Prospective Buyer without ability to charge at home

[sid234]

Hi,
I've been considering purchasing an electric car for a few weeks now and really love how the Mach-e looks and drives (Got a test drive of a AWD premium at the local dealership). My main concern is that i live in a condo with a assigned parking spot but it isn't near a power outlet. I have multiple L2 chargers <5 mins from my place by Chargepoint and 2 DC chargers at a Mall 10 mins from my home. My daily commute in about 30 miles round trip, with 80-90% of it on a highway.

I was wondering if anyone else has a MME in a similar situation as me and if the forum in general had any advice on whether i should go with a BEV or try something like a PHEV or Hybrid?
Also, if I do get a MME, is there any issue with going to with the Select AWD or Premium AWD with standard range for the situation described above (the premium ER with AWD is out of my budget)? I want an AWD since i live in New England and I prefer having AWD for driving in the snow.

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[Mach-Lee]

Well you would have to leave the car sit to charge once or twice a week. Without knowing the actual amps of those L2 chargers it could take a while, anywhere from 6-14 hours. You would end up using the DC fast charge all the time which still might take an hour. So if you don't mind sitting in your car for an hour once or twice a week to charge then it might work. Constant DC charging at high kW is also not great for the battery life long term.

Personally I wouldn't recommend that anyone buy a pure-EV unless they had a 240V charger at home. The only exception would be if you could always charge at work during the day. But having to "go to the charger and wait" will get old eventually (probably after a month or two).

I think you will be a lot happier with a plug-in hybrid and won't feel like your mobility revolves around the DC charging station. The Fusion PHEV is great if you can find one, there are still unsold 2020's out there.

 

[sid234]

Well you would have to leave the car sit to charge once or twice a week. Without knowing the actual amps of those L2 chargers it could take a while, anywhere from 6-14 hours. You would end up using the DC fast charge all the time which still might take an hour. So if you don't mind sitting in your car for an hour once or twice a week to charge then it might work. Constant DC charging at high kW is also not great for the battery life long term.

Personally I wouldn't recommend that anyone buy a pure-EV unless they had a 240V charger at home. The only exception would be if you could always charge at work during the day. But having to "go to the charger and wait" will get old eventually (probably after a month or two).

I think you will be a lot happier with a plug-in hybrid and won't feel like your mobility revolves around the DC charging station. The Fusion PHEV is great if you can find one, there are still unsold 2020's out there.

Hi, Thanks for the information. I have the same worry as well about the car and using it without a charger at home. I will have to check in and see if my workplace would be open to installing L2 charging that i can utilize, since i am at work >6hrs/day.

 

[phil]

I was wondering ... if the forum in general had any advice on whether i should go with a BEV

Without convenient home charging, BEV is a needless hassle. Gasoline is made for this situation.

 

[Garbone]

Hi,
I've been considering purchasing an electric car for a few weeks now and really love how the Mach-e looks and drives (Got a test drive of a AWD premium at the local dealership). My main concern is that i live in a condo with a assigned parking spot but it isn't near a power outlet. I have multiple L2 chargers <5 mins from my place by Chargepoint and 2 DC chargers at a Mall 10 mins from my home. My daily commute in about 30 miles round trip, with 80-90% of it on a highway.

I was wondering if anyone else has a MME in a similar situation as me and if the forum in general had any advice on whether i should go with a BEV or try something like a PHEV or Hybrid?
Also, if I do get a MME, is there any issue with going to with the Select AWD or Premium AWD with standard range for the situation described above (the premium ER with AWD is out of my budget)? I want an AWD since i live in New England and I prefer having AWD for driving in the snow.

I would talk to the condo association and see if they could put in a lvl2 charger. It really does not need to be at your assigned spot as it sounds like you would only need to charge 2 or 3 nights a week. Sell it to them as it would be a selling point for the condo and they can skim 1 or 2 pennies per KW and it will eventually pay for itself. Good luck.

 

[timbop]

Without convenient home charging, BEV is a needless hassle. Gasoline is made for this situation.

Unfortunately I have to agree. Someday condos and apartments will embrace L2 chargng as an additional revenue stream and perk. Unfortunately that day is not any time soon

I would talk to the condo association and see if they could put in a lvl2 charger. It really does not need to be at your assigned spot as it sounds like you would only need to charge 2 or 3 nights a week. Sell it to them as it would be a selling point for the condo and they can skim 1 or 2 pennies per KW and it will eventually pay for itself. Good luck.

That's a good idea, but that will take time, may not be successful, and still means you'll have to compete with others for charging at your condo. Alternatively you could see if you could switch your spot with someone else near an outlet, but you'd likely need approval to use that outlet for charging. Nearby L2 takes hours so unless you plan to stay at the L2 location or will walk back and forth - both of which are a much bigger hassle than gas.

 

[sid234]

Unfortunately I have to agree. Someday condos and apartments will embrace L2 chargng as an additional revenue stream and perk. Unfortunately that day is not any time soon


That's a good idea, but that will take time, may not be successful, and still means you'll have to compete with others for charging at your condo. Alternatively you could see if you could switch your spot with someone else near an outlet, but you'd likely need approval to use that outlet for charging. Nearby L2 takes hours so unless you plan to stay at the L2 location or will walk back and forth - both of which are a much bigger hassle than gas.

Yeah, i can talk to my condo association and see if parking spots near the common mail area can be used for EV charging.

Does anyone know the cost of installing a L2 charging system?

 

[db4z]

110 charger at work would cover most of your commute (3mph*8hrs=24 miles) if you can reliably park near an outlet and you are willing to deal with plugging it in every day. Plugging it in at your condo for 12hrs over night with a heavy duty 110v extension cord should easily get you more that 30 miles per night. It just depends on if either of those are options and if so, if you want to deal with the hassle of plugging it in everyday and possibly dragging out extension cords. I would not recommend DC fast charging more than once a week on average unless you are willing to accept some battery degradation.

 

[TJ-Mach-e]

I have visited friends and family in apartments and condos and have seen extension cords running out to a Tesla a few times. So I would say that if asking your condo to install a L2 charger or running an extension cord to your car without hindering neighbors is not an option then a BEV is not a good choice right now.

 

[iam-s-Hon]

I currently rent. The building has EVgo L2 and L3s in the garage. Parking is mostly unassigned. There are some 120v outlets scattered around the lower level where I park. Winter and time will tell but so far has not been an inconvenience for me, yet. My round trip to work will be ~40mi where there is an L2 (and a few other EVs) but I won't be back to the office full or part-time before Jan. There are some Teslas in the building (supercharger in walking distance) and another EV that tends to park for hours w/o charging but otherwise have yet to have a charge access issue. Just takes a little bit of attention and forethought IMO.

 

[Nklem]

Hi, Thanks for the information. I have the same worry as well about the car and using it without a charger at home. I will have to check in and see if my workplace would be open to installing L2 charging that i can utilize, since i am at work >6hrs/day.

Yes. If you have it at work (like I do) it can be great.

 

[gafear]

110 charger at work would cover most of your commute (3mph*8hrs=24 miles) if you can reliably park near an outlet and you are willing to deal with plugging it in every day. Plugging it in at your condo for 12hrs over night with a heavy duty 110v extension cord should easily get you more that 30 miles per night. It just depends on if either of those are options and if so, if you want to deal with the hassle of plugging it in everyday and possibly dragging out extension cords. I would not recommend DC fast charging more than once a week on average unless you are willing to accept some battery degradation.

This!

I have a similar situation, live in a condo without charging but have charging at work (I'm only going to the office 1-2x a week due to covid). More than enough.. if needed I charge using EA (5 min from home).

Btw at least in Chicago, there are quite a few free charging spots in shopping places (Walgreens, whole foods, most Public parking buildings).. they also help top off a few KW when I'm doing random things.

 

[Garbone]

Yeah, i can talk to my condo association and see if parking spots near the common mail area can be used for EV charging.

Does anyone know the cost of installing a L2 charging system?

Depends, if they put in just a 14-50 outlet under $1500, if they put in a smart charger they can bill with would be a lot more. There may also be tax incentives or the local utility may have a program.

My work brings me to some large apartment complexes that have common chargers. Of course I am there during working hours but they are usually empty.

 

[sid234]

Thank you all for the answers. I will reach out to my workplace and the condo association to understand if there are options i can use locally.

 

[DaMeatMan]

Hi,
I've been considering purchasing an electric car for a few weeks now and really love how the Mach-e looks and drives (Got a test drive of a AWD premium at the local dealership). My main concern is that i live in a condo with a assigned parking spot but it isn't near a power outlet. I have multiple L2 chargers <5 mins from my place by Chargepoint and 2 DC chargers at a Mall 10 mins from my home. My daily commute in about 30 miles round trip, with 80-90% of it on a highway.

I was wondering if anyone else has a MME in a similar situation as me and if the forum in general had any advice on whether i should go with a BEV or try something like a PHEV or Hybrid?
Also, if I do get a MME, is there any issue with going to with the Select AWD or Premium AWD with standard range for the situation described above (the premium ER with AWD is out of my budget)? I want an AWD since i live in New England and I prefer having AWD for driving in the snow.

I live in a condo as well without the ability to charge at home, and I rely on 50Kw chargers about 10 min from home. I commute about 20 miles a day, and I charge once per week usually from 50 or 60 percent to 80 percent for 30 or 40 minutes and that covers me for the week.

I drive the MME 4X premium and I absolutely love it. Definitely had range concerns when I first bought it, but I have zero concerns now after having lived with it for about 6 months. Based on my driving style I'm averaging about 300 - 310 miles per full charge, which honestly is the equivalent of what I got on the vehicle I was replacing, and is more than enough for the my daily needs, as well as the occasional 3 to 4 hour family road trips that I do with the wife and 2 kids.

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