Today’s cars are improving everyday. You can now buy most car brands in a hybrid or many of them are coming out with an electric models. Years ago the only electric cars out there was the Tesla and they came with a pretty heavy price tag. Today these types of cars are becoming more affordable to everyday consumers. But what are the pro’s and con’s of these cars?
Lets start off first by saying you need to do your homework before you trade in that “regular” car and go to an electric auto. Yes the benefits of an EV (electric vehicle) are that its biggest attribute would be its better for the environment. But also you are no longer buying gas when its prices are sky high or at the very low. Your maintenance is extremely low. Lets look into these 7 factors before you buy.
Does my electric car have enough range?
So a lot of people’s biggest concern when buying an EV would be how far can they drive on only a single charge. Which is a very valid point seeing as we are used to being able to just stop at a gas station as soon as the gas light comes on. Most cars on the market today get over 200 miles per charge though many offer much less. As of right now the Tesla is the only car company that offers over 300 miles per range and the there is the Model S holds the record for 402 miles per charge.
If you are mainly using your car for commuting small amounts everyday to and from the office or just for every day errands 200 miles is plenty. But many things are a factor in the amount of miles that you get such as how fast you drive, your driving habits, the weather and climate control. But if you are driving over 200 miles a day for your commute an EV might not be your best choice for car.
Can I charge my car at home?
The nice part of driving an EV is that you can skip the gas pumps now and charge up up at home. When you wake up you simply unplug your car and drive. But you need to know that there are two types of charging you can do, a standard 110 vault outlet will charge your EV 4 miles per hour. So as we talked about before if you are only drive a couple miles a day this would be a great option, but if you are desperate for those 200 plus miles it may take you a couple of days for a full charge.
Most owners install a 240 vault outlet in the home to charge up there EV which is much faster. This will charge your cars battery 25 miles an hour. It will be an added cost to add an outlet like this so make sure you have an electrician come and look at your garage or outside where you will be charging your EV to give you price.
What about my electric bill?
Most us these days have a list of expenses and your gas to your car could be one of them. But if you decided that you wanted to change from a “regular” car to a EV than you paying those prices at the pump will completely disappear. But nothing really ever just goes away anymore. So you need to take into consideration now that your gas bill for car is gone your energy bill may start to increase.
But charging at home is usually cheaper than charging in a public lot, but depending where you live you may be able to find a free charging stations. Energy prices vary throughout the day and usually are cheaper overnight as well as on the weekends. If you want further information on the prices, your energy company will be able to give you a break down and you never know they may even offer a discount for charging your EV.
Are there charging stations near me?
Charging at home is going to be the absolute most convenient place to juice up your EV, but you eventually have to leave your house! So its always a good idea to find local places that have charging stations for your car. There are networks that you can join such as EVgo, ChargePoint, and Electrify America which offer interactive maps of stations all over the country.
Most public charging stations are offer rapid charges which can charge up to 80% in only 30 minutes. If you are a Tesla owner they have a supercharging network that is exclusive for only them. So just remember that when you are planning your trip you now need to make sure you map out these stations because they may few and far between unlike gas stations that maybe every exit off the highway.
Should I buy or lease my EV?
Everyone is in a different position when it comes to buying or leasing a car. When you are in the market for a new EV there are couple of things you should know. They are more expensive than a gas car, but lose there value quicker than a regular car. If you are leasing you should always remember that new EV cars are coming out every year with newer and better technology than the year before. So if you are someone who always wants the most up to date features on your car, leasing is your best option.
What is the maintenance like with an EV?
If you look side by side in costs between a gas car and EV the cost of maintenance on an EV is much cheaper. Things you need to realize about an EV is that it doesn’t have fluids so replacing them goes out the window. The brakes tend to last much longer as well as the battery life and motor. In the rare event that the battery does need to be replaced that comes with a pretty hefty price tag. This could run you between $5,000 and $16,000 to replace depending on the make and model of the car and that is without labor costs. A good thing to know though is that Federal Regulations cover all EV batteries for 8 years or up to 100,000 miles.
How much does it cost to insure an EV?
Insuring an electric car tends to be more expensive but only because these cars tend to be much more expensive than most gas running cars. If you had an expensive car it would cost more to insure it than one that was much cheaper. In the end you must know that the insurance companies set the prices for all the cars but the agents will do there very best to get you the best price. If you are interested in a quote for a new EV call us and any of our highly trained account reps will help to make sure you get the price.