An Electric Car Is Not for Everyone

If you are in the market for an electric car, there are some pros and cons, as with anything else. I invested in an electric car and had it for about one year before trading it in on a regular gasoline fueled car. There are over 20 different models of electric cars to choose from and we chose the Toyota model.

We chose the Toyota because our son had a Toyota when he was going through college. He put many miles on this used car and the only fault any of us could find with it was that it just keeps driving. It is a very reliable car.

The Big Fault With a Toyota Is It Keeps Running

The Toyota Company manufactures 23 different models. We wanted another van and had the choice of buying used or new. We usually purchase a good used car with low mileage and warranties. We had to decide upon a Toyota Highlander or the Toyota Sienna. We chose the Highlander, a beautiful car that had everything we dreamed of in a family car.

My favorite things about this car were the 8-inch touch screen and navigation system. It had the backup camera. I enjoyed the heated leather front seats during the cold winter months. We liked the power tilt steering and I had always wanted a moon roof.

Saving Gas Can Be Exciting, But…

We were excited about the fact that we could save on the high price of gas. Just charge up our electric car and we can were on our way. We have lived in our home for 40-years and we have always heated with gas heat. I can remember when electricity was far less expensive then gas and at one point, we were paying about $500.00 a month for gas heat.

We started to heat with wood after we installed an Ashley Furnace. This cut our heating bills dramatically. When the price of gas started to decline and the price of wood increased, we went back to heating with gas. Electricity was still low. Over the last few years, we have watched the price of electricity increase, but when we were told by our dealer that it would not cost much to charge up our electric car we took their word for it and this is why we invested in an electric car. What we found was just the opposite.

There was nothing wrong with the car as it was beautiful, easy to handle, and offered a comfortable ride. However, as we had the car charging we sat back to look at the electric meter go into a crazy spin. This did raise our electric bill dramatically and because of this, we were disappointed. Our electric bill was now more than our ongoing high gas heating bills and the gas we had to put in our car to get us through for one week.

I cannot say that my gasoline cost did not go down somewhat. I was very careful in driving my electric car and never did I run out of charge. I realize that not all consumers are this conscious. Our electricity bill increased, so we felt we saved little to nothing driving an electric car.

The Pros of having an Electric Car

The pros of having an electric car is that if you plan right you will never have to pay the high price for gas. If you run your car on electricity until the gas, prices hit an all-time low in your area you can fill up your car and continue to run it on electricity. Researchers say that the electric car is completely safe and just as safe as any hybrid car.

We Found Some Negative Issues Driving an Electric Car

Some of the negative aspects we discovered were that our electric car did raise our electric bill. People can hear the standard car coming. Pedestrians can hear your motor running. Electric cars make little to no audible sounds. The repairs on an electric car can be pricy. Routine maintenance can also be pricy. While my husband drove a company car, I had to commute to work and I drove about 140-miles round trip. The average mileage of our electric car was nearly 80 miles. This meant that I had to find a recharging station or use gas for part of the week. I could not see where this was really saving me any more money or time.

My husband and I just do not prefer an electric car. We did not want to deal with the new problems to be aware of or deal with, so we traded it back in for a standard gasoline Toyota Van.