A friend of mine was looking for a runabout for his wife and came across a new Fiat 500e selling at about 30% off Fiat’s list price:
Depreciation is the gradual use of an asset over its lifetime mostly for tax purposes which is not the same as its resale value which is affected by extrinsic factors such as inflation, price wars, and exchange rates.
Economic depreciation is different than accounting depreciation. In accounting depreciation, an asset is expensed over a specific amount of time, based on a set schedule.
Economic Depreciation: Definition, Vs. Accounting Depreciation.
The Captain
I’ve just wonder if you had purchased on of these six months earlier and then tried to sell it with 10,000 miles on the clock. What would that be worth? 50% off retail?
I’ve just found this 2023 model costing £13,644
It may just be this model that isn’t selling
One car is not data, it’s anecdote.
The Captain
2 Likes
“The average retail value of a used EV has increased in October following months of decline…”
DB2
Add to that the additional cost of tyres:
https://evfleetworld.co.uk/electric-car-tyres-bigger-and-more-expensive-than-ice-new-data-shows/
…and the need to replace them more often:
Not forgetting higher insurance costs
I just don’t understand the economics of EV
You save on brake disks… 
Let me help
The Economics of E-Mobility for Passenger Transportation.
There’s lots more on Google!
The Captain
2 Likes
Thanks captain
There is a great deal on Google but much of this doesn’t make sense to me as cost of running an EV seem to change every time I look. Just consider the price of electricity:
How much it costs to charge an electric car depends on where you charge it. To put it plainly: if you have off-street parking and a home charger, you’ll have access to the cheapest rates and you’ll save a considerable amount of money compared to paying for petrol or diesel…
…Those who can’t charge from home will have to rely on public charging points, which cost more. …
…The fastest way to charge an electric car is to use a public rapid or ultra-rapid charging point, but that’s also the most expensive way to keep your electric vehicle running. You could easily end up paying more per mile than a petrol or diesel car when using these chargers.
As clear as mud!
Do you have a car? If so figure out how much it cost you and figure out how much an EV would cost you. Step by step…
Can you charge at home?
etc.
etc.
The mud slowly recedes.
The Captain
3 Likes
…and how would i find the cost of a charge when away from home?
I’ve made up my mind and it’s not just the economics. I sometimes go somewhere about 100 miles away. An electric version of my car wouldn’t make it there and back without a charge - I’ve better things to do.
I’ve posted before about my buying my used Nissan Leaf. It is the cheapest transportation I’ve ever owned or ever will own. Amazing bargain.
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I’m pleased that it has worked out for you. I know two people with EVs. One said that it was the best thing he’d done and the other is getting rid.
You probably also know someone who bought a particular brand of car who loves it and another person who hates the same brand and will never get that brand again.
Do you also spend so much time trying to convince one or the other to change their opinions?
Mike
3 Likes
It varies, of course - but I’ve seen online that a good heuristic is that third-party charging is generally a little less than 3x the cost of residential off-peak electricity. YMMV. Maybe some of the EV drivers on the page can gut-check that.
Well, if you completely forget about the savings in fuel costs, it’s easy to get confused.
Whether that savings is fuel costs is enough to offset other higher costs is likely to be a case by case calculation. But completely ignoring it is a rookie mistake.
–Peter
That’s a bit higher than I’ve seen it, but it can be higher. I went from CA to Montana and back last summer and the Tesla Superchargers were almost all 33-37 cents/kwh and one was 17. The electric rates in CA vary from about 20-30 c/kwh for the lowest tiers. In Nevada it is about 18c. In MT the rates seem to be 10c for residential but 53c for commercial so I don’t see how Tesla was taking a loss on those chargers.
FYI, I found hotels that had free charging for ~half my charging, mostly in MT.
But more importantly it isn’t how much you are paying at a public charger compared to at home, but the comparison to gasoline. BEVs are generally 3x to 4x more efficient than a similar ICE car…just look at the EPA’s MPGe ratings. Mostly around 100 MPGe to 140 MPGe compared to the ICE fleet average of about 25 mpg.
And the comparison isn’t about the one worst case price you might pay, but your average over a year or the life of the car.
Mike
6 Likes
A previous link suggested that fuel costs could be higher depending on where you charge the car.
The biggest cost of any car is depreciation. which seems to be very high - 50% in the first year for a Fiat 500e.
I also value my time. I don’t know how long it takes to charge EV but I’ve no intention of hanging around doing it.
If you charge at home over night, it takes none of your time.
1 Like
Not only that, but if you calculate total time spent fueling over the entire year, in almost all cases, EV charging takes LESS time overall than ICE fueling. Amazing but true.
The other weird benefit of EV, mainly in the USA, not so much in other countries, is the presence of free chargers all over the place. That likely won’t last forever, but for now it is a pleasure, and I avail myself of them whenever possible. In comparison, I’ve never seen free gasoline available at a hotel, at a movie theater, at a local supermarket, etc. Maybe 100 years ago, when gasoline vehicles were the “new thing” places periodically had free gas?
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Repeatedly citing your own ignorance isn’t exactly a convincing argument.
-IGU-