Yep, that’s how the math worked out for me as well. The perception that electric cars are cheaper to operate isn’t showing up in the math. There’s less maintenance on electric cars - no oil changes, spark plugs, transmission fluid, etc, but you still have suspension, tires, brake pads and rotors, etc.
I called SCE to ask about this, too. Interestingly the rep I spoke with was pretty discouraging about moving to a TOU plan and said that based on my family’s usage, it wouldn’t make sense to switch. Since the tiered plans they charge make it impossible to stay out of the top tier/cost as my wife works from home, I passed on the idea.
Perhaps if a household doesn’t have anyone home during the daytime, doesn’t have pets and doesn’t have kids coming home mid day, it might work.
Not to hijack this thread but…
TOU plans are really expensive if you want to run your house air-conditioner during the day when it’s hot or if you want to wash and dry clothes during the normal waking hours.
Over a short lease that may be true that there is less maintenance. However if someone buys a car and has to buy a battery pack some years later then EV’s don’t look so cheap. A friend I know has a Fiat 500e and he has to replace the special EV tires every 15k or so. And they cost quite a bit.
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Tesla has continually pushed backed the launch for the model 3 with everyone withdrawing their deposits. The estimate advertised is 215 mile range whereas bolt is already proven 238 and above for good driving habits. Just like a car, if you get on it and use all the stuff and electronics, you can lose up to 10 mpg.
Weekends are off-peak on TOU, so if you wash / dry clothes during the day on a weekend, you are good. Yes, I agree that you need to be careful with how often you run A/C during the peak hours as it will add up M - F. We have a well insulated ranch style single story (heat rises), so it hasn’t been a big issue. We also have a pet and never let the house get over 80 degrees. I figured this would be a bigger issue and so I started to look into solar to off-set the high cost of electricity during the peak day time which is when solar is at its best. The reality is that I just haven’t needed to explore solar yet and so I keep pushing adoption of it out since costs continue to drop and technology continues to improve in solar. This is certainly one of those YMMV. I think an EV works out better than most realize for most households. For me, it has saved us a lot of $$$; however, that isn’t the reason I adopted. I wanted a head start on understanding the tech and where it might go.
Chevysalesgirl -
Can you quote a monthly lease on a PREM Bolt with an MSRP of $43510?
(36/10) - zero drive off.
TIA.
Don’t forget PGE customers in NorCal also get $500 rebates on their plug-in cars. I just received my third $500 check (Volt, X5 40e, e-Golf).
$426 for premier bolt ev with $0 out of pocket. 36 months/ 10k miles. msrp 43510
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Anyone remembers one of the first Tesla reviews from the New York Times guy? Apparently he did not know that Musk tracked his every move LOL
Thank you very much …
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Might want to add that into your first post for those wanting a higher trim.
I’m not too familiar with Chevy but is there an option and are there benefits of a 30 Month lease?
30 month lease is the minimum to get the $2500 CA rebate, so that term is popular in CA.
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Chevrolet offers 24, 27, 36, 39, 42, and 48 month leases. Sometimes you will find better rates on some but 36 is pretty standard.
So I’m assuming 30 Months would be worse deal?
They don’t even offer it.
I am in NY Lower Hudson Valley area. I got a number for the same MSRP $43510 for a Premier. but 36/12k for $449, no $ down. I had to order it though (6-8 weeks). Tax here is 8.125%.
How to having home batteries (which I assume cost a ton) solve this? Are there any residential level home batteries for sale?
The concept is that your rooftop solar charges your Tesla home battery pack. Then when the sun goes down you could use the battery for much of your electric needs.
The costs of such system vary with capacity but perhaps you can get this system for ~$10-20k.
Once the fixed costs for rooftop solar and house battery are paid then the electricity they generate is “Free”.
It may be possible to use one of your Tesla car(s) in the garage as the house battery.
@Masterblaster True that a typical configuration is Solar with a Powerwall, but if you are on a TOU plan, there just might be a case to only have a Powerwall. The Powerwall battery would charge up during super-off peak and be available for use so that you never use peak rated power. Not sure the math would make sense as you would need to off-set the $5500 cost of the Powerwall, but maybe if you get advantages with rebates, tax incentives and what not… maybe worth a study.