#car

5 articles

10-Year TCO Scoreboard: EV Wins by $8,250 With Tax Credit, $750 Without

$42K EV vs $30K gas car, 150,000 miles, 10 years. Full line-item math: purchase, fuel, maintenance, insurance, depreciation. With the federal tax credit, EV wins clearly. Without, it's a coin flip.

10-Year Cost: $63K Buy vs $84K Lease vs $24K Transit

Same person, same city, same 10-year horizon. Buy: $63K total. Lease: $84K (highest because you never stop paying). Transit: $24K where it works. The path matters more than the brand.

EV Break-Even Is 5.3 Years at Average Rates — and Personal at Every Other Rate

Five inputs swing the EV vs gas break-even by 3+ years in either direction. Tax credit, electricity rate, gas price, mileage, charging type. Here's how each moves the answer, with the math.

$15K Used Car Real Cost Over 5 Years: ~$32K (Still Half of New)

5-year-old used car at $15K: + $7K insurance + $5K fuel + $4K repairs + $1K registration − $5K resale = ~$32K total. Same car bought new at $30K runs ~$58K over the same 5 years. Used wins, but not by as much as the sticker suggests.

Your $400 Car Payment Is Really $850/Month (and $1M Over 30 Years)

The car payment is one line item out of six. Add depreciation, insurance, fuel, maintenance, and registration, and a $35K new car costs $850/month for five years. Compounded over 30 years, that's $1.02M not invested.