The Nissan Leaf is a shockingly good deal right now if you can deal with the limited range. We got it as a second car, and the deal was $2,500 down, $200 per month for three years. And California has a $2,500 subsidy that effectively drops the price to $0 down if you income-qualify. And PG&E has a $500 subsidy, and they'll also lower your rates.
If you get all the subsidies, you're looking at less than $2,500 per year. I think that most people will save $500+ on gas and oil changes and PG&E rates, so for the three years, let's say that you pay $6,000 all in.
Essentially any new car will lose $6,000 in value over three years. You could lower your TCO by buying used, for sure, but if you care about worn finishes, little QOL things like bluetooth audio and reasonably good climate control, and lower risk of inconvenient maintenance, then I think the Leaf is pretty amazingly good.
IF you can deal with a 90 mile range. That's the big killer. But as a second car or for some people, it's kind of amazing.
Are you saying that PG&E's EV-A rate is "lowering" your rates?
I think that's only true from 11pm-7AM, which obviously is good if you're charging an EV, but it compensates by raising your daytime rates, which isn't a good deal for most people with more traditional domestic electric workloads.
So I wouldn't exactly interpret this as a straightforward "lower your rates". Or am I missing something?
It depends entirely on your schedule. There are a lot of people who are at work/commuting from 8-6 every weekday. IF no one is home during those hours, your power usage drops to just maintenance power for fridges and the like. The hours from 6pm-10pm are a bit of a challenge, but with some minor load shifting (start the dishwasher and clothes dryer at 10pm before bed), you can get some savings on TOU.
A few years back SCE had a EV-TOU plan that was peak hours only from 10am-6pm, and it was very easy to save money on that plan.
My attempts to be terse were misleading. We have very little daytime electricity use, as our house is empty during the day. I apologize if I misled anyone.
No worries! I just bought an electric car and have been investigating this intensively, I genuinely wanted to know if I’d missed a better option than EV-A!
Right now with our relatively limited driving, it appears E6 is better for me, but I’m sure if you drive enough, the 50% discount at night is worth it.
If you get all the subsidies, you're looking at less than $2,500 per year. I think that most people will save $500+ on gas and oil changes and PG&E rates, so for the three years, let's say that you pay $6,000 all in.
Essentially any new car will lose $6,000 in value over three years. You could lower your TCO by buying used, for sure, but if you care about worn finishes, little QOL things like bluetooth audio and reasonably good climate control, and lower risk of inconvenient maintenance, then I think the Leaf is pretty amazingly good.
IF you can deal with a 90 mile range. That's the big killer. But as a second car or for some people, it's kind of amazing.