We have been ICE free household for over one year now. We rented twice and used some our friends cars a few times. We flew to our vacation destination and rented there, but we would have done that anyway. The battery degraded, the DCQC charging station availability dropped, and the number of EVs increased. I had to wait once for almost an hour for two Leafs to charge before my turn came. The kid is old enough to start going camping again.
I find my self contemplating getting a ICE for driving longer distances and use in bad weather conditions. My wife does not like the idea of a third car or and ICE car.
Here are a few options that we talked about:
1 Wait for the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. The availability date is questionable and the price probably a lot higher than a 2015 Leaf and an older ICE. Not tax incentives in WA for PHEV.
2 Tesla Model S is over my budget, plus it is not something to take camping in the mountain or snow. Their SUV is also going to be expensive.
3 Get a newer Leaf and buy and older 4x4 ICE car. I can get a used ICE for $4000-$6000. I did all the maintenance on my previous ICE cars and I would to the same for this car, so that cost will not be high. Together with a new Leaf will likely cost less then the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.
When looking for older ICE 4x4 I noticed that we could get a better value on a bigger the car/engine. While my first reaction was that I will never buy something like that, but I realized that a V8 4.7l 4x4 Jeep or even bigger car will have some advantages:
1 I would help the environment by taking the car from somebody that will use it regularly
2 It will determine us to use the EVs more because it will be expensive to drive
I just need find a place to park the Suburban .
I find my self contemplating getting a ICE for driving longer distances and use in bad weather conditions. My wife does not like the idea of a third car or and ICE car.
Here are a few options that we talked about:
1 Wait for the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. The availability date is questionable and the price probably a lot higher than a 2015 Leaf and an older ICE. Not tax incentives in WA for PHEV.
2 Tesla Model S is over my budget, plus it is not something to take camping in the mountain or snow. Their SUV is also going to be expensive.
3 Get a newer Leaf and buy and older 4x4 ICE car. I can get a used ICE for $4000-$6000. I did all the maintenance on my previous ICE cars and I would to the same for this car, so that cost will not be high. Together with a new Leaf will likely cost less then the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.
When looking for older ICE 4x4 I noticed that we could get a better value on a bigger the car/engine. While my first reaction was that I will never buy something like that, but I realized that a V8 4.7l 4x4 Jeep or even bigger car will have some advantages:
1 I would help the environment by taking the car from somebody that will use it regularly
2 It will determine us to use the EVs more because it will be expensive to drive
I just need find a place to park the Suburban .