I genuinely don't know what you mean by ROI of buying a car. Can you elaborate on what you're referring to? If you're inferring that an EV is more expensive and how long it takes to recoup the price difference on gas savings... this is a good example of the outdated info I mentioned. In most cases, a comparable EV isn't more expensive and in some cases it's dramatically less expensive.Originally Posted by Erni
Here's how the math breaks down on the brand new 2024 Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD we just bought. It had the optional Ultra White interior color making it $49,990 MSRP. Tesla had an EoQ sale that I watched like a hawk to get an in-inventory new car for ~10% off plus another $1k incentive for a free color upgrade ($6k off) making it $43,990. The $7,500 federal tax credit comes off at the point of sale making it $36,490. Colorado also has a $5,000 incentive that you get back on your taxes making it $31,490. That's the number we're talking about here to compare to ICE cars and plug in hybrids. Tesla doesn't really offer options other than a tow hitch and maybe a wheel upgrade aside from it's Autopilot software options. So that price basically includes just about everything you can want as included.
No pushy sales people to bother with either. Just clicked a button in my app and picked the car up @ Tesla in Loveland a few days later. The car was ready to go at the scheduled time and all I did was inspect the car, sign my paperwork and drive away. Nobody tried to sell me anything. It's a breath of fresh air compared to the debacle of me trying to by a Ford F150 Lightning a year ago. That traditional dealer model is a nightmare factory. We've been doing it our whole lives though so we don't even realize there's a better way until you experience it for yourself. I digress.
It looks like a RAV4 plug in hybrid starting price (likely to be less than people actually pay, we all know how legacy car manufacturers like their upgrades) at $12k more than that what we paid. Since too many of it's parts of a RAV4 PHEV are sourced outside of the US, it doesn't qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit. So how long will it take for ROI for the RAV4 when it costs more to buy AND costs more per mile to operate?
The #'s are obvious to anyone who wants to compare them with an open mind and no agenda. I also know that, no matter how you equip it, there's dozens of things the RAV4 can't do that the Tesla can. Aside from being the clear winner on the financial side, the user experience is where Tesla continues to distance itself from all other options. Drive them both back to back and you'll get an idea how much more advanced the Tesla is. Don't get me wrong, Our Camry Hybrid was a great car and I loved my Tacoma (I thought I'd be buried in it for about 8 years or so) but the one area they were always a decade behind in was tech. That gap has grown dramatically with the introduction and continued advancement of Tesla.
If you say you don't want an advanced car you're missing the point of tech advancements. All of these advancements actually make driving less and less of a chore as well as safer. It automates SO much stuff that we typically would have to do manually in other cars. It's tough to explain because I know Tesla seems more complex on paper but once you own one you realize how simple they are (I jokingly tell people they're just glorified golf carts) and how they simplify the act of driving and ownership.
With the amount of predictable pushback I get stating facts in this forum, I genuinely feel like the guy who tried auto-loading firearms for the first time trying to explain to everyone how much better they were than cap and ball guns of the era. It's such a weird thing.
All that said, I misunderstood what the OP of this thread was asking for in terms of ideas. I won't go into the Tesla topic any further in this thread to allow it to get back to the topic that I now understand it to be. I'll urge anyone reading this to just do their own research on the topic. Find someone local who has owned a Tesla for an extended period of time to sit down with and ask any & all questions you have and drive one. I've offered multiple times to be this resource for anyone here and you'll get honest answers to any of your questions. Someone did this same thing for me many years ago to no benefit of theirs so I'm just paying the generosity forward. Understand that, since Tesla doesn't pay ANY advertising dollars... most resources you would typically use online are biased against them due to self-interests. It's important to talk to actual owners to get the real story. All EVs are NOT created equal so be wary of resources that lump all EVs in the same category because there are some truly awful EVs out there. I don't know anyone who has owned a Tesla looking to go back to ICE vehicles. Admittedly that's anecdotal but it's a very large # and growing despite all of the negativity you hear.
It's only to your own determent to not genuinely consider them as an option using independent information that's actually meaningful to your specific day-to-day needs rather than some anti-EV FUD that's pushed out that'll never apply to you. That's the biggest thing I learned from ownership is that all of the things you think are a big deal will never apply when you actually own one. Future you will thank current you for making the time to consider this topic openly.
What do you have to lose if I'm wrong? An hour of your time to verify what you thought you knew already? But if I'm right, the potential upside is a pretty dramatic improvement on your overall user experience. Speaking from first-hand experience. I'm so glad I chose to finally ignore all of the anti-EV FUD & intentionally biased statistics people parrot to find out for myself. As a result, the next time I drive I'm going to climb into a future machine that does 0-60mph in 2.21 seconds, costs about $5 per month to drive and never needs maintenance that, for a fun party trick, even drives itself if I want it to. That's our 2017 car.
Enjoy your weekend all!
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