Rethinking ELECTRIC or HYBRID as my next car purchase (1 Viewer)

[Clinton McClure]

Q: about plug-in EVs. Do they require ventilation while charging like a golf cart? For instance, you have to leave your garage door partially open so your garage / house doesn’t fill with hydrogen?

 

[DaveF]

Ron, what is it you want from a car?

You lease cars for 1-3 years but are worried about 10 year battery life?

You drive full-size / SUB luxury cars like Lexus and Cadillac but are talking about a mid-size, mid-range Honda CRV?

You talk about having to buy right now but you’ve got 8 months on a lease, and you could just do another short term lease?

And what’s your driving needs? Are you driving around town or doing big cross-country trips? Are you East Coast with lots of chargers or heading into areas slim on charging? Do you plan to drive a lot? Do you even need a car anymore? What’s your budget? Are you giving up leasing and planning to buy one car for the next decade?

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Ron, what is it you want from a car?

You lease cars for 1-3 years but are worried about 10 year battery life?

You drive full-size / SUB luxury cars like Lexus and Cadillac but are talking about a mid-size, mid-range Honda CRV?

You talk about having to buy right now but you’ve got 8 months on a lease, and you could just do another short term lease?

And what’s your driving needs? Are you driving around town or doing big cross-country trips? Are you East Coast with lots of chargers or heading into areas slim on charging? Do you plan to drive a lot? Do you even need a car anymore? What’s your budget? Are you giving up leasing and planning to buy one car for the next decade?

Dave,

Leasing is a bad option for me these days. I look at $50k luxury vehicles and to lease them and get an affordable monthly payment you have to throw down at least $10k (if not more). That's not a very good way to own a vehicle only to have to turn it back in after 3 years and start the process all over again.

Yes, there are always really nice lease offerings, but always on base models. Once you load them up with extras, that attractive lease price escalates.

So, I am looking to purchase and hold on to the vehicle for at least 10 years. And, while the battery will last me for that amount of time, how efficient will it be in 10 years and how much will the car depreciate because it needs a new battery before it can be resold?

I never said I have to buy right now. With 8 months left on my current lease, it's time to start thinking. There are going to be quite a few 2022 vehicle announcements over the next few months. If I decided to go for, let's say the Lexus NX it's going to be a long wait for inventory and I would have to visit the dealership months before my current lease is up to put a deposit on it.

To answer your questions...

1. I do mostly around-town driving. Couple times a year I drive 550 miles between NJ and NC. Cross-country trip is on the bucket list but I may just rent a car for that. We will see.

2. I am not certain what the charger situation would be, but I could charge a hybrid plug-in overnight from my garage 120v outlet.

3. What is my budget? I put a lot of money away for my dream vehicle which I thought would be a BMW. Over the years I read horrible things about their overall dependability so I gave up on wanting one.

Here is where I could use some advice from someone who knows how to manage money. Normally, I would talk to my financial advisor to get his opinion but I haven't gotten to that point yet...

I have $80k saved for a dream car.

What I plan to do is put $30-40k down for a $52k vehicle, take the remaining $40k, and invest it so that in 10-12 years it might almost double and I have a sizeable down payment (or full purchase amount) for the next car.

In essence, I am trying to get 20-25 years between two vehicles and $80k. I don't mind the car payments if they are in the $300 per month range. Sure, I would love to just pay full price for a vehicle and not have a car payment, but with my expensive taste I don't think I can stretch my savings that far.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I don't drive enough to satisfy any urge to own a luxury vehicle. IMO, it's a poor investment for my circumstances and that's coming from someone that retired from GM after 36 years. Since the pandemic, my driving has been even less now. I think I logged less than 2500 miles in the last 12 months. I don't enjoy driving any longer as there are far too many terrible drivers on the road. It just drives me nuts, no pun intended.

Anyhow, good luck on your purchasing venture.

 

[Sam Posten]

The 300-mile rating would be perfect for your drives between NJ and Maryland.

Yeah that's a real conservative effort using 1000 pound towing payload. Actual range in use seems to be in excess of 400 miles which is close to getting me round trip to NJ if I needed to without charging.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Ron,

You really should run the financial aspects of this past your financial advisor, as there are many variables based on your investments, savings, tax planning, cash flow, etc. that only someone intimately familiar with your situation can answer.

That being said, with electric vehicle technology still changing so fast, I personally wouldn't feel comfortable dropping the amount of cash you are talking about for a 10 year plan of owning such a luxury vehicle. I still think a lease is the best approach for this rapidly changing technology. That's much different than buying gasoline technology that's been around for over a century.

Personally, we purchase our vehicles and try to keep them for at least 8 years. We've gotten to the point where we can just pay cash for them, but we don't buy high end luxury vehicles. We are still buying gas cars, and probably will have at least one such vehicle for many years due to us traveling between our Michigan and South Carolina homes.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Ron,

You really should run the financial aspects of this past your financial advisor, as there are many variables based on your investments, savings, tax planning, cash flow, etc. that only someone intimately familiar with your situation can answer.

Scott, absolutely! Plan to do exactly that!

 

[DaveF]

I have $80k saved for a dream car.

What I plan to do is put $30-40k down for a $52k vehicle, take the remaining $40k, and invest it so that in 10-12 years it might almost double and I have a sizeable down payment (or full purchase amount) for the next car..

That sounds like a plan! I don’t know your retirement finances of course, but I’m guessing that a nigh-$100k car is a huge luxury at this point.

As you suggest, you might be well served to get an efficient car for around town errands, and then rent something nice for trips.

If you’re most mostly doing in-town driving, an EV hybrid with 30 mile range might work for you. A friend just bought the VW ID4 (I think) that’s of that ilk and he loves it. Most driving is battery only. The downside is you have to both charge he battery and fill the fast tank. It is not self-charging.

Your real challenge is your own tastes: being able to step down from driving luxury cars with 3-year upgrade cycles for the past 20 years and settling into a Honda CRV for the next decade. Good luck with that!

 

[David Norman]

Your real challenge is your own tastes: being able to step down from driving luxury cars with 3-year upgrade cycles for the past 20 years and settling into a Honda CRV for the next decade. Good luck with that!

I don't think Ron ever mentioned the CRV for his own use. It feels like several conversations are being melded unless I missed a switch from the beginning of the thread. Anything related to the CRV was from my side of the table and my situation

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I don't think Ron ever mentioned the CRV for his own use. It feels like several conversations are being melded unless I missed a switch from the beginning of the thread. Anything related to the CRV was from my side of the table and my situation

Correct. I was never considering a Honda CRV.

I will say, it's very difficult to step down from a luxury vehicle to a normal car.

In 2018 I got myself into a Honda Accord. The car drove really well and despite being a hybrid, had great acceleration.

Problem was, the stereo system was just awful. Additionally, the speakers buzzed constantly and there were occasional creaking noises in the vehicle. I was really floored this was coming from Honda, but I got rid of the car as soon as I can for a loss and got back into a Lincoln.

 

[DaveF]

Ok. I was skimming the thread and you were talking about the CRV and RAV4. I misunderstood and thought you were looking at them as options.

 

[DanH1972]

Wow. Thanks for that information, David. I had thought all the European and Asian vehicles required high-octane fuel.

That’s very good news!!!

I don’t think, until GM produces a million-mile battery, that electric is the clear alternative for most.

At best, I would put a lot of thought into the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) from Lexus.

Purchasing is really the only choice for a $50k+ vehicle. Otherwise, to lease, you have to put a lot of money down just to get affordable monthly payments.

I’d rather put 50-60% down on a vehicle I plan to purchase, thus reducing loan interest and getting small payments. I walk away owning the vehicle and having a little residual for trade-in at some point down the road. So, hopefully, the Mark Levinson upgrade makes sense in that case.

If you live in high altitudes, especially, your car will work just fine with even 85 octane gas. The mark of a poorly engineered fossil fuel burning engine is one that can only function properly with high octane premium gasoline.

I drive a Subaru and it works at 85 or 87, so I get the lowest octane gas available wherever I go.

 

[Scott Voth]

I have never had good luck getting the maximum battery life out of anything battery powered - probably because you have to follow strict charge and discharge routines and I don't. That has biased me against EVs from the start along with the fact that I like V-8 powered cars and trucks. That said, the F-150 Lightning does interest me and I am in the market for a new truck. My main problem would be charging it. I live in a small town that is not likely to get charging stations anytime soon and a full sized truck will not fit in my garage. My current truck is parked on a public street in front of my house so I just don't see a practical way of charging it. On top of that Ford just isn't offering much choice in configuration compared to other F150s. You have one choice a short bed crew cab while I want a 6.5 ft bed and smaller extra cab. Being in my 60s, retired, and not putting much mileage on my vehicles it's possible my next vehicle may be my last so I'm most likely staying with IC technology since it doesn't have the compromises EV does.

 

[DaveF]

Found an affordable EV with range to get me to work!

Tesla announces all-electric $1,900 Cyberquad for kids

It has 15 miles of range and a 10mph top speed.

www.theverge.com