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Ask HN: Discarding the climate argument, what's in it for a person buying an EV?

ReptileMan 3y ago
Torque
consumer451 3y ago
Independence. It is possible and practical for those who are not price sensitive, have a private home, and do not regularly drive more than 150 miles away from home. PV Solar + inverter, (optional batteries,) and you don't have to rely on anyone but yourself to be mobile. Of course there are limitations, but there is no option to be independent in the internal combustion model.
- JumpinJack_Cash 3y ago
  [flagged]
ZeroGravitas 3y ago
In well-regulated jurisdictions, they avoid being penalised for all the health externalities of fossil fuel burning in populated areas.
Nextgrid 3y ago
If you can charge at home, it's cheap. If you have solar it's free.
- JumpinJack_Cash 3y ago
  What do you mean free? You have the cost of the solar panels to account for.
yuppie_scum 3y ago
Next to zero maintenance - the only consumables are tires and brakes. Brakes last 100k miles or more since the regenerative braking reduces wear. No detouring all the time for gas stops either. I’ve owned one for almost 4 years and went to the dealer once for a recall, otherwise I just get in and go when I want. And they’re quick as fuck.
- toast0 3y ago
  My PHEV has a two year service interval for oil, and doesn't consume anything else really. I don't have to plug it in, but if there's free electricity somewhere, I can. 500-600 miles per tank up if I don't ever plug it in, although it got closer to 700 miles per tank when I drove it from California to Washington when I moved. I drive a lot less than before, I just replaced the tires due to age, not to wear, so filling up the gas tank every so often isn't really a big deal.
rpnx 3y ago
I have a plug in hybrid. It can drive about 25 miles on electric then switches over to gas. 8.8 kWh @ $0.30/kWh amounts to around $0.10 per mile. Gas here is around $0.09/mile @ 52 mpg. So, if electricity > approximately $0.30/kWh, then driving on electricity is more expensive. But if less than that electricity is cheaper. Also most gas cars don't get 50mpg, since mostly only a hybrid can really get that. So if you look at 25mpg, it ends up more like $0.60/kWh as the break even point.
raptorraver 3y ago
I bought one when the price of gasoline was 2.5e per litre. Same time I was moving to a house with solar panels. I don't think EVs are much more healtier to the planet, I made my decision only for economic reasons.
satvikpendem 3y ago
The acceleration is very impressive, such that when you drag race ICE cars, you will win every time.
jotux 3y ago
I drive a model 3 but had sporty cars in the past (WRX/STI, corvette, etc). Acceleration is great and it's fun to get up to speed fast. The car doesn't feel nimble and doesn't feel glued to the road like an AWD gas car. In four years (50k miles) I've replaced the tires, replaced the 12V battery, and put windshield wiper fluid in the car. Almost no maintenance. I used to have to stop and get gas every 5-6 days, now I just plug in every night. Having lived with an EV for a few years the thought of going back to driving to a gas station to get gas just seems so inconvenient. My electricity rates are pretty cheap (flat $0.15c/kwh), so I'm paying ~$0.04/mile to drive my car. About $600/year in fuel costs. I find trips more than a few hundred miles are inconvenient. I would love to have an EV with a 500+ mile range so I can use it for road trips and trips to remote areas. At this point I'm 100% sold on EVs, I can't imagine my next vehicle not being an EV.

Torque

Independence. It is possible and practical for those who are not price sensitive, have a private home, and do not regularly drive more than 150 miles away from home. PV Solar + inverter, (optional batteries,) and you don't have to rely on anyone but yourself to be mobile. Of course there are limitations, but there is no option to be independent in the internal combustion model.

JumpinJack_Cash 3y ago
[flagged]

ZeroGravitas 3y ago

In well-regulated jurisdictions, they avoid being penalised for all the health externalities of fossil fuel burning in populated areas.

Nextgrid 3y ago

If you can charge at home, it's cheap. If you have solar it's free.

JumpinJack_Cash 3y ago
What do you mean free? You have the cost of the solar panels to account for.

yuppie_scum 3y ago

Next to zero maintenance - the only consumables are tires and brakes. Brakes last 100k miles or more since the regenerative braking reduces wear. No detouring all the time for gas stops either. I’ve owned one for almost 4 years and went to the dealer once for a recall, otherwise I just get in and go when I want. And they’re quick as fuck.

toast0 3y ago
My PHEV has a two year service interval for oil, and doesn't consume anything else really. I don't have to plug it in, but if there's free electricity somewhere, I can. 500-600 miles per tank up if I don't ever plug it in, although it got closer to 700 miles per tank when I drove it from California to Washington when I moved. I drive a lot less than before, I just replaced the tires due to age, not to wear, so filling up the gas tank every so often isn't really a big deal.

rpnx 3y ago

I have a plug in hybrid. It can drive about 25 miles on electric then switches over to gas. 8.8 kWh @ $0.30/kWh amounts to around $0.10 per mile. Gas here is around $0.09/mile @ 52 mpg. So, if electricity > approximately $0.30/kWh, then driving on electricity is more expensive. But if less than that electricity is cheaper. Also most gas cars don't get 50mpg, since mostly only a hybrid can really get that. So if you look at 25mpg, it ends up more like $0.60/kWh as the break even point.

raptorraver 3y ago

I bought one when the price of gasoline was 2.5e per litre. Same time I was moving to a house with solar panels. I don't think EVs are much more healtier to the planet, I made my decision only for economic reasons.

satvikpendem 3y ago

The acceleration is very impressive, such that when you drag race ICE cars, you will win every time.

jotux 3y ago

I drive a model 3 but had sporty cars in the past (WRX/STI, corvette, etc). Acceleration is great and it's fun to get up to speed fast. The car doesn't feel nimble and doesn't feel glued to the road like an AWD gas car. In four years (50k miles) I've replaced the tires, replaced the 12V battery, and put windshield wiper fluid in the car. Almost no maintenance. I used to have to stop and get gas every 5-6 days, now I just plug in every night. Having lived with an EV for a few years the thought of going back to driving to a gas station to get gas just seems so inconvenient. My electricity rates are pretty cheap (flat $0.15c/kwh), so I'm paying ~$0.04/mile to drive my car. About $600/year in fuel costs. I find trips more than a few hundred miles are inconvenient. I would love to have an EV with a 500+ mile range so I can use it for road trips and trips to remote areas. At this point I'm 100% sold on EVs, I can't imagine my next vehicle not being an EV.