Are Electric Cars Worth It? (EV vs. Gas Cost Comparison)

Are electric cars worth it? We put EV vs. gas cars to the test to see whether or not swapping your gas guzzler for an electricity eater would be a better decision for the long term. Thankfully, we don’t have just Mindy joining us for this, we also have her husband, Carl Jensen, who is our go-to electric vehicle fanboy and solar panel aficionado.

Mindy and Carl calculate the factor-by-factor cost of owning an electric car vs. a gas car by looking at the difference in original purchase price, charging cost vs. gas cost, maintenance and repair cost, and which will save you more in your car-buying journey. You’ll also see who should (and shouldn’t) buy an electric vehicle right now and the reason why EVs may boast even bigger benefits in the near future.

Is an electric vehicle worth the cost in your eyes? Are you focused more on the cost-efficiency of an electric vehicle or would you be willing to pay more to have a faster, more futuristic car? Let us know in the comments below!

~~~~
Join BiggerPockets for FREE 👇
~~~~
Listen to The BiggerPockets Money Show:
~~~~
Check out Our Video on Solar Panels:
~~~~
Watch Mindy and Carl’s Recent Spending Summary:
~~~~
Your Car Is an Expensive, Health-Sucking, Time-Wasting Machine:
~~~~
9 in 10 Homebuyers Want ‘Green’ Features (& Will Pay More for Them):
~~~~
Hear More from Carl:
~~~~
Connect with Carl and Mindy on BiggerPockets:

00:00 Is Now the Right Time to Buy an EV?
02:16 Purchase Price
03:21 Charging vs. Gas
04:23 Maintenance and Repairs
04:48 Which is Cheaper in the Long Run?
07:24 Should You Trade In for an Electric Car?
07:53 Why NOT To Buy an EV
10:06 Why You SHOULD Buy an EV

[jjoven]

Its not fair comparison comparing a 60k EV to 36k SUV.
Compare it to an ID.4 or Kia Niro EV. It cost 40k (plus 7.5k tax incentives) it nets 32.5k.
Comparing similar MSRP SUV plus tax incentive and free charging, then EV makes sense.
ID.4 and Niro both qualifies to free charging for 24-36 months to electrify america and $7500 tax credit

[barshalom]

I'm surprised nothing mentioned about auto insurance. EVs have extremely high premiums. Also it depends which car brand you drive. My debt-free, cheap to operate, 21-year old Honda Accord is still running like a champ. I'll stick with my ICE car.

[bjornlilja]

International viewer here, so please disregard this if irrelevant to the US:
* You did not include incentives both on buying the car and owning it (In many countries you pay a yearly tax for your car, paying way more for gas cars yearly)
* I don’t think you accounted for the higher price of the EV once you sell it?
* What will the value of a gas car be 3-6 years from now in this period of fast shifts towards EV:s? Hard to factor in but probably relevant at this particular point in time.

Really good that you make these videos, thanks.

[bilysquier]

One additional thought; what will an electric vehicle be worth in 10 years if you have to replace all of the batteries? I hear they're pretty expensive, like many, many thousands of dollars. You don't have that issue with a used car.

[t.h.nguyen]

You two are two peas in a pod, a perfect match, witty, funny, and nerdy--an excellent complement! We need to see you two together! How about hybrid vs. gas?

[william_rc]

Thanks for this video. Interesting things to think about

[Jhernandez]

Can someone who has had both do a spreadsheet with maintenance cost+fuel vs time? The numbers would make so much more sense when it comes to this stuff.

[pioneer]

Referring to 7:25, I would say someone driving a fuel innefecient vehicle is not an extreme situation, it's a very common situation for US drivers that have bought SUV's in the past decade. The numbers for a Tahoe to a Model Y are $3, 000 per year in fuel alone, then add on maintenance. There are about 100, 000 Tahoe sales per year, and over half a Million full size SUV sales per year as of 2019. That's a lot of gas guzzlers on the road.

[NathanGesner]

There are many factors to consider. Electricity is cheap now, but I don't expect it to stay that way as demand skyrockets due to electric vehicles and our other technologies. And as government starts losing money at the gas pump, they will make up for it by increasing electricity taxes.

[pioneer]

I've been driving only EV for the last couple years primarily. We have a second service in our detached garage with discounted electricity. We get about 3 cents per mile. In our state we're at 52% non fossil fuel electricity so fairly low carbon emissions. And we pay to have 100% wind energy to boot. I'd say when you're doing your cost ownership comparison you should look at depreciation for gas cars vs electric. Since electric is the future as you say, gas cars are likely to experience worse residual values, and that is supported by the evidence of gas vs EV residual values. That along with fuel savings should tip the scales for most cases.

[madderscience]

"If you are an average person" - The average person doesn't (yet) buy electric. Its coming though.