

But the converse is true. If the morons elect bunches of idiots who shut down nuclear plants, or vow to bring back coal, then the grid gets dirtier and dirtier, and so do EVs.

We don't effectively track VOC and emissions from oil production either. (Petroleum producers tend to allude to 5% spoilage, meaning 5% is either spilled, emitted as Voc or otherwise lost in the wrong ground level)

Do you not think that the already lax laws on the supply side of oil will not become more lax in this environment of racing to the bottom?

[NeilBlanchard]

Originally Posted by roosterk0031

Have at it Leaf vs Versa Note, don't think anything closer in the states.

I checked MSRP Note SV 16,300 Leaf SV 31,000. Quick math say it takes 304,000 miles to break even at 38 mpg & $2.00 gas on purchase price assuming electricty is free.

Except the Versa is significantly smaller than the Leaf. They are different platforms.

[NeilBlanchard]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

No argument there.



But the converse is true. If the morons elect bunches of idiots who shut down nuclear plants, or vow to bring back coal, then the grid gets dirtier and dirtier, and so do EVs.

The grid is getting cleaner and cleaner. Renewable energy is growing more quickly than anything else, and land based wind is the cheapest way to generate electricity.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

The grid is getting cleaner and cleaner.

That was before the recent election :-(

[spdfrk]

Originally Posted by roosterk0031

Have at it Leaf vs Versa Note, don't think anything closer in the states.

I checked MSRP Note SV 16,300 Leaf SV 31,000. Quick math say it takes 304,000 miles to break even at 38 mpg & $2.00 gas on purchase price assuming electricty is free.

Take away the billions of subsidies for big oil and this would quickly change.

[Hersbird]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

The grid is getting cleaner and cleaner. Renewable energy is growing more quickly than anything else, and land based wind is the cheapest way to generate electricity.

That is actually false. Because of the loss of so much zero emission nuclear energy and hydro electric, it has actually gotten dirtier. Which is one reason I think the climate change crowd is more worried about politics then climate change.