Minivan or MS... Can't decide!

[steveho]

I had to replace it 7 years ago (moved into a Pacific recalled panel) and now am maxed out at my panel because of my recent kitchen remodel. Adding induction cooktop and convection oven and more lights maxed me out. But the breaker that controls the outlet now used to control my old dishwasher and now only that outlet so it could go several ways. I put an upgrade on my budget sheet just in case. Closest super chargers to me are no where near my commute. Not even in the same city for that matter, so proper home charging would be very important to me.



Thanks. I was going to try them too. The Tesla is an estimate pending inspection, but the car is in great shape so the inspection shouldn't change it much if at all.

Note that you need a double breaker slot for the Tesla because you need 240V. So if you are maxed out, and the only one left is a single breaker, that's only 120v. You may be able to double up some lighting circuits and free up another breaker slot for the 240V one you need for the tesla. It should be a 240V at 50 amp breaker. That should run to a NEMA 14-50 if you are going to use the mobile charger that comes with the car. If you are going HWPC, then you can go to a 240V 100A breaker or 90A breaker, although I have never found that I needed more than the 50A because charging overnight for 6+ hours always gives me a full charge anyway.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

16,7,4,3,2. And they won't be pissed we bought this for them and are still money ahead.

Only time will tell.

 

[whitex]

* I let the kids do their thing in the Siena. Make it dirty, spill, put on headsets for their DVD-based central overhead screen, lots of cup holders etc. Those flexibilities are somewhat limited on the MS on long drives. With 2 kids in the back, there is plenty of space in the middle to carry their gadgets etc, but they are aware this is dad's favorite car and they aren't just as kids as they would be in the minivan.

"dad's favorite car", lol. I know what you mean, but remember, dad doesn't get to have 2 favorite cars. We went from a Lexus RX400h + Sienna AWD to 2 MS, so here is what happened with our kids: they know they don't get to eat stuff and be messy in dad's MS, but they do in mom's MS. That said, even mom cares more about keeping the MS clean than she did the van, plus she told me she actually likes no 3rd row as it leaves less space for the kids to accumulate kids mystery junk (nobody ever touches it unless there is some emergency like "oh no, where did you leave you costume that you need for tonight's performance") - something about an open row of seats that attracts kids to drop their clothes, toys, bags, even food - which they won't leave in the trunk (probably because it takes more effort, we do keep the rear shelf on). Family trips we do in dad's MS, daily activities in mom's MS.

 

[whitex]

Thank you for this as I still have to rake care of the electrical. I noticed I actually have two spots for my irrigation system that is dead and have never been used, so I think I have the room for the 50amp. The panel is 200w. That way if I need a subpanel for future I can do it later. Would you suggest going ahead and doing 50 if I have the room and I'm already having an electrician come in? We would generally be under 100 miles a day (but right at) and 8+ hours to charge. My electric company is 6 cents per, no matter the time.

Most electrical panel have an option to use doubled up breakers, even for 240V, for example I used this one to add 50A to an existing 30A breaker: Eaton Corporation Bq230250 Double Pole Circuit Breaker, 120/240V, 30-50-Amp - Circuit Breaker Panels - Amazon.com

As a point of reference, we have a 200A service and have 2 MS charging no problem, usually one at 40A and the other one at 48A, and occasionally one at 40A and the other at 80A (which is the max charging capacity because we have one NEMA 14-50 on 50A circuit and one HPWC on 100A circuit). Not sure if the max charging capacity would hold if we had everything turned on in the house all at once, but if you're a little careful it can be done. Our stove and dryer are gas, and all lighting in the house is LED, which probably helps.

 

[aus]

Why not just buy the van at $18,000 residual?? That's seems to be a great price.
I'd consider a Model 3 or even a Bolt to carry kids around.
Things change with kids after a few years. You may need a carpool in 1-2 years. They may start playing sports with friends and you'll want to carpool for that for sure. We didn't ski 2 years ago and now got 3-5 time a year. Can't beat the van for road trips too with a cooler in the van for drinks and snacks.
We own both, so I'm speaking from experience.

 

[ChrgdTeCHick]

Why not just buy the van at $18,000 residual?? That's seems to be a great price.
I'd consider a Model 3 or even a Bolt to carry kids around.
Things change with kids after a few years. You may need a carpool in 1-2 years. They may start playing sports with friends and you'll want to carpool for that for sure. We didn't ski 2 years ago and now got 3-5 time a year. Can't beat the van for road trips too with a cooler in the van for drinks and snacks.
We own both, so I'm speaking from experience.

That is one of the decisions I've looked at. However, the drawback is it will sit 95% of the time. So I'd be paying $400-$700 a month (depending on what loan I decide to do) on a vehicle that would sit. Not sure if the rare instances would be worth that. Would likely be better off saving that amount instead so if we do find its needed, we can almost pay cash for a similar vehicle.

 

[steveho]

If you have the space for a 240V breaker, you can do 30A or 50A. There should be virtually no difference in the panel. Cost may be slightly higher for 50A as you need thicker wire, but even that should be a minimal difference.

So if you have room for a 240 double breaker, there is no reason to go with 30A. Do the 50A instead, and a NEMA 14-50 outlet.

As for going to 100A or 90A for a HWPC, if you always have 6+ hours to charge, I don't see any need for a HWPC. If you want to be able to drive 200 miles during the day, then take the car out again at night, then yes, you'll need the HWPC. But that only doubles the charging speed from 6 hrs to 3hrs. (40A to 80A).

 

[whitex]

If you want to be able to drive 200 miles during the day, then take the car out again at night, then yes, you'll need the HWPC. But that only doubles the charging speed from 6 hrs to 3hrs. (40A to 80A).

Not it you have a post refresh car which max out at 72A (but without high power charging can do 48A).

 

[aus]

That is one of the decisions I've looked at. However, the drawback is it will sit 95% of the time. So I'd be paying $400-$700 a month (depending on what loan I decide to do) on a vehicle that would sit. Not sure if the rare instances would be worth that. Would likely be better off saving that amount instead so if we do find its needed, we can almost pay cash for a similar vehicle.

Can you pay cash for the van and then sell it yourself if the local sale price is $24,000.
I sold the old van in 2 days using Craig's List and pricing it $1,000 below market value. You'd still be up $5,000.
.

 

[xav-]

my basic views:

less storage space = less mess lying around = less money spent buying junk.

 

[ChrgdTeCHick]

Can you pay cash for the van and then sell it yourself if the local sale price is $24,000.
I sold the old van in 2 days using Craig's List and pricing it $1,000 below market value. You'd still be up $5,000.
.

No can't pay cash right now for the van. Too much going into the MS at start. That would be great though. I'm going to get a quote from Carmax too to compare. The profit of the private sell - (taxes on the MS + taxes on the Ody + fees from buying @residual) will likely have me breaking even too where I may be better off just having a dealer buy out.

 

[phaduman]

"dad's favorite car", lol. I know what you mean, but remember, dad doesn't get to have 2 favorite cars. We went from a Lexus RX400h + Sienna AWD to 2 MS, so here is what happened with our kids: they know they don't get to eat stuff and be messy in dad's MS, but they do in mom's MS. That said, even mom cares more about keeping the MS clean than she did the van, plus she told me she actually likes no 3rd row as it leaves less space for the kids to accumulate kids mystery junk (nobody ever touches it unless there is some emergency like "oh no, where did you leave you costume that you need for tonight's performance") - something about an open row of seats that attracts kids to drop their clothes, toys, bags, even food - which they won't leave in the trunk (probably because it takes more effort, we do keep the rear shelf on). Family trips we do in dad's MS, daily activities in mom's MS.

lol - good strategy. Yea - trunk isn't that inviting for kids to dump stuff. Completely agree - if I crawl up to the 3rd row in our siena right now, I bet I will find things that my kids are looking for inside house for days.

Waiting for M3 for mom...