Why It’s Still Not The Right Time To Buy An Electric Vehicle
The hype for buying an electric vehicle is at its highest point since the reality of them being on the market materialized in the late 1990s. It has taken almost two decades for this environmentally conscious travel option to really start making its headway into the car buying decision-making because of consumer skepticism about whether they were even close to a comparable option to an internal combustion engine-powered vehicle. Well, that day has arrived for car shoppers, when you go to make your next vehicle purchase you will have to first decide whether you want a gas-powered vehicle or an electric vehicle but what factors should you be considering that will help you make the right decision?
With all the environmental advantages of going electric, there are some disadvantages that may not make purchasing an electric vehicle right for you at this time. I see two major disadvantages that stick out that can affect car buyers with the first being the infrastructure around charging stations. Electric vehicles that are being produced today have a range of upwards of 300 miles on a single charge, which is great for trips around your local town or city.
However, if you plan on taking that car on a road trip that might traverse several states that range is not sufficient and you will need to carefully plan where to charge your vehicle to ensure you don’t get stuck somewhere. You are also relying on those charging stations to have working equipment as some electric vehicle owners have commented on having to deal with broken plugs or being caught in a charging dead zone. This can be quite an inconvenience when traveling long distances.
According to Business Insider, “Underdeveloped charging infrastructure is widely cited as one of the top reasons more people don’t buy more electric cars.” Now if you don’t plan on taking a long-distance road trip and you own your own home with a garage or a driveway then you can plug it in every night and by the time morning arrives your charge is topped off. There are many Americans that are not homeowners and rent an apartment for their living quarters.
Owning an electric car if that is your living situation can be a real hassle with your only nightly charging option being to run an extension cord out to a parking spot and that’s only if that spot is close enough for the cord to reach. Not to mention another tenant just unplugging the cord and taking it for themselves. Or even worse if you are running a cord out of your apartment through a window that now leaves your apartment with a security weakness and is vulnerable to being broken into by someone.
The second major obstacle to becoming an electric car owner is the price of the vehicle is rather expensive. As reported by Business Insider, “the average battery-powered ride sold for around $65,000 in November (2022).” Unless you are sitting on an upper-middle-class income these vehicles are going to be decidedly out of your price range.
If you are looking for a used vehicle the first obstacle is there are not many out on the market just yet. They will start making it into the used car market in upcoming years as all the recent Tesla, Ford, Kia, and Hyundai electric vehicles that have been sold in recent years but currently that more affordable inventory is dry. The second obstacle in the used market is the travel range of these used older electric vehicles between 93 to 124 miles, which is not the most convenient for driving even around town as you can use that charge up rather quickly.
Electric vehicles are the wave of the future and more and more people will be converting to them. But it might not be the right time for you to convert over personally until some of these obstacles are cleared up and they become more affordable to the masses. These are just some of the things you need to consider before making that decision for yourself next time you are in the market for a new car.
