What will it take to make you seriously consider an EV?

Well I wasn't stranded. Found level 2 charging in Galveston, and it was free!

As EVs go, the Leaf is the bottom of the market. I like it, but most EVs on the market now have more range and more quality (I could have found a DC fast charger in Galveston except that the Leaf uses an outdated Chademo connection for fast charging). I worry that the poor estimate might be portending a catastrophic battery failure though.

But people worry too much about that range stuff. This weekend was the first time in 3 years I used public charging. Obviously, it isn't usually the car I pick for roadtrips, but as a daily commuter all that public infrastructure stuff is irrelevant. I will probably keep at least one gas-burning car in the household until I'm confident I can drive across Texas on short notice in an EV. But, I certainly don't need all of them to burn gas.

 

They are commuter vehicle for me.
They do rely on you being a slightly more conscientious owner
Making sure you plug it in at night . . . etc

Rocket RIver

 

Feel like I've been waiting to see the ID.Buzz from VW for years. The '25 GTX edition with two-tone coloring looks good in pictures, but I wonder how much it just looks like a generic minivan in person. I'm not in the market for a vehicle but am really curious.

 

This is so. I'm saying it's no big deal, with the big unsaid presumption that you're something like me, with some money to spend, a couple of cars in the driveway of a single family home, and a placid lifestyle dominated by soul-crushing commutes. That actually describes a lot of people, but not everyone.

 

https://jalopnik.com/teslas-quality-control-is-so-bad-customers-are-taking-d-1851369990

Tesla's Quality Control Is So Bad Customers Are Taking Delivery Inspections Into Their Own Hands

 

When they get to be 12.5 years old on average and up to 20 years old, you will not be worrying too much. the battery will mechanically total the car.

 

You want to whine about me or make money?

 

Come buy our skinny, hard compound e-tires for $250+ every 5,000 miles -- it's the new oil change.

 

Tesla Model Y prices are lower than Camry and closing in on Corollas with the insane discounts.

If you want one of those turds now is the time. Find a friend with a referral, search for one with discounts that has been around a while and go for it.

 

FSD 12.3 is pretty sweet. I don't drive enough to justify $200 a month and the constant supervision makes it moot. But robotaxi is certainly right around the corner. The level of intelligence is impressive.

 

Where should you take Teslas for recycling?

 

Expensive crappy tires, undeveloped infrastructure, manufacturer shenanigans on paid for vehicles, fragile against minimal flood waters (Houston floods anyone?), unable to go anywhere in the real cold, crappy for natural disasters (3 weeks without electricity during the last hurricane, anyone?), plus all the previous stuff and people want us to jump in and adapt? Like I said, resolve these issues adequately, plus previously stated ones, then we'll start talking.

 

You're so close to seeing the larger picture. Keep after it.

 

I haven't read much of this thread so I'll just say this:

Bought a Tesla Model 3 in 2018 and it's the best car-buying decision I've ever made. Got my wife a Model Y in 2021. I am a home owner and plug 'em in during the evening (when necessary), they are fully charged in the morning and no more filthy gas stations. No scheduled maintenance. Only thing that needs changing is the tires every 35-40,000 miles. Very fun to drive. I do in-state road trips quite often and there are no issues. I've driven to St. Louis a couple of times over the last 4-5 years. Did New Orleans in 2020 right before the COVID lockdowns started.

Can't imagine ever owning a gas vehicle ever again. The thought is depressing.

Just recently, the autopilot "self-driving" tech went next-level and finally became worth a dime. Very curious to see how rapidly it improves from here.

For the record: I'm definitely no Elon Musk fan. I think he's a flipping fruitcake but also a great engineer, capitalist and businessman.

Unfortunately, it may not be until 2030 or later (or never) when Ford and GM can manufacture EVs on enough scale to even matter.

Just my 2 cents.

 

How many miles on each car and what percent do you charge to? 80%?

 

M3-250 miles, MY-275 miles. These are legit miles. We charge to 85%. Charging up to 90% on a daily basis is just fine.

I used to commute from Mo City to IAH 5x/week (95 mi RT). Range was never a concern. One thing that has significantly changed in the last 6 years is the number of superchargers.

 

I've seen 3 Cybertrucks on the way to/back from Houston now. One was on the side of the road with flashers (no idea what happened, if anything), another was in the left lane pissing people off by going 65 in a 75, and the 3rd was trucking along. After seeing them "up close", they definitely aren't for me, but I've seen about 3 or 4 Rivian R1T's here and there, and that's more to my liking, though maybe not just yet. As it stands, I think I'm still going gas/hybrid for my next car for now.

I don't really drive much anymore (except for the last month or so). I used to average about 20,000-25,000 miles a year with a max of around 30-35,000 a few times, I think. Nowadays, I'm not sure I even hit 5-10k per year. This has got me looking more into EVs, but of course now they're scaling back EV production. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

I still haven't had an out-of-warranty repair on my little Acura in 134,000 or so miles and almost 10 years and only had to fix a puddle light on a side mirror in-warranty so far. Now that's the kind of reliability I'm expecting (though I'm still pissed at Acura for allowing that damn ZF transmission in the car, so I'm still planning on buying something else when it's time to buy my next car).

 

Sorry I meant how many miles total do you have on the cars.

 

2018 Model 3: 68,000 miles
Model Y is now a 24-month lease that started last November: 6,000 miles