Electricians Ripping Off EV Owners

[msnow]

Huh? $650 is indeed a ripoff for $40 worth of parts and minimum labor. It has nothing to do with the value of the car. BTW, these same electricians will be quoting similar prices for your $29,000 Bolt after rebates and tax credits.

Its fair from a competitive bid point of view. I had a 60' run, wanted the conduit hidden and the plug in a location I could reach it backing in or front in. Quotes were from $500 - $1200 from Tesla recommended electricians. DYI didn't make sense to me and I didn't want to cheap out on something this critical. The job took about 3-4 hours plus another hour while he waited for the city inspectors to show up. Five hours of my time is worth more than $650 plus I got quality work backed up by an electrician.
The value of the car was mentioned because in your case in the unlikely event that something goes wrong you absorb the loss for me the insured electrician takes care of it. Think of it as insurance.

 

[Sharkbait]

#6 wire 50ft about $5 per ft

4 colored and coated conductors of 6 AWG run 62 cents foot X 4 or $2.48 a running foot at Home Depot.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

I had two NEMA 14-50 outlets installed in my garage last year. The three estimates that I got ranged from about $1850 up to $7000. I went with the $1850 quote and felt it was a fair price since it involved swapping out breakers in the main panel, running over 100 feet of wiring in conduit around the back of the house (6 bends due to the shape of the house), upgrading almost all of the breakers in the subpanel in the garage, running nearly another 100 feet of wiring in the garage (some in conduit) and then installing the two 14-50 outlets. The electrician was there almost 16 hours over two days and did a great job.

Fast forward to this summer when my father in Nebraska said he'd get a 14-50 outlet installed in his garage so I could easily charge there. I told him to hold off since they might be getting a Supercharger in his town and since I only visit a couple of times per year, there's no need to spend money on the install just yet. He went ahead and scheduled an appointment to have an outlet installed in his garage. I asked him to get multiple estimates and to run them by me first. Unfortunately, he didn't get any estimates and just had an electrician put one in. I'm guessing that he made the mistake of telling the electrician that I paid $1850 to have two outlets installed. You guessed it! When he got the bill, it was for $925 for installing the one 14-50 outlet just a few feet from his electrical panel. Needless to say, I was furious as I had volunteered to pay for part of the install, assuming there would be estimates and he'd run them by me first. I figured it would be closer to $200 to $300 since it was such a small job and probably took less than an hour.

Oh, to top it off, they installed the outlet upside-down even though specific instructions were given to install it with the ground up.

 

[Sharkbait]

1 - Cost/time of sales to come onsite to provide an estimate
2 - Cost / time to go to city hall and apply and pay for permits
3 - Cost to install the outlet and materials
4 - Cost / time to come back for the inspector
5 - Insurance, gas, and many other business expenses.

1 - Cost/time of sales to come onsite to provide an estimate
No trip. Quoted over the phone. When they arrive and see the work required he will quote even higher.

2 - Cost / time to go to city hall and apply and pay for permits
Electrician told me to get the permit. No time lost on his part.

3 - Cost to install the outlet and materials
$75/hr plus the cost of parts, which he already had at his house, office, or workplace.

4 - Cost / time to come back for the inspector
One trip to close up breaker box and the receptacle cover. $75

5 - Insurance, gas, and many other business expenses.
For one hour's worth of work, even say half a day $75-$100

Excluding the permit, the job would have been worth $250-$300 to me.

 

[AWDtsla]

I had two NEMA 14-50 outlets installed in my garage last year. The three estimates that I got ranged from about $1850 up to $7000. I went with the $1850 quote and felt it was a fair price since it involved swapping out breakers in the main panel, running over 100 feet of wiring in conduit around the back of the house (6 bends due to the shape of the house), upgrading almost all of the breakers in the subpanel in the garage, running nearly another 100 feet of wiring in the garage (some in conduit) and then installing the two 14-50 outlets. The electrician was there almost 16 hours over two days and did a great job.

Fast forward to this summer when my father in Nebraska said he'd get a 14-50 outlet installed in his garage so I could easily charge there. I told him to hold off since they might be getting a Supercharger in his town and since I only visit a couple of times per year, there's no need to spend money on the install just yet. He went ahead and scheduled an appointment to have an outlet installed in his garage. I asked him to get multiple estimates and to run them by me first. Unfortunately, he didn't get any estimates and just had an electrician put one in. I'm guessing that he made the mistake of telling the electrician that I paid $1850 to have two outlets installed. You guessed it! When he got the bill, it was for $925 for installing the one 14-50 outlet just a few feet from his electrical panel. Needless to say, I was furious as I had volunteered to pay for part of the install, assuming there would be estimates and he'd run them by me first. I figured it would be closer to $200 to $300 since it was such a small job and probably took less than an hour.

Oh, to top it off, they installed the outlet upside-down even though specific instructions were given to install it with the ground up.

30 minutes and $25 of parts. LOL.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

30 minutes and $25 of parts. LOL.

Yes, hence the !

Also, my father sent me an email saying "the total came to $925 and I need the money by the end of the month."

 

[Max*]

First, most electricians have a minimum charge. Think of it this way, you call me up to replace a light switch. It's a 15 minute job, and $5 in parts. Why would I get up in the morning to drive 30 minutes each way, for a 15 minute job, and only charge you $30 to do the job? It makes no sense. I've seen it be as low as $200 for a job to as high as $400 for a job.

Next up, they need to show the inspector the work, which means time for them. So even if the job is 15 minutes, if they need to drive to/from your place a 2nd time to pass inspection, you bet they're going to charge you.

Next, in my area the "tesla recommended" places were a rip off. I went with someone local. I had about a 50' run, and their price came close enough to what it would cost me to do it, that I ended up hiring them and saving time. They came in under $400.

I told them I need an RV outlet, they came by (my car was parked far away) and the first question was "This for an EV? Do you park nose in or nose out?" Electricians aren't stupid, they realize if you want an RV outlet in your garage, it's for an EV [his price didn't change though, so I went with him]

 

[Sharkbait]

Next, in my area the "tesla recommended" places were a rip off. I went with someone local. I had about a 50' run, and their price came close enough to what it would cost me to do it, that I ended up hiring them and saving time. They came in under $400.

You are 100% correct, and you actually found a square deal for your work at $400 and the EMT run. My experience with EMT runs, couplings, bends, etc. is about $10/ft for clear exposed runs using hole straps.

 

[AZ Desert Driver]

I got quotes from 7 electrical outfits. What I hoped was a $500 job had opening bid of $1750, so I called next who started at $1300 until he heard it was for a Tesla, then went to $2300. Then I asked a Tesla Certified and got a bid of $2800. Called a Lowe's referenced electrician and got the job done for $1500. It will take a few fills to breakeven on ICE fuel.

 

[Max*]

You are 100% correct, and you actually found a square deal for your work at $400 and the EMT run. My experience with EMT runs, couplings, bends, etc. is about $10/ft for clear exposed runs using hole straps.

Mine wasn't run through conduit/EMT. It was an indoor run. Parts + permits would cost me about $300, they charged me $400. I'd gladly pay $100 for someone else to do the work.

My next lowest quote was $800, at that price I'd do it myself.

 

[RAM_Eh]

1 - Cost/time of sales to come onsite to provide an estimate
No trip. Quoted over the phone. When they arrive and see the work required he will quote even higher.

2 - Cost / time to go to city hall and apply and pay for permits
Electrician told me to get the permit. No time lost on his part.

3 - Cost to install the outlet and materials
$75/hr plus the cost of parts, which he already had at his house, office, or workplace.

4 - Cost / time to come back for the inspector
One trip to close up breaker box and the receptacle cover. $75

5 - Insurance, gas, and many other business expenses.
For one hour's worth of work, even say half a day $75-$100

Excluding the permit, the job would have been worth $250-$300 to me.

Getting a little tired of blanket statements. Over the phone is not a quote but a range. If you don't like the price call someone else and get a proper quote, that's why you live in a democracy. NO ONE IS FORCING YOU TO DO IT!

Here is my statement: EV owners are cheap!

 

[MorrisonHiker]

I got quotes from 7 electrical outfits. What I hoped was a $500 job had opening bid of $1750, so I called next who started at $1300 until he heard it was for a Tesla, then went to $2300. Then I asked a Tesla Certified and got a bid of $2800. Called a Lowe's referenced electrician and got the job done for $1500. It will take a few fills to breakeven on ICE fuel.

In my case, the Tesla Certified electrician was the one with the cheapest bid of $1850 vs. the highest bid of $7000.

 

[ApauloThirteen]

I think people have reported a range of electrical prices. I got three quotes for a hpwc install, along with a run of maybe 70' of wire, with a pretty big variation between the three. You might have received a lower quote from another electrician, or it may be that the job was too small to quote for just the time spent on the work due to the other costs like travel, pulling the permit, showing up for inspection (if that is required for your area).

That's exactly it. We're getting quotes for various jobs and we get the what I'd call "I don't want this quote" which is I really don't want to do this job b/c it's too small but if I quote you 3-5x the price and you say yes, well then, I'll do it. It's not inherently mean, not really gouging - it's just reality.

The way around it is to get multiple quotes and use a rating application (yelp, whatever) as an initial screen.

Electrical work (& other stuff) is a weird pricing world - there's no standardization and you cannot blame them for quoting based on their personal opportunity costs. There's no flat hourly rate/standard....

Good luck!

 

[BrokerDon]

Our HPWC was installed in July 2016 by one of Tesla's recommended installers (McBride Electric) about 3 feet from our 200A main panel for $749. While that may seem expensive they had to "double up" a couple of breakers and move some circuits to make room for our HPWC's new 100A breaker (for 80A Tesla charging). They also had to provide an electrical "load calculation" for our building department's electrical permit since our 200A main panel was completely full (it will have to be upgraded to a 225A "solar ready" or 400A main panel if we add solar or any more circuits). Took him 3 trips (estimate/site survey + 3 hours of work + inspection) and included several breakers... and he installed all our wiring was beautifully installed out of sight behind the drywall.

Yes it could probably have been done for less but having Tesla's recommended electrician was worth every penny when our HPWC control box, cable and Tesla plug got super hot when we charged at the full 80A charge rate. Tesla sent a Ranger who confirmed McBride Electric's wiring was perfect and replaced our HPWC cable which solved the problem. Had we used a non-Tesla recommended electrician our resolution probably wouldn't have been so painless... and had the HPWC caused a fire it would h

 

[Max*]

That's exactly it. We're getting quotes for various jobs and we get the what I'd call "I don't want this quote" which is I really don't want to do this job b/c it's too small but if I quote you 3-5x the price and you say yes, well then, I'll do it. It's not inherently mean, not really gouging - it's just reality.

The way around it is to get multiple quotes and use a rating application (yelp, whatever) as an initial screen.

Electrical work (& other stuff) is a weird pricing world - there's no standardization and you cannot blame them for quoting based on their personal opportunity costs. There's no flat hourly rate/standard....

Good luck!

This.

This is exactly it.

It also depends on how busy they are. If they need a small job between larger jobs to keep their guys busy, they're more likely to give you a decent quote.

I was having a job done at my house, and my contractor said I needed an electrician for a VERY small job as part of a larger job which needed to pass inspection. I said "I got a guy, let me call him", turns out I didn't have a guy. My old electrician quoted me an astronomical amount compared to the EV outlet he installed. My contractor's "recommended" electrician literally came in 3x less for the same job.

 

[Max*]

Had we used a non-Tesla recommended electrician our resolution probably wouldn't have been so painless

I don't agree. If the electrician did a good job, and did it to code - it shouldn't matter if he was Tesla-recommended or not Tesla recommended.

 

[AZ Desert Driver]

In my case, the Tesla Certified electrician was the one with the cheapest bid of $1850 vs. the highest bid of $7000.

Did they come down from Ideldale? is that hole-in-the wall breakfast joint still there?- serving a great meal with a load of attitude {bring me my eggs NOW and step on it----so the owner did indeed step on his eggs as demanded, full price}. You could see Gary Harts house from the outside tables.

 

[Fresh Start Detail]

Giving you a quote is not ripping you off.

Agreed. A couple times a week we get callers that get seriously mad at us for charging $398-$698 for a detail job "when they can get the same thing for $125 down the street!" It's like cussing out a high-end steak place for their prices when "you can get the same steak for $12.95 at any restaurant!"
I understand we're just talking about a simple outlet installation but still, providing a free quote isn't hurting anybody and certainly isn't ripping anybody off. The OP is obviously smart enough to get the job done himself and save money, but many people are not, or can not, or are not willing to do it themselves, for those people there are contractors.

 

[Sharkbait]

Getting a little tired of blanket statements. Over the phone is not a quote but a range. If you don't like the price call someone else and get a proper quote, that's why you live in a democracy. NO ONE IS FORCING YOU TO DO IT!

You are 100% right too! I did it myself. When you mention NEMA 14-50, or God forbid, electric car, or even worse Tesla, the electricians go for your throat! That's not fair pricing - that's gouging!

 

[AZ Desert Driver]

You are 100% right too! I did it myself. When you mention NEMA 14-50, or God forbid, electric car, or even worse Tesla, the electricians go for your throat! That's not fair pricing - that's gouging!

As has been expounded on forever ---there is the electrical work a Homeowner can do, but is it safe, and even if safe is it legal. If a fire happens, and you did not use a licensed electrician, your insurance may not pay. How much is that worth?