I know haters are gonna hate, so if you must...

But I'll shrug off the hate and pay attention only to the serious answers.

I'm closing on a new home Friday. When I first viewed it, I noticed it included a charging station for electric vehicles.

Well, I work and play not five miles from my home. And few of the roads I travel during a normal week are highways, so I'm now considering purchasing a used, cheap EV to complement my very enjoyable 2014 Mercedes-Benz E350 Coupe 4Matic.

I checked around and found a local independent dealer that has a couple of Smart ForTwo Electric Drive cars for sale. They are both 2015 models, one-owner (CarFax) car with less than 20K on them. One is listed at under $7K and the other under $6K. Heck, that's just the cost of a few guns. I could put one on my credit card!

My thinking is I could garage the Merc, and keep the EV parked outside, plugged in, when necessary. Given my mileage patterns, I could probably go two weeks on a full charge. This would save wear and tear on my "driver" while staying dry and cool to and from work.

Sound like a plan? Anyone had any experience with electrics? And no, I don't want to wait for the Tesla 3. Not yet, at least.

No hate from me. I was fighting the urge to buy a Victory Empulse TT electric motorcycle. Now that Victory is tits up I feel a bit better about holding off but the technology is VERY cool.

People have different commutes. My wife could probably get by just fine with a Nissan Leaf. I hope to have a solar array on the roof of my workshop in the next few years and if those Empulse TT electric bikes (which have a clutch, tach and transmission) keep going down in price I'll get one of those too.

I say go for it. Just do your homework and research the hell out of the vehicle you want.

Makes sense to me. Saves wear and tear on the other for longer service life, cheap commuting.

I might lean more to a used Leaf.

I would also lean leaf over a smart.

Seems like it makes financial sense to me. Plus trips that short are typically bad for gasoline cars as they can't warm up properly in that short of time/distance.

Another thought for you: is biking on nice days possible?

When I lived in Calgary, there was a pay per minute car rental service (Car2go) based on the gasoline Smart car. The biggest piece of shit I have ever driven (suspension, transmission, lag time after pressing accelerator). I imagine their electric cars are equally shitty.

Your idea has merit, but chose a vehicle that isn't a downgrade from a golf cart.

We've got a charging station in our secure lot at work. One dude just bought a Leaf, charges it at work during shift. Smart dude.

I'm considering trading in on a Tesla once the new model comes out and they have a while to work out the bugs.

Wife drives a 17 volt. It's great. She doesn't use a drop of gas all week and we rarely dip into gas on the weekends too now. It has a 50 mile electric range.

Depending on what that five miles is like, I might have considered a bicycle, but you don't get wet in the rain in an EV. Certainly will help keep your miles down on your evil petrol burning monsters.

I hope your route is a safe route as I wouldn't want to be in a SmartCar vs. 1 ton Ford Crew.

Mike

That sounds like a great idea. Short commute, and a charging station already in place. I'd do it in a heartbeat.
While a Smart may be a nice option, I'm like the others in exploring a used Nissan Leaf, or a used Chevy Volt.
I've researched these types for my next car, as I live 8 miles from work (and it's on the same street--right out of driveway in the morning, 8 miles, then right turn into work--2 left turns in the evening). I will be purchasing something new within the next twelve months.

A charging station already in place at my house would make an electric vehicle a done deal.

It sounds like you have the ideal application. Keep in mind that any cabin heating and cooling will come out of your battery storage budget.

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
We've got a charging station in our secure lot at work. One dude just bought a Leaf, charges it at work during shift. Smart dude.

I'm considering trading in on a Tesla once the new model comes out and they have a while to work out the bugs.

A customer of mine has had a tesla for over a year and loves it. He says the build quality is amazing on it. However, he told me it came in at $130k by the time you add in all the extra's like faster chargers, more power (performance), fast charge batteries etc. etc.

However, i'd be leery about buying a used electric vehicle because I'm guessing that replacing the batteries is a very costly endevour and they don't hold as much of a charge as time goes on.

I'd also go leaf, or if you're willing to ship a fiat 500e

How about an electric hot rod.

I think it's a fine idea.

However, I caution you about letting that E350 sit for too long a period of time.

My 545 was in perfect condition when I got my company car. Since it was summertime, when I wasn't driving the company car for work, I was driving my convertible for personal use.

The 545 sat for about 4 months before I put the convertible in storage.

During that time, it had literally gone from being perfect to being a complete piece of crap. It leaked hydraulic fluid, it leaked coolant, and the brakes had of course developed a nice layer of surface rust.

Granted - it was 9 years old and had 135k miles on it - but it was literally in PERFECT condition before I let it sit.


If you make the same mistake, that $6k EV to save money and wear & tear might just turn out to be the most expensive cost-saving measure you've ever taken.

I'd love to get an EV, but my house would need a pretty big upgrade electrically before that would work for me. Before I bought the house, I even asked if my condo was going to upgrade to have chargers in the underground parking.

quote:

Originally posted by Scurvy:
I would also lean leaf over a smart.

I met a guy who had a Nissan Leaf, and LOVED it, worked great for a 30+/- mile commute.

quote:

Originally posted by fpuhan:
My thinking is I could garage the Merc, and keep the EV parked outside, plugged in, when necessary. Given my mileage patterns, I could probably go two weeks on a full charge. This would save wear and tear on my "driver" while staying dry and cool to and from work.

Keeping the EV outside plugged in? Are you sure that's ok per the manufacturers?

James in Denver

Thumbs up to electric car.

Thumbs down to Smart car.

Leaf, Volt, Tesla, Toyota Plug-in Prius, whatever. But that Smart car is shit.

As previously mentioned, I would be concerned about the safety of the Smart Car. Someone pointed out that, in a Smart Car, you almost arrive at the accident before the car does. It would certainly be more safe than a bicycle or a motorcycle.

I used to live less than a mile from my office. I would have definitely considered this option then. The EV option, I mean - I would never consider the 'smart' car - that's about the dumbest thing I've ever seen. Doesn't even get that great mpg. Stupid concept unless you live in a tight city with very narrow streets and parking options - that's about the only possible justification for that vehicle.