4 ms·

I agree with this, and now electric is fine for urban areas. Right now, if you live in rural areas and need to travel a lot, electric is not yet good. I have

by jmclnx 3y ago

I agree with this, and now electric is fine for urban areas. Right now, if you live in rural areas and need to travel a lot, electric is not yet good. I have heard in some places in the US, people need to travel close to 200 miles one-way to get to a hospital. Also, new cars are way to expensive for me. Until the price drops to around 15000 USD, I will be driving old used cars. My current vehicle is 17 years old. Plus I get the benefit of not having it repaired at the dealership and no telemetry. For non-US people, getting a car repaired at a dealership can be as high as 4x the price at your local gas station.

trinix912 3y ago
The state of traffic accident recovery is also concerning. Handling crashed EVs that might have caught fire hasn't been completely sorted out yet.
rco8786 3y ago
> I have heard in some places in the US, people need to travel close to 200 miles one-way to get to a hospital This seems like it would be the extreme end of rural living in the US, but certainly some people live in those places. And yes obviously the EV range would not work that well for them currently...but what is the point of calling this out?
- germinalphrase 3y ago
  Reductions in access to medical care is an accelerated problem in rural US. Populations are sparse, declining, and unprofitable for our medical system.
  - rco8786 3y ago
    That has nothing to do with what we're talking about here, 200 miles is still an extreme distance from humans to hospitals in this country
    - germinalphrase 3y ago
      Fair enough. Off topic.
jillesvangurp 3y ago
The thing with rural areas is that very few people live there. Most people in the US live in or near densely populated areas. This is not an issue for them. And even rural areas have electricity and infrastructure. All you need to charge a car is a functioning wall socket. It won't be particularly quick but it will get your car charged eventually. A nice charger at home, a few functioning fast chargers in along nearby highways, etc. That's all you need. Most of the US has all of that within reasonable range. Basically, your current situation is that what you are spending on fuel and repairs to keep your old car going would probably add up to a nice second hand EV pretty quickly. Also, I hope you don't get any medical emergencies and have to rely on a 17 year old car being able to drive 200 miles (which is a big ask). And if it breaks down, it indeed can get expensive. It's a good reason to not go on long journeys with cars that old. That and the fact that the fuel efficiency is pretty terrible for such cars generally. You should be able to get a nice second hand EV for around 15K. It won't be the latest and greatest but you might find e.g. an old Nissan Leaf or something similar for that kind of money. You might reasonably expect to spend a lot less on fuel and repairs than you currently are. Do the math, I would suggest. Don't get too hung up on the range either. If you really do that 200 mile journey a lot with your 17 year old car, you are a brave man. More likely is that you rarely do that and given that you are so cost conscience about getting something better, your time is pretty cheap too meaning that a charging stop on your rare longer journeys shouldn't be the end of the world for you either. It all boils down to how much that is worth to you.
- jmclnx 3y ago
  >If you really do that 200 mile journey a lot with your 17 year old car, you are a brave man Last time was 400 before the pandemic, and in another month or so I will do it again. It use to be a rather regular occurrence before pandemic. But now it will start up to about 2 to 3 times a year. FWIW, where I am going the closest public charger is about 20 to 30 miles away. All you need is a good mechanic and keep it well maintained. And were I live there are plenty of medical services, were I visit they are few and far between.

by jmclnx 3y ago

trinix912 3y ago

The state of traffic accident recovery is also concerning. Handling crashed EVs that might have caught fire hasn't been completely sorted out yet.

rco8786 3y ago

> I have heard in some places in the US, people need to travel close to 200 miles one-way to get to a hospital This seems like it would be the extreme end of rural living in the US, but certainly some people live in those places. And yes obviously the EV range would not work that well for them currently...but what is the point of calling this out?

germinalphrase 3y ago
Reductions in access to medical care is an accelerated problem in rural US. Populations are sparse, declining, and unprofitable for our medical system.
- rco8786 3y ago
  That has nothing to do with what we're talking about here, 200 miles is still an extreme distance from humans to hospitals in this country
  - germinalphrase 3y ago
    Fair enough. Off topic.

jillesvangurp 3y ago

The thing with rural areas is that very few people live there. Most people in the US live in or near densely populated areas. This is not an issue for them. And even rural areas have electricity and infrastructure. All you need to charge a car is a functioning wall socket. It won't be particularly quick but it will get your car charged eventually. A nice charger at home, a few functioning fast chargers in along nearby highways, etc. That's all you need. Most of the US has all of that within reasonable range. Basically, your current situation is that what you are spending on fuel and repairs to keep your old car going would probably add up to a nice second hand EV pretty quickly. Also, I hope you don't get any medical emergencies and have to rely on a 17 year old car being able to drive 200 miles (which is a big ask). And if it breaks down, it indeed can get expensive. It's a good reason to not go on long journeys with cars that old. That and the fact that the fuel efficiency is pretty terrible for such cars generally. You should be able to get a nice second hand EV for around 15K. It won't be the latest and greatest but you might find e.g. an old Nissan Leaf or something similar for that kind of money. You might reasonably expect to spend a lot less on fuel and repairs than you currently are. Do the math, I would suggest. Don't get too hung up on the range either. If you really do that 200 mile journey a lot with your 17 year old car, you are a brave man. More likely is that you rarely do that and given that you are so cost conscience about getting something better, your time is pretty cheap too meaning that a charging stop on your rare longer journeys shouldn't be the end of the world for you either. It all boils down to how much that is worth to you.

jmclnx 3y ago
>If you really do that 200 mile journey a lot with your 17 year old car, you are a brave man Last time was 400 before the pandemic, and in another month or so I will do it again. It use to be a rather regular occurrence before pandemic. But now it will start up to about 2 to 3 times a year. FWIW, where I am going the closest public charger is about 20 to 30 miles away. All you need is a good mechanic and keep it well maintained. And were I live there are plenty of medical services, were I visit they are few and far between.