I own a 2022 Mercedes Benz GLB 250. I drive 30,000 miles a year. Looking for input as I look into Model Y

[laservet]

In over 2 1/2 years I've had my Model Y it has averaged $0.03 per mile in electricity cost. I have spent zero in maintenance during that time. The BMW I traded in cost me an average of $300 per month for maintenance and repairs alone over the last 18 months I owned it. It left me stranded at the side of the road three times, all for failures of systems that don't exist in an EV.

 

[J Neptune]

Now, let's say you save $2,500 in fuel per year it would take you 2.5 years to recoup the $6,000. That would give you 1.5 years of savings before your out of warranty. So you would save $3,750. Now if fuel prices go up again or if your numbers are higher that changes things. There is also a convenience factor though because you will be charging mostly at home. You need to do some math and make sure your comfortable taking the loss on your current vehicle which is sounds like you are.

Great example. I didn’t catch if OP was going to buy new or used. Let’s say after his negative equity, his 50k car is now 44k. Let’s say he paid all cash. Now he has to buy a new car. Assuming a he will get the same year vehicle as the glb, 2022, let say he gets a 22 model y for 50k. Taxes tags included. That’s another 4K.

This math does take the depreciation of his car. Just strictly-6k in negative equity. With depreciation, negative equity and car price difference, it could be 10- -5k difference.

All a guess though

 

[Petevb]

Hi everyone, first time poster here!

I recently purchased a MB GLB 4 Matic 250 in July of 2022. I wanted to purchase the MYLR but could not justify the price increase at that time. I drive 30,000 miles a year annually for work and I am thinking of trading my vehicle in. I did not put any deposit down on my current vehicle and I am looking to trade it in to purchase a MY. I do get paid for the amount of driving I do. With the price decrease/tax incentive, I am really considering making a purchase.

So here is my question. Do any of you truly notice a savings in gas/maintenance? Right now, I am spending roughly $350/400 a month on gas and roughly $300 every 3-4 months for oil changes. If I were to trade my vehicle in to CarMax I would have about 5-6k of negative equity (I can pay this off). 90% of my drives I am home same day so the daily charging would benefit me. I am struggling to make a decision as I do not want to be in this situation again/make the wrong decision.

Thank you all

Late to the party but I’ll add my $.02 as an 80k mile Model 3 owner who’s also looking to swap as gas SUV for a Model Y. Yes it’s all about cost of electricity but also current depreciation rates.
The Model Y has been losing ~5% per month or ~$2500 per month over the last months: Tesla Model Y Price Trends - CarGurus
Your GLB in contrast has been losing more like 1% per month: Mercedes-Benz GLB-Class Price Trends - CarGurus
Is the recent MY depreciation exceptional, what with the recent tax credits and price cuts? I think it probably is. But is Model Y used pricing likely to stay under pressure, what with increased production volume coming online, increased EV SUV competition and the Juniper refresh coming next year? I bet it will. As long as MY depreciation stays .5% per month above your current car‘s switching will cost you money, not save it, basically regardless of gas and electricity prices.
Once depreciation calms down (?) than a targeted used for used swap may make sense. The good news is that with this approach the ~6k you’re currently underwater will shrink, potentially to nothing (or even positive).
Over 100k miles I’ve calculated that the Model Y will save us ~25k over our premium gas powered SUV, so the savings are not trivial with the right electric price and timing.

 

[avs007]

So here is my question. Do any of you truly notice a savings in gas/maintenance? Right now, I am spending roughly $350/400 a month on gas and roughly $300 every 3-4 months for oil changes. If I were to trade my vehicle in to CarMax I would have about 5-6k of negative equity (I can pay this off). 90% of my drives I am home same day so the daily charging would benefit me. I am struggling to make a decision as I do not want to be in this situation again/make the wrong decision.

Thank you all

What are you averaging fuel economy wise?
Looks like the average combined fuel economy for GLB 250 is 26mpg. (22 city/30 hwy), which seems about right, as I drive about 34k miles a year, and every gas car I have, I average a few ticks above the city fuel economy... (I have quite a few hills where I live)

But anyways, plugging in some math, over the last 2 years with my Y, I average a little under 300 WH/mile. Looking at the average price of premium in Baltimore, it looks to be about $3.90 / gallon. So using those numbers, the break-even point is 50 cents/kwh. So if you charge for cheaper than that, you'll save with an EV... Otherwise gas will be cheaper. Even when I drove to California, you'll only pay more than that, if you are in either SF or LA, and are charging during peak hours. But you can get around that if you use a CCS adapter with EA Pass+, then you'll pay 36 cents kwh. (I forget what the new EA rate is, the old one was 31 cents kwh)

When I drove thru California, most of the superchargers along the 5 north of Tejon Pass were I think 44 cents or something like that. Thru Oregon/WA they were 34 cents or somewhere around there. When I charge at home, I only pay 8 cents kwh. I used to spend like $600/month on gas,. Now I spend around $60 month to charge. Even my brother, who lives in LA, told me he pays between 17 and 24 cents kwh at home to charge his model 3.

So for me, if I were trying to recoup $6k, I'd make that back in less than a year, based on my fuel consumption/prices, if I charged exclusively at home.

 

[Buckeye614]

You can look at the fact Tesla dropped prices beyond the loss you’d take. If taking a loss is not in the budget which is absolutely understandable of course, consider first trying to sell it on Cargurus and Autotrader for what you owe on it. Don’t rush the selling/buying process and sit back for a month or two if that’s what it takes to sell it. I hate throwing away money as well.

Exactly. Sell the vehicle through Facebook, Craigslist (or other websites quoted above) for what you owe on it and hope you can buy a MYLR in inventory the same/next day. My other 2 cents to the OP -- If your round trip is under 220 miles you're in great shape to charge every night at home. Look at your electric bill to get your understanding of what your charging rate would be. Plus go to the websites that will tell you if your state or electic company has rebates.

 

[J Neptune]

In over 2 1/2 years I've had my Model Y it has averaged $0.03 per mile in electricity cost. I have spent zero in maintenance during that time. The BMW I traded in cost me an average of $300 per month for maintenance and repairs alone over the last 18 months I owned it. It left me stranded at the side of the road three times, all for failures of systems that don't exist in an EV.

So you claiming if you drive 1000 miles a month, it’s $30 in electricity bill. I haven’t check my bills, but usage wise, I m using 50% of all my electricity between 12am to 5 am.

 

[laservet]

So you claiming if you drive 1000 miles a month, it’s $30 in electricity bill. I haven’t check my bills, but usage wise, I m using 50% of all my electricity between 12am to 5 am.

Unfortunately, our power company has just raised its rates over 30%. So over the last 30 days I have actually spent $42 to go that same distance, up from $0.03/mi to $0.04/mi. Still way, way less per mile than our ICE vehicle by many fold.

 

[J Neptune]

Unfortunately, our power company has just raised its rates over 30%. So over the last 30 days I have actually spent $42 to go that same distance, up from $0.03/mi to $0.04/mi. Still way, way less per mile than our ICE vehicle by many fold.

I think my rates went up too. Probably by the same rate as your did, but not sure. Sadly, just like gas, nothing we can do. Our “overlords” sold people on electric cars and then jack up our utilities. It’s not just tye charging the car went up, but whole using electricity for the house went up.

But nobody is buying a 60k electric car to save money or we all be driving a Chet bolt or Nissan leaf.

 

[Konicom04]

I drive 30k annually, and average 100-200 daily. Some times I break the 275 mark. I have my wife's highlander if I needed to take it I can.

Supercharing on your 275 mile trips is a breeze provided you have them where you go. Cost may be prohibitive if you're doing it regularly, but i believe you'd quickly find driving your wife's Highlander annoying and chose to spend the extra on SC

 

[J Neptune]

Supercharing on your 275 mile trips is a breeze provided you have them where you go. Cost may be prohibitive if you're doing it regularly, but i believe you'd quickly find driving your wife's Highlander annoying and chose to spend the extra on SC

Why would driving his wife’s highlander becoming annoying? Because he rather sit at a supercharger?

If I had to drive NY to LA, I rather do it in a gas car rather than an electric car. Currently rather do gas stations rather than super chargers. Am I missing something?

 

[Konicom04]

Why would driving his wife’s highlander becoming annoying? Because he rather sit at a supercharger?

If I had to drive NY to LA, I rather do it in a gas car rather than an electric car. Currently rather do gas stations rather than super chargers. Am I missing something?

have you tried taking the tesla on a road trip?
I can offer pros and cons, and my opinion on how enjoyable it is in comparison to driving an ICE, but those arguments will be mute judging by your post above

 

[J Neptune]

have you tried taking the tesla on a road trip?
I can offer pros and cons, and my opinion on how enjoyable it is in comparison to driving an ICE, but those arguments will be mute judging by your post above

You stated finding driving wife’s highlander annoying.

I have taken a MY from DC to Boston. Mostly highway miles between the two cities.

Still did not answer, why driving a highlander would be annoying. The highlander is a very comfortable car to take on a road trip. Much more room and cargo space than my model Y.

Maybe you don’t have kids, maybe you never drove or been in a highlander or just biased toward ICE vehicles, who knows. Finding and Stopping at a tesla super chargers is much more annoying than stopping at any random gas stations.

I have ev and gas and don’t find it annoying driving a gas car.

 

[kpanda17]

Did not like Highlander, maybe your not a CUV/SUV person
Test drive a M3
That might interest you
If you have coin, step up to MS, maybe even MSP

Btw below is my M3 MSP knockoff

Test drives help decide

 

[zoomer0056]

Once you go EV you'll never go back to the ICE ages. Plug it in when you get home, ready to go in the morning. My cost in CA for electricity is half what gas cost. Never wait in line at a gas station again. I've had my MSLR for a year and a half and don't think of fluids except for windshield wiper fluid. Regen braking makes the brake pads last a long time.

 

[Midnightsun]

I find it annoying to drive any ICE vehicle now. The smoothness, no shifting, instant torque and power to spare make any ICE seem chaotic in comparison.

 

[Konicom04]

You stated finding driving wife’s highlander annoying.

I have taken a MY from DC to Boston. Mostly highway miles between the two cities.

Still did not answer, why driving a highlander would be annoying. The highlander is a very comfortable car to take on a road trip. Much more room and cargo space than my model Y.

Maybe you don’t have kids, maybe you never drove or been in a highlander or just biased toward ICE vehicles, who knows. Finding and Stopping at a tesla super chargers is much more annoying than stopping at any random gas stations.

I have ev and gas and don’t find it annoying driving a gas car.

Well - my remark about the highlander was a bit facetious. I am aware they are fine cars.
To provide a little context - I've owned and driven numerous ICE cars, including sports cars - a true gear head at heart.
I also on occasion do competitive on-track endurance racing, and own a 45 foot RV that gets 4 miles to a gallon and holds 70 gallons of gas.

So - no, I am not biased against ICE. Im very familiar with them.

However, because of the above - i do ( albeit jokingly ) ask often why do people insist on driving ICE cars when Teslas ( here im biased - other BEV's are dysfunctional at least for now ) are so incredibly convenient in comparison.

 

[zoomer0056]

Just charged my 2022 MSLR, here's one year's stats for about 11,000 miles driven in CA.

 

[Ritzcarlton123]

Autopilot alone makes the Tesla a superior roadtrip machine. I’ve used plenty of the other systems and none are as good for roadtrips.

 

[kpanda17]

Use to do NY to NC 11 hours in ICE straight and body beaten at the end
Now AP for 11 hours and feel amazing at the other end, body does not hurt