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EVs have lower maintenance costs than traditional cars. Over the 6 years I've owned a Volt, I've only had to take it into the shop a total of 3 times for oil ch

EVs have lower maintenance costs than traditional cars. Over the 6 years I've owned a Volt, I've only had to take it into the shop a total of 3 times for oil changes, and another 6 times for general tire maintenance. The Model 3 should be the same. I'm pretty sure the Model 3 car charger is tax deductible as well. The only real caveat is that you need to own a house and most likely a garage, though I know there are many EV owners who have outdoor consumer chargers.

jedberg 8y ago
I was just talking to someone last week who installed a Tesla charger in the common garage of their condo complex, in front of their assigned spot. The condo hooked it up to the unit's electric meter so that they could get billed for the energy.
cptskippy 8y ago
> The only real caveat is that you need to own a house and most likely a garage Not necessarily. I own a Leaf and can make it to and from work (50 miles) with range to spare. I usually charge up at work, at cost, just to have that extra mileage for incidental need after work since I don't have L2 at home. It costs about $30 a month for me to do that which is less than 1/4 what I use to pay in gas. I work in downtown Atlanta and many work places offer free charging stations. There are plenty of DC Fast Chargers around the metro area in convenient places like grocery stores where you spent 15+ minutes or more shopping. With a higher range EV, like a Tesla, I think it would be pretty easy to get by without ever charging at home.
mikepurvis 8y ago
In most climates, you really do need a garage. I'm in southern Ontario, and we have neighbours with an electric Soul. They really like it, but they do have to do all kinds of goofy hacks to deal with the charger getting iced into the car on winter nights— stuff like wrapping a towel around the handle and then pouring a warm kettle over it.
hn_throwaway_99 8y ago
I recently bought a used Volt, and man do I think it's such a shame this car gets so much less press than Tesla. I think it's a great car, and when you think about it, it's a much better fit for the majority of people's lifestyles. My commute is short enough so that I rarely need to use gas. One tank has lasted me 3 months so far and I haven't even used half the tank yet. However, it's great knowing that I can use it when needed, and thus I never get "range anxiety". Also, since the electric range on my Volt is 40 miles, I didn't need to install any special electrical equipment. I just charge it on a normal 110 volt outlet (I set the charging to 12 amps which is fine on this outlet because it's the only thing on it) and it easily charges overnight. I really do think the Volt merges the best of both worlds, and while I do think that all-electric is the future, for the time-being a plug-in hybrid is really a better option for most people IMO.
- jdpedrie 8y ago
  Is there any concern around having a tank full of gas so old? Do you add a stabilizer to keep it from going stale?
  - brightball 8y ago
    If it does run often enough to burn the fuel, the generator will actually turn on solely for that reason.
    - kehshdjd 8y ago
      His point is that gas spoils. It polymerizes creating a bunch of hunk that clogs the fuel lines
      - olivermarks 8y ago
        would be a good idea to run a good fuel preserver in the gas https://www.goldeagle.com/product/sta-bil-fuel-stabilizer/ https://www.goldeagle.com/product/sta-bil-fuel-stabilizer/ (no affiliation, I just have old cars in storage)
nirvdrum 8y ago
Interesting. I've always been attracted to the idea of the Volt, but having both an ICE and EV components struck me as worst of all worlds when it comes to maintenance. I take it you haven't found that to be the case? Do you have to go to the dealership or can a typical auto shop handle routine maintenance on it?
- outworlder 8y ago
  The Volt's ICE is only used as a generator. That's much better from a maintenance standpoint, if you compare connecting two engines to the drivetrain (like a Prius).
  - hn_throwaway_99 8y ago
    This isn't correct. Both the older gen 1 Volts and the newer Volts with the "Voltec" powertrain can directly drive the wheels from the engine, and in fact this is actually much more common with the Voltec powertrain. This article gives a great summary: https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096942_2016-chevrolet-volt-powertrain-how-it-works-in-electric-hybrid-modes https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096942_2016-chevrolet-... .
- hn_throwaway_99 8y ago
  Most people who own a Volt buy it with the plan of using the ICE as little as possible. Thus, if you use it, say, 20% of the time, you'd only have 40k miles of ICE driving after 200k miles of total driving. An ICE with 40k miles on should need very little in terms of maintenance.
- stephengillie 8y ago
  Camry Hybrid engine gets an oil change and other maintenance every 10k miles. They have a 5k mile checkup between the 10k, but that's mostly to straighten your floor mats and make sure they're locked in place. (Toyota had an unintended acceleration lawsuit years ago, partly due to the floor mat blocking the brake pedal.)
- chaostheory 8y ago
markab21 8y ago
I've owned my Volt for about a year now, it's frankly been the best car i've ever owned. I'm -shocked- that these things aren't selling better, on the used market it's probably one of the best values on the vehicle market today next to the leaf. I have the new gen with ~ 65 mile range in Florida. I visit a gas station -maybe- once every 3 months, and it's only when i'm doing a drive over to Orlando or the east coast.

jedberg 8y ago

I was just talking to someone last week who installed a Tesla charger in the common garage of their condo complex, in front of their assigned spot. The condo hooked it up to the unit's electric meter so that they could get billed for the energy.

cptskippy 8y ago

> The only real caveat is that you need to own a house and most likely a garage Not necessarily. I own a Leaf and can make it to and from work (50 miles) with range to spare. I usually charge up at work, at cost, just to have that extra mileage for incidental need after work since I don't have L2 at home. It costs about $30 a month for me to do that which is less than 1/4 what I use to pay in gas. I work in downtown Atlanta and many work places offer free charging stations. There are plenty of DC Fast Chargers around the metro area in convenient places like grocery stores where you spent 15+ minutes or more shopping. With a higher range EV, like a Tesla, I think it would be pretty easy to get by without ever charging at home.

mikepurvis 8y ago

In most climates, you really do need a garage. I'm in southern Ontario, and we have neighbours with an electric Soul. They really like it, but they do have to do all kinds of goofy hacks to deal with the charger getting iced into the car on winter nights— stuff like wrapping a towel around the handle and then pouring a warm kettle over it.

hn_throwaway_99 8y ago

I recently bought a used Volt, and man do I think it's such a shame this car gets so much less press than Tesla. I think it's a great car, and when you think about it, it's a much better fit for the majority of people's lifestyles. My commute is short enough so that I rarely need to use gas. One tank has lasted me 3 months so far and I haven't even used half the tank yet. However, it's great knowing that I can use it when needed, and thus I never get "range anxiety". Also, since the electric range on my Volt is 40 miles, I didn't need to install any special electrical equipment. I just charge it on a normal 110 volt outlet (I set the charging to 12 amps which is fine on this outlet because it's the only thing on it) and it easily charges overnight. I really do think the Volt merges the best of both worlds, and while I do think that all-electric is the future, for the time-being a plug-in hybrid is really a better option for most people IMO.

jdpedrie 8y ago
Is there any concern around having a tank full of gas so old? Do you add a stabilizer to keep it from going stale?
- brightball 8y ago
  If it does run often enough to burn the fuel, the generator will actually turn on solely for that reason.
  - kehshdjd 8y ago
    His point is that gas spoils. It polymerizes creating a bunch of hunk that clogs the fuel lines
    - olivermarks 8y ago
      would be a good idea to run a good fuel preserver in the gas https://www.goldeagle.com/product/sta-bil-fuel-stabilizer/ https://www.goldeagle.com/product/sta-bil-fuel-stabilizer/ (no affiliation, I just have old cars in storage)

nirvdrum 8y ago

Interesting. I've always been attracted to the idea of the Volt, but having both an ICE and EV components struck me as worst of all worlds when it comes to maintenance. I take it you haven't found that to be the case? Do you have to go to the dealership or can a typical auto shop handle routine maintenance on it?

outworlder 8y ago
The Volt's ICE is only used as a generator. That's much better from a maintenance standpoint, if you compare connecting two engines to the drivetrain (like a Prius).
- hn_throwaway_99 8y ago
  This isn't correct. Both the older gen 1 Volts and the newer Volts with the "Voltec" powertrain can directly drive the wheels from the engine, and in fact this is actually much more common with the Voltec powertrain. This article gives a great summary: https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096942_2016-chevrolet-volt-powertrain-how-it-works-in-electric-hybrid-modes https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096942_2016-chevrolet-... .
hn_throwaway_99 8y ago
Most people who own a Volt buy it with the plan of using the ICE as little as possible. Thus, if you use it, say, 20% of the time, you'd only have 40k miles of ICE driving after 200k miles of total driving. An ICE with 40k miles on should need very little in terms of maintenance.
stephengillie 8y ago
Camry Hybrid engine gets an oil change and other maintenance every 10k miles. They have a 5k mile checkup between the 10k, but that's mostly to straighten your floor mats and make sure they're locked in place. (Toyota had an unintended acceleration lawsuit years ago, partly due to the floor mat blocking the brake pedal.)
chaostheory 8y ago

markab21 8y ago

I've owned my Volt for about a year now, it's frankly been the best car i've ever owned. I'm -shocked- that these things aren't selling better, on the used market it's probably one of the best values on the vehicle market today next to the leaf. I have the new gen with ~ 65 mile range in Florida. I visit a gas station -maybe- once every 3 months, and it's only when i'm doing a drive over to Orlando or the east coast.