Electric Vehicle: Worth the Expense?

Lost_Prophet

Hi All,

I have been toying with the idea of a Tesla Model S for a while now and so thought I'd reach out for thoughts from anyone who has one and from others who have battled with the same pro's and con's

Today I have a BMW 520D just over 2.5 years old with 35k miles on the clock
- Fuel: £100 to £150 per month
- Finance: £500 per month
- Tax: £9.62 per month
- Miles: Avg of 1,150 per month mostly motorway

One of the main drivers towards the Tesla is the Autopilot. But I've also looked at the 7 Series iPerformance, Audi q7 eTron and Porsche Cayenne Hybrid (we need bigger boot space) with the Drive Assist packages

Quotes for the Tesla are looking like:
- Finance: £835 per month
- Range: 220 miles
- Miles: Lower going forward (~850 per month geared 60% to City driving)

I'm reimbursed at £0.45 per mile for approx 60% of my miles

So the thoughts are that I'll leave open:
- Is the Autopilot plus 'Upgrade' from the 520D really worth ~£150 a month?
- Are the Tesla's a 'Luxury' car and how do they compare to the 520, 740e etc?
- Are the Hybrids actually worth the additional expense (~£50 per month)?

Cheers

forgotmyname

I wouldnt trust the autopilot, i would probably find an empty road and have a test but then it would be switched off for good.

Is 220 miles enough? For me it would be overkill, until last year when i did over 500 miles a day for 3 weeks, with just a few hours inbetween in which to charge a vehicle but there were no chargers anywhere near.

oops..
That may read as 500 miles everyday, but no. every 2 or 3 days. Hospital and back.

Tyler119

Have you looked into the sort of depreciation in that car? I've no idea what it is. I know from the website a second hand one say 2014 with 50,000 miles is around £48k. I guess if you know the from new price you can work out the yearly depreciation. Clearly a Tesla will have a slower depreciation than some other manufactures.

Lost_Prophet

It's a good shout Tyler... I see it as occurring with every option albeit the speed of depreciation is different. I'd think it would be on par with a BMW but reality suggests its better...

The Tesla has one of the guaranteed future values of a smidge over £40k after four years. If I'm right the true cost of the 'hire' will be the £72k price of the Telsa minus this £40k i.e. £32,000 / 44.5%

In contrast, the BMW cost £32,000 and is now valued at £18,000. Therefore it has lost 44.25% of the vehicles value in THREE years