Long term - High Mileage expectations

[Teslaeata]

When it comes to longevity of a car, most of that is up to the opinion of the owner. I know people who have gotten rid of a car because the alternator or starter died and left them stranded. They lost all confidence in the car and "had to" get rid of it. I know people who can't stand to own a car once there has been any body work done to it. I know people who get rid of a car once they realize they are underwater on it -- you know, "buy high, sell low" as they say.

But I also know people who buy a car with 200,000 miles and drive it until it has 500,000 miles. They don't care if it costs $3,000 a year to keep in on the road, because a new car would cost even more.

I bought my MME with 16k miles on it. Now it has 100k miles on it, and (if I wasn't making extra payments on it) I would still have 4.5 years worth of payments left! I do make extra payments, and hope to have it paid off before it hits 200,000 miles. I also put $100/week in a savings account to pay for maintenance and repairs.

There won't be a day when your car simply drives itself to a salvage yard upstate... but there may come a day when you don't want to pay for a certain repair. That day and that repair amount is completely up to you. We are humans... so that day usually has more to do with feelings than common sense.

Certainly get all your points.

Bought mine new for cash outright and am happy to underwrite any maintenance & repairs as, when & if they arise.

I already had the alternator/starter scenario - the £2,200 e-heater replacement - though it didn’t leave me stranded.

Both batteries are holding out well, had the HV one not done so I expect there would have been symptoms before end of warranty ended and the cost of an LVB is for nothing anyways.

Transmission whines a bit, not sure if that’s in my mind, but I’m keeping an eye on particulate wear levels by having transmission oil analysed every so often - if that fails I’d happily sling a new one under the back of the car for c£6,000.

What it has saved and continues to save in fuel, road tax, servicing etc probably funded the maintenance & repairs thus far.

It’s depreciated to a point further depreciation don’t bother me.

So, Stangy lives to fight another year until I feel like splashing out on a GT Rally or for another reason.

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[jmcbrew]

What it has saved and continues to save in fuel, road tax, servicing etc probably funded the maintenance & repairs thus far.

And that's really the thing, isn't it? I drive a lot, since I drive for Uber... about 60k miles per year. A similar ICE car over on this side of the pond would get about 24 MPG (you have better options in the UK). My electric is about 20 cents per kWh vs gasoline at about $3.50/gallon on average. Charging costs me around $3,400/year on the Mach-E, while a similar gasoline car would cost me about $8,700. That's a $5,300 savings. In a gas car, I would also spend about $1,000 on oil changes per year. That's a $6,300 savings. After four years (my estimate for paying off my auto loan), I will have saved $25,000. I bought the Mach-E for $29k, so it will have just about paid for itself in fuel and oil change savings.

We didn't even get into brake pads/rotors. I'll probably still be on the original set at 200k miles.

 

[Teslaeata]

And that's really the thing, isn't it? I drive a lot, since I drive for Uber... about 60k miles per year. A similar ICE car over on this side of the pond would get about 24 MPG (you have better options in the UK). My electric is about 20 cents per kWh vs gasoline at about $3.50/gallon on average. Charging costs me around $3,400/year on the Mach-E, while a similar gasoline car would cost me about $8,700. That's a $5,300 savings. In a gas car, I would also spend about $1,000 on oil changes per year. That's a $6,300 savings. After four years (my estimate for paying off my auto loan), I will have saved $25,000. I bought the Mach-E for $29k, so it will have just about paid for itself in fuel and oil change savings.

We didn't even get into brake pads/rotors. I'll probably still be on the original set at 200k miles.

Very interesting!

Your experience is consistent with reports on this side of the pond, slight variation on the theme given differences in the variables, but still pretty close.

Just spoke to the guy at our local Indian takeaway with whom we discuss our cars, usage etc, more so since I bought Stangy.

He also uses his car for some taxiing, c30,000 miles annually.

Yesterday he proudly announced that he just joined “my” EV club.

He bought it under assisted finance deal and his fuel savings alone cover his monthly finance payments.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner

 

[RickMachE]

And that's really the thing, isn't it? I drive a lot, since I drive for Uber... about 60k miles per year. A similar ICE car over on this side of the pond would get about 24 MPG (you have better options in the UK). My electric is about 20 cents per kWh vs gasoline at about $3.50/gallon on average. Charging costs me around $3,400/year on the Mach-E, while a similar gasoline car would cost me about $8,700. That's a $5,300 savings. In a gas car, I would also spend about $1,000 on oil changes per year. That's a $6,300 savings. After four years (my estimate for paying off my auto loan), I will have saved $25,000. I bought the Mach-E for $29k, so it will have just about paid for itself in fuel and oil change savings.

We didn't even get into brake pads/rotors. I'll probably still be on the original set at 200k miles.

How about the financials of driving for Uber? You are racking up huge mileage on an expensive car, vs driving a less expensive gas car. After X years, with Uber revenue and income taxes paid, what is the difference?

I am not asking for you to publish that info, merely asking if that is evaluated by you.

I paid close to $60K for my 2022 with taxes, and over $80K for my 2022 Lightning. I would never consider doing Uber or any driving / delivery service with either vehicle due to the cost per mile including vehicle depreciation. But that's me.

 

[celestial_knight]

I have been trying vigorously to get a 2nd car and it’s hard to top the 2025+ mach e gt with magneride, the new motors and the new BlueCruise

its ADAS is quite good for a US system, probably number 2 behind Tesla, and doesn’t need mapped roads to drive between the lines (the road does need lane lines). it can actually proactively slow down for curves it thinks it needs to, without needing a mapped section

Unbridled has a great feel especially with one pedal. The quick steering, sudden launch with violence and potential immediate slowdown without need to touch the physical brakes is quite fun. Great pulls into sweepers, and very fun low speed antics

i4 m50, ioniq 5, tesla performance, Corvettes have not surpassed. Maybe Porsche would

i am actually looking at gas mustangs and M cars at this point. Ecoboost RTR looks fun

 

[jmcbrew]

How about the financials of driving for Uber? You are racking up huge mileage on an expensive car, vs driving a less expensive gas car. After X years, with Uber revenue and income taxes paid, what is the difference?

I am not asking for you to publish that info, merely asking if that is evaluated by you.

I paid close to $60K for my 2022 with taxes, and over $80K for my 2022 Lightning. I would never consider doing Uber or any driving / delivery service with either vehicle due to the cost per mile including vehicle depreciation. But that's me.

I would not consider driving Uber with a $60k car, either. Like I said, my Mach-E cost me $29k. That was at the very top of my range. At the time, a similar age and mileage Prius would have cost me about the same. But let's say I bought one with much higher mileage and/or a bit older for $20k.

Mach-E after 4 years (240,000 miles)
Purchase price: $29,000
Electricity (assuming 3.5 miles/kWh average and $0.20/kWh rate): $13,714
Gear oil change (x2): $440
Total: $43,154

Older Prius after 4 years (240,000 miles)
Purchase Price: $20,000
Gasoline (assuming 52 MPG average and $3.50/gallon): $16,153
Oil changes: $1,800
Total: $37,953

So yes, the Prius would appear to be less expensive over time. However, this is also my daily driver family car and road-tripper. The Mach-E suits me better. Another thing to keep in mind is that the Prius would almost certainly need a replacement battery during that time. And we don't know what if going to happen with either electric rates or the price of gasoline. Running this at $4.50/gal adds over $4,500 more to the Prius. Or we might have $1.50 gas in a year. Who knows?

I think you are seeing this from your own perspective and not thinking of a used base model Mach-E. Is it the cheapest car to Uber in? Nope. If it was well known which car is cheapest to Uber in, then most of them would be that model. From what I can see, the most popular Uber cars seem to be Tesla Model 3, Toyota Prius, and Toyota Corolla.

No matter what, my car is a tool for my job. Just as a mechanic may choose an expensive Snap-On tool that will eventually wear out, I chose the Mach-E as the tool for my job. On second thought... that's not a very good comparison, since my Mach-E cost abount the same as the average used car... and even the sticker price on it when it was well below the average cost of a new car. So my Mach-E is the Craftsman wrench of Uber cars.

 

[jmcbrew]

I apologize for hijacking the thread with that long post. Here is a simpler way to put it: If I drive Uber for 240,000 miles in my Mach-E, that will make me $300,000. Would you feel bad about using up a $29k tool if it made you $300,000?

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