By Jane Dyer Anderson
Gas prices are high. CO2 content in the atmosphere is high. Governments are pushing bans on gas-powered cars, even though some scientists insist that the bans won’t do much to clear the air. Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) have slowed as the world enters 2024, but car makers are still churning them out, and environment-friendly people want to buy them.
Caution flag: There are some negatives to consider before applying for that car loan.
I have two friends who bought EVs. One bought a new Tesla with a large mileage range. No problem. Nevertheless, the owner is not going to plan big vacation trips in it. A vacation drive in an electric car requires a GPS map that pinpoints the charging stations. Charging stations are more important than hotels and food joints. Way more important. Cost of the Tesla was $70k. This friend is financially “comfortable.”
The other friend bought a 2015 Nissan Leaf, $10,500. Consumer Reports says it was only worth $6,500 – so doing your homework is a must! The 2015 battery offers a 70-mile range when new. When my friend bought it in 2023, the battery showed 62 on top charge. Within two months in hot summer weather, that top charge had dropped to 51. In 4 months, it had dropped to 41! In 6 months, it had dropped to 29, and a little orange light came on when ignition was started. The menu output said, “Motor Limited. Needs service. Take to dealer.”
The Nissan dealer said it would cost $15,000 for a new battery, and the Leaf owner would have to wait 9 months to get it. She already owed $11,500 for the car, warranty and fees. There was no way she could invest $15K more to get the car operational.
My wealthier friend wanted a trendy car with large battery capacity. She’s happy with her Tesla and happier still with thumbing her nose at high-priced gas. But buyers of new EVs should be aware that the estimated life of EV batteries is 5 to 10 years. The average is 8 years, and the mileage range will decrease as the car ages.
My Leaf friend wanted a dependable car with low mileage. The Leaf only had 60k miles on it. That would be incredible in a gas-powered, 8-year-old car. In a Leaf? Not incredible at all. A Leaf will not do big trips, so the previous owner or owners couldn’t pile on the mileage.
Writer Joe Wiesenfelder of cars.com says this: “The EV revolution has turned used-car buying on its head because what looks like a peach on paper — a few years with very low miles — could be a peach if it’s a conventional vehicle, but if it’s an EV, it might be a dud.”
There are other problems with EVs:
- Not only does the range shrink with age and hot or cold temperatures, the range is also inaccurate. Everything counts against the battery capacity: AC use, lights, turn signals, stopping and starting, etc. On my friend’s Leaf, every actual mile on the road used 1.5 battery miles.
- As the mileage capacity drops, the loss might speed up. My friend’s Leaf, for example, would record about 1.5 miles of use per mile until range dropped below 18. Then it would fluctuate quickly to 16, then 14, then 11, then back to 14, then to 8 and then flatline. She drove home in a fume-less fog of stress more than once.
- Fast-charging hookups degrade batteries, so Level 3 chargers have to be used sparingly. Level 3 chargers are the ones at most public charging stations. Twenty minutes on a Level 3 will get the car moving – but at a cost to the battery.
- Charging stations at any level are hard to find. EVs have GPS menus listing the charging stations. Some zip codes have NONE. This means you can’t go there if it’s over your round-trip limit. We’re used to gas stations on every other corner. That frequency has yet to happen with chargers. In the future, perhaps gas stations will have lines of chargers – but bring a book!
- Charging stations are often inoperable. In a column by Joanna Stern in the Wall Street Journal, her personal search for operable charging changes in the Los Angeles area showed that 13 out of 40 non-Tesla charging stations were out of order. Other did not accept credit cards (!) They asked for cash but did not have a port for inserting cash (!) Some were incompatible with the make of vehicle. Imagine how frustrating it would be to pull into a charging station with only 5 miles left, only to discover that the machine wouldn’t work!
- An ordinary cord with a charger nozzle takes a lot of time: 24 to 27 hours for a full charge (up to 62, for example). It’s almost imperative to install at home a Level 2 charger that requires just 3-to-4 hours. Some electricity companies offer financial help on these chargers, but the installation has to be done by their designated companies and done their way with inspections. In other words, customers have to be ready to pay out of pocket until the public assistance comes through – if the customer goes through all the hoops. Installation will cost between $1,800 and $3,500.
- Forgetfulness. Ah yes, forgetfulness. The driver has to push the charger button on the inside of the car and then remember to hook up on the outside. It’s that second stage that must be remembered. It’s tragic to discover there is no mileage when you’re on your way to work the next morning.
- There is a shortage of mechanics who know how to work on EVs. Drivers have to track EV shops online and may find a huge Catch22. The battery installers, for example, might be many miles away. How does one get there if the mileage capacity is limited? The rest stops (with chargers) are sometimes farther apart then that – and may not work!
- Personal stress. We all know about freak accidents. High gas prices. Mechanical breakdowns. But not knowing when the car will quit because the battery alert is flashing is a huge stress. Every drive must be evaluated for mileage. Grocery trips and odd stop-ins have to be done on the way to something else. If someone needs a ride to the Emergency Room? Forget it! The car is on the charger.
- Drivers should be aware that EV batteries occasionally catch fire. According to the Wall Street Journal, fire departments don’t know how to put out these fires. Water doesn’t work. Chemical foam doesn’t work. A heavy blanket only works partially because LED batteries have a chemical reaction that actually supplies more oxygen to the fire. Firemen are being advised to let the fires burn themselves out. Owners can only hope fire doesn’t occur in their garages.
- Finally, No. 11: Know thyself. How important is it to be able to drive to Las Vegas for a night at the casinos? Or to your grandchildren’s house 350 miles away? Or take a ski trip to Aspen from your cozy home in Colorado Springs? Maybe you won’t actually do any of these things – but would you feel inhibited about not being able to? Most of us have deep-seated feelings about the freedom that car travel offers. That’s why our roads are crowded with cars. If you live in the suburbs without subways, ever-present taxis or frequent public buses, you might NEED an all-around car to feel good about life.
People should be wary of buying into idealistic concepts like clean air and greener earth. Reality is still real. Car salesmen sure as hell aren’t going to advise you. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California and President Biden aren’t going to go into practical details. But we, the drivers, still need cars that go the distance. Science literally has to rescue us here. Alternatives to gas must be found, but they will have to be alternatives that serve our lives.
EV downsides now make $4-a-gallon gas look good.
