4 ms·

Electric vehicles have an irrational amount of range. Is renting a car for the <1% of the time you need to drive >100 miles that hard?

kylebenzle 3y ago
Who would want to spend $100k on a car then spend another $500-$1000 to rent a car for long distances? At that point an electric car is pure luxury.
- oatmeal1 3y ago
  Batteries are a major part of the cost of an electric car. If you spent $100k on an electric car that had a 100 mile range, it must be a Maybach. It would be much more realistic in this scenario for the electric car to be $30k, in which case you can earn interest on the $20k not spent, and have plenty of money to rent a car when you need it.
- acdha 3y ago
  Your prices are all off by a factor of 3-4 or more. Most Americans would be fine with a sub-$30k EV for daily life and an occasional rental the handful of times they need to pick up large cargo or travel hundreds of miles in a single day with only brief stops. Among other things, that would mean you don’t have to pay more for every other trip you make carrying extra weight for features that you don’t need most of the time. People buy SUVs thinking they’ll go skiing twice a year but they’re paying 2-3 times as much for almost all of their mileage which doesn’t need that ground clearance or 4WD in addition to the 30-50% higher sticker price.
kcplate 3y ago
Not sure where you live, but at least 50% of the time I am driving my car I am probably putting over 100 miles on it per trip. My weekly trip for groceries might be the only one where I am driving a shorter range.
bluGill 3y ago
Have you ever tried to rent a car for long trips? To rent a minivan is $100/day and my vacation is going to cover several days. My mom lives 300 miles away - close enough to make this trip over a weekend every month. The savings in rental costs more than half the payment on a new minivan, and with your plan I'd still need to pay for the EV I use most days. Rental cars also have damage clauses. When I own it I don't worry about what my kids are doing to the car - as anyone with kids knows they will do something.
- oatmeal1 3y ago
  Sounds like my example scenario would not work for you. That being said, renting may not be necessary, since many people already own gas powered cars, and most electric vehicle owners already have another car. Since you already have a gas-powered car that can do the trip, it might make sense for your first electric car to have short range, and you just use the gas-powered car for the long trips. Not trying to move the goal posts, just remembering a more realistic alternative to renting as I sip my first cup of coffee. > When I own it I don't worry about what my kids are doing to the car - as anyone with kids knows they will do something. I hope your kids are of the young variety lol
  - bluGill 3y ago
    My minivan is 12 years and 220k miles old. Sure it works, but it is showing age and I'm expecting to replace it in a few years. I'm looking at options for an EV, and if can't do long trips it is hard to justify.
danaris 3y ago
Tell me you live in a city without telling me you live in a city...? The nearest city is a 25-mile drive for me (one way). I have to drive that at least once a month, sometimes several times a week. I have to fairly regularly take 100-mile drives (again, one way) to see a veterinary specialist for some of my pets' health problems. Most years, I take a 67-mile (one way) trip to the local Renaissance Festival—sometimes I go 2-3 times in a year. Even if I wanted to rent, the nearest rental place (that's not just U-Haul or similar) is....in the city! And for a long drive, it's even more important to know the ins and outs of the car, know that you'll have enough space, be comfortable, etc. If I lived in a city, and only had to drive a maximum of 25 miles to get to 99% of what I wanted all the time, I would seriously consider something much smaller with less range. As it stands...well, actually, I drive a Subaru Outback, but that's mainly because the comfort and space of the available (non-luxury-priced) electric cars couldn't match it, but I 100% support and understand people buying EVs with as much range as they can find.

kylebenzle 3y ago

Who would want to spend $100k on a car then spend another $500-$1000 to rent a car for long distances? At that point an electric car is pure luxury.

oatmeal1 3y ago
Batteries are a major part of the cost of an electric car. If you spent $100k on an electric car that had a 100 mile range, it must be a Maybach. It would be much more realistic in this scenario for the electric car to be $30k, in which case you can earn interest on the $20k not spent, and have plenty of money to rent a car when you need it.
acdha 3y ago
Your prices are all off by a factor of 3-4 or more. Most Americans would be fine with a sub-$30k EV for daily life and an occasional rental the handful of times they need to pick up large cargo or travel hundreds of miles in a single day with only brief stops. Among other things, that would mean you don’t have to pay more for every other trip you make carrying extra weight for features that you don’t need most of the time. People buy SUVs thinking they’ll go skiing twice a year but they’re paying 2-3 times as much for almost all of their mileage which doesn’t need that ground clearance or 4WD in addition to the 30-50% higher sticker price.

kcplate 3y ago

Not sure where you live, but at least 50% of the time I am driving my car I am probably putting over 100 miles on it per trip. My weekly trip for groceries might be the only one where I am driving a shorter range.

bluGill 3y ago

Have you ever tried to rent a car for long trips? To rent a minivan is $100/day and my vacation is going to cover several days. My mom lives 300 miles away - close enough to make this trip over a weekend every month. The savings in rental costs more than half the payment on a new minivan, and with your plan I'd still need to pay for the EV I use most days. Rental cars also have damage clauses. When I own it I don't worry about what my kids are doing to the car - as anyone with kids knows they will do something.

oatmeal1 3y ago
Sounds like my example scenario would not work for you. That being said, renting may not be necessary, since many people already own gas powered cars, and most electric vehicle owners already have another car. Since you already have a gas-powered car that can do the trip, it might make sense for your first electric car to have short range, and you just use the gas-powered car for the long trips. Not trying to move the goal posts, just remembering a more realistic alternative to renting as I sip my first cup of coffee. > When I own it I don't worry about what my kids are doing to the car - as anyone with kids knows they will do something. I hope your kids are of the young variety lol
- bluGill 3y ago
  My minivan is 12 years and 220k miles old. Sure it works, but it is showing age and I'm expecting to replace it in a few years. I'm looking at options for an EV, and if can't do long trips it is hard to justify.

danaris 3y ago

Tell me you live in a city without telling me you live in a city...? The nearest city is a 25-mile drive for me (one way). I have to drive that at least once a month, sometimes several times a week. I have to fairly regularly take 100-mile drives (again, one way) to see a veterinary specialist for some of my pets' health problems. Most years, I take a 67-mile (one way) trip to the local Renaissance Festival—sometimes I go 2-3 times in a year. Even if I wanted to rent, the nearest rental place (that's not just U-Haul or similar) is....in the city! And for a long drive, it's even more important to know the ins and outs of the car, know that you'll have enough space, be comfortable, etc. If I lived in a city, and only had to drive a maximum of 25 miles to get to 99% of what I wanted all the time, I would seriously consider something much smaller with less range. As it stands...well, actually, I drive a Subaru Outback, but that's mainly because the comfort and space of the available (non-luxury-priced) electric cars couldn't match it, but I 100% support and understand people buying EVs with as much range as they can find.