Alan B said:
I've owned a used Leaf for several years, and the maintenance costs in my experience are lower than ICE vehicles. There just isn't much that needs replacing and inspections don't cost as much as actually repairing things. On the ICE the engine oil, transmission oil and coolant replacements and filters add up to a tidy sum whereas on the EV those are essentially nonexistent. Even the brakes rarely wear out due to regen. Sure the EV costs are not zero, but they are a fraction of ICE costs. Mechanical complexity drives costs, and the number of moving parts on an EV is a small fraction of an ICE. I suspect an ICE automatic transmission has more moving parts than an entire EV. Until you've owned at least one EV you probably won't believe it, but there are a lot of EV owners that know this to be the case.
Alan , im happy to compare the details of service cost if you really think its relavent..but the simple fact is that the cost of service parts and materials on any modern car , EV, or ICE, is minor compared to the labour cost.
But i am not going to debate the cost savings of DIY maintenance
Servicing is all about inspection and the dealer trying upselling services etc to the customer.
IF you want to have your car serviced ..for warranty, safety, problems fixed etc , (as most normal owners do), then you have to accept the costs..if you dont have it professionally serviced then the risk is yours, EV, or ICE.
But lets keep comparing apples to apples..
Any time you hand your keys to a dealer you hand him your wallet.
Costs vary, but Nissan state the Leaf service costs at $400 (+ parts etc) for the first 20k kms (12,500m).
Tesla charges $600 for annual service for the S& X models.
Those are not dissimilar to any comparable size ICE..
..EG, the Nissan Pulsar is $540 for the 20k km service.
.....BMW, 3-4 series $350 for each 20k km service.
.....BMW 5-6 series $500 ..........20k services
All official manufacturers prices.
You cannot say EVs will save any significant money on service costs.