greenyourride

Step 1) Figure out what will you use your EV for (use case). 

If you're like many backcountry users, you want to take long roadtrips, even in the winter. In this case, you should read the EV roadtrips page, but you'll probably want to choose an EV that has first and foremost fast charging, pretty good range, and avoid LFP batteries that don't do well in the cold. Ask the sales person (or do research on spec.s) about heat pumps, and preconditioning for fast charging. (If you haven't bought a car in a long time, you should know that most cars don't come with spares anymore, including most EVs; have a plan (patch kit, inflator, roadside service, or maybe add a spare?) to deal with what you might do if you get a flat. 

If you're NOT going to use your EV for long road trips - this is a whole other ball game.  As yourself if you can get along with a much less expensive EV, i.e. one with less range and slower charging.  The batteries are a very large part of the cost of an EV; if you don't need them, why pay for them?

Finally, an EV battery can be absolutely gigantic.  Do you want to use it for more than driving?  This might be a consideration for what you buy.  The F-150 lightning has 110V plugs to power high-current power tools. With some additional accessories, you can power your home in a power outage.  A LONG TIME.  EV batteries can easily be 4X as large as the typical home backup battery. As of early 2024, only a few EVs support V2L or powering your home. (It is widely proposed to use EVs to power the grid, i.e. for EV owners to sell energy back to the grid from their batteries. This is not implemented yet - but you might consider an EV likely to be set up for this if you're interested.)

Step 2) Ask Questions About Your Prospective New Ride: research, research, research. 

An EV is a big purchase - or lease - or used purchase. In any event, research, research, research.  It's a great idea to talk to actual people who have owned your model.  (Don't get all your info from a sales person - they probably haven't even been on a long drive in an EV.)  Ask to see a charging curve, ask details about the heat pump for the battery, how battery pre-conditioning works, about access to fast charger networks, and free charging miles. Then ask more questions. Do your research!

insideevs forum - many different models

Tesla Forum

There are many other forums.  Hear from and about how people like the model you want to pick - or not. 

Step 3) Figure out in advance how you are going to charge. Consider ordering charger system adapters immediately when you order/get your EV.

EVs are really made to be plugged in at home every night. That makes them really convenient and very inexpensive to run.  On the other hand, lots of people don't have easy access to a driveway to charge in.  Some people charge at work, and that can work as well. Having to charge at fast chargers or other chargers around town is far less convenient, but check your town to see the availability of, and unique solutions for, charging about town (some towns have chargers on light poles, and others have chargers at public parking spaces). 

Fast chargers and fast charging are really important for long road trips. There are two types: Tesla fast and "Public" chargers, such as those run by Electrify America. Tesla fast ("Superchargers") chargers are widely available in the US as of about mid-2022 or so, are widely avaialable in the US, and are extremely fast, easy, convenient and reliable. Public chargers in the US have, until 2024, have had ease-of-use issues, including reliability, and have not been as widely available as Tesla chargers. However, $7.5 billion is on the way to fix this via the Inflation Reduction Act, with a goal of fast, reliable chargers every 50 highway miles, and Bloomberg Research predicts substantial improvement by just the end of this year. 

The distinction became significantly less important in 2024 when Tesla opened their charger network to all EVs. On this site you will find a picture taken 2024 June of a Mustang mach-e at a Tesla supercharger. The driver at that time reported that getting the adapter from his CCS car to the Tesla (NACS) connector was a very long wait, and remains so. This means that taking road trips in a non-Tesla car just got a whole lot more convenient. 

Conclusion: First, talk to, seek out on forums, people who live in your area and have been where you want to go. Second, abetterrouteplanner.com lets you plot routes with charging stops to/from just about anywhere. Third, plugshare.com has recent updates on the status of almost every charger; always check there before stopping at any public charger. Definitely try to figure out your charging before you buy, at home and at work, and for other routes, using abetterrouteplanner.com and double checking for working chargers on plugshare.com. 

Step 4A) Don't be afraid to check for used EVs.  The used EV market, nonexistent two years ago, is now a bustling center of activity and frequently fantastic deals. People used to be terrified that EVs would be useless if the batteries had been abused, but recently batteries with 500,000 miles on them, and batteries exceeding 10 years of life have been identified. Batteries have shown much longer life and better performance than anyone would have predicted. AND, the myth of the $25,000 battery replacement has not only been busted (reports vary widely but prices are nowhere near $25,000), but people have been replacing 10+ year old Nissan Leaf battery packs...and more than DOUBLING the range of the original car!  Finally, almost every used EVs sold through a dealer come with a battery warrantee.  So, there are bargains out there, and I encourage you to try for one!

Step 4B) Bargain on new EVs too.  In the bad old days of Pandemic Supply Chain issues, EVs had to be ordered a year or more in advance and super-premiums paid.  Those days are over FOREVER.  Everyone deals.  Everyone.  So, your EV can only be purchased through a website, and there is no human to deal with? Think again.  Teslas are supposed to be sold only though websites and with only a pull-down menu.  Well, there is such a thing as showrooms, and sales associates behind that website.  I don't know a single person who didn't get some kind of deal.  A deal on how much free charging you get, a deal on trade-in, a deal on various upgrades. Try it.

Step 5) Read our hints on road trips,  charging, and more articles as we come out with them. 

Finally, Have GREAT ADVENTURES in your EV, and FEEL GREAT about helping the planet, and that you took #greenyourride to heart! And oh yes, enjoy the almost complete lack of maintenance, and cheap cheap operating expense.  Yay!