Compared to gas cars: Kia K4 hatchback is $26k with a lot more creature-comforts. Gets 34mpg, so if $6/gal gas is here to stay that's $0.17 per mile of fuel costs. My EV gets almost exactly 4miles/kW average and I pay $0.21 per kW so that's about $0.05 per mile.

So $0.12 per mile saved in fuel costs implies about 80k miles for break-even.

This excludes costs of servicing, which should be higher on the gas car.

[edit typo'd an extra 0 it's 80k miles for break-even]

[edit2]

After looking up my energy bill I pay $0.27 so it's between 10 and 11 cents per mile saved. Break-even is still under 100k miles.

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beaviskhan 12 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I think you've got an extra zero in there somewhere

$35k - $26k = $9k

$9k / $0.12/mile savings ~= 75,000 miles breakeven

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mgrandl 12 hours ago | parent [-]

And that is completely ignoring maintenance cost which tends to be a lot cheaper on EVs.

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IshKebab 9 hours ago | parent [-]

Somewhat cheaper anyway (30% according to https://www.thecarexpert.co.uk/petrol-vs-electric-servicing-... ), but I wouldn't be surprised if that is wiped out by the increased insurance costs.

I definitely wouldn't buy an EV based on lower service costs.

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bryanlarsen 6 hours ago | parent [-]

That's based on the manufacturer's "lets not upset our dealers" maintenance schedule and is completely unnecessary. In reality you can probably bring your EV to the dealer once every 4 years or so. On that schedule you should:

- check the brake fluid for water - change the cabin air filter - change the gearbox oil - check/change the battery coolant

If you're going in more frequent than that you're getting a very expensive windshield wiper replacement.

The real kicker is going to be repair costs. An EV has about 10% of the moving parts of an ICE car, so in theory repairs should be much less frequent. But if the ICE is a Toyota and the EV is a Tesla, YMMV.

You'll probably have to replace the battery at around 250,000 miles but at that point the car is worth pretty much scrap value anyways.

	▲	Marsymars 33 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		FWIW, my 10+ year spreadsheet of the maintenance costs on my last ICE lined up pretty well with that - about 1/3 of the costs were ICE-specific issues, 2/3 were for parts that would have been common to an EV. > In reality you can probably bring your EV to the dealer once every 4 years or so. Not really, I need twice-yearly seasonal tire changes/rotations.
	▲	aidenn0 6 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		4 years for replacing the cabin air-filter? Do you live somewhere with no pollen or smoke? I replace mine annually, but it's easy enough to do myself (right behind the glovebox, needs zero tools)

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jerlam 10 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

California (and many other states) also charges you an additional annual EV registration fee of $121 in lieu of gas taxes. There was some noise earlier this year about a federal EV tax too.

	▲	bombcar 2 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		I wish they'd just tax the tires. Bigger vehicles, more tires, more wear.

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fouc 12 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I think you meant 80k not 800k, $0.12 * 80,000 = $9,600

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superxpro12 11 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

$.21/kw seems high for home charging... im at $.12, before the extra savings that gets me closer to $.10

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aidenn0 11 hours ago | parent | next [-]

$0.21 was from memory, so I pulled up my bill and it was actually low:

Southern California Edison on the time-of-use plan, charging during "Super off peak." Note that nowhere on the bill do they show one number for how much you pay per kWh. These numbers will change next month as we go from "Winter" to "Summer"

Delivery charges: $0.17664

CCA Cost responsibility surcharge: $0.02007

Nonbypassable charges: $0.00644 + $0.00591

Fixed recovery charge: $0.00619

Generation charge: $0.05958

Unless I typoed something again (oops 800k) that works out to $0.27 for the cheapest I can pay in winter. I compared last fall and this was by far the cheapest plan offered to me for overnight charging.

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neogodless 11 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Varies widely by state and other factors. I'm at around $0.18 for 1kWh when you look at the overall bill including generation, supply, and all other fees.

(My car averages 3.3 miles / kWh, so ~$0.055 / mile assuming 100% charge efficiency... I'm using a 120V outlet so it's probably 75-80% charge efficiency, pushing the cost to ~$0.068 / mile.)

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aidenn0 11 hours ago | parent [-]

Is using a 120V charger really only 80% charge efficiency? That would add another penny or two per mile to my cost.

	▲	neogodless 10 hours ago \| parent [-]
		https://insideevs.com/features/711659/ev-charger-efficiency-... Suggests up to 25% loss if your just plugging into an outlet, but a wallbox improves that considerably.

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toast0 11 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I was at $0.12 3 years ago, but rates have jumped (and there's two more years of planned rate increases coming up)

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culopatin 9 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

And yet half what they charge in some areas of California