Would Buying an Electric Vehicle Change Your Life for Better or Worse?
It’s not too often that any consumer can say that buying a car changed their life for better or worse. Sure, buying a house, or getting married, can change your life. But, typically, the only time a car really affects your life is when it has a lot of problems and costs an arm and a leg to keep it on the road. Unless you buy an electric car, which can completely change the way you look at daily motoring.
It will change the way you drive
No, this doesn’t mean you get to hang out in the fast lane and drive slow to get the most regenerative energy back to your battery while other people passive-aggressively, or active aggressively, hate you as they drive by.
This means that you will have to plan your routes and charge times accordingly and figure out when and where you will charge the car. Some cars get better range than others, like the Chevy Bolt or a Tesla, so it is possible to go about your daily tasks (like going to work, picking up the kids, running a bunch of errands, etc.) and still have plenty of charge left over. Then you can charge it up for the night and have a full battery in the morning.
It’s like having a full tank every day without having to go to the gas station. This is a perspective that many prospective electric car buyers tend to overlook. It’s not how long the range is, it’s how you use it.
It will make you richer
Unfortunately, buying an electric car won’t turn you into Warren Buffett overnight, but it will save you a lot of money in the long run. There are still Federal Tax incentives in place when purchasing an electric car, however, for 2020, the incentive until March 31st is $1,875. Yes, that’s a far cry from the $7,500 that it used to be, but let’s not cry over the past.
Federal credits aside, an electric car will save you money monthly on fuel costs. This Canadian blogger shared her experience in getting her Tesla Model 3, publishing that she saved over $1,000 in a 6-month span on fuel cost alone. Your mileage, and cost, may vary, but just know that switching to an electric car can save you money on the front and back ends of buying one.
It will make you more aware of the environment
OK, this one sounds a little tree-hugger, we know, but driving an electric car not only becomes a lifestyle, but it’s also a mindset. For example, have you ever had a friend that got into Crossfit and all they can talk about it how great it is? That’s because they not only changed their lifestyle, but they changed their mindset to stick with it.
It’s basically the same in owning an electric car, in that every time you drive it, you realize that you’re not driving a normal car. And the more you realize that you’re not contributing to crazy pollutants that regular cars are, and you’ve bought into what the future is probably going to look like, it makes you realize how much you’re doing for the planet as a whole. Even though it might seem small.
For better or worse?
As we illustrated here, buying into the electric car revolution will more often than not change your life for the better, as long as the battery range will accommodate your daily life. Considering most battery ranges now allow for 200-plus miles on a single charge, you’ll most likely be OK. Just don’t get one of the first-generation Nissan Leafs, those only had about 80 miles of range, in which case, you might be better off with a bicycle.
