In today’s blog post we’re sitting down with Rain, who recently switched his big, American petrol SUV for an electric vehicle. Our main questions are: “Do you think you made a mistake?”, “The biggest differences and what to expect?”, and of course “The numbers, are you saving money by going electric?” These, and many questions more will be answered shortly, let’s jump right in.
Rain, as I understand you are quite a bit of a car lover, tell me about that SUV of yours
I have always liked big American cars, yes the ones you see in movies or TV shows used by the FBI. My previous car was like this: a big, black American SUV. I remember the first time when I filled up the tank, the machine showed 80 liters, 85 liters, 88 liters and was still moving. I was already looking under the car to see if something was coming out. But everything was ok, because these cars which are a size of a small soviet time apartment building kitchen, their tank size usually is 90 liters.
Yes, I agree, these big FBI cars are pretty cool-looking. But how did you go from there to becoming an EV owner?
All it took was one day behind a Tesla Model X and I was immediately sold. I no longer wanted to drive my big American friend but instead, now I really wanted to drive this quiet, electric car, which by the way is also American. By then I did not also know the other benefits that come with owning an electric car in Estonia.
We’ll come back to these benefits in a minute, but first I need to ask about the charging. How time-consuming is it?
First of all, you need to rearrange your habits a little bit. I almost always check charging possibilities wherever I plan to park for a longer period of time. For example, with a normal ICE(an internal combustion engine) car, you go to a gas station only when the tank is empty, but with an electric car, you want to charge wherever you park the car. This means while you shop, spend time in the cinema or work out.
I think this is also a myth that people say “Oh I want to buy an electric car, but I can’t charge it at home.” I mean, I have the possibility to charge it at home but I don’t need to. I manage to do all my chargings while commuting in the city and running errands.
So, not time-consuming at all, just needs small changes in your day-to-day life, got it. How about the benefits?
So when your habits and paradigms are shifted then you will find out that there are also more things that come with an EV. In Tallinn, you can park for free in the center area where I normally paid 1.5€ per hour. Now I can park there totally free, how cool is that.
The next best thing I have learned is that bus lines are also my new best friends. As a new owner of an electric car, I have permission to use these as often as I want. This gives me a huge advantage in rush hour, no more waiting in traffic jams.
When you already mentioned some numbers, I have to ask – are you saving money when owning an EV?
Yes! The last and biggest advantage is that EVs are basically maintenance-free. I don’t need to spend 200-500€ per year on oil and stuff. Just pour in window wiper fluid from time to time and this is basically all I have to do. After a couple of years, change the air filter and that is all.
Now instead of paying ca 200€ for filling up an FBI truck I will charge my Tesla full for 25€ or even less if I charge in a slower charger. Goodbye gas stations and hello to pure air and a greener world!
And the final question, do you think you made a mistake by switching your SUV car for a Tesla?
If I compare my happiness before and now then with the big SUV I was happy but now I am happy as a seagull with a french fry!
Amazing! Thanks a lot to Rain for sharing his story, and as he mentioned, not only can an EV owner save his time and money in the traffic, but also make our air purer and greener.
As always, the comment section is open for thoughts and questions.
Read more about everything you need to know about charging a Tesla and 10 ways how to save Tesla’s battery.
