One of the most common questions car buyers have is whether or not it is more costly to pay for maintenance for an electric vehicle. We wanted to address this and explain why you might not have to fret too much if you have to take your electric vehicle to the shop.
First, experts suggest that that thing you might have to worry about the most is actually finding someone who can service your vehicle. While more mechanics are trained in how to handle electric vehicles than ever before, it is still relatively new to them. You might have to take your vehicle to the dealership instead, so that will cost you a little more money. If you do decide to purchase an electric vehicle, try to make sure you can find a mechanic with an understanding of how to fix electric vehicles.
Second, please know that it is going to be difficult for even a dealer to charge you too much money for a repair because there aren't that many parts to an electric vehicle's engine. What you will find under the hood of electric vehicle is pretty much a battery and a few other parts. The battery may consist of components, like battery vent caps or lithium battery terminals, but there are far fewer parts than an internal combustion engine, which could have hundreds of parts. This means that if a part does wear out, it will not be too expensive to fix.
Additionally, most electric vehicles come with a five year warranty, so most of these repairs will be covered. Any that aren't will likely be trivial, so you're not going to end up spending too much to handle all those repairs. Experts estimate that it could cost as little as a third to maintain an electric vehicle as it would a gas-powered one. Think about it. You don't have to worry about oil changes, fluid replacement, shock repairs, and many other of the nuisance repairs that are just part of car ownership.
However, there is a downside to owning an electric vehicle; you will have to spend a fortune to replace the battery. Just like anything that has a battery in it, the battery will eventually wear down and not be able to hold a charge as it once did. You might notice that you need to charge your battery more or the car just doesn't power up at all. This will happen typically after 100,000 miles. The cost of a battery could be $10,000 or more, so you will need to decide if it's worth it to replace the battery or purchase a new vehicle altogether. However, regarding simple maintenance, you can rest assured that you will be spending less when you go electric.
