Select Your Electric Car
Your Checklist
In my Book, Select Your Electric Car, I explain what an Electric Car is and its advantages. But, before you buy or lease any car it’s helpful to have a checklist. I provide a simple checklist in my book for Electric Cars. I’ll expand that checklist in this article. There are now about 70 electric cars, pickups, vans, etc that are available in the US. So, you might want to choose your top picks first based on does it align with my lifetyle, then, use a checklist. I fill out the checklist first because I might get surprised by some car that I wasn’t considering.
Back to reality. The first item on the checklist is “Can I Afford It?” Along with that question, “Can I Not Afford It?” That depends on if you’re buying it new or used. If you need to drive lots of miles on one charge, get a 2021 model or later. You might also get a better deal by leasing. And, now, there are several companies who convert gas cars to electric. If you already own your dream car, this might be the route for you. Though typically, most cars that are converted are luxury or ultra-luxury cars. Their are other options that are not cars, though you might only choose that option ever so often. I’ve written several books On the Road to Electric Vehicles and Beyond.
How available is this Electric Car? Do any dealers in the area carry it. Is someone local selling a used one? Can I buy it online? Do I have to buy it online? How long will it take to arrive? Can I wait that long? What’s the delivery charge? Can I take a trip and buy it? There are ways to buy some used cars from outside the United States. However, you might have to pick it up at the port. You might have to wait for it to go through customs. You’ll need to have it inspected to make sure it meets US requirements. You’ll probably have to pay Tariffs. I haven’t looked into all of that recently. Many years ago I shipped a car from the US to Saudi Arabia. So, I’ve been through that process once. I found out from people I worked with how to do that. I waited until I got word that I could pick it up. It was still in Customs. So, every three weeks I returned, waited for hours until the told me the same thing again. It took about 4 months total. It was worth the wait. Anyway, if you want those resources for where you can buy an electric car and have it shipped to you from outside the US. let me know.
If you’re buying a used Electric Car, does it meet your needs and wishes? If you are, don’t base your evaluation on the new model. Also, make sure that you’re buying the model that fits your needs. When I bought my Nissan Leaf, there were three models available. I chose the middle one since that’s what the Dealer had available. And, someone had added the option for 220V Charging (Level 2).
Can I find someone to maintain it? Mostly, you’ll want to have the battery checked (both the normal battery and the very large one) and you’ll want to have the tires rotated. I figured, once a year on both of those was good. There might be a few other yearly maintenance items. But, is there a dealer who can tell you what those are? Is there a manual? Is there a mechanic who will work on it who doesn’t work at a dealer? Is there are dealer who will work on any type (or your type) of Electric Car?
Can I get there from here? I would have bought an even older Leaf and saved even more money, but this was an issue. I didn’t know how to get it home. It didn’t have enough range. Once I got it home, I would be fine. I wouldn’t be taking long trips with it. As it turned out, I should have called the dealers who were selling the older cars and asked them how that was done. Turns out they might have some ideas. I probably would have had to pay to get it towed to my place. I would have still saved money. Now, there are many more places to charge your car. So, that’s often not as big of a deal. If your electric car has Level 1 charging, you can plug it into your 110 or perhaps the 110 of a RV Camping site. My neighbor has a couple of Electric Cars. He has an extra long charging cable because he doesn’t have a space to park in. So, there might be a solution to your situation. You just might need to get creative. I wanted level 2 charging at home. So, I had 220 installed in my garage with an RV Outlet. I figured, if I sold the house, the next person might have an RV and that might be a selling point. I would have had to buy a cable that I could plug into that outlet. But it was too much for my budget then and never happened. When estimating whether you can get from one place to the next on a full charge, use 80% of what the manufacturer says the range is, just in case. If you’re buying used, you might want to be more conservative, perhaps 75%.
Do you need to get through traffic faster? That’s one reason, I look for smaller cars when I’m buying a car. I can squeeze between the larger vehicles more easily. When I wrote Select Your Electric Car, there are a few skinny Electric Cars available. Perhaps, you can find a few of those for sale. I keep a spreadsheet of Electric Cars by size. If you’re looking for a smaller EV, you might want to look at a used Fisker Ocean or Arcimoto FUV. Chevy Bolt. Hyundai Kona – there were ½ a foot shorter when they first came out. A used BMW i3. Fiat 500e. If you would like more info, contact me.
Dale Stubbart | Author 130+ Books | Following Electric Cars for 50+ years | Stubbart.com