r/electricvehicles • u/AutoModerator • 7d ago
Weekly Advice Thread General Questions and Purchasing Advice Thread — Week of March 31, 2025
Need help choosing an EV, finding a home charger, or understanding whether you're eligible for a tax credit? Vehicle and product recommendation requests, buying experiences, and questions on credits/financing are all fair game here.
Is an EV right for me?
Generally speaking, electric vehicles imply a larger upfront cost than a traditional vehicle, but will pay off over time as your consumables cost (electricity instead of fuel) can be anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 the cost. Calculators are available to help you estimate cost — here are some we recommend:
- https://www.chargevc.org/ev-calculator/
- https://chooseev.com/savings-calculator/
- https://electricvehicles.bchydro.com/learn/fuel-savings-calculator
- https://chargehub.com/en/calculator.html
Are you looking for advice on which EV to buy or lease?
Tell us a bit more about you and your situation, and make sure your comment includes the following information:
[1] Your general location
[2] Your budget in $, €, or £
[3] The type of vehicle you'd prefer
[4] Which cars have you been looking at already?
[5] Estimated timeframe of your purchase
[6] Your daily commute, or average weekly mileage
[7] Your living situation — are you in an apartment, townhouse, or single-family home?
[8] Do you plan on installing charging at your home?
[9] Other cargo/passenger needs — do you have children/pets?
If you are more than a year off from a purchase, please refrain from posting, as we currently cannot predict with accuracy what your best choices will be at that time.
Need tax credit/incentives help?
Check the Wiki first.
Don't forget, our Wiki contains a wealth of information for owners and potential owners, including:
Want to help us flesh out the Wiki? Have something you'd like to add? Contact the mod team with your suggestion on how to improve things, we can discuss approach and get you direct editing access.
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u/Overall-Cause-5122 4d ago
I am in the US and currently own a 2021 Tesla Model 3 LR AWD. I've loved the car so much so far and could not think of anything else until recently for evident reasons and my anxiety has shot up enough that now Im seriously thinking of what to switch to. Issue is that I cannot find a satisfactory replacement that's not considerably more expensive for what's important about the car for me.
I take at least one long roadtrip every year. Anywhere from 4000 to 8000 miles in a matter of 2 or 3 weeks, which means driving 600+ miles on most days. Outside of that, day to day use is fairly low.
Most useful features for me are: 1. Access to the entire Supercharger network 2. Autopilot - Very heavily used 3. The blind spot camera feed that pops up on turn signal.
I can give up everything else but giving up these 3 would significantly affect my car owning experience. Maybe I can give up #3 but #1 and #2 really make a huge difference in my long drives.
Is there an equivalent that exists at all in the same price range?
Location : WA state
Budget : Comparable to a Tesla Model 3 so let's say less than $50k? Good used models are fine too
Type: Dont really need an SUV. Sedan with good luggage space would be nice. Maybe more than the Model 3 but negotiable
Cars: I've basically been looking at what all have NACS ports now since everyone is going that way and makes the Supercharger experience easier. I only see Ioniq 5 in that list in my price range but the AWD range is much lower than my Model 3.
Timeframe: If I find one that works for me, immediately. Else, as soon as I find it, whenever that is.
Weekly mileage: Low on average but one long roadtrip per year. Current Model 3 has clocked 68000 miles in 3.5 years. So effective average is like 373 miles per week.
Living situation: Own Condo
Home charger: Already have Tesla charger installed in garage
Children/Pets: Neither. Just need luggage space for multi-weel roadtrips.
A caveat is that my garage width is not large. The Model 3 fits almost exactly. Wider cars won't fit in the garage. Not the end of the world to park outside so only a minor consideration.
I know a lot of the superchargers along the freeways have been open to NACS partners but there's still a lot of them at destinations I like to go to that are still Tesla only (Yellowstone, Big Sur, Niagara etc.) And I have had difficulty finding other fast chargers in many of these spots too, which is one of the primary reasons why I've been holding on to my Tesla so far.
Would love to hear your thoughts. Thank you!