Vehicle Economics

Replace Current Car With EV?

Would replacing your current car with a specific EV actually cost less?

Horizon and driving
Your current vehicle
EV candidate

Why this comes up

EV vs Gas Cost Calculator compares two new purchases. If you already own a car outright or nearly so, the real question is different: is switching to a specific EV worth giving up what you already have, no sunk purchase price to unwind, just the vehicle in your driveway today.

How we calculated this

Your current vehicle's forward cost reuses the same real value-projection and amortization model as Current Vehicle Remaining-Life Cost. The EV candidate's cost reuses the same real-amortization model as Current Car vs Candidate Vehicle, with its energy cost computed from your actual charging inputs instead of a flat guess.

Worked example, using this page's own defaults: your current vehicle totals$21,479 over 3 years, the EV candidate totals $24,646, so keeping the current vehicle wins by $3,167.

What this means

  • Switching away from a car you already own is a harder bar to clear than choosing between two new purchases, you're not unwinding a sunk cost, you're adding a new one.
  • A close result is more sensitive to your current car's resale value and expected repair costs than to the EV's charging rate.
  • Once you know the winner, drill into its own forward-cost breakdown in Current Vehicle Remaining-Life Cost or the EV's own numbers.

Limitations

Every figure is your own planning scenario, not an appraisal or forecast. No current gas or electricity price is assumed. See Methodology.

Methodology

This engine combines Vehicle Economics' fixed-rate amortization model (the standard loan-payment formula run out as a full month-by-month schedule), equity and depreciation projection model (your value and loan payoff projected forward from your own depreciation figure until they cross), ownership total cost model (every ownership cost, depreciation, financing, fuel, insurance, maintenance, repairs, and fees, summed over your horizon), and fuel and charging cost model (your own miles, MPG or kWh, and rates converted directly to a dollar cost). See Methodology for the full detail.

Next decision