As the price of gas at the pump skyrockets

[Larry in TN]

How long does it take to warm up a Tesla sitting in the driveway?

Depends on the temperature when you start. In my experience, it's been less than ten minutes, but I don't live in Fargo or New York.

If you leave for work at the same time everyday, like normal people, not us pilots, you can set it to be preconditioned at your departure time automatically. That way, you're using your home's power supply to precondition, and, since there's no engine running, it can precondition in the garage.

Don’t all Teslas come with a home charger that you just plug into an outlet?

Yes, they do. I thinking they're talking about people who can't park by an outlet. i.e. on the curb, in an apartment's parking lot, or in a parking garage.

I wouldn't own a Tesla if I couldn't charge it at home. Maybe those with charging at work, who work "normal" hours, feel differently.

It uses a resistance heater so it’s pretty quick.

All the newer (2021+) ones have the heat pump. Works really well. Much more efficient than the resistive heating.

My App tells me that I've spent $12 in electricity charging my car over the past 31 days.

 

[Bob Noel]

But the motorcycle makes me happy for less money than a shrink.

fair point...

 

[Velocity173]

Depends on the temperature when you start. In my experience, it's been less than ten minutes, but I don't live in Fargo or New York.

If you leave for work at the same time everyday, like normal people, not us pilots, you can set it to be preconditioned at your departure time automatically. That way, you're using your home's power supply to precondition, and, since there's no engine running, it can precondition in the garage.


Yes, they do. I thinking they're talking about people who can't park by an outlet. i.e. on the curb, in an apartment's parking lot, or in a parking garage.

I wouldn't own a Tesla if I couldn't charge it at home. Maybe those with charging at work, who work "normal" hours, feel differently.


All the newer (2021+) ones have the heat pump. Works really well. Much more efficient than the resistive heating.

My App tells me that I've spent $12 in electricity charging my car over the past 31 days.

Even with free super charging and charging at work, I wouldn’t own an a Tesla either without being able to charge at home. That’s what makes ownership so convenient.

Don’t think I’ve got a monthly charge function on my app. It’s probably the old Tesla app though. I’d estimate a $30 increase in my monthly electric bill. That’s driving around 1200 miles a month.

 

[Larry in TN]

Don’t think I’ve got a monthly charge function on my app. It’s probably the old Tesla app though.

It's a new feature of the app. Shows up on the main app menu as "Charge Stats" between "Security" and "Upgrades". My car's on 2022.4.5.17 but it was available prior to the latest update.

 

[genna]

Why not just own multiple vehicles and adjust your habits a bit? If gas prices are fairly cheap, I drive one of my F-150s, ~18mpg. Price goes up, I drive my Dodge Challenger at ~30mpg. Gas price goes through the roof, I ride my motorcycle, 40mpg.

And none of it makes much difference to my flying. That'd be like trying to cut back on a heroin addiction because the price of needles goes up.

Because unless you have a need for these extra vehicles, any gas savings will be blown away on the cost of getting and keeping the extra vehicle. Even a motorcycle, let alone a car.

 

[asicer]

All the newer (2021+) ones have the heat pump. Works really well. Much more efficient than the resistive heating.

Is that in addition to the resistive? Or in place of? Seems to me to be useful to have the resistive for when you are plugged in and the heat pump for when you are rolling.

 

[Larry in TN]

Is that in addition to the resistive? Or in place of? Seems to me to be useful to have the resistive for when you are plugged in and the heat pump for when you are rolling.

The heat pump replaced the A/C and resistance air heat. There are still resistance heat for the heated seats and heated steering wheel, of course.

The heat pump runs just fine when you're parked and plugged in as it's fully electric. No need to have an engine running to turn the compressor.

 

[Half Fast]

Because unless you have a need for these extra vehicles, any gas savings will be blown away on the cost of getting and keeping the extra vehicle. Even a motorcycle, let alone a car.

 

[Bob Noel]

The heat pump replaced the A/C and resistance air heat. There are still resistance heat for the heated seats and heated steering wheel, of course.

The heat pump runs just fine when you're parked and plugged in as it's fully electric. No need to have an engine running to turn the compressor.

and how does it work below 0 F?

 

[Larry in TN]

and how does it work below 0 F?

This is the best explanation that I've seen.

 

[judypilot]

Electric seat heaters not powerful enough?

No, actually. The steering wheel heats up nicely, but the seat heater takes forever. My husband's Corvette has seat heaters that work quickly, but that's not the case in my Jeep. If I could choose between fast heating of the steering wheel and fast heating of the seat, I'd choose the seat, but that's not what I got.

 

[judypilot]

But suppose you live on one of those streets with a “NO OUTLET” sign?

My brother does, in California. As I understand it, Teslas have to be plugged into 220 volt outlets. And apparently they draw a lot of power. My brother has told me that one more Tesla on his court and the city will have to upgrade the power system. Despite being a scientist, I have issues with anything having to do with electricity in that I just don't understand it, but I asked my electrical engineer husband about this, and he confirms it could be a problem. (By the way, my husband has tried in vain to get me to understand electricity. I "get" the connection between magnetism and electricity and how it moves, more or less, but start getting into volts, amps, and watts, and I get lost very fast.)

 

[SkyDog58]

But suppose you live on one of those streets with a “NO OUTLET” sign?

 

[Larry in TN]

My brother does, in California. As I understand it, Teslas have to be plugged into 220 volt outlets. And apparently they draw a lot of power. My brother has told me that one more Tesla on his court and the city will have to upgrade the power system.

That's not correct.

1. You can charge at 120v, it just takes longer.

2. The power draw when charging at 240v is no greater than 32A. That's slightly more than your clothes dryer or electric over will draw.

3. When you get home at night, your car doesn't have to refill the entire battery capacity. It only has to replace what you used that day. Typically no more than a couple of hours of charging for most drivers. I was out running some errands yesterday. When I returned, my car charged for 36 minutes using 4.74 kWh of electricity at a cost of 46¢.

4. If the grid in your area is near capacity during peak times, the electric company can, and many do, offer discounts on the electrical rate at night when demand is low and capacity is high. All EVs can be programmed to charge only during those hours to take advantage of the lower rates.

 

[flyingbrit]

As I understand it, Teslas have to be plugged into 220 volt outlets.

Not so. Teslas come with what they call a "mobile" charging cord which plugs into a standard 120V outlet. However, they don't recommend it for home because of the low charge rate, estimated at 2-3 miles of range for each hour plugged in:
https://www.tesla.com/support/home-charging

 

[Ted]

I could've saved a lot of money over the years by driving cars that get good mileage instead of what I've driven. But, I've enjoyed what I've driven, and that's essentially been my cost of entertainment that I haven't spent on things like going to bars, going to the movie theater, all the other kinds of things that a lot of people regularly consume money on for entertainment.

Also, with a few exceptions, I've always bought used cars. Sure you can buy used efficient cars that get good mileage, but by buying "right" a lot of times I've bought gas guzzling vehicles cheap and so when you look at the total cost of ownership, it's not been very high per mile all things considered.

 

[Half Fast]

I could've saved a lot of money over the years by driving cars that get good mileage instead of what I've driven. But, I've enjoyed what I've driven, and that's essentially been my cost of entertainment that I haven't spent on things like going to bars, going to the movie theater, all the other kinds of things that a lot of people regularly consume money on for entertainment.

Also, with a few exceptions, I've always bought used cars. Sure you can buy used efficient cars that get good mileage, but by buying "right" a lot of times I've bought gas guzzling vehicles cheap and so when you look at the total cost of ownership, it's not been very high per mile all things considered.

Same here. I buy all my cars and trucks used, typically around 2 years old with around 20k on the clock. That way I still have a little warranty left if there's a problem, but someone else has taken the biggest hit from depreciation. Then I keep 'em until they disintegrate.

That approach has worked very well for the last 40 years or so. Therefore, I doubt I'll buy any sort of EV until I can get a good deal on a slightly used one.

 

[X3 Skier]

I buy a new car and run it till ain’t worth repairing, typically 10+ years. The one I have now will probably last me until I’m put in the funny farm or old geezer warehouse. Ergo EV’s aren’t anything I’m interested in.

Cheers

 

[PaulMillner]

I buy a new car and run it till ain’t worth repairing, typically 10+ years. The one I have now will probably last me until I’m put in the funny farm or old geezer warehouse. Ergo EV’s aren’t anything I’m interested in.

Cheers

Look on the bright side... you might total your car tomorrow, then you can go EV shopping!

Paul

 

[Larry in TN]

Same here. I buy all my cars and trucks used, typically around 2 years old with around 20k on the clock

I did the same for many decades and never financed a single one of them. I'm now at the point where I can, and do, buy new. It's nice.

until I can get a good deal on a slightly used one.

Good luck getting a good deal on any car, new or used, at the moment. As I posted on the other thread, buying my car today would cost $4,500 more than when I ordered it, six months ago.

 

[Velocity173]

I did the same for many decades and never financed a single one of them. I'm now at the point where I can, and do, buy new. It's nice.


Good luck getting a good deal on any car, new or used, at the moment. As I posted on the other thread, buying my car today would cost $4,500 more than when I ordered it, six months ago.

Yep, used car prices went up by 40% last year. I was looking at used Model Ss a couple years back and you could get a nice one (early pre facelift) in the low $30s. Nice ones now are low $40s.

 

[Ted]

I just got back from the DMV to take care of some renewals. I was shocked at the complete and utter lack of lines, which are unusual (and as you all know, I buy enough vehicles that I'm a regular). I was chatting with the clerk helping and noted that, and she said that it was pretty slow lately.

 

[Bill]

I just got back from the DMV to take care of some renewals. I was shocked at the complete and utter lack of lines, which are unusual (and as you all know, I buy enough vehicles that I'm a regular). I was chatting with the clerk helping and noted that, and she said that it was pretty slow lately.

Like the other thread has proposed, we may be past peak. All those with cash and ready to buy have already done so.

 

[Ted]

Like the other thread has proposed, we may be past peak. All those with cash and ready to buy have already done so.

Yeah, I'm sorta wondering how the motorcycle sales are going to go for me. The Triumph sold in under 24 hours, so that's done, but the Harleys aren't getting as much attention. The Triumph is also a much lower price point, and Harleys (especially big touring ones) are expensive and don't get awesome fuel economy. Plus Harleys in general are going down in popularity.

 

[Half Fast]

I'm now at the point where I can, and do, buy new. It's nice.

I've been at the point for many years where I can buy new, and I don't. That's (partly) how I got to that point in the first place.

 

[Bob Noel]

Like the other thread has proposed, we may be past peak. All those with cash and ready to buy have already done so.

or simply experiencing a local minima with higher prices coming down the road (no pun)

 

[Zeldman]

 

[IK04]

I put $70 worth of Diesel fuel in my car yesterday and it was not a fill up.

 

[Ted]

I put $70 worth of Diesel fuel in my car yesterday and it was not a fill up.

On our last RV trip, $300 wasn't filling the RV tank.

 

[KRyan]

A few years ago, I bought a Yamaha Vino scooter. It was a 2004 model, and I paid $700 for it. I live about 10 minutes from work, and only have to drive on surface streets (no highway). I'm in Ohio, and can ride the scooter from about April to October, and use it to ride to work and back every day I can (which is most days) and on many short errands during that time period. The gas tank holds just a bit more than 1 gallon, and I get about 80 mpg. I have to fill the tank about every 2 -2-1/2 weeks. I'm going to try and keep track of my fuel costs this spring/summer, but I'm guessing that last year I spent less that $50 on gas for that seven month period.
I've had the scooter for three or four years now, and I'm pretty sure it's paid for itself.

Obviously, there are not a lot of people in my situation, but that scooter was probably the second-best thing I ever purchased.

 

[genna]

A few years ago, I bought a Yamaha Vino scooter. It was a 2004 model, and I paid $700 for it. I live about 10 minutes from work, and only have to drive on surface streets (no highway). I'm in Ohio, and can ride the scooter from about April to October, and use it to ride to work and back every day I can (which is most days) and on many short errands during that time period. The gas tank holds just a bit more than 1 gallon, and I get about 80 mpg. I have to fill the tank about every 2 -2-1/2 weeks. I'm going to try and keep track of my fuel costs this spring/summer, but I'm guessing that last year I spent less that $50 on gas for that seven month period.
I've had the scooter for three or four years now, and I'm pretty sure it's paid for itself.

Obviously, there are not a lot of people in my situation, but that scooter was probably the second-best thing I ever purchased.

I had a Honda PCX150 for a few years until last year. Prior to pandemic i was using it during Spring to Fall time period to go to work. On highway, 10 min @ 65mph. Then i didn't have to go to work and it was not useful for anything else as I needed to transport a child most everywhere else nearby. So I sold it last year for the same money I bought it new in 2015. In the end i think i only ended up putting a couple of thousand miles on it. So I doubt I saved a lot of money, but some. Scooters can save lots of money if you ride them a lot. I actually kept track of it for a while. Back when gas was around $3. Compared to my very hungry car(15MPG premium) with expensive MX($1000 set of 30K mile tires) I was spending about 1/3 on the per mile basis. It actually sort of ended up better since there was no depreciation in the scooter that i was factoring in. Then again, there is inflation . Lots of the savings come from not gas, but not putting miles on the car to begin with and not needing as much MX. But that can be overdone since cars don't like not being regularly used either.

 

[Palmpilot]

Gas prices fall below $4 for 1st time since March

 

[Bob Noel]

BFD - let me know when gas prices fall below $2.

 

[EdFred]

BFD - let me know when gas prices fall below $2.

If you price it per quart...

 

[Clip4]

BFD - let me know when gas prices fall below $2.

It’s less than $2 liter all across Canada, enjoy.

 

[JOhnH]

Got this email from the airport manager at KIWI (Wiscasset, Maine) where I have been known to visit.

• 
  
  
  Airport Manager <airport@wiscasset.org>
  To:'Airport Manager'
  
  Fri, Aug 12 at 12:27 PM
  
  
  The price of Avgas 100LL reduced from $7.61 by $1.27 per Gallon to $6.34.
  
  Rick Tetrev, Airport Manager
  
  
  • 
    

 

[EdFred]

We dropped 99c a gallon at home drome. Now 2nd cheapest in the GRR MKG LAN AZO area

 

[Pinecone]

Home field got a delivery yesterday. The price is expected to go down, but not sure to what level, should know today. It was $6.29

I got gas in LA on Sunday at $5.29 per gallon (KREG), and in TN on Monday for $5.59 a gallon (KMNV).

 

[SoonerAviator]

Diesel is still absurdly high in price compared to gasoline. Paid $4.40/gal this morning, when it had been running close to the price of premium which is currently at $3.69.

 

[mondtster]

Diesel is still absurdly high in price compared to gasoline. Paid $4.40/gal this morning, when it had been running close to the price of premium which is currently at $3.69.

I wouldn’t say your diesel price is absurdly high, it seems pretty typical from what I’ve seen across the Midwest. Your premium gasoline on the other hand, seems absurdly low.