Questions to Ask Before You Buy an Electric Car | Expert's Advice
Electric cars are a global trend. In addition to the acceptance of consumers who love smart and environmentally friendly cars, many people are still concerned when deciding whether to buy an electric car.
Electric cars are a means of transportation that have many advantages such as fuel economy and environmental safety. However, because this vehicle is not very popular in the Philippine market, before buying an electric car, consumers inevitably wonder about the advantages and disadvantages of electric cars. Here are some suggestions to help those wishing to own an electric car easily answer the question of whether to buy an electric car. Questions to ask before you buy an electric car that experts give will help you solve many problems.
What should I know when buying electric cars?
Note when buying electric cars is one of the most important factors to help users not make the wrong decision. If you want to experience electric cars, you need to consider the following issues:
Consider financial possibilities
It can be easily seen that the selling price of electric cars is often significantly higher than that of traditional petrol and diesel cars. According to a survey by the NRDC website, the price of new electric cars is about 10,000 USD higher than the selling price of traditional cars in 2021. Therefore, consumers need to consider their financial ability first. when buying a car.
Consider financial possibilities
Consider moving needs
Besides the cost, considering and considering the individual's travel needs is also one of the important things that consumers need to pay attention to. Obviously, compared to gasoline cars, range is considered a "weak point" of electric cars. If you only need to move in the inner city or often travel short distances, electric cars are clearly a good choice. However, if you have to travel long distances, you should consider whether this is a reasonable choice.
Check out the charging place
Consider whether you can charge your car at home. Most electric car models can use the standard slow charger that comes with the car and use 220V household electricity at home. However, this charger is quite slow. If you want faster, users have to spend more money to install a high-capacity wall charger at home. Therefore, home charging requires families who need a large space such as a yard or garage.
Check out the charging place
Learn about insurance
You may not know that the cost of insurance for electric cars can be higher than that of traditional petrol and diesel cars. Therefore, before buying electric cars, you should learn carefully about insurance policies for them, such as voluntary insurance, material insurance, fire insurance or compulsory civil insurance to Get the best support in case something goes wrong.
Questions to ask before you buy an electric car
To make the most accurate choices, you need to ask important questions and find answers. The summary of this answer will help you figure out which electric car you should buy.
How much vehicle range is enough?
The travel range of electric cars is increasingly improved. Car manufacturers now also focus on investing in fast charging technology to reduce anxiety and waiting time. Therefore, customers can be assured of the vehicle's operating range and should choose a vehicle based on their daily use or long trips.
If you mainly travel in urban areas, most electric cars can meet the needs of users. However, if you often have to travel long distances, car buyers should consider choosing an electric car with fast charging feature to make travel more convenient.
The travel range of electric cars is increasingly improved
Are electric cars more expensive than gas cars?
Selling price is the leading reason why electric cars sell more slowly than gasoline cars. Normally, with the same equipment and segment, electric cars often have a higher selling price of 20%-100%. The main reason for this is that the battery price usually accounts for at least 40% of the vehicle's cost.
If you intend to buy an electric car to save money at this time, the above information may disappoint you. However, the cost of batteries is decreasing with production output and new technology. Therefore, we can completely believe that in the coming years, the price of this vehicle will decrease asymptotically, even cheaper than current gasoline cars.
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How many years does an electric car battery last?
According to studies, the capacity of electric car batteries will decrease by about 2.3% after every one year of use. And manufacturers usually warrant batteries for 8-10 years and commit after that time the remaining battery capacity is about 70%. How many years to use is completely unanswered. Because when we reach a certain capacity threshold, we will have to replace the battery with a new one to ensure the best performance of the car.
The capacity of electric car batteries will decrease by about 2.3% after every one year of use
What happens when the car is about to run out of power?
When the battery is about to run out or the set threshold is reached, the car will issue a beeping warning. If you continue to run, the system will turn off programs such as sound or air conditioner. When the battery is extremely low, any non-essential systems will come to a complete halt. At this point, a turtle icon will appear on the screen (many manufacturers have the same warning). This means that the car has switched to an electric lowering system, in order to minimize the distance the car travels. At that time, the maximum speed will only reach 60 / km even if you press hard on the accelerator, and the screen will also warn you to find a safe place to stop.
In fact, the manufacturer uses a power management system for the battery and ensures that the battery never runs out to 0%. This greatly affects the battery life. So the car only works within the actual battery capacity of 10-90%.
When the battery is about to run out or the set threshold is reached, the car will issue a beeping warning
Are electric cars durable? Warranty and maintenance costs for electric vehicles
Electric motors do not need lubricating oil like gasoline and diesel cars, so there will be no maintenance and oil changes. In addition, the motor on the electric vehicle reacts immediately after each step of the accelerator and when the driver lets go of the brake pedal, it will automatically stop, so the brake pads of the electric vehicle are less worn, reducing replacement costs.
According to a report by the US Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), if a car with an internal combustion engine needs an average of 0.1 USD in maintenance fee per 1.6 km, then pure electric cars use only 0.061 USD (40% lower). Thus, the maintenance costs of electric vehicles are more economical than gasoline cars.
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Conclusion
If you are really interested in electric cars, the questions to ask before you buy an electric car that we just shared with you will definitely help you a lot. Please consider carefully before making the final choice.
Hopefully, you find this article useful. Hit Philcarprice for a visit to learn more about cars in the Philippines!
