The costs of running electric cars

Published by lucy rigley on

The main thing which has put me off buying an electric car is cost – there’s no denying they are more up front to buy than other comparable cars. But remember that there are plug-in grants of up to £3500 available (more information herehttps://www.gov.uk/plug-in-car-van-grants) as well as money towards installing a charger at your home.

I have found an interesting tool https://www.goultralow.com/electric-car-savings/ where you can calculate how much you could save by driving a 100% EV or find out how easy and how little it costs to charge at home.

What I have been interested to find out is what savings you get after you buy one – a list I have put together include:

PETROL / DIESEL – no fuel to buy! You just have to charge your vehicle. Even charging from your home, or occasionally a rapid charge when you are out make costs very low. A few pounds for going a few hundred miles. I read somewhere if you do 12,000 miles a year you save about £1000 so I now have that in mind. This is a great journey cost calculator where you can work out what you would save on a particular journey https://www.zap-map.com/tools/journey-cost-calculator

SERVICING – think about it – there is so much less to go wrong! Even on a basic level there is no oil, spark plugs, radiators, filters or exhausts to replace. Services are much cheaper for EV owners than ICE owners but you do need to find a specialist dealer so this may mean going out of your way slightly.

ROAD TAX – you pay NO ROAD TAX – how cool is that! A huge saving especially if you were to swap a diesel for an EV

CONGESTION CHARGE – if you live in, or visit London, there is no congestion charge to pay.

FREE PARKING – if you’re lucky, some cities offer free parking for EVs, and you may be able to charge up at the same time!

And a few things could surprisingly cost more:

INSURANCE – I have taken the following quote from https://www.autoline.co.uk/contact-us/news/news-detail/11093/Are-Electric-Cars-Cheaper-To-Insure-Than-Petrol-Or-Diesel

“Some of the issues which may cause insurance prices to be higher for electric cars include:

  • Potentially greater risks to pedestrians given their silent nature
  • The high cost of specialist parts in the event the car needs fixed
  • Repairs can only be carried out by specialist mechanics
  • Electric car battery packs are expensive to replace”

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