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Is a gas car less expensive than electricity?
My wife and I need to buy a new car, and she wants electric. She says it’s cheaper on fuel and to buy in the first place. If we’re filling the car up with electricity, I don’t see how it can be cheaper than gas, and I heard that electric cars were really expensive. Is a gas car less expensive than electricity?
Bellina Gaskey · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
Great question! The average family saves $800-$1000 a year on fuel by switching to electric, and the average electric car costs the same or less than the average gas car. While you still have to fuel your car with electricity, the electricity costs are significantly lower than gas costs.
The average gas vehicle costs between $50-$100 to fill, depending on gas prices and size of tank. The average American spends $420 a month on gas.
If we talk in generalizations and averages for awhile, we can come up with an average cost to “fill up” your electric car.
The average cost of electricity is 10 cents per kWh. Assuming an average battery size of 54 kWh with a 200 mile range, it should cost about $6 to fullly charge your battery. If you drive the average of 260 miles in a week, that means charging your vehicle roughly 5 times a month and spending $30 a month.
This is on top of the money you’ll save because you don’t have to get oil changes or other routine maintenance. Electric vehicles don’t have those components, so they save you maintenance costs.
Although electric vehicles like Tesla are infamous for their prices, electric vehicles aren’t all expensive. The average electric vehicle costs between $30,000-$40,000, whereas the average gas car costs $43,000.
There are also lots of incentives to buy an electric vehicle, depending on the state you drive in. You might also be able to
save money on your insurance
. No matter whether you drive gas or electric, you need affordable insurance.
Jerry
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