Gas, electric or hybrid

There is a lot to be said about this (if I was handy enough to do it)
But, repairs are much cheaper and easier on older cars, and many newer cars the repairs are “proprietary” and extremely limited on who can repair.

Nobody else built their own charging netowork

In my area, it is rare to ever see anyone using them. I’d estimate that for every 100 chargers I pass in town, there is only one car actually using them.

Despite my long commute (60 miles each way mostly at 80 MPH), i can’t wrap my head around having a EV. While my normal daily mileage is at least 120 miles (6 of these miles are down poor gravel roads), it often exceeds 200 miles per day several times a week. On top of that it is probably at least once a month my daily miles exceeds 300. Range anxiety is probably a real issue. For me, the last thing I want to do on my way home from work is wait an extra 30 minutes for a charge. Advertised range is likely much lower than real life when your blaring the heat or AC while driving 80-85? There are plenty of charging stations in the city but the closest one I know of to my house is 35 miles away.

When I did some renovations on the house years ago, I did installed some 50 amp outlets in the unlikely event that I ever do get one. I just see them as glorified golf cart that can go highway speeds. It probably is fine for city folks but not great for the country folks that do way more driving than city people. Most major box stores are over 30 miles away from my house. There are no charging stations in small town Oklahoma.

At the end of the day, even with high gas prices, I can’t make it work for me. I drive used cars that get 30 mpg that are reliable and cheap to DIY repair. I don’t carry full coverage so my insurance is cheap. The vehicles are cheap and the repairs are cheap. The only thing that is not cheap currently is the gas bill is $400/mo for just my daily car. My wife’s is about that much as well. What is really adding up is the gas for the V10 dually as she is hauling 3-4 horses multiple times a week for lessons and trail riding. I don’t see the Ford Lightening measuring up for that task. Not a single charging station is setup for charge a truck with trailer.

And everything tied into the damned computer.

Bought a new Honda with basic trim five years ago, with a plan to install my own aftermarket powered gate lift and a few other things.

Turns out, the powered lift is tied heavily into the computer system, and it’s way more expensive to do it aftermarket than to have bought the higher trim to begin with.

That really pissed me off. We went without the luxury add-on. Better for muscle maintenance this way. :slight_smile:

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Bought a 2006 Chrysler Sebring back in 2008. Still have the vehicle, getting close to 150,000 miles.

Probably not the best rated vehicle as far as car repairs goes. Over the years, nothing major has gone wrong.

With labor rates around 130 to 140 dollars…repairs can be pricey. Not able to do repairs myself. YouTube or not would not help me.

End of the day, I use a car for getting me from point A to point B.

Just about any BEV is a lot less complex than an ICE vehicle. But I understand the advantages of a DIY approach to cars I was one myself until I reached my mid-70’s.

My maintenance costs is not much. Oil changes are $25, tires changes are $300, other repairs are typically less than $100. I buy oil in bulk, oil filters by the case, and I keep an inventory of maintenance items on my shelf. It takes me less time to DIY most repairs than it would take to drive to the shop. I can’t do much on modern vehicles other than change the wiper blades.

A couple months ago, I had vibration from warper rotors on my Avalon. I pulled them off and turned them down on my brake lathe. Repair cost was $0 and less than 2 hours of time. Outside of machine shop type of work, I can DIY just about everything. My home shop is furnished with a 2 post lift, tons of tools, and a TV. Its my home away from home.

Here is a pic of my current project. Its currently in a million parts.

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$300 each?

That’s a nice setup, i was stuck with a floor jack, jack-stands and a creeper in my shade-tree mechanic days.

My first reaction to hybrid EVs was that they had too many moving parts, but it appears they are comparible to new ICE cars in reliability. We may get one when we replace our 2017 Santa Fe in a year or so.

I have a 2019 Mazda CX5 that is the best car I’ve ever owned. I rarely get on the freeway - hell, I rarely drive the car. I’ve spent less than $300 on gas this year since my bike really is my primary mode of transport. I’ve thought about getting an e-cargo bike to take to the grocery store, but the kind I would want is about $5,000 and that’s a little steep for a once a week ride.

Plus, would your cyclist group ever forgive you if they saw you riding around on an ebike? :wink:

But they have seen me. Over half the riders now have an ebike. My bike (red) and the yellow bike are Specialized Creo road ebikes. There is no throttle so if you don’t pedal, you don’t go anywhere.

I have been thinking of getting my kid an ebike for getting to school. Currently depending on me.

That is what a set costs. I just bought 2 tires on Monday for my MIL avalon. It was a touch over $150 for 2 tires. I pick them up and DIY mounting and balancing. I also don’t get the additional tire insurance that is a major scam. I don’t buy high dollar tires because in my experience, they don’t justify the higher cost. My $300 tire changes typically last 35-40K miles. Gravel roads will destroy expensive tires just as easy as cheap tires. FWIW, the Douglas tires at Walmart are made by Goodyear.

That is how the passenger tires are. The LT tires on my trucks are way more expensive but typically less than $125 per tire.

Trailer tires are also fairly cheap. I have 20 tires on cars and trucks (plus spares), 22 trailer tires (plus spares), 4 tires on motorcycles, and another 12 on tractors and equipment. As you can imagine, I buy a lot of tires and DIY tire machines make sense. Typically it is $25/ tire for mounting and balancing and $25 for flats.

Do your research on them. Anything with an electric motor and pedals is being marketed as an “ebike”. In many states (California among them) if it goes faster than 20 mph but less than 30 with just a throttle, it’s a moped, and they must be registered and the rider must have a license. If it goes over 30 mph, it’s a motorcycle. How old is your kid? Not many kids here want pedal assist ebikes…they want a throttle and they want a motor that is torquey enough for them to do wheelies. And those aren’t “ebikes”.

He’s 18 and has a driver’s license, but not a car. I’ve been holding out buying him a car until he has some skin in the game.