Featured Trump tariffs put the US auto industry in disarray

our solar proposals were 10 year breakeven, but that included projected electricity price increases

 

That usually requires PUC authorization, so it would be interesting to see how they came up with that number/percentage????? Sorry; I'm stupid and don't believe salesmen that pull numbers out of their asset...........

 

i don't believe them either. plus, when you figure the time value of money, as chap did above, it's a much longer breakeven.
feels good is about all you can say for it, unless you have the perfect situation

 

Thank you all for your replies. This confirms my believe that going EV does not have much economical advantage over owning a Prius, at least for most people living in my area.

Recently many people here are talking about buying EVs before the federal tax credit expires. One main motivation is the low operation cost of EVs, especially for people with rooftop solar pannels (in California putting a solar roof for houses built after Jan 2020 is a mandate, not an option). However, this is not necessarily true.

After paying over $20k for our 4.8 kW solar roof, we found out that the solar mandate is practically a scam. The solar roof becomes a cheap power generator for the utility company. Home owners will never recoup their investment in solar, like many people have said in this thread.

Now they promote the installation of a storage battery system to "save". I don't want to be fooled twice. IIRC, someone did a online calculation and concluded that the actual cost of using a battery storage system is about $0.50/kWh.

 

You can ignore the orders of magnitude more common pedophiles like the sociopath in Chief.

That “illegal” nonsense is exactly what is needed by the all too common MAGAts. A shiny distraction not evident in true sex abuse CASES. Perhaps once studied in law?

Bob Wilson

 

It's always better to work out the math yourself. Under PG&E, it's a toss-up. They are charging around $0.30+/KwH and need to make-up the difference in all the lawsuits for deferred maintenance and the damaged that has caused.
I don't believe there's a mandate on minimum solar footprint; so a few panels on the roof fulfills the mandate. If it's pointed in the right direction is another discussion. It was a good idea, when it was purposed during our energy crisis - self inflicted by the way, the devil lies in the details.....

YMMV

If you do buy an EV; a good used one would be a better bang for the bucks. Have you seen how fast they depreciate??? Let someone else take the hit....... I think you got till the EOM for a 4K federal discount on a used one for less than $25K. Please double-check; I haven't really looked since I'm not in the market for one.

 

The sequence-of-investments, of course, gives a different result based on the timing.

I got the $679,852.04 by adding to the investment $3,300 once each year, at the end. Adding it once each year at the beginning grows to $755,859.50.

Adding, more realistically, a twelfth the yearly amount once each month at the end grows to $714,022.31. (I disregarded different month lengths.)

 

i put my 28 grand in a 10 year bond at 4%

we purchased a chevy bolt 2 years ago for $23,500. after tax credits.
it's a blast to drive, and i don't miss gas stations. but at 40 cents/kwh, the breakeven with our hycam is around $3.50 for gas, so the bolt is costing me money, and i wouldn't want to bother with the fuss of long trips.

 

Your lucky you didn't buy a Cyber-truck, EV Hummer, Ford Lighting - I'm pretty sure they're getting worst than 4-miles/KwH

 

Thank you @BiomedO1 . PG&E has an EV cost calculator online. Assume 12k miles/year drive and $1200/year electricity usage without EV, a Model Y will add $1073 to the electricity bill if it is always charged in their least expensive off-peak period (12 AM - 3 PM). This works out to be $0.0894/mile.

For a 2026 Prius trim LE with 57 MPG, Model Y will break even in fule/electricity cost at $5.09/gallon. This does not even include the 5% Costco gasoline discount. At the current gasoline price in California, Model Y will cost more to drive in terms of fuel/electricity cost.

As for the solar roof mandate, the required kW is determined by the size of the house. For new houses, the builder has gotten it figured out already. Purchasers don't have a choice.

Yes, I agree with you. EVs don't look like a good choice for us.

 

Or you were lucky enough to receive something from a relative that passed away and had the discipline not to spend it..

Or you had a saving ethic and lived for your entire working life below your means. And even saved in retirement.

Don't chase the latest thing. Drive a modest car and keep it as long as it is reliable.. Buy a house that needs some work. As a family, work multiple jobs. Kids work during the summer. At Xmas time. And even starting as a frosh in high school after school..

Be lucky enough to get into a profession/job that pays.

Be lucky enough to be healthy. And one partner needs to work where there is health insurance you can take into retirement.

If married, stay married to someone who shares the same values about money.

This past weekend I paid a landscaper more per hour than I ever made to do some work I couldn't do for medical reasons.. We pay a house cleaner who quit her job as a legal assistant to clean houses because it paid more.

 

Does it matter if your solar is generating free for your ev? Or is it more preferable to get a 10 MPG 4x4 high torque Diesel pick up - talking apples to apples.
Just saying if your need is what it is, one may be cheaper than the other to operate. ymmv

 

1. My lifetime gas powered fuel cost per fuelly is 7.3 cents a mile for a hybrid Rav4. I fuel up for 450 miles any time of day or night darn near anywhere.
2. Price a Rav4 and a Model Y and tell me how many miles it would take to recover the purchase price excess of the EV. I paid $37.5k for a loaded top of the trim levels with every option they offered except a moon roof which I didn't want. Maybe $42k today. And yes it drives me down the Interstate when I want it to. And I drive when I want.
3. Add in any electrical wiring changes necessary to support home charging to the price of the Y.
4. Deduct the tax benefit from your state or US taxes from the cost of the EV.
5. Deduct the manufacturer specified maintenance costs for the first 100k miles for the hybrid from the cost of the Y.
6. Add the cost difference of two sets of tires for the hybrid and the EV to the cost of the Y.

My wife's car gets better MPG than mine does. Cost less too.

 

Good advice, but I'm not sure it's enough on today's economy. I feel I love a rather modest lifestyle, yet the goal of owning a house seems forever out of reach. The cheapest 2 bedroom home around would be almost my entire paycheck. I only had to car payments in my whole 37 years of driving and currently don't have one. We don't eat out, we don't have Netflix or any other such subscriptions, we but our clothes at the second hand store. I might be able to save for retirement, if rent doesn't put us out of a home.

 

Interesting...they said the same thing back then. Sacrifice is part of life. It's true...I didn't/don't to get to sit around enjoying as much time with my family and friends as I would have liked, but I did get off my azz and worked hard to go from street bum to rich. That choice was mine and if I had it to do all over...I would have started much earlier. No one is to blame for one's station in life...but themselves.

 

There are only three in that range: Lucid, Ionic6, and Model 3.

Bob Wilson

 

So you worked 80 hours or more a week?
Good for you.

 

I have...and more...when needed. Nothing's free and life's not fair.

 

Well good for you.

I'd get a divorce and put my kids into foster care first. I'm already leaving home while everyone is asleep and coming back to everyone getting ready for bed. Doing more is pointless. It's house or family, not both.

 

I converted $60,000 TSLA stock that paid no dividends into a solar roof and making -$135, non-taxed, cost avoidance per month, $1,620/year.

Over the next 25 years, more than $49,000 because the Trump inflation will only compound my savings.

Bob Wilson