Pictured above is my 650 cc Kawasaki Vulcan S… most decidedly NOT an electric vehicle. There are some really cool electric bikes on the market but they cost $20,000. My little Kawasaki here was only four grand, out the door!

If you have a limited garage space but Jay Leno intentions you can start a motorcycle collection before you buy your McLaren…..

New fully electric cars are still expensive, until you factor in the used electric vehicle market. Case in point:

This past week I bought a 2017 Volt with 32,000 miles on it, for just under $20,000 including tax and tags (out the door, in other words). Back in 2017 I test drove the brand new Volts and loved ’em, but retail was $35,000, and even with a big tax credit it still would have cost over $32,000 out the door.

Do the math here, most modern cars will run to 200,000 miles without a major repair, so the 32,000 miles on my used Volt only represents 16% of the lifetime usage of the vehicle, yet $20,000 (cost of used Volt) represents 63% of the original price!

This is my quantitative economics brain at work here….

So, for 63% of the original price I get 84% of the usage of the vehicle. Those numbers make a ton of sense… and when we factor in the 50 mile electric range on the 2017 Volt, and the fact that my rooftop solar will power that need… this car might have the lowest cost of ownership (per mile) of any car I’ve ever owned.

If my Volt lasts until 2023 or 2024 I’ll be able to buy a used fully electric vehicle in great shape for around $20,000.

As for my motorcycles? I’ll keep the gas powered bikes, but if I get a deal on an electric bike I might need a bigger garage….

Ben Alexander

December 2019