Even if/when you have to charge at home it's still cheaper than gasoline!

 

So including all fees and charges, my overall electricity rate is 11.2 cents/kWh. If we assume a full charge requites 66 kWh (accounting for charging losses), it costs me $7.39 for a full "tank" of 238 EPA rated miles.
For a 30 MPG car, 238 miles of gas would be 238/30 = 7.93 gallons x $2.82 (current national average regular gallon of gas price) = $22.37.

Charging the Bolt at home is 67% cheaper than buying an equivalent amount of gas for a 30 MPG car.

 

The point not seen here is that for a higher initial cost, the long term cost is much lesser. Many laypersons will only buy a car because it is initially "cheaper' (especially the imports from Asia) but then spend thousands of dollars a year later in fuel and maintenance such as oil changes. They don't see ahead these higher cost. So a $45,000 Chevy Bolt EV is "too expensive" for its size, yet you can run it almost for free over ten years!!

The EV community and web sites, such as this one, are doing their job to post the positive reasons for the purchase of EVs instead of ICEVs. Yet we need the EV produces such as GM to do their part, too.

EV acceptance will remain low until GM and the other promote more and publish such advantages in the long term of operation and ownership.

 

I've learned that most people don't look at long-term economy. Light bulbs is a good example. When compact fluorescent bulbs were "in", they were at least twice the purchase price of incandescent. Yet over their expected life, they cost about one-fourth as much. Buyers looked at how much was in their wallet that day, and bought the incandescents. It's about short-term thinking (tactical), rather than long-term planning (strategic).

Solar PV has similar economies. It costs a small fortune today (if you pay cash), yet you'll realize incredible savings in the long term.

BTW, in addition to driving the Bolt, every fixture in my house is LED, and I've got 5kW of solar on the roof.

 

My point is that if EVs cost more than their ICE counterparts, but have lower ongoing expenses, it still may never pencil out financially. There is opportunity cost by fronting a higher initial purchase price, and that applies even if you finance.

If you really want to save money, you'd buy a used EV, which does pencil out nicely, all things considered.

Bingo!
I suspect few people actually validate the claims of huge maintenance savings. A new Corolla goes 16,000km on an oil change. $35 to do it in house,(with brand name full synthetic, OEM filters purchased by the case), heck I saw Costco advertising full synthetic for $50 last week.
Our Civics & Corollas go on average,(over the last 20 years), 150,000km on front brakes, & usually only the pads require replacement. The second pad change gets new rotors. Rear drum brakes go lifetime, (350K-400K, if rear discs one change). The Civic that was disposed of last spring was 418,000km, on original rear drum brakes. Total cost over lifetime is only a few hundred dollars/vehicle. Other than tires, a couple of batteries, couple air/cabin filters, (we use the lifetime K & N airfilter, cleaning them around 150,000km), transmission fluid change at 175,000km, & usually one set of belts, almost nothing goes wrong with these cars. All have original air conditioning, including one 1999 MY, (Sienna), & 2000 MY, (Corolla). The Bolt will use up the same number of more expensive tires, & 12V batteries.

Saving appx $3K.year on fuel,(assuming I continue with free Kwh for the next 5 years), my Bolt will break even with a new Civic LX, or Corolla LE at 200,000km.
And that is not counting the 4 years time value of the extra $14K the Bolt cost.
I deliberately purchased a Bolt vs the Tesla 3 because I'm not totally convinced they are a more economical commuter car. Even the environmental savings are not cut & dried, if you consider total footprint over lifetime, including recycling at end of life.

 

I used to work in the CFL lighting business as an Engineer. The hour rating is assuming burning base down, ideal power conditions, and never turning them on and off. Each start ageas a CFL bulb an hour or more. Burn them base up, in a can, 6 months tops. LED Bulbs are far better...

Not to mention they start instantly, & common sizes are available here for 50 cents/bulb. They are so cheap to operate I didn't bother replacing the timers on the driveway lights. Reminds of being a kid. Everything in S. Alberta ran on natural gas, including the driveway lights.
The gasman installed them, (they were the same as a naphtha powered Coleman lantern), lit them, & let them burn, 24/7, all year, for a cost of $1/mnth.

 

My 1st EV was the i-MiEV, USED for $8600, a bit more then I wanted to pay. But it replaced my F-350 Diesel 2006. I saved the truck and used it 4 times to pick up dirt and 2 times in Snow storm. The 'i' paid for itself in the 29 months I had it. Not only in Diesel cost savings but in what I DIDN'T have to pay for in fixings.


It also got me into the Bolt and NOT the Tesla. Why ? I wanted something that could 1/2 replace the truck (which I traded in for Bolt). I can't tell you what I have put in there ! I wouldn't have in a Tesla because I wouldn't want to ruin it


I too use basically Free charging when I can. I do plug in here and there at home and YES I plan/eat/visit places that have Chargers.


Good to know on the LED lights. I am hoping to buy with in the next 8-9 months and this will be one of the 1st things I will do... then L2 plug and Solar

 

^ worked out the numbers here too Greg, 7.5 year payback on solar... or collect 1% or so in the bank.


Solar (40- 335 watt LG panels) will be installed in the next couple of weeks!

 

I still struggle with the 7.5 year payback. It's higher in Wisconsin because my state offers no support and the electric company doesn't offer any incentives. I'll stick to my investments for now, and re-visit this annually for 'me.'

 

I have not yet paid a penny for electricity. There is a free Level 2 charging station 4 blocks away, and a free Level 3 that is 5 minutes away -- and that one runs off a solar array. I'm going to see how long I can go before plugging it in at home, or anywhere else where I have to pay. 4xx miles so far.

I am on the same mission. I'm at a little over 4,700 miles of free charging as well. The first 150 or so was from my initial L1 charge at home (did not get a full charge from the dealer) but not a penny since. Good luck!

 

The solar EV makes sense if you live in a place able to capitalize on it. I live in NE PA near the Poconos and I'm not solar expert, but I do not believe the cost of me fitting my house with panels in the area I'm in would be worth it in the long run.

It's okay, because I believe I pay about 6 cents per, so I don't need solar to make a dent even though I wish I lived in a sunnier state.

 

34 cents here

Thank goodness we put in solar 4 years ago, 4/5 of the way to payback and free charging for the car

 

When you're paying 22 cents/kWh it's worth looking in to solar, when you pay 6 cents/kWh it's not.

 

I'm having rooftop solar installed in two weeks. I'm paying 19-20 cents per kwH, and as a retiree I keep my investments pretty conservative, so given enough time I would definitely make the money back. I could say that I might not live long enough for this, but mostly I just want the solar.

We're not talking about a big system or a lot of money. Currently my average monthly usage is less than 250kwH or $50. The system I'm getting is quite a bit larger than I need, but still not all that expensive. I'm looking forward to being able to use a little more electric heat in the winter.

 

I think I'm paying 14 cents off peak here in sunny CA. Haven't done solar because my electrical bills are so low. I was an early cfl adpoter and kind of wish I wasn't.. the early stuff was junk. Even the later ones, like you guys have stated, did not last nearly as long as the claims. Plus the light was crap with the early stuff. You can't put a price tag on the nice warm glow of a 500w halogen.. well I guess you can.

LED bases can buzz which bugs me, but other than that they are fantastic. Light quality is good, and the selection of color tone is wide.

One thing that tends to get forgotten is $40k car registration, taxes, fees and insurance vs a likely $20k ice alternate car purchase factors into it also. All those misc fees are lower on a cheaper car. And a $40k ice car isn't a fair direct comparison to a Bolt imo. The 20k ice car is the more direct comparison.

 

One thing that tends to get forgotten is $40k car registration, taxes, fees and insurance vs a likely $20k ice alternate car purchase factors into it also. All those misc fees are lower on a cheaper car. And a $40k ice car isn't a fair direct comparison to a Bolt imo. The 20k ice car is the more direct comparison.

Probably depends on where you live and some other variables.
For example, here in MD, I got all my states sales tax back and some extra because of EV breaks.
Registration is based on weight, not car value, so it costs the same to register a 1997 Civic as the Bolt.
And insurance is comparable. Things like collision alert, lane departure, etc work in the cars favor. And in MD, you're only required to carry 3rd party insurance, so the cost of the Bolt is not a significant factor (both our cars are new enough that we carry full coverage). Things like driving record, off-street parking, urban vs suburban, age of the driver, etc probably have as much impact. Just checked - the Bolt costs us about 10% less to insure than the wife's ICE (that cost roughly half the Bolt's price). The cars are a year apart in age and have the same coverage - the cost of loss coverage is higher for the Bolt, but the cost of 3rd party coverage is much lower. We don't have any other fees I can think of in MD.

Also, while the sales tax for the ICE might have been ~$1300, we tend to keep our cars a while so it will amortize out to a modest number. Registration is similar @ $135/yr for both cars. However, insurance is much higher at over $1000/yr each, but the Bolt is cheaper. I almost save enough on insurance to cover my registration.