$13k for EV Charger @ Condo - Should I do it?

[Enginerd]

Another thing to consider is approaching the property managers and see if they would entertain the idea of bringing in a 3rd party like Chargepoint to set up community charging.

Variation on this: what if you asked the Tesla mothership to help the condo complex provide economically reasonable Tesla-friendly charging options for residents who will likely include Tesla employees and ideally also Tesla owners? It would be bad PR for both parties if this story showed up on the 6 o'clock news.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

It's not just that they are trying to profit from the situation. this quoted figure is the "we just don't want to do this work... but if you let us gouge you six different ways through next Tuesday, we'll do it" -rate.

I was quoted $7,000 by the the developer of my parents summer home out on Long Island years ago. This was the second or 3rd summer we lived in the house, so it was complete. but the developer was still around making adjustments and fixing warranty items so I figured why not go to him. My mistake.

Now that you mention it, I remember a few years back when I was trying to get quotes to have a couple 14-50 outlets installed in my garage. The first electrician's quote was $7000. Like you, we believed they just didn't want the job. The second estimate was much better and somewhere around $3300. The one we went with was $1800 and we felt that was a fair price.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Variation on this: what if you asked the Tesla mothership to help the condo complex provide economically reasonable Tesla-friendly charging options for residents who will likely include Tesla employees and ideally also Tesla owners? It would be bad PR for both parties if this story showed up on the 6 o'clock news.

Now that you mention it, maybe that's why they are trying to charged $13000 per condo. If they are across the street from the factory, they are probably just price gouging, thinking the employees will pay it since they would be so close to the factory.

 

[voip-ninja]

Variation on this: what if you asked the Tesla mothership to help the condo complex provide economically reasonable Tesla-friendly charging options for residents who will likely include Tesla employees and ideally also Tesla owners? It would be bad PR for both parties if this story showed up on the 6 o'clock news.

"Condo doesn't have easy EV charging options but is close to Tesla's factory?"

I don't see that making the 6AM news let alone the evening news.

The real story would be why probably few who work at the factory can afford the very EVs they are building.

 

[K-MTG]

Toll Brothers priced themselves out of the area I am in. We had them price out a single family. Their standard (no options) price was high per sq ft as compared to other local comparable builders. But add in some options... I remember asking if they added an extra 0 at the end of the quote by mistake. It wasn't a mistake. We went with another builder. Toll Brothers isn't around here anymore.

For $13k I could get a powerwall or two installed at my house in SoCal. I expected toll brothers to have a premium but this price is not even reasonable

 

[artsci]

That cost is outrageous. You should not pay it. If you hired an electrician to do it for you, and added your own charging unit, it might cost $4,000 max.

I did mine for $2,500 and that included the electrician and my own DYI portable charging stand.

 

[SMAlset]

@K-MTG I thought I remembered Fremont being one of those Bay Area cities requiring energy products in new construction. Found this article from 2017 about it. OP I'd call the city and see if they made it a developers' requirement to bring all wiring to the area. If so why would you need to spend 13K to add a recepticle?

Fremont to require solar panels, EV chargers in new homes

City might not be aware of how Toll Brothers is optioning this or the cost to buyers (and paid for up front) and feels this is not right.

 

[TeeEmCee]

Have a lawyer send them a nice letter demanding your deposit back

They’re supposed to be CalGreen compliant, i.e. have charging capabilities available. If they don’t and this was never disclosed to you before signing, you may be able to get out of the contract.

https://fremont.gov/DocumentCenter/View/35509/EV-Readiness-Requirement

 

[RubberToe]

Other people have done Condo installations for less money than that. Paging @RubberToe

Condo Charging - Minimal cost installation and some questions

@K-MTG : Your cost will depend on how close the garage space you are allocated is from your condo supply meter. That is assuming you are allocated a specific garage space (likely), and that your building meters are also in the garage (probably). Read my thread for the final solution, I believe it was about $2,500. My meter was only about 30' away from my parking space.

You could also run into a situation where maybe you can't "roll your own" after the fact due to transformer sizing issues, or your individual meter is not able to run power to your parking space. If you do go down the path of doing it yourself after the fact, there will be lots of added paperwork, and time spent on your part. It comes down to whether you want to save $10,000 and spend X hours/days after the fact putting an EVSE in.

RT

 

[HankLloydRight]

This guy did it for $2k in his condo. He's a little chatty, but he runs a really great channel:

Imagine if K-MTG's building plans already include running EV charging conduit to every parking space, and the $13k charge is to just run the wires, install a meter and 14-50 outlet and 'turn it on'. They could in theory run dry wire to every spot back to the electrical room for future EV installs. The few people that do cough-up the $13k upfront is to pay for outfitting the entire garage with dry-runs.

 

[Dan_LA]

$13k for entire parking lot?!

SFH I installed $650, already had 50AMPS fuse box... and was able to get back 30% on taxes Io think.. maybe you can get 30% back too even at $13k... better check

 

[HankLloydRight]

$13k for entire parking lot?!

If 10 people sign up at $13k each -- yeah, I think $130k would pay for outfitting the entire parking lot with dry runs.

added: And if they do do that, they have a captive market for future EVSE "installs". The HOA documents could easily say "you want an EVSE, only we can do that and it's $10k please."

 

[MarkBrokeIt]

Yes, most cities in Calif bay area at least have changed code or builder requirements to require solar panels, EV charging options, etc to go into new construction.

Additionally, aren't there laws that prevent the HOA from charging people "unreasonable" amounts to install their own EVSE/solar upgrades?

Doubt it applies to the builder, but at least the OP would have an option to do it after it's built.

 

[MXWing]

It’s a ransom but I feel like people are posting as if @K-MTG has any say in the matter at all.

He’s not going to be able to get RFPs, find a preferred provider on Angie’s List or go to the Great Mall Home Depot and get the job done.

It’s either pay Toll Brothers or give up condo or give up on EVs. You can’t compete with six figure software interns fighting for that 5 bucks worth of free power in the wild.

 

[NathanielHrnblwr]

Transfer your purchase to Chancery Lane and get the 2 car garage instead. Put in your own charger after purchase.

 

[leisurelee]

Holy crap. $13k for a charger? That's insane. I paid $1500 to have mine installed in San Diego, which included a main breaker upgrade as well.

And WTF is that backsplash made out of to be worth $21k?! Swarovski diamonds and rhodium?!

I would suggest hiring an electrician after you've taken ownership to install a charger later. I'm not exactly sure what their rational would be to charge so much unless it's simply due to being a specialty item to them.

 

[K-MTG]

Transfer your purchase to Chancery Lane and get the 2 car garage instead. Put in your own charger after purchase.

Those wouldn’t be ready till October and are slightly more $$$. If it was ready now I would probably take it

 

[MXWing]

Holy crap. $13k for a charger? That's insane. I paid $1500 to have mine installed in San Diego, which included a main breaker upgrade as well.

Its not a setup with your own garage where you can do whatever you want.

When you are in hell and there’s one vendor selling ice water, they are the market maker.

 

[T34ME]

It’s a parking structure. The builder is Toll Brothers

I was a third party, independent, subcontractor for Toll Brothers about 15 years ago in the Palm Springs area. I would bid a price for "add-ons" and then their Design Center would mark up my price 300%. This is typical for higher end builders and Design Centers. Toll Brothers does spec a very nice product, and my experience is that a Toll Brothers product does command a premium when reselling, but you will have to pay to play on new construction. BTW, Toll Brothers will NOT let you bring your vendor to do the work until AFTER you have legally taken possession of the property. At that point, the cost could be $13K again if your vendor does not have access to embedded chases and conduits. Plus you will have to deal with your condo HOA to do the work according to their specifications.

If it is a $1M+ condo, I would just bite the bullet and have Toll Brothers do the work. For reference, my daughter just purchased <$700K condo in Orange County, Ca. It is one of the smaller builders in the area who does very nice work. She had them install a NEMA 14-50 in their 2 car garage for their model 3 and Fiat 500e. Cost was <$500.

 

[JPUConn]

Is there a 110 outlet in this garage? I’d charge off that and anything truly needed above/beyond the 4mph of charging you get there becomes a supercharger visit.