Seven Tips for Buying an Electric Car

When a fuel-powered car reaches the end of its life, many motorists face the decision to switch to an electric car. Only then do many seek to understand the everyday details.

1. Assess Range Needs Realistically

It’s important to assess your needs correctly. A few rules of thumb help. For daily use, having enough range for two to four days is convenient. For long-distance trips, a good mix of range, energy efficiency, and charging capacity at fast chargers (e.g., over 150kW) is more important than mere battery size. For holiday trips in winter, the standard range (WLTP) should roughly equate to twice the distance to the first break, which often occurs after about two hours. For used electric cars, consider the certificate value (e.g., 90%), meaning a 5-year-old car with a WLTP of 500 kilometers might still provide a range of 450 kilometers.

2. Confirm Charging Options Before Purchase

Charging at home is the most convenient and cost-effective option. For homeowners, installation is usually straightforward, while tenants and condominium owners require the consent of landlords or the owners' meeting. Alternatively, one can check for options nearby for slow and fast charging, perhaps in a nearby shopping center or a public car park close to home. In this case, the budget should be calculated based on the offered kWh prices.

Underground garages and parking halls can be equipped with a basic installation according to SIA guideline 2060, consisting mainly of load management and a flat ribbon cable. Users transitioning to electric mobility can then connect their wallbox easily and cost-effectively. The costs for the wallbox are borne by users themselves. The consultations, or eMobility CheckUp, can be ordered from the swiss eMobility website. Additional information on cantonal and municipal subsidies is available on the site. Many cantons and municipalities support electric cars with tax breaks or contributions to charging infrastructures.

3. Don’t Forget an App or Card for On-The-Go

A charging app is recommended for everyday use at public charging stations. TCS recommends its members use the TCS eCharge app or card, offering comprehensive coverage in Switzerland and Europe. The charging card and the use of the app are free, while the charging prices are set by the individual charge point operators (CPOs) and vary from point to point. The price range is wider than with petrol prices. Planning a charging stop ahead is generally better than being surprised by the necessity of stopping. Just as drivers with fuel know the best petrol stations around them, most electric car users will frequently charge at the same points.

4. Be Aware of Electric Car Specificities

Electric cars have a different weight distribution (roughly 50/50) compared to combustion engines (60/40) due to the battery, which means less need for an all-wheel drive in winter on normal roads, even in mountainous areas. A rear-wheel drive with good tires suffices for most wintery roads in electric cars.

The finely tunable electric drive also simplifies trailer towing, especially for maneuvers like hill starts. However, public charging with a trailer can be more challenging, as trailers might not fit at many fast chargers and thus need disconnecting. Energy consumption with a trailer is about twice as much as without, so roughly double the charging stops need to be accounted for.

5. A Used Electric Car Is Also an Option

There are attractive and fairly priced offers for electric cars on the used car market. Resale value in electric cars develops similarly to conventional ones: the depreciation is most intense in the first four years before slowing down. TCS considers an electric car with a good battery certificate, between four and five years old and with less than 75,000 km mileage to be particularly advantageous.

6. Inform Yourself About Warranty Periods and Benefits

An electric car typically comes with two warranty periods: first, the warranty on the vehicle itself (at least two years) and second, on the battery (usually eight years or 160,000 kilometers). It’s crucial to deeply understand the warranty periods and included services and materials of a specific brand, as there are significant differences that could cost several thousands over a car’s life. Some battery warranties cover the entire drivetrain, while others cover only the battery itself. It’s good to know: the eight-year warranty also applies to used electric cars.

The prescribed service intervals and service costs can also vary greatly. Although electric cars are usually substantially cheaper to maintain, more frequent service intervals and required fluid changes can quickly add up when not included within the warranty.

7. Compare Different Models

The range of brands and models is now just as vast in electric vehicles as in conventional cars. What budget is even available? The acquisition costs account for about 40% of total costs, while operating costs make up about 60%. Just like with all cars, new electric cars come with multiple options: purchase, credit, leasing, or rental.

The TCS car search offers the ability to set various criteria with filters, allowing for direct comparison of various car brands and models (combustion, electric and hybrid), such as battery capacities, ranges, towing capacities, kilometer costs, and environmental impacts (CO2 emissions over the entire lifecycle).

Press contact:
Vanessa Flack, TCS media spokesperson
Tel. 058 827 34 41 | vanessa.flack@tcs.ch

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