I made the plunge into Electric Cars a month ago and love it.
Also have Solar Panels and so my fuel is FREE.
I do not use public chargers, just my home 120V charger.
The car is my 3 day commute to work car a week.
Here is what I learned after 3 months of research and 1 month ownership.
1) The best electric cars are not Teslas.
They are over priced for what you get and with many fit and finish issues as well as a spartan interior and exterior.
2) Hyundai and KIA make some of the best looking and priced EVs such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and 6 and KIA GT Line. But these have charging issues Hyundai was slow to fix, and not sure if they even did fix it.
Despite their great pricing you can get a new BMW i4 eDrive 35 sedan for less money than the Hyundai equivalent.
3) EV's are fast and smooth, but with all the bells and whistles can be distracting. Thus, I highly recommend you set up "Voice Recognition" so you dont have to take your eyes off the road.
If there is a feature u cannot use via voice recognition, then make sure you set it before you drive or when stopped.
4) Range anxiety is a myth. If you charge from home its a non factor. However for those who travel farther you must plan your trip using the map feature that shows where all the public charging and subscription based charging stations are. The good maps show how many are in use, empty, etc. Easy Peasy/
5) Public charging can be free if the car manufacturer gives you a subscription for free. These obviously are only good for a limited time depending on car.
6) EVs make better commuter cars than vacation cars unless its a day trip or weekend trip. Otherwise, you need to plan your charge points.
7) All EVs are not more expensive than Internal Combustion cars.
The maintenance is lower as you dont have to worry about all those thousands of moving engine parts. No oil changes, no anti-freeze, spark plugs or tune ups etc.
Just brake pads and visual maintenance inspections.
If something goes bad you will get an informational indicator of some sort depending on the car.
Car fires are caused by crappy Chinese Brand EVs or EVs where the user doesnt know what they are doing or their home wiring is not for higher than 120v or properly upgraded for higher than 120v.
Yes, if you get into an accident there is higher risk, but Lithium Ion Batteries are already being replaced with Lithium Ion Phosphate, Solid State batteries, etc.
8) The only issue with EVs is the 12 volt battery it uses in addition to the large main Lithium Ion battery bank. The 12V is the same as in regular cars and just like a regular car, if you dont keep the 12v healthy, your car won't start.
Thus, both types of cars have the same Achilles heal.
9) Take advantage of the $7500 Tax Credit or $7500 lease credit as well as many others.
I leased my 2023 BMW i4 eDrive 35, and got the $7500 off the price of the car as well as $1600 in other discounts.
The lease money factor (APR) is much less than the current interest rates in traditional financing, plus you only pay the lower lease money factor for 3 years.
After 3 years when the lease is up, you had already known from the get go how much to pay if u plan to keep the car at end of lease.
When you utilize Edumnds.com or any other Lease vs Finance calculator, the lease always saves you money even if you keep the car. In all cases, not having to pay 2 to 4 additional years of interest when you finance is a large overhead of money. I saved close to $15k by leasing even if I keep the car after 3 years.
10) You must do your homework on leases just like financing, but more so.
To keep it simple, any lease "Residual Value" between 55 and 65, indicates a good lease starting point.
All the reputable car makes and dealerships disclose this as the residual value is either higher or lower depending on your lease term and mileage limit.
Mine was 55% for a 3 year lease with 7500 miles a year (I only drive 5k a year), same for the Money Factor (APR).
IMHO, the BMW i4 eDrive 35 or 40, are the best 2 EVs right now. My total price if I keep the car after 3 years is only $42k. You cannot find the quality and performance of a BMW in any EV at that price or even some regular cars.
Of course, these are Sedans. If you prefer an SUV, your only hope is Hyundai or KIA, as SUVs are higher priced...much higher.
Hope this helps.