Saturn electric car

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by The Toecutter

To be fair, the gasoline version is about $.05/mile in maintenance.

...vs...

if this guy would have made his own battery boxes and motor mounts and adaptor, it probably could have been done for around $5,000-7,000.

Similarly, if he does his own ICE component repairs/maintenance, it's not going to cost him $.05/mile for the gas version.

Obviously I don't have anything against electric cars. I do have a problem with glossing over true operating costs and misleading the uninformed, which that article definitely did.

EVs are economical, but only if you do them right.

That's what I'd like the articles to say

My hunch is that your forkenswift, due to its small pack and inefficient type of motor, probably won't save you much(if any) money, even if the conversion was done for very cheap.

Agreed. That said, beating ICE operating costs was never a main motivating factor for starting the project. (Of course, I'll track every penny just to see what happens - and will likely be all gloaty if it turns out to be slightly cheaper to run than gas )

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Similarly, if he does his own ICE component repairs/maintenance, it's not going to cost him $.05/mile for the gas version.

FYI, I tallied up my ICE-related maintenance costs (almost all DIY) for my old Accord (had the records handy because I used it for work, some of which I could write off). Not included: things like tires/brakes/suspension/body expenses.

• From 1999-2004: $US 1660.86 over 127,798 km / 79410 miles = $US 0.021 / mile

This is on a car which was 15 years old in 2004 with around 340,000 km on it. I didn't scrimp on repairs or maintenance either. If it needed something, it got done.

[lovemysan]

I doubt the original powertrain was worth much. With a 150k on the engine and trans I'd be leary of purchasing them. Of course I could be wrong.

[diamondlarry]

Originally Posted by lovemysan

I doubt the original powertrain was worth much. With a 150k on the engine and trans I'd be leary of purchasing them. Of course I could be wrong.

When the car known as "My Temporary Ride" was purchased in early July, it had over 150,000 miles on the clock. It is now approaching the 165K mark and uses NO oil. In fact, the current oil has nearly 5K miles on it and it is still at the same level as when I changed it. There are several owners on saturnfans.com who have some very high mileage numbers. One in particular has over 430K. Another owner knows of a Saturn that is serviced at a dealer near his hometime in northern Ohio that has over 650K on the odometer. The thing about Saturn's is that you have to pay close attention to the maintainence. As one prolific poster on saturnfans likes to say, "Old Saturn's never die, people KILL them, so check your damn oil!."

[Peakster]

Here's another electric converstion in some pretty good detail.

[The Toecutter]

FYI, I tallied up my ICE-related maintenance costs (almost all DIY) for my old Accord (had the records handy because I used it for work, some of which I could write off). Not included: things like tires/brakes/suspension/body expenses.

* From 1999-2004: $US 1660.86 over 127,798 km / 79410 miles = $US 0.021 / mile

This is on a car which was 15 years old in 2004 with around 340,000 km on it. I didn't scrimp on repairs or maintenance either. If it needed something, it got done.

Sounds about right. Brakes/tires and stuff like that is around $.005-.01/mile for most any car.

Hondas and Toyotas are some of the cheapest cars to run. I remember looking at some figures from AAA and the Hondas/Toyotas tended to cost about $.02-.04/mile in maintenance, while the GM/Ford/Dodge cars and trucks tended to be in the area of $.05-.08/mile. These are from memory and not scientific mind you, but your numbers seem to fit the norm for your type of car.

[Peakster]

Originally Posted by The Toecutter

Hondas and Toyotas are some of the cheapest cars to run. I remember looking at some figures from AAA and the Hondas/Toyotas tended to cost about $.02-.04/mile in maintenance, while the GM/Ford/Dodge cars and trucks tended to be in the area of $.05-.08/mile.

Holy smokes. That's a far cry from my 1985 Pontiac Fiero. 2.6 years and 34,000 miles later:

Purchase price: $2,200
New engine and installation: $2,350 (isolated incident 2 years ago for driving like a dork)
New battery: $80
New tires: $400
4 used aluminum rims: $160
2 rebuilt starters: $400
New brakes and rotors: $200
Flat tire repair: $14
Brake master cylinder repair: $100
Towing costs: $360 (including one tow over 500km in distance)
Small repairs: $300 (like hose leaks, etcetera)
Oil changes for 2.6 years: $385
Car washes for 2.6 years: $160 (I only wash this car maybe one a month for $5 a pop)
Insurance for 2.6 years: $1,820 ($700 a year to insure!)
Gasoline for 2.6 years: $4,600 (about $25 for every 300 kilometers driven)

Turned out to be $0.43 per mile ($5,665 per year).

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Peakster

Holy smokes. That's a far cry from my 1985 Pontiac Fiero.

Yup, but I was just talking ICE-related costs (to do the comparo to EV battery costs).

On avg, I was spending a total of around $750/yr CDN for all the Accord's maint/repairs.

[Solarhersteller]

really nice!