Bethel Park man's take on driving an electric car for 11 years
BETHEL PARK, PA (KDKA) - Electric cars are enjoying a wave of popularity as the push continues towards greener commuting. However, they come with lots of questions about range and charging.
KDKA-TV caught up with Bethel Park-native Perry Kravec, who's been driving one for more than a decade, to get some answers.
The idea of not having to deal with gas prices is enticing, but what about those electric cars?
In December of 2013, Kravec took KDKA-TV in his electric Chevrolet Volt and 10 years later, Kravec took the same ride with KDKA-TV in the same Chevrolet Volt.
Kravec says that in the 11-plus years, the car has used 98-percent electricity to run.
He's still not buying much gas and he tracks the fuel and maintenance of his Volt compared to his wife's Toyota Camry.
"$20,000 for the 59,000 miles on her car and this car is a little over $5,000 for 72,000 miles," Kravec said.
Kravec has not had to replace the Volt's battery and since the electric motor naturally slows the car when he takes hit foot off the accelerator, it's riding with its original brakes.
He went into detail as well about the Volt's range on electricity vs. gasoline if he were to pull out of his driveway.
"It's 30 miles all electric and then I have another 210 on like four gallons of gas," he said.
Those four gallons of gas will fuel the generator, which then charges the battery and it continues running the electric motor.
"You put nine gallons of gas and you go over 400, 450 miles on nine gallons of gas. It gets like 53 miles a gallon when the generator is running," he Kravec continued.
For his driving around the South Hills, the generator rarely comes on to burn gas. As for home charging, Kravec has solar on his roof, so it's costing him nothing to run his car.
After rebates and incentives, Kravec paid about $22,000 for his Volt, which was cheaper than his wife's Camry. At this moment, the federal tax credit on a new electric car is $7,500 and Pennsylvania will give a buyer a $2,000 rebate.