I am considering buying an electric car. We currently have a 2012 mini van and an old 4 cylinder pick up. We spend $450/mo on gas.
Most of the driving is due to our kids private school/sports and is non negotiable with the wife. Due to the short multiple distances an electric car could be the primary car and realistically cut our gas bill to 100/mo with an additional $50 in electricity. The car (a nissan leaf) will be about 24k after taxes and rebates (used electric cars are non existent in this part of the country). I could pay cash but financing is only 0.9% and I get a much better return on my investments. We plan on keeping the other cars as the minivan is great for trips and I use the pickup for our farm (it's not worth much anyway). I live close to work and the kids school situation will only be for another 3.5 years. Does this make sense?
First, can you make the expected trips without "range anxiety"? EVs with an 80-mile range are great on our 30x40-mile island, but I know one guy with a 50-mile round-trip commute who always worries about going up the mountains on the way home. Our neighbor has a 30-mile round trip and she's very happy with her EV. If you're in a warm/cold climate, how much is the range reduced by having to heat or cool the interior? Even if there are charging stations along the route, you need a contingency plan when they're taken up by other EV users. Hawaii is already starting to see bickering among EV owners for the charging stations at various shopping malls around the island.
As others have mentioned, you have to do the math. How much are you spending for the driving that you're doing now? Since you're keeping your other vehicles, what's the additional insurance cost? How do the brakes, the tires, and the air conditioning on an EV compare to the repair/replacement costs on your current vehicle? How many months will it take for the payback? In most cases, the EV costs more money and tends to push the payback over a decade. But you might find a bargain.
Another option would be to wait a few years and go even cheaper with a desperate EV seller on Craigslist. We've started keeping our eye on that option, since you'd be able to negotiate at least a 25% discount over new. If the used EV has some cosmetic dings then it's an even better deal. Of course if the main commute is for your kids then even 3.5 years may not be enough time for a payback.
We've reluctantly concluded that an EV is best when coupled with a grid-tied photovoltaic array. You can generate excess power during the day (which is dumped into your local utility's grid) and recharge from the grid at night. Otherwise the expenses have too long of a payback, and our Prius is "good enough". However I reserve the right to change my mind if our local Leaf prices on Craigslist collapse because something "better" comes along.