What does "after … gas savings" mean? Is there some way to actually get spendable money here, or is this basically the same as saying my yacht was free because I saved so much money on not buying a bigger yacht?
There is/was an idea that lenders would be open to larger loans for EV cars as buyers would face reduced running costs, as opposed to a IC car. That largely hasn't materialized. Lifetime running costs of EVs just aren't as low as expected, particularly in the used car market. Getting anything fixed on a 10+yo EV is hit-or-miss in terms of cost.
My running costs have been very low. 100,000 miles and the only service visit has been a low-voltage (the small 12 volt, cheap) battery replacement. And, third party, getting new tires. Added my own wiper fluid. That's it. And power is very cheap compared to gas.
When you factor in the cost of incurring the loss of value as the resale price comes down, now you're talking about a real issue. Overall while I've saved on maintenance, it hasn't held value. So maybe it's a wash in that respect. But it's a fun car so I'm happy with it.
IC cars age in miles. They get older and parts wear down. So you buy parts, new or aftermarket, and keep it going. Most parts are nothing things like relays or consumables. But they start getting bigger as pumps or fans break. Then at some point the next needed part costs more than the car is worth: a gradual slide to end of life.
EV cars age less in miles than years. They are like electronics. After 5/10/15 years it may be simply impossible to purchase any parts, or if you do they are used parts from junked cars. So rather than a gradual slide, at with every broken part you roll the dice. If the part you need isn't around, the car goes from healthy to dead almost instantly.
>> Last week, Brian Sanderson described how his 2016 Leaf died five times last year. The dealer eventually towed the car back to his driveway in western Quebec, where it remains. Sanderson spent nearly $10,000 on repairs last year, but the battery was never replaced because Nissan cannot provide a new one.
The car is less than 10yo. If this was ANY non-electric car from Nissan every nut and bolt would remain replaceable for decades.
1% is nice, but I think a 72-month loan on a new car is a recipe for disaster. For almost all of that time period you will be "under water" on the loan, owing more than the car is currently worth.
Hahahaha it's a little like that except here the cheaper yacht is better.
(Dons serious hat) Since many people in our context (this thread) would consider a car something they might buy (as opposed to a yacht, I hope you would agree), to the extent that it is a purchase they are going to do anyway, for the not insignificant subset that's going to buy a new car, it's not a bad thing to save roughly $12,000 on said purchase while getting a car that's less smelly, more roomy, faster, more fun, and more safe.
If "roughly" doesn't work for you, the exact amount can be calculated during checkout at better EV purchase websites by putting in your local electricity cost, local gas cost, etc. if that's what you're asking.
