96 month loan is that real?
Wont be long before they offer 15-year loans.
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Forgive me for a long post.
I’m in a super confused state right now. Ignorance is indeed bliss.
My current lease is up by end of May and I’ll need a car then. With the current state of car leases, I just don’t want to get into a new lease at all. I wasn’t active for a few years and coming back here, looking at the scores like 6 or 7 on cars that used to have 10 or 11! There goes my plan on leasing an S5 sportback.
Anyway, I thought the Model 3 wold be the perfect fit at the price point of 50-60k, but doing some revealed all the problems associated with Tesla - customer service, inflated residuals currently, QA issues, lack of federal credit, Bland interior etc. The interior was something that always pricked me but I thought I’d get adjusted, but with these many problems, I started looking at alternatives.
The most important thing for me with the Tesla is the Supercharger network. This will be my only car and I live in an apartment, so no home charging. I could charge all day at work, but I’m not sure if there’s going to be contention for it when everyone is getting back to office. Bay Area! So I definitely need reliable charging service.
I’ve looked at some alternatives like Kia EV6 and Ford Mach-E, but the lack of Supercharger network is throwing me off from these. The only good Hybrid at this price point that I was able to find was the Volvo S60 Recharge, which has a poor electric range (Might as well go for a gas car). I’m not considering non-AWD cars as I frequently drive to snowy areas and the lack of AWD is a deal breaker!
So, my question would be, with these alternate Fully Electric cars, how feasible is it to get them without a home charging solution? Are there any other better Hybrid AWD cars at this price point? Should I just bite the bullet and get a gas car instead?
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How far is your commute? Is Rubicon 4xe an option for you? If you have a fast charger at work you should be good to go in 2.5hours without occupying the charger all day.
For other hybrids with AWD, there’s also the BMW 330e xDrive. I personally like the S60 recharge better, but others disagree. BMW’s range isn’t any better than 20-25 miles either, though. Sometime this year the S60 is scheduled to move from a 11.6kwh battery to 18.8kwh which would get your electric range into the 40 mile area. Is that enough? Some of the other Volvo PHEVs are being built with the bigger battery already.
But you live in the Bay Area! Here in Oklahoma, I wouldn’t recommend an electric without home charging, but you live in electric car central. Try looking at your neighborhood on Plugshare to see what’s available - and drive around to see how full the sites actually are.
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From personal experience, I wouldn’t do it. (1) my previous condo building did a survey and installed two chargers in 2019. There were a handful of EV in the building at the time. But by 2021 only a small absolute number of EVs had been added but this represented a 3x increase in usage. If you couldn’t get to the charger first, you were SOL for the night. Yes there was a rule against it but no one came out in the middle of the night to move their cars. Even if they did, unless they were your fiends, how would you know.
(2) my current house had its EV charger installed after my EV delivery, which came a little early. So I used superchargers exclusively for a bit. The charging itself is quick but going to and from is such a waste of time. And this was during off-peak travel season (post Labor Day) when no SCs were full. I’ve heard in the summer some SCs get full and then you gotta wait before you can even charge.
Your best bet is to probably buy a PHEV; that way you can charge at work when convenient but when it’s not you can fill up at a gas station and be on your way. Minimal time wasted, minimal anxiety.
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Commute will be within 25 miles. Not really into jeep though.
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I overlooked the part about SCs getting full themselves. Damn. I’m leaning towards a PHEV as well, but finding it hard with these filters I have. Lexus ESh looked like a perfect fit but they don’t have AWD in any of the hybrid models.
The crossover shaped PHEV have AWD. RAV4 Prime, Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe, etc etc.
The sorento phev is really nice
It really shouldn’t. Use the Plugshare app, along with Electrify America app and EvGo app, and I think you’ff find many more CCS plugs than Tesla plugs in your area. EA also has a few Tesla Fast chargers, and their charging blocks are strategically placed a few blocks from Superchargers. So not only EV’s in competition with Tesla, but charging is also becoming competitive.
edit: it’s true a PHEV offers the most flexibility, but j1772 @ 7kW feels outdated.
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I currently drive a 2020 G70 2.0T Elite AWD that I got for around 34k otd with a 393 monthly lease. I can say it’s a comfortable car that’s pretty loaded. Sadly I don’t think you’ll find a 2.0T With any decent deal on the 2022s. The ones I’ve seen are going for 550 to 650, but I’m based in Miami so everything is fucked here. Planning on getting rid of it to get an elantra N financed but waiting for the car to come in. If you can find a decent deal on a g70, I’d go for it.
We’ve gotten 31mi out of the one in our family.
Agreed. Everyone talks about how great the Supercharger network is, and yes, it’s great for road trips, but in urban areas, CCS (i.e., Electrify America) may be even better.
Perhaps @dEagle can look into financing an IONIQ 5 or EV6, which does 10-80% charging in 18 minutes when the battery is warm but not too warm. Regardless of the EV, though, I’d be a little concerned about the battery longevity implications of only doing DC fast charging.
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Have you compared the gas prices to the prices of your electricity at home? In many states where electricity is expensive (e.g. Massachusetts), the charging would cost more than driving a good mileage or hybrid ICE.
I’m in LA so gas is costing me over 60 a week almost. Electricity would definitely cut that over half 100%!! Now other states that may be different….
They offer 120 month loans for exotic cars, I’ve seen 144, woodside does up to 180 already.
You got to pay to play. There’s no easy choice these days.
I live in LA area and charge exclusively at home. About 1200 miles a month. I save about 80 a month in gas.
You should just set your budget and get the best you can within the budget.
A lot of these long term lender are looking for big down payments also
The cool thing is a lot of loans don’t show up on credit pulls.
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Let’s run quick numbers for LA just to compare.
A Tesla Model 3 vs Rav4 Hybrid.
Tesla:
With $0.25 per kWh electricity charges in LA (avg user). Tesla Model 3 capacity 82 kWh. Efficiency 29 kWh/100mi.
Should cost you $72.50 for 1000 miles.
Tested here: Tesla Charging Cost Calculator
Rav4 Hybrid (Not Prime):
Fuel Efficiency: 40 avg (41 mpg city, 38 mpg highway)
25 gallons per 1000 miles.
LA fuel cost: 4.6
Total cost: $115 per 1000 miles
You will save around $42.5 per 1000 miles in LA.
Fuel cost in LA is pretty high.
When I compare the same thing in Boston. Where electricity charges are the same $0.25 avg and gas prices are about $3.5
Tesla Cost: $72.50 per 1000 miles
Rav4 Hybrid Cost: $87.5 per 1000 miles