Wednesday, September 06, 2017

electric vs gas powered car... which one costs more per mile to power? The gas car, by about 3 times as much as the electric car

A gallon of regular gas today costs an average of $2.70, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Residential electricity costs on the other hand, only average $.11 per kilowatt hour (again, according to the EIA). Nissan says a full charge of their Nissan Leaf electric car will cost $2.75.

It seems like the cost is about the same, but you've got to dig into the math more: on a full charge, a Nissan Leaf will travel about 100 miles (160.9 kilometers). On one gallon of gas, a Nissan Versa will go about 30 miles (48.3 kilometers). Covering 100 miles (160.9 kilometers) in the Versa will cost about $9.00.

Ok, so it's cheaper to roll down the road...

Which is cheaper to insure? A gas or an electric model of the same car?

I can only think of one car that has both versions of the same model, the Fiat 500.

I just called my cool Allstate insurance guy, and if I bought a gas engine Fiat 500, I'd save 25 dollars a month. If I bought an electric Fiat 500, my insurance would go up 20 dollars a month.

Over a year, the electric would cost 540 dollar more than the gas car. So, electric car has to be cheaper to power than the gas to make up for the increased insurance cost.

So, it's about a dollar a day more to drive an electric due to insurance. (consider that you don't drive a car every day, and maybe, you only drive it to work 5 days a week, just ballpark estimate and averages)

Which one is cheaper for maintenance... like front end alignment, or whatever... I don't even know what the differences might be. Engine and transmission vs battery pack and motors? I guess so. It's probably far less likely to replace the power train in an electric, and far more likely to have to replace an engine or transmission

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/are-electric-cars-cheaper-to-run.htm
https://avt.inl.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/fsev/costs.pdf

3 comments:

  1. Did the insurance agent say why it was so much more for the electric version?

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    Replies
    1. the battery pack costs if the car is damaged, but repairable

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    2. They didn't specify, but I suppose the possibility of going over things that gut the battery pack but don't damage the body

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