[daverp]

My cousin lives in a building where they have reserved parking - there each owner foots the bill for installing their own EVSE, but the garage seems to be relatively well provisioned so the cost to each owner isn't prohibitive. I saw at least two the last time I was there.

I have an employee in New Jersey who's building is like that. If you purchased an indoor parking spot you can have an EVSE added for your space for a small fee. I think it was around $3k, which isn't too bad all things considered.

 

[7S POWER]

Does it make sense to move forward with getting the ID4 or is my wife right that it’s not practical for us? Thanks for any advice as I’m really struggling with this decision.

Welcome to the group.

Y, EV makes a lot of sense in these high soaring gas prices. In your case, it is a win-win situation. Have an EVSE L2 charger installed in your garage or the Siemens ConnectDER by a qualified and licensed Electrician. Once either one is installed, and EA is only 5 mins away, you will be laughing many times over at others who drive ICEV.

 

[ID4ing]

Also check your local hospitals you might end up at. Alot of them probably have at least L2 chargers already. You can search via plugshare app or their website. We just got a Bolt EUV and we are waiting for the free L2 install so in the meantime we are just charging at free DCFC stations very doable especially with the faster charging rates of the ID4 . I placed an order for the ID4 a week ago and test drove it yesterday. It's a nicer car than my EUV but I was a little shocked by the lack of rear seat legroom compared to the EUV. We have two child seats and the space looks to be about the same as our rx350. The EUV just has a shockingly spacious interior for the size.

 

[WBF25]

Also check your local hospitals you might end up at. Alot of them probably have at least L2 chargers already. You can search via plugshare app or their website. We just got a Bolt EUV and we are waiting for the free L2 install so in the meantime we are just charging at free DCFC stations very doable especially with the faster charging rates of the ID4 . I placed an order for the ID4 a week ago and test drove it yesterday. It's a nicer car than my EUV but I was a little shocked by the lack of rear seat legroom compared to the EUV. We have two child seats and the space looks to be about the same as our rx350. The EUV just has a shockingly spacious interior for the size.

The EUV is certainly tempting. Interesting to hear it has more rear leg room than the ID.4. If it had more cargo space than it does I might go for one, but it seems a bit tight. How has it been working out for you - we currently have one little one, so similar boats there?

 

[ID4ing]

The EUV is certainly tempting. Interesting to hear it has more rear leg room than the ID.4. If it had more cargo space than it does I might go for one, but it seems a bit tight. How has it been working out for you - we currently have one little one, so similar boats there?

So two kids are fine. We went from CR-V to RX350 to EUV. 1 kid is definitely doable just setup the seat on the 40 side of the folding seat and you can flip down the 60 if you need to carry anything. The cargo area can hold 5 packs of Costco tp with the seats up surprisingly. It also comes with a L2 charger for free from the factory and free install of the level 2 plug. It was supposed to replace my Volt but my wife likes driving it better than our Lexus rx350 probably because of Apple car play. That's a picture of two chunky car seats installed and it's adjusted for me 5'10" driving position. No power lift gate or memory seats which kinda sucks but heated and ventilated seats which is really nice in So.Cal summers. The one pedal driving will bring the euv to a stop unlike the id4 and the regen on demand paddle is great when you are driving on the freeway. We are getting 4.4 miles per kwh which is outstanding and 33% more efficient than the id4 but much smaller vehicle. The fast charger is not as fast as ID.4 but it hasn't been a huge inconvenience as there are free fast charger near our routine routes. I feel like the battery can easily beat the factory rating of 247 miles because the guess o meter routinely says we have 260 miles range on an 80% battery. I think the battery has been upgraded but just not officially announced. Regular bolt owners that got the replacement battery have noticed increased range as well. If you can find one at msrp I'd consider it. My brother found a dealer in San Jose that was msrp back in June and we both bought our EUVs there. Drove it down to LA and only charged once for an hour. Going down the grapevine was fun watching all the range getting added back to the battery. $30k well equipped with 247 range is tough to beat. Oh there's an Uber driver discount for $2k as well on the bolts. Cost me $20 for vehicle inspection and 3 hours of time delivering Uber eats which was a fun experience. Sales person didn't even know about it until I showed him. Was very easy to claim just took screenshots of my Uber driver account and texted it to the sales person when I was doing the paperwork. Takes a while for the Uber driver account to activate so keep that mind took about a week between when I signed up and found time to go driving for a few hours. If you have other questions let me know.

 

[WBF25]

So two kids are fine. We went from CR-V to RX350 to EUV. 1 kid is definitely doable just setup the seat on the 40 side of the folding seat and you can flip down the 60 if you need to carry anything. The cargo area can hold 5 packs of Costco tp with the seats up surprisingly. It also comes with a L2 charger for free from the factory and free install of the level 2 plug. It was supposed to replace my Volt but my wife likes driving it better than our Lexus rx350 probably because of Apple car play. That's a picture of two chunky car seats installed and it's adjusted for me 5'10" driving position. No power lift gate or memory seats which kinda sucks but heated and ventilated seats which is really nice in So.Cal summers. The one pedal driving will bring the euv to a stop unlike the id4 and the regen on demand paddle is great when you are driving on the freeway. We are getting 4.4 miles per kwh which is outstanding and 33% more efficient than the id4 but much smaller vehicle. The fast charger is not as fast as ID.4 but it hasn't been a huge inconvenience as there are free fast charger near our routine routes. I feel like the battery can easily beat the factory rating of 247 miles because the guess o meter routinely says we have 260 miles range on an 80% battery. I think the battery has been upgraded but just not officially announced. Regular bolt owners that got the replacement battery have noticed increased range as well. If you can find one at msrp I'd consider it. My brother found a dealer in San Jose that was msrp back in June and we both bought our EUVs there. Drove it down to LA and only charged once for an hour. Going down the grapevine was fun watching all the range getting added back to the battery. $30k well equipped with 247 range is tough to beat. Oh there's an Uber driver discount for $2k as well on the bolts. Cost me $20 for vehicle inspection and 3 hours of time delivering Uber eats which was a fun experience. Sales person didn't even know about it until I showed him. Was very easy to claim just took screenshots of my Uber driver account and texted it to the sales person when I was doing the paperwork. Takes a while for the Uber driver account to activate so keep that mind took about a week between when I signed up and found time to go driving for a few hours. If you have other questions let me know.

View attachment 13740

Thanks for the thorough response! Glad it's working out well for you, I think I'll take a closer look at it now.

 

[DoubleNicks]

Welcome to the group.

Y, EV makes a lot of sense in these high soaring gas prices. In your case, it is a win-win situation. Have an EVSE L2 charger installed in your garage or the Siemens ConnectDER by a qualified and licensed Electrician. Once either one is installed, and EA is only 5 mins away, you will be laughing many times over at others who drive ICEV.

Thanks for the response. I'm seeing some issues with the 350w Electrify America chargers that I would be using (these are from user feedback). Finally convinced my wife to go with the ID4 but since it's our only car, I'm still trying to resolve some doubt in my mind over how much time and how often I need to charge. Any thoughts to make me feel better?

 

[WBF25]

Thanks for the response. I'm seeing some issues with the 350w Electrify America chargers that I would be using (these are from user feedback). Finally convinced my wife to go with the ID4 but since it's our only car, I'm still trying to resolve some doubt in my mind over how much time and how often I need to charge. Any thoughts to make me feel better?

The charging time for the ID.4 shouldn't be any different on a fully functional 150kW charger than it would be on a 350kW. It does not have the capability to benefit from the extra Watts available to it. Maybe the 150kW chargers near you seem to be working better?
Assuming 200 miles a week, you'd probably need to charge once a week for 45 minutes or so, depending on the charger. In the winter your range will drop a bit, so you may be charging closer to every 150 miles.

 

[DoubleNicks]

The charging time for the ID.4 shouldn't be any different on a fully functional 150kW charger than it would be on a 350kW. It does not have the capability to benefit from the extra Watts available to it. Maybe the 150kW chargers near you seem to be working better?
Assuming 200 miles a week, you'd probably need to charge once a week for 45 minutes or so, depending on the charger. In the winter your range will drop a bit, so you may be charging closer to every 150 miles.

Yes, the 150kW appear to be fully functional and reliable at that location (it's in a Walmart parking lot in Somerdale, NJ which is only 5 minutes from my condo. I cannot charge at home unfortunately). The charging time is just the one thing I keep pouring over in my mind. I'm retired so I certainly have the time to do it, it's just having to get used to going from gas to electric. Thanks.

 

[DoubleNicks]

I agree with the general sentiment already stated in this thread that after a period of adjustment, it would probably work out fine for both of you, and you’ll end up loving it. I believe that one of the best things to do to convince someone about going EV is to actually have them drive one. Once you own one, it may take some time to change your thinking and get out of the ICE mindset, but eventually you learn what the car can do, how often you need to charge it, and you adjust your behaviors around charging, maintenance, etc.

One other thing to keep in mind is that the current number of both Level 2 and DC fast chargers in your area is not likely to remain static in the coming years, but should only continue to grow. More DCFC stations are being built all the time, esp in the Northeast where EV ownership is being incentivized by state grants on top of federal tax credits. So making a decision based solely on the “charger anxiety” she has based on what’s there today might be skewing the decision toward the negative.

Thank you. I did finally convince her to move forward with the ID4 now I just have to wrap my head around going from filling up with gas to charging. I keep going over over that in my mind and it's starting to affect my decision. Any additional insight you can provide to help me get past this mindset would be very much appreciated.

 

[WBF25]

Yes, the 150kW appear to be fully functional and reliable at that location (it's in a Walmart parking lot in Somerdale, NJ which is only 5 minutes from my condo. I cannot charge at home unfortunately). The charging time is just the one thing I keep pouring over in my mind. I'm retired so I certainly have the time to do it, it's just having to get used to going from gas to electric. Thanks.

Yeah, it definitely will be an adjustment. Could turn it into part of your weekly routine - use the time you're charging to plan groceries, catch up on news or your favorite sports team, watch a show, do some crosswords, go have a cup of coffee somewhere close by, or take a stroll around Walmart.
Worth keeping in mind that in a pinch you could probably get an Uber to go somewhere if you needed to.

 

[Nai3t]

Thanks for the response. I'm seeing some issues with the 350w Electrify America chargers that I would be using (these are from user feedback). Finally convinced my wife to go with the ID4 but since it's our only car, I'm still trying to resolve some doubt in my mind over how much time and how often I need to charge. Any thoughts to make me feel better?

I think you're right to have doubts and indicates you're being honest with yourself. You have to evaluate how much of a inconvenience, how much of a chore it will be to have to be to set aside time and drive to charge on some sort of recurring schedule. It's not hard, it's just lost time, and a low battery necessitates a somewhat inflexible time commitment, not "I'll get to it when I get to it." The ability to charge at home is an often misunderstood, or at least undervalued, benefit to EV ownership that the majority of us take for granted. Most of us don't have to think about charging schedules because we plug the car in when we feel like it and walk away -- it's 15 seconds of our lives and we go on about our business.

Not saying not to do it! But know what you're in store for.

 

[DoubleNicks]

Yeah, it definitely will be an adjustment. Could turn it into part of your weekly routine - use the time you're charging to plan groceries, catch up on news or your favorite sports team, watch a show, do some crosswords, go have a cup of coffee somewhere close by, or take a stroll around Walmart.
Worth keeping in mind that in a pinch you could probably get an Uber to go somewhere if you needed to.

Thanks for the great advice. My wife and I also discussed if we had to we would use Uber in a pinch.

 

[DoubleNicks]

I think you're right to have doubts and indicates you're being honest with yourself. You have to evaluate how much of a inconvenience, how much of a chore it will be to have to be to set aside time and drive to charge on some sort of recurring schedule. It's not hard, it's just lost time, and a low battery necessitates a somewhat inflexible time commitment, not "I'll get to it when I get to it." The ability to charge at home is an often misunderstood, or at least undervalued, benefit to EV ownership that the majority of us take for granted. Most of us don't have to think about charging schedules because we plug the car in when we feel like it and walk away -- it's 15 seconds of our lives and we go on about our business.

Not saying not to do it! But know what you're in store for.

Thank you.

 

[ericy]

Thank you. I did finally convince her to move forward with the ID4 now I just have to wrap my head around going from filling up with gas to charging. I keep going over over that in my mind and it's starting to affect my decision. Any additional insight you can provide to help me get past this mindset would be very much appreciated.

It is a bit of an adjustment, but once you get used to it, it all becomes 2nd nature.

Anything you can do to combine existing trips with charging is a win as well. For example, if you go out to the movies and there is a L2 in the parking lot, you can get a decent charge while you are inside.

We go to NYC from time to time - we drive to Hamilton NJ to pick up NJT, and there is free L1 charging on the top level of the parking garage. When we return from the city, we are charged back to 80% and ready for the trip home.

 

[DoubleNicks]

Thank you for the quick response. My wife and I do the same so great advice for a trip to NYC.

 

[Cascade Steve]

I have been interested in an EV for some time. Have an opportunity to lease a 2022 ID4 Pro at a great price with both federal and state incentives (We live in Southern NJ) but need some advise. My wife and I are retired, she’s 71 and I’m 67 and we are unable to home charge. The closest Electrify America public station is only 5 minutes from our home. My wife is really against getting an EV due to charging times, etc. we only have one vehicle so this would be our primary car. Does it make sense to move forward with getting the ID4 or is my wife right that it’s not practical for us? Thanks for any advice as I’m really struggling with this decision.

I reluctantly agree with your wife. We love our ID.4. My wife drives it daily and loves it. We drove it 2000 miles on a trip to Yosemite and back. It drove marvelously. But we had some trouble charging both at faulty Electrify American stations and simply finding stations off the main highways.

Since you drive very little your carbon footprint is already small and the mount of gas you use is not much. The main value, for us, is the ability to avoid going to gas stations and that the value of energy is less than 20% for electric versus gas. Both of those issues, for you are minimal, since you don't drive much. But the worry about being charged up when you really need it is a real issue. And the fact that you will have to sit around for 30 to 45 minutes at a station to get charged is a hassle.

 

[DoubleNicks]

Thank you for your feedback. I live in NJ and with millions allocated to charging station buildout, it amazes me how few there are. You would think that grocery stores, gyms, restaurants, etc. would take advantage of no cost plus an added incentive to visit those establishments. I’m still waiting on the ID4 to arrive at the dealer so still considering the decision.

 

[daverp]

Thank you for your feedback. I live in NJ and with millions allocated to charging station buildout, it amazes me how few there are. You would think that grocery stores, gyms, restaurants, etc. would take advantage of no cost plus an added incentive to visit those establishments. I’m still waiting on the ID4 to arrive at the dealer so still considering the decision.

We just hit a 6% EV adoption rate which many pundits predicted will be an adoption tipping point. The focus to date for DC Fast charging has been to build them along major highways. Costs needs to come down DC Fast charging to come to local locations. L2 chargers you see at hotels, malls, and grocery, can cost on average $5 to $15k to install. DC Fast chargers are expensive and require high current 480v power, I've seen numbers that the cost to install each DC fast charger is around $80k for a 150kW and around $140k for 350kW, d to the need for the 480v 3phase high amp power.

Millions doesn't go as far as it sounds. A million dollars buys you about 7 of the 350kW chargers being installed today. As the adoption rates climb you should large companies start building more charging stations modeled off gas stations, than the 4 charges in a back of a Walmart parking lot we are seeing today. Higher adoption rates and lowering costs of the tech, should start making building gas stations style charging locations more economical than building a actual gas station.

 

[DoubleNicks]

All great points and thank you.