EV Insurance cost vs paying for gas?

[jakobnev]

I don't have a driveway, I'm not zoned for a driveway or garage, and my car constantly gets broken due to the safety of my area and lack of police concern (about 45 minutes to an hour responce time) so running an extension cord out to the road is just asking for a disaster.

So how did you plan on charging the electric car?

[VeeDaub]

Solar cell infused fiberglass hood, roof, trunk attached to a charging regulator so the car will charge itself for the 9 hours while I'm at work and it only has to drive me home so range will never be too far for only a few batteries.

I could also plug it in at work so it's fully charged and doesnt cost me a cent :P
It would take some figuring out but I could also set up enough batteries to get me to and from work back in time to plug it in again. The solar addition will also help prolong the charge for further distance with minimal batteries to reduce weight.

[Ryland]

Originally Posted by VeeDaub

Solar cell infused fiberglass hood, roof, trunk attached to a charging regulator so the car will charge itself for the 9 hours while I'm at work and it only has to drive me home so range will never be too far for only a few batteries.

I thought you said you live in Canada, not on the equator, so at least in the winter you would almost be best off putting solar panels on the side of the car, not the top, you want your panels as close to the latitude angle as possible and unless you live in a cloud free area you are not going to get 9 sun hours of sunlight per day, 3-4 is more likely, Arizona averages 6.5 sun hours per day.

Here is a web site with tools to figure out your output in different months at different angles,

A few years back I figured if I covered the roof of my electric car with solar panels, that I had enough space to give me a mile per day of range, on some cars you might have 4 times as much space and be able to optimize it a bit more, so maybe 5 miles of range could be squeezed out of some cars but I don't see anyone getting much more then that without building a super light car from scratch.

[JRMichler]

Originally Posted by Ryland

A few years back I figured if I covered the roof of my electric car with solar panels, that I had enough space to give me a mile per day of range,

I got similar numbers. I also calculated using solar panels for just the alternator load. If I covered my topper with solar panels, I would still need a battery with 1.5 KwH useable capacity.

The OP is driving a lot of miles and getting less than EPA mileage. I suggest studying this before any mods: 100+ Hypermiling / ecodriving tips & tactics for better mpg - EcoModder.com. Zero cost with significant savings = infinite ROI. After tax.

[order99]

As much as I like the EV concept, if you can't charge you might need to stick with Stinky gas for a little longer and Ecomod the heck out of the car.

On the other hand if Money isn't tight Solar Cells might be the way to go-most of the time you don't get full efficiency out of them but in your case a strong trickle charge might work for you. I've seen EV tractors with the same setup, used a few hours a day and left for a week or so since they aren't needed all the time.

The big problem is your location-if your gasser gets broken into now, what do you think will happen to a custom build with a shiny, glittery carapace of solar cells glistening in the sun like a giant June Bug? It's just begging for a heartbreak, insurance issues notwithstanding...I'm not saying give up your EV dream just yet-but consider moving if and when you can, for the sake of your current car as well as your future Current Car and peace of mind.

Now MY issue is both gut-wrenching poverty and NC insurance/DMV regulations-my state does not allow engine swaps of a different type(originally meant to prevent Gasoline to Diesel swaps).Most DMV officers tell me up front they would disallow EV motor swaps in order to CYA and avoid mistakes/loss of jobs. On the other hand NC has fairly lax regulations concerning custom builds and nice rates for Motorcycles-so if I ever overcome my cash-flow issues i'm going for an enclosed Trike, EV if I move closer to the city (or a city springs up around me) Small Diesel otherwise...

Of course NC winters aren't as harsh as yours so I might cobble together an EV Bicycle-but with most towns 30 miles away from my house i'd not commute in it.

Hey, anybody want a house in the country?

[star_deceiver]

For me... in Calgary... I could insure a 2013 Chevy Volt w/1000000, 500 collision, 250 comp) for $1100/yr

For a 2012 Nissan Leaf with the same coverage, $1095/yr

Any retrofit or modified vehicle seems to be around $1300/yr as does a 2012 base model Civic...

My Silverado costs $1030/yr and the KLR costs $460/yr

For your 89 GLI... with all the boxes checked and lowest deductibles on an imported collector car, I can't get the quote to go over $1300/yr. Perhaps you should consider finding a different insurance company... or move to another province...

[VeeDaub]

New insurance quotes seem to be my best solution, as for studying the hyper mailing tips, I was following those like a daily bible and averaging 66 Imperial MPG in my old 2000 Jetta TDI. This current Jetta has a hefty lump of problems and come spring I have a 1991 Jetta TD I'm going to be working on as the new daily driver.

Some how the 89 GLI is $6,600 from All State, I checked insurance quotes with TD Bank and it gave me a quote of $98 a month but only allows minimal coverage. I was told the reason it's so high is because it allows the car to be written off as a classic car so it can never be branded totaled if the damage value exceeds the value of the car so as long as there is still a physical car it will be fixed.

Some VWVortex horror stories turned me to thinking its not so bad, one person made a claim to get some damage on the bumper fixed and the cost of replacing and repairing the bumper was more then the total value of the car so they wrote it off so I kinda like the idea behind All State how my car gets fixed no matter the cost as long as there is no structural damage.

However for this second car for going to work and back, it seems that going with a second company is the way to go or even try to get a deal for basic just coverage on a second car.

The idea behind solar cells was exactly to trickle charge the car over long periods of time since the car is only used for about an hour of driving a day, the remaining portion of the day would be left to charge. There is also a street light right above where I park so that would help keep up the power levels at night so it's ready for morning.

[user removed]

For $6600 per year ($125 a week) I would ice skate or pedal a bike, or maybe a dog sled. I think we pay about 1/5th of that on 4 bikes, a Fiesta, Kai Sorento, and my 97 Ford Ranger.

regards
Mech

[EG-NRG]

Originally Posted by VeeDaub

I get pretty bad mileage as the car never heats up

1) Under bonnet insulation
2) Plastic engine cover (surprisingly effective)
3) Grill block
4) Block heater
5) Front belly pan
6) Overnight space blanket?

Originally Posted by VeeDaub

My car constantly gets broken due to the safety of my area

Maybe spend your money improving car security? Even if you're not zoned, you may be able to rent a space from a neighbour. Insurance is a rip off. Lower your claim risk factors if possible.

Originally Posted by VeeDaub

EV insurance costs

I don't know the Canadian data, but based on reported averages in the UK it's been suggested that it's around 20% more to insure an EV than the equivalent ICE driven car - but this may be BS.

[EG-NRG]

Originally Posted by VeeDaub

Solar cell infused fiberglass hood, roof, trunk attached to a charging regulator so the car will charge itself for the 9 hours

In full sun, at a rate of 1mile range per hour, that would give you 9 miles of range - and given it's infused cells rather than 30% eff. panels, and will not be in full sun for more than a couple of hours, 2 to 3 miles range is a more reasonable estimate. This is due to the 'low' (in charging terms) w/m2 of the cells. And also why they are an expensive design feature used only to run aux 12v systems or recirc air when the vehicle is empty.