[mlyle]

Seems to be predicated upon a number of questionable assumptions-- including that

- a Model 3 is cheaper to insure than a Camry (thus far, the opposite is true-- and it seems optimistic to attain for a car that costs so much more, has higher performance, and higher repair costs)

- the Model 3 will be cheaper to maintain by a massive factor (we'll see; there is maintenance avoided by having an electric car but also Tesla's part costs and availability has been poor)

- resale value will hold up exceptionally well for the Tesla

Basically, the most optimistic values have been taken for the Tesla in every field and the most pessimistic values have been taken for the Camry, and the Tesla manages a slight win.

[Shivetya]

disclaimer, I own a Tesla model 3.

The whole article and accompanying table is parrot food.

Compared to a Camry the Camry will always win. If I could get lower insurance I would have it already. Maintenance costs for that Camry are highly suspect too, oil changes aren't that frequent nor do they cost that much and most big items are 100k or such. Throw in the service cost for the TM3 are over priced as well. I mean, at most I replace air filters at 25k and wiper blades. I guess tires would make the number that high but it would probably be higher then.

Comparing to an equal price petrol car, yes a Tesla or any EV will save you money over the long run. Compared to something two thirds to half the price, it won't save you money.

Plus, fuel costs should roll in the newest revenue enhancer for states, having surcharges on tag renewals for EVs as a substitute for fuel taxes

[sliken]

I'm a model 3 owner as well, seems overly pessimistic for the Toyota without any good explanations.

However having just switched from a 2004 Forester XT to a new model 3 I can say that the maintenance was substantial. Over the life of the car it was over $100 per month and I spend $160 a month on gas. AWD, a big/heavy SUV, and a turbo doesn't do much for the MPG.

The looming spectre in the luxury/premium new/cpu/used car markets is almost everyone has switched to high compression 2 liter turbos... that seem not to last nearly as well as the motors they replace. Sure they do well on the EPA test, but less well in real world conditions. They also tend to have a surprising high chance of terrible failures shortly after the drive train warranty expires. Subaru has multiple generations issues with it's head gaskets (yes 2), BMW with the high pressure fuel pump, carbon build up, and plastic timing chain. I checked a bunch of forums from BMW, Toyota, Ford, and Subaru and it looked pretty scary.

One forum I read mentioned a sad story of a shortly after warranty engine destruction after taking it in to check on an engine light just the week before. Cost was around $20k for the new engine. That triggered 20 pages of similar sad stories. This was a few years ago and a month later BMW had a major change to it's CPO warranty which makes me think that it's not a particularly rare occurrence. The most common recommendation is when buying used to get an older car that still has a NA 3 liter turbo instead of buying a newer used car with the 2 liter turbo.

So I think a fairer comparison would be 10 year of electric car ownership vs ICE. After all nobody throws away a car after 3 years.

[mlyle]

It's 5 years, which is in the ballpark of a typical timeframe for ownership of a new car.

Yes, as cars get older they get less reliable. This is likely to be true of the Tesla, too.

The number is kinda baked into the real resale value, anyways. A good part of what subsequent buyers are willing to pay is based on their inferred operating costs.

[xbmcuser]

The main assumption everyone makes is that Tesla/electric cars will be more reliable compared to ice cars as they have fewer moving parts. Electric cars haven't been around long enough yet for long term evaluation.

[leopoldo]

You just put in writing what I've been thinking whenever I come across these articles.

One thing I would expand on is the resale value for Tesla. The EV technology is changing so rapidly that there may be groundbreaking changes or improvements in the 3-5 year span that would render a TM3's resale price useless. It's much more unlikely that the same will happen for a Camry, the threshold of innovation for gas-powered cars have been pushed much more closer to its limits than EVs.

[stocker]

And the cost of financing, which is highly variable based on the individuals credit worthiness.

[crispyporkbites]

If you’re financing a new car and worried about the cost of ownership, you should probably think about the reducing the biggest cost with a new car on finance.

I.E don’t buy it using money borrowed from someone else.

[stocker]

That depends on the interest rate, I usually qualify for near zero rates, my last loan was something like 0.9%. When an index fund can return more than 5% in recent years it makes more sense to finance the car and leave the cash in the market. I can't think of a situation where the cost of ownership isn't considered, you should always consider what it costs to own any object. Even the ultra-rich will shy away from vehicles due to running costs, re: Bugatti tire change cost.

[astura]

Cost of taxes are highly variable too. Not just sales tax, some jurisdictions apply yearly property tax to vehicles.

[craftyguy]

Or folks may not require any financing. In which case, the model 3 is even more cheaper per mile than the camry.

[mlyle]

Time value of money applies whether you need financing or not.

[ac29]

They also appear to budget $0 for a home charging station, which means either you're doing all your charging at Tesla chargers, are lucky enough to have a charger at work that is regularly available, or charging at home via a very slow 1-2kW outlet.

[sliken]

The mobile charger comes with the car. With the range and supercharging network few people need to carry the mobile charter.... especially since you can use other networks as well.

So I just use my included Tesla charger in a NEMA 10-30 (the older dryer standard) and get 24 miles of charger per hour. Plenty, it's rare that I drive for 5+ hours a day, even then in 10 hours (food + sleep) I can have another 240 miles or so. If I need more (very rare) I can use the supercharging network, on my longer drives I typically see several superchargers go by.

[thrill]

I charge my other manufacturer electric vehicle from a standard outlet every night over 12 hours or so it's sitting there because I drive it less than the charge needed every day, much like the vast majority of people would.

[mlyle]

A lot of people would at least occasionally get in trouble with 4MPH charging.

[m463]

Each tesla comes with a mobile charger with adapters for nema 14-50 (220 dryer outlet) and 5-15 (standard 110 outlet).

I'm not sure what the model 3 charge rate is in mph for these scenarios.

[mlyle]

120V charging is around 4MPH in most electric vehicles.