I just spent a good deal of time putting together this e-mail and thought I'd post it here for anyone else to look at.
This was an e-mail response to:
"My Tacoma is cheaper to operate (daily and over it’s lifetime) will go (and has gone) more places than most Teslas. It’s been up and down the BAJA peninsula several times, over roads that would pulverize most cars, and where there is no electricity available."
My response:
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Toyota Tacoma is a great choice for a truck to pre-run Baja,
but if $ (or pollution) is a concern, then the Tacoma is a really...
...really bad choice as a daily-driver.
But don't take my word for it, lets do some math!
Looking only at daily-driving costs over a vehicles lifetime:
For the sake of this comparison, lets just assume:
each of these vehicles will last 200,000 miles.
Also, lets assume gas stays at $ 4.00 / gallon.
And electricity stays at $ 0.11 / kwh.
and for general-maintenance:
smog-checks are $ 80 each. (guess)
oil-changes/filter-changes are $ 80 each. (guess)
brakes are $200 / set. (guess)
tires: $500 / set (for cars). $700 / set (for trucks and fancy-cars)
---
2013 Toyota Tacoma:
approx. lifetime cost = $71,100.92
MSRP:
$21,275 (for the 2WD, base-model Access-Cab. http://www.toyota.com/configurator/#!/series/tacoma/cab/Access%20Cab/drive/4x2/bed/Standard%20Bed/trim/116462001)
Real-World MPG: 18.4 MPG (http://www.fuelly.com/car/toyota/tacoma)
Lifetime fuel-cost:
$43,478.26 (200,000 miles / 18.4 MPG x $4.00)
Lifetime Maintenance cost:
$6,347.66 ( (6 x $80 smog-checks) + (200,000 mi / 5,000 mi x $60 oil-changes) + (200,000 mi / 60,000 mi x $200 brakes) + (200,000 mi / 50,000 mi x $700 tires )
---
2013 Toyota Prius C:
approx. lifetime cost = $38,397.09
MSRP:
$19,080 (http://www.toyota.com/priusc/#!/Welcome)
Real-World MPG: 50.9 MPG (http://www.fuelly.com/car/toyota/prius%20c)
Lifetime fuel-cost:
$15,717.09 (200,000 miles / 50.9 MPG x $4.00)
Lifetime Maintenance cost:
$3,600 ( (No smog-checks) + (200,000 mi / 10,000 mi x $60 oil-changes) + (200,000 mi / 100,000 mi x $200 brakes) + (200,000 mi / 50,000 mi x $500 tires )
---
2013 Toyota Nissan Leaf:
approx. lifetime cost = $29,880.00
MSRP:
$21,300 (http://www.nissanusa.com/electric-cars/leaf/) *actually 18,800 (2,500 less) for us in CA, but lets go with national pricing.
kwh / mile: .29 kwh/mi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Leaf)
Lifetime fuel-cost:
$6,380 (200,000 miles x .29 kwh/mi x $0.11)
Lifetime Maintenance cost:
$2,200 ( (No smog-checks) + (No oil-changes) + (Maybe 1 brake-change x $200 brakes) + (200,000 mi / 50,000 mi x $500 tires )
---
2013 Tesla Model S (60 kwh model):
approx. lifetime cost = $74,270.00
MSRP:
$63,570 (http://www.teslamotors.com/models/design) *actually 61,070 (2,500 less) for us in CA, but lets go with national pricing.
kwh / mile: .35 kwh/mi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Model_S)
Lifetime fuel-cost:
$7,700 (200,000 miles x .35 kwh/mi x $0.11)
Lifetime Maintenance cost:
$3,000 ( (No smog-checks) + (No oil-changes) + (Maybe 1 brake-change x $200 brakes) + (200,000 mi / 50,000 mi x $700 tires )
---
So in conclusion:
Yes, the lifetime $ cost of a 2WD (access-cab) Toyota Tacoma appears to be slightly less expensive than a 2013 Tesla Model S
($71,100 (Tacoma) vs $74,270 (Tesla Model S)) ... but that's assuming gas prices don't rise, and that's also assuming you purchased the 2WD (access-cab) base-model Tacoma and not the 4WD.
As for the other vehicles:
The Tacoma gets its ass-kicked by the Nissan-Leaf and the Prius C as a daily-driver.
($71,100 (Tacoma) vs $38,397 (Prius C) vs $29,880 (Leaf))
in this scenario, the Nissan Leaf is king.
Now let's look at a different scenario:
If you assume batteries will only last up until their warranty ends (100,000 miles) the new "total-lifetime costs" would be:
Battery-replacement cost on the Nissan leaf is around $12K.
Battey replacement cost on the Prius C is just under $3K.
W/ 1 battery-replacement after 100,000 miles:
($71,100 (Tacoma) vs $41,397 (Prius C) vs $41,880 (Leaf))
In this scenario, the Prius C is (just barely) King. (but again, that's only assuming gas-prices don't rise).
And that's still a savings of: 30,000 dollars over a Tacoma.
I wonder how many times you could rent a bad-ass off-road vehicle for 30K dollars?
...Hell, you could just buy a decked-out Tacoma with that money and only use it to race Baja.
None of the math above factors in all of that bad-shit that comes out of a tailpipe.
...I would have purchased a Nissan Leaf if I had a place to charge it. So instead I opted for a Prius C.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Electric is the future.
We just need more people to learn basic math.
This was an e-mail response to:
"My Tacoma is cheaper to operate (daily and over it’s lifetime) will go (and has gone) more places than most Teslas. It’s been up and down the BAJA peninsula several times, over roads that would pulverize most cars, and where there is no electricity available."
My response:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Toyota Tacoma is a great choice for a truck to pre-run Baja,
but if $ (or pollution) is a concern, then the Tacoma is a really...
...really bad choice as a daily-driver.
But don't take my word for it, lets do some math!
Looking only at daily-driving costs over a vehicles lifetime:
For the sake of this comparison, lets just assume:
each of these vehicles will last 200,000 miles.
Also, lets assume gas stays at $ 4.00 / gallon.
And electricity stays at $ 0.11 / kwh.
and for general-maintenance:
smog-checks are $ 80 each. (guess)
oil-changes/filter-changes are $ 80 each. (guess)
brakes are $200 / set. (guess)
tires: $500 / set (for cars). $700 / set (for trucks and fancy-cars)
---
2013 Toyota Tacoma:
approx. lifetime cost = $71,100.92
MSRP:
$21,275 (for the 2WD, base-model Access-Cab. http://www.toyota.com/configurator/#!/series/tacoma/cab/Access%20Cab/drive/4x2/bed/Standard%20Bed/trim/116462001)
Real-World MPG: 18.4 MPG (http://www.fuelly.com/car/toyota/tacoma)
Lifetime fuel-cost:
$43,478.26 (200,000 miles / 18.4 MPG x $4.00)
Lifetime Maintenance cost:
$6,347.66 ( (6 x $80 smog-checks) + (200,000 mi / 5,000 mi x $60 oil-changes) + (200,000 mi / 60,000 mi x $200 brakes) + (200,000 mi / 50,000 mi x $700 tires )
---
2013 Toyota Prius C:
approx. lifetime cost = $38,397.09
MSRP:
$19,080 (http://www.toyota.com/priusc/#!/Welcome)
Real-World MPG: 50.9 MPG (http://www.fuelly.com/car/toyota/prius%20c)
Lifetime fuel-cost:
$15,717.09 (200,000 miles / 50.9 MPG x $4.00)
Lifetime Maintenance cost:
$3,600 ( (No smog-checks) + (200,000 mi / 10,000 mi x $60 oil-changes) + (200,000 mi / 100,000 mi x $200 brakes) + (200,000 mi / 50,000 mi x $500 tires )
---
2013 Toyota Nissan Leaf:
approx. lifetime cost = $29,880.00
MSRP:
$21,300 (http://www.nissanusa.com/electric-cars/leaf/) *actually 18,800 (2,500 less) for us in CA, but lets go with national pricing.
kwh / mile: .29 kwh/mi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Leaf)
Lifetime fuel-cost:
$6,380 (200,000 miles x .29 kwh/mi x $0.11)
Lifetime Maintenance cost:
$2,200 ( (No smog-checks) + (No oil-changes) + (Maybe 1 brake-change x $200 brakes) + (200,000 mi / 50,000 mi x $500 tires )
---
2013 Tesla Model S (60 kwh model):
approx. lifetime cost = $74,270.00
MSRP:
$63,570 (http://www.teslamotors.com/models/design) *actually 61,070 (2,500 less) for us in CA, but lets go with national pricing.
kwh / mile: .35 kwh/mi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Model_S)
Lifetime fuel-cost:
$7,700 (200,000 miles x .35 kwh/mi x $0.11)
Lifetime Maintenance cost:
$3,000 ( (No smog-checks) + (No oil-changes) + (Maybe 1 brake-change x $200 brakes) + (200,000 mi / 50,000 mi x $700 tires )
---
So in conclusion:
Yes, the lifetime $ cost of a 2WD (access-cab) Toyota Tacoma appears to be slightly less expensive than a 2013 Tesla Model S
($71,100 (Tacoma) vs $74,270 (Tesla Model S)) ... but that's assuming gas prices don't rise, and that's also assuming you purchased the 2WD (access-cab) base-model Tacoma and not the 4WD.
As for the other vehicles:
The Tacoma gets its ass-kicked by the Nissan-Leaf and the Prius C as a daily-driver.
($71,100 (Tacoma) vs $38,397 (Prius C) vs $29,880 (Leaf))
in this scenario, the Nissan Leaf is king.
Now let's look at a different scenario:
If you assume batteries will only last up until their warranty ends (100,000 miles) the new "total-lifetime costs" would be:
Battery-replacement cost on the Nissan leaf is around $12K.
Battey replacement cost on the Prius C is just under $3K.
W/ 1 battery-replacement after 100,000 miles:
($71,100 (Tacoma) vs $41,397 (Prius C) vs $41,880 (Leaf))
In this scenario, the Prius C is (just barely) King. (but again, that's only assuming gas-prices don't rise).
And that's still a savings of: 30,000 dollars over a Tacoma.
I wonder how many times you could rent a bad-ass off-road vehicle for 30K dollars?
...Hell, you could just buy a decked-out Tacoma with that money and only use it to race Baja.
None of the math above factors in all of that bad-shit that comes out of a tailpipe.
...I would have purchased a Nissan Leaf if I had a place to charge it. So instead I opted for a Prius C.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Electric is the future.
We just need more people to learn basic math.
