This is what we were saying. Something fishy going on. The number of EVs in NJ, majority of them are going to be NACS.
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Who has or is planning to get an electric car / EV Talk
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This is what we were saying. Something fishy going on. The number of EVs in NJ, majority of them are going to be NACS.
The problem with the AAA analysis imo, is that they benched miles. People who buy, not lease, don’t get rid of their cars after 15k miles. They should have used 5 years and the national average of miles driven per year to form a conclusion. And the cost to operate a vehicle is dependent on the gas price and electric rates in your area. And for ev owners any tax rebates and credits. Also the lifetime expectancy of an ev is about 250k miles.AAA: Americans Slow to Adopt Electric Vehicles
AAA: Americans Slow to Adopt Electric Vehicles
ORLANDO, Fla. (June 3, 2025) – Despite the wide variety of electric vehicle (EV) models now available—over 75 options introduced in the past fournewsroom.aaa.com
some info from the article:
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Key Barriers to Go Fully Electric
High battery repair costs (62%) and purchase price (59%) are cited as key barriers to go fully electric. Other top concerns identified in this year’s survey were the perceived unsuitability of EVs for long-distance travel (57%), a lack of convenient public charging stations (56%), and fear of running out of charge while driving (55%). Thirty-one percent of those undecided or unlikely to buy an EV have safety concerns, 27 percent reported challenges installing charging stations at their residences, and 12% cited the potential reduction or elimination of tax credits and rebates. According to AAA’s 2024 Your Driving Cost analysis, EVs had the second-highest total ownership costs due to depreciation, purchase prices, and finance charges.
Yep. Replace Tesla superchargers with chargers that are worse and more expensive per kilowatt. Makes perfect sense. /s
won't argue, all surveys have one flaw or another, but, it is some datapoint.
What was surprising to me is, according to the survey, that the #1 reason for considering an EV (74%) is to save $$.
I'm in CA and our gas prices are the highest in the 48 contiguous states, always have been. Right now I think they are ~ $4.50 or so, but, our electricity rates are certainly also amongst the highest.
When I was driving hybrids (2008 - 2022) I was paying detail attention to mpg and cost, don't do that anymore since getting EVs.
On a recent ~900 mile roundtrip I charged at EA for ~ $116, luckily I get free charging on EA so it didn't cost me anything.
When I did that same trip in my Prius PHEV I averaged ~ 40mpg (I was going way over the speed limit), so it would have been ~ 22 gal at $4.5 = $99 (at 2025 prices).
So, 74% of the surveyed people thinking they'd save so much money, I don't know.
Regardless, saving on gas was not a consideration for me when switching to EV, but the convenience of charging at home and not having to deal with oil changes etc makes it all worthwhile for me
Here is a 10 year TCO study. A study in 2025 is really needed: https://www.edf.org/sites/default/files/2023-07/WSP Total Cost of Ownership Analysis July 2023.pdf
The issue is it's tough to compare like for like. For example comparing a Model 3 against a Civic would yield a different result than comparing a Model 3 against a 340i. Does one compare on performance, size, interior room or price?
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We learned about that convenience, and it is a huge convenience, only after the event. We didn't even setout to get an EV. We simply wanted something that depreciated less when doing miles compared to the car my wife was driving, wasn't too big, still had the same experience power delivery wise, and if it had doors to get into the back that was a bonus. We simply got ours for the way it drove. The fact that we didnt have to fill it up at a gas station every three days was a huge bonus.
Starting each day with "a full tank" and never needing to even *THINK* about "refueling" unless on a road trip is amazing. It takes me 10-15 seconds to plug in when I park, 5-10 seconds to unplug when I'm leaving. Saves far more time over the course of a year than is added "recharging instead of filling with gas" on road trips.
Especially because when on road trips, I tend to plan my charge stops to happen when I'm needing to stop for food/bathroom/stretch anyway. With an EV on a road trip, I plug in, go do those other things, then come back to a "refueled" vehicle. With a gasoline vehicle, I have to go to the gas station, stand at the car while it refuels, then go do those other things. My total "stop time" is basically the same EV vs gas car.
Yes but for that comparison to make sense, what did you pay for the first 100% at home? Much less I’d imagine. Most EV charging is done at home which is a fraction of the price of rapid charging on the go. Especially if you have solar panels etc.
Exactly! The only difference for me is I go into work once a week. Charge the car to 100% and usually that’s it.
All free for me. It’s great that I have that perk. Does it offset the horrendous depreciation? No not on my mileage. But it helps.
Depreciation is the biggest issue with EV ownership here in the UK. It’s totally bonkers. Especially when you consider that EV’s will generally outlast an ICE car.
So what is causing that? The constant newer is better messaging is part of it. My car for example only does 150 miles. But modern EV’s do 300+. The range messaging is the number one marketing message. So even someone who never drives more than 50 on a round trip feels that a 150 mile range isn’t enough.
Funny thing is charging speed is much more important than range for those long road trips. Doesn’t matter if a car can do 300+ miles. My bladder (and tbh back) can’t. I want to get out and stretch my legs more often than that.
I recently took some EV road trips. I actually enjoyed the charging stops. Good excuse to hit the restroom and walk around a discount store without buying anything. It made the trips seem less hurried.
Agreed. You just have to pick your stops. There are plenty of options here these days. Stopping every couple of hours is certainly a safer way to drive.
It mostly comes down to the battery. While most EV batteries last 300–400k km—often outlasting 2 or even 3 owners—the idea that the battery is a single, expensive component scares people. If it fails outside of warranty, replacement can run between €10–20k depending on the model, which feels like half the car’s value, even if the likelihood is low.
Compare that to a full transmission replacement in a €40k ICE car, which might cost €6–8k. Not cheap, but somehow more familiar. People are just less comfortable with battery tech because it’s newer, and the unknown always seems riskier than it is.
This is becoming common and not just with EVs.
I remember buying a 28" Sony trinitron TV. I kept it for many years, as it's a TV. If it turns on, it works and doesn't need replacing.
Now, people spend loads on flat-screen TVs and replace them because the OS is out-dated, or they want full-HD, then 4K and now (for reasons which escape me - maybe my eyes aren't good enough) 8K. Some people replaced their TV because they wanted the curved version, or one with "3D" capabilities. Suckers.
Cars are becoming similar. You buy a car but replace it because the newer model has newer software, better AI, more cameras and parking features, longer range etc. The car itself is totally fine, but ... gadgets!
I'm still using an iPhone 11, but many people (no doubt over-represented on this forum) replace their iPhone each year but still, oddly, moan about how little the new model has improved over the older one. So they upgrade anyway, because ... new!
Once a product becomes like this, depreciation becomes an issue. Well, an issue for those who buy new; it's great for those who buy used. As for me, well, I'm also a sucker, because this year I'll probably buy the iPhone 17 instead of a used iPhone 16. Why? Because it's new! Damn commercialism.
Back on topic ... I don't currently own a car, living close to the centre of a European city which is cycleable and walkable. Last car I drove, I hired a hybrid (MG3 Hybrid). If I were to buy, I would try to go full electric simply because hybrid cars seem way too complex. People on forums complain that the MG3 has issues transitioning between its electric and petrol engines.
Only issue is that I live in an apartment and would need on-street charging. It's getting better here, but it's not quite there yet.
I'm not sure you are picking the right comparable part. To me, a full transmission replacement is the equivalent of replacing the drive units. It is tricky because an ICE also has axles, but I would say anything after the engine is the ICE "drive unit" while engine forward is the "power unit".
To me the battery is more in line with a full engine replacement. With many of the newer vehicles a full engine replacement is right on par with a manufacture battery swap. I know a replacement Hemi engine for my last Ram (refurbished) was $12k USD from the dealer. A replacement battery for my TM3/TMY is right around the same price (from Tesla).
Yes, you can get them done cheaper, which is where the 3rd party battery refurbish companies come in. It's just that it is new, and there aren't as many local garages that can do this. Yet...
Oh absolutely. People buy upgrades based on their wants not needs.
I want an electric car that can do 500+ miles and can charge in 5 minutes.
But seriously I couldn’t drive 500 miles without a decent stop.
I’m just planning a trip (for work). It’s 190 miles. Sat Nav says it’s 4:15 Tavel time (without a stop). No way I’m going 4 hours without a comfort break and stretch my legs. No way. So I’ll stop about halfway there. Hotel has EV charging. Then stop halfway home.
I’d agree. I watched a video last night of a mechanic fixing a battery. Part cost £150. Labour was about 4-5 hours. So that should be less than £1,000.
But take it to a main dealer and they will quote you for a battery swap.
Are people worried that after warranty an engine might blow up? I don’t know what an engine costs maybe less than a battery but expensive. The transmission and engine are the two biggest replacement costs in the vehicle and yet people don’t seem to fret.
That’s because it’s not publicised like battery failures are. You’d think everyone would know lots of people who have had it done given the amount of press it gets.
I wonder who benefits from that….
Took delivery on the Model 3 Long Range RWD today and man its sonfun to drive. Still getting used to walking away from a vehicle and not locking the doors, and definitely going tonspend more time navigating through the console and getting more familiar with everything
In ten years of EV ownership, including five years of being EV-only daily drivers (save for the "vacation use only" diesel pickup that was replaced three years ago with an EV) I have never had to replace an EV battery or motor. (And two of my EVs were purchased used with high miles, and were still on their original battery when I purchased them.) Probably 150,000-200,000 miles total EV miles driven.
Counting *ONLY* the three ICE vehicles I bought brand new, not the used ones, I've had to replace two engines. Those three ICE vehicles totaled about 200,000 miles between them. Only one of the two engine replacements was under warranty. (Thank you Hyundai 100,000 mile warranty! It was at 80,000 miles when it happened.)
Two engines? That's unlucky. I've never had to replace any on my cars. But I doubt the battery on my i3 will need replacing anytime soon either.
Yeah, the Hyundai was a complete fluke. The other one was the combustion engine on my BMW i3 Range Extended! Shouldn't have gotten the REx model! (It still drove just fine on battery, but was constantly throwing annoying errors until I got the REx fixed.)
Just one of the reasons they stopped offering the REX on the bigger battery model. I was never interested in the REX. Seemed the most fragile component in the set up.
Plus you have to get it serviced every year. Without the REX it’s every two years. When you keep your cars 5-10 years these things add up.
Yep. After that happened (out of warranty) we decided to upgrade to a 120Ah battery-only. Unfortunately, that was right when used cars were ridiculously expensive. We ended up getting a brand new Ford Mach-E for *LESS* than a used i3. I do miss the compactness of the i3, but the Ford is just so much more "usable." Maybe when there are third party battery upgrades for the i3 to get at least 200 miles, I'll buy a cheap one and get the battery upgrade.