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0 pointsMostlyStable2y ago0 comments

So this is going to depend a lot on your driving habits, the cost of fuel in your area, the cost of electricity, and what kind of car you want/need, but I bought a new car earlier this year and the combination of those factors meant that an EV was cheaper than all comparable ICE vehicles (admittedly the EV was slightly smaller than we wanted and similar ICE vehicles would have better matched the size we wanted).

The main thing is that the cost of fuel vs. the cost of electricity meant that we are saving ~$100/month and the difference in car payments for ICE vehicles vs EV was smaller than that.

Although I'm pretty sure this only holds for new vs. new. The "used" market for EVs is almost non-existent and the savings you get is not nearly as large in used as it is for ICE. So if you are willing to buy used, then yes, ICE is still going to have an advantage for a while. But for new vehicles at least, modulo all those factors up above, it's already the case that some EVs are cheaper than comparable ICE vehicles.

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ff3172y ago

I can give a real datapoint: Family of 4 in TX, suburban neighborhood, and we drive a ton of mileage (~25-30K/year) running kids around town and the occasional roadtrips. ~2 years ago, we financed solar panels on the roof, and around the same time, bought a brand new Tesla Model Y. We came from a slightly-larger gas SUV before that. I also switched electricity plans, and opted for one with free nights (9p-9a) and a high rate during the day, which doesn't buy back any power from my solar, because the math works out better that way. So basically the car recharges for free overnight, and the solar helps offset a decent chunk of the daytime usage. When I net /everything/ out (electric bill changes, solar monthly bill, car payment swap, fuel, and maintenance costs), all total on average I'm coming out ~$700/month ahead from making these changes.

Maxion2y ago

> So if you are willing to buy used, then yes, ICE is still going to have an advantage for a while.

It does depend on where you are. In the Nordics an EV is definitely cheaper than even a used ICE. Biggest reason being the reduced fuel costs, but also lower tax.

worik2y ago

> The "used" market for EVs is almost non-existent

Depends

Here in New Zealand we get 3-year old ex Japanese vehicles at about half new price

xsmasher2y ago

In the US, a six year old Nissan Leaf goes for 2/3 of the price of a new one. It's a seller's market.

mike_hock2y ago

I'm guessing those "comparable" EVs don't actually compare on range on a full tank vs. range on a full battery.

Or on depreciation. When some battery breakthrough finally hits the market and unfucks EVs so they don't weigh twice as much as regular vehicles to go half as far, then you'll be left with $1-2k worth of metal around a worthless battery that nobody will want to buy anymore.

MostlyStableOP2y ago

I've done multiple 10+ hour roadtrips (multiple tanks of gas/multiple full battery charges) with my EV and I'm happy with it's performance. I'm not really sure what else one could ask.

As for depreciation, I'm not one who really buys new cars very often. The vehicle I replaced was was over a decade old and it's resale value isn't that much higher than it's scrap value.

And for people who _do_ go through vehicles more often than I do, I think it's a bit too early to tell. I'm personally skeptical that the lifetime fuel savings for most people won't cover the difference in depreciation. But I guess we'll see!

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