I want a new car, but should I? Let's compare the finances

I left a 2nd gen Chevy Volt for a Tacoma.... I do miss not putting gas in every other week it seems. I would get 60 miles to a charge before the gas engine kicked in.

Look into a nice used 2nd Gen Chevy Volt

also

Miatia
Is
Always
The
Answer

 

I always thought an electric car's charge costs just as much as a $35 tank of gas.

 

That is awesome, never has to fill up........

 

Keep the paid for cars. Pay off the house if that’s all you have debt wise. Retire and use all the extra money for fun until you die.

 

for a plug in hybrid with a slow charger like the volt, yes. It cost more to charge it at a pay to charge spot than charging at home overnight. Unless its a free charger, then its free but see my note below about plug ins charging. Now if the volt had the 7.2 kwh charger it would be fine to pay to charge since it would get to full charge a lot faster. Plus plugging in a plug in hybrid at a car charger spot is what I consider rude... electric car owners need them more than a plug in hybrid since when they need a charge they cant go to a gas pump and fill the tank to get home when you run out of battery.

A plug in hybrids main charging plan is to charge at home or at work and use gas when you go out of its electric range. I drive 10 miles ot work one way so I would charge it every other day at work, for free. At home I would charge it as well for about $0.13 per KWH. We also own a Nissan Leaf and our electric bill was never astronomical. Leaf charges every 5 days and it has a 30 KWH battery and we usually charge it when its at about 15% (which is really 25% since the bottom 10% is off limits for battery health). The Volt was around 17 KWH and that too had an upper percentage and lower percentage that couldnt be utilized. Volt batteries are super well made, ive taken a few apart and chevy invest a lot into them

 

You'll really like Alfas till you own one. Avoid British and Italian cars like the plague.

Truth

If you live in urban areas of Oregon, you'll spend a whole 0 minutes pumping your gas.

 

I'm not a fan of debt (but that doesn't mean everyone should be like me). I have always saved up until I could pay cash for a vehicle before buying one. If it were me and the truck runs then keep at it until you can afford the next one while paying off any bills you may have.

 

Ask anyone who's owned an Alfa if they would like to own an Alfa again.

It's one thing to have something like an Alfa 8C as an expensive, fun toy to bomb around in now and then.

It's an entirely different thing to own an Alfa and expect it to get you where you need to go on a reliable and daily basis.

Alfa Romeo: Our Heart Is Broken Car and Driver