There is a lot of talk about the transition to electric vehicles but if you are considering buying one you should be prepared for some serious expenses that a conventional gas or diesel vehicle won’t likely have. It is almost like you are penalized for changing over to electric and without knowing you will feel taken.
The first thing you should know is that you won’t get off without the government charging you taxes. Electric vehicles don’t use gasoline or diesel which come with a fuel tax. Because of this most states are implementing extra yearly taxes to get that money from you. You can expect your registration fee to jump by anywhere from $50 to $200 or more per year just because of the electric vehicle tax. This might not sound like a lot overall when compared to the cost of buying a Electric car or truck but these fees are just beginning to hit states beyond the west coast. Some states are considering fees in the $500 range and if anything is certain its that these taxes never go down and they always go up.
So in addition to being taxed from the first day you own it what are some other costs that you may not realize you will need to pay for the luxury of owning a Electric Vehicle?
Home Charging is where you thought you would save money but the fact is your home might not be up to code to allow for charging your vehicle. Wall chargers can be purchased for anywhere from a $500 to $1500 depending on your make but you may need to install a new circuit breaker box and increase your service. Another option people talk about is solar but the cost of a solar system large enough to charge your vehicle especially if batteries are needed for overnight charging which will be most homes, you are looking at maybe in the range of $30,000 for one vehicle. You must also consider that if you dedicate your solar system to charging your electric vehicle then you have no room for panels on your roof to run the rest of your home. The cost just to charge your vehicle in a reasonable time vs days on small chargers could run as much as the vehicle. You are likely to need the services of a Electrician to install home chargers that can be very expensive.
Saving For Repairs To Your EV Batteries
Eventually your Electric Vehicle will need repairs to the primary battery. This can be extremely expensive and it is not always covered by your car’s warranty. I have seen investigative reports where a small amount of damage from driving over road debris put a 1 inch dent in the battery compartment and Warranty would not cover it. When the owner submitted the cost to their insurance it took over a year for them to agree to cover the cost but the car was totaled out and destroyed vs fixing it and the owner ended up being uninsurable for 3 years by any car insurance company. This lead to even longer legal battles until the manufacturer got involved because of all the news coverage. Unfortunately when it happens to you the news won’t be there. The cost for battery replacement was around $60,000.
If you are out of warranty then you may be able to have your battery serviced by a private company that will disassemble your battery and replace just the cells that are bad. Unfortunately this cost is also very expensive and even for much older Electric Vehicles with very simple batteries used in Hybrids not just Full Electrics you are often better just selling the vehicle for scrap/parts.
The final option is doing the work yourself but I do not suggest this for the average person. The batteries are very heavy and can be dangerous because they put out a lot of energy.
As soon as you purchase your vehicle you should start setting aside the cost for battery repair or replacement which will be thousands of dollars. You should visit your parts counter at the local dealer before you visit the sales office.
Crazy Costs For Super Chargers
Most people realize that when they are on the road they will be paying to charge their vehicle. In some cases your employer might offer free charging at work for a limited number of vehicles as a job benefit. However in most cases you will be paying for electricity and the prices can be more than charging at home. There are taxes and fees to consider on top of the cost of electric.
What most people don’t realize is that if you are parked at a SuperCharger or other charging station and you decide to do something crazy like get a meal or do some shopping while you wait you will be charged for time you are connected past your full charge. This can range from 50c to $1 or more and you are not charging. They do this so you will free up the charging station for someone else to use which might be reasonable but if you are late you might be paying a lot more for your charge than you expected.
Electric Vehicle Tire Costs And Frequency Of Replacement Is Very High
What you won’t be prepared for is how quickly tires melt off of Electric Vehicles. Where you might normally get 50,000 to 70,000 miles on a gas powered vehicle you can expect to be changing your tires every 20,000 to 30,000 miles. This is less than half the miles you get on a similar gas vehicle.
Additionally the tires are much more expensive. If you are use to your small eco car getting away with a set of discount tires for $300 for an entire set then get ready because you are likely to be paying about $300 per tire every 25,000 miles or $1200 for a set or more if you want performance tires. This is because Electric Vehicles are heavier for the size of the tire and require higher rated tires.
For the average driver you can expect to be laying out $1200 for a set of tires every year. That would be if you are driving the vehicle very lightly and keeping track on things like wheel alignment, tire pressure and grandmothering the car.
Car Insurance Prices Are Higher For Electric Vehicles
You should expect that you will be paying more for car insurance when you purchase an electric vehicle. The reason is the cost of parts for repair. An average Base Tesla should cost you about $2000 a year which would be on average 30% more than the comparable gas vehicle.
The Good News If You’re Considering The Purchase Of An Electric Vehicle
Although many of the costs of ownership are 30% higher or more for an electric vehicle you won’t have to deal with the conventional engine maintenance costs. This means no oil changes or other standard maintenance costs. Anything that is the same or similar you will pay much more for but anything not required is just something you don’t pay for.
Final Note
There are some harsh realities for electric vehicle ownership. You will hear a lot of people cheering about not paying for Gasoline but then you ask them about availability of charging stations or the fact Electric Vehicles have lockouts that won’t let you charge them in colder temperatures then you are likely to hear some serious stories.
Eventually there might come a time when Electric Vehicles can replace many of the vehicles on the road but total replacement of the entire petroleum based fleet of vehicles on the road today would be a horror story.
I don know someone who is in the Solar Industry and they basically charge their car for free with no costs to them even for the setup of their solar system. However they do live in a warm climate and only travel from their local area once or twice a year which they do by plane. For them its great because they got so many discounts and incentives but for the average person it is not an easy situation.
For the time possibly hybrids are a good choice but in reality buying an older used small vehicle for commuting is the best option. You get high gas mileage and if you buy used at a good price you can dump a few thousand dollars into upgraded struts/shocks, tires and maintenance and have a vehicle that serves you well for many years. It may not turn heads but it will get you to work and back.