It might depend on the dealer, but the salesman typically always gets a “guarantee”. I remember when I was able to wrangle a new F150 out of an Alberta dealership for $34K (sticker was $51K), and after everything was signed I just handed the salesguy $500 and said thanks. I still have no idea what his minimum was but the process was relatively painless and they gave me a deal they certainly didn’t need to.
I’m 100% with you on the used EV thing. We don’t really have a place to park and charge one, otherwise that would be an option for us already. We’ve got a mid-sized SUV that burns a fair amount of premium fuel and I would switch it out with an EV tomorrow if it made logistical sense for us to do so. We’re not in the golden days of used EV SUV-sized vehicles yet though. Model 3s, for sure, but not much around bigger than that for bargains.
$20K will get you a Model 3 AWD Long Range just about anywhere in the country, I don’t understand why more people don’t have them. The good thing about 10 years from now is you’ll have a solid baseline for how long the batteries will actually go and what the failure rate beyond 8 years is. So far, plenty of Model 3 units at 200-500k on original batteries with ~80% life remaining to show the fear mongering is no longer justified.
I’m not sure if its been on social media or news up in your area, but Vernon/Kelowna have been quite aggressive the past month or two with gasoline prices. Yesterday I think I saw 0.999 posted temporarily, but they’ve been in the $1.2-$1.4 range though the summer while other stations are $0.40 or more higher. Diesel is another story and day to day there is up to a $0.60-0.70/L swing between suppliers, even in Kamloops.
90% of my diesel comes out of SuperSave on Summit Ave. 90% of my gasoline comes out of Costco. For me the difference between stations right now can be $80 to fill the pickup.
I’m in Norway again for a bit, fuel prices are back to through the roof here. That’s not necessarily abnormal though.
The front desk is selling cans of beer. One can = 119 NOK = $17.81 CAD - for a can - not a case. People will still buy them, even if the grocery store across the street is much much less. I don’t know why people willingly pay $0.50/L extra for gas or diesel and then complain about it though.
Hmm, I might need to re-evaluate the used Model 3 thing. I am seeing posts online that people are paying ~$4500-$5000 a year to insure 2018 Model 3. If insurance on them is that much more it might not be cheaper to operate one. That’s ~17,000 km of premium gasoline annually for my XC90 in just the insurance difference. I guess if you’re doing 30,000 km or more a year it wouldn’t really matter though.
Insurance rates might be something to look at first though!
Woah, that’s insane insurance. This Mitsubishi is just over $2000 for a year. And Alberta’s the most expensive car insurance in Canada. It’s kinda nuts.
Why is the Tesla so much? Is it hard to repair or get parts for it?
No idea. The older cars on the list (2014-2018) were higher premiums than some of the newer one. For example the cybertruck on the list was half that of the older vehicles that carried only a small fraction of the value. All the same person, so same location and driving history for all.
There was a comment that the older cars are difficult to find parts and therefore are written off easier, but I could counter that argumen saying the write-off cost of a $20,000 vehicle isn’t more expensive to an insurance company than paying $30,000 in repairs - regardless of the vehicle age.
I don’t pay much attention to the gasoline prices unless I’m filling up the boat and I’ll plan fuel stops based on gasbuddy or historical expectations on fuel costs. Unless I’m parked in Kamloops and just burning boat gas up and down the river and around Kamloops Lake, diesel is usually our larger expense and it’s much more volatile so I pay more attention on where to buy it.
I am fully expecting to see >$3.000 a litre within the next month or so with mid distillate demand increasing while oil prices maintain the current trends. That’s a $540 tank of diesel for me.
The way Teslas are built qnd ‘fears’ of entire battery replacement tends to make Teslas more prone to writeoffs by insurance companies, Tesla is innovative in forming cars from large formed pieces that are difficult or impossible to replace.
My kid has a 2005 Esacpe hybrid, the battery was stikk good in 2025 while the rust held it together.
The Wrangler cost $110 to fill up yesterday. My teen granddaughteer is working for Toyota in Terrace and pushing me for a CHR. Too bad it’s too far to go thee for a test drive. Have to know if I can even get in and out of one first!
That makes sense at a certain dollar amount I suppose. For a $20,000 Model 3, I don’t really understand why the insurance would remain that high if the maximum payout could only ever be $20,000. That dollar value doesn’t go very far for normal bodywork and repair on an any vehicle these days - ICE or EV.
I feel like this argument would make more sense for a new vehicle at higher dollar points - maybe a good example was the Hyundai Ioniq 5 that was receiving ~$60,000 repair quotes for minor undercarriage damage and resulting in write-offs of new cars. I haven’t heard such news about a Tesla, mainly because their batteries are quite inexpensive.
The cost including labour as far as I can tell is under $20,000 CAD, again using a ~$20,000 ~MY18 Model 3 as a reference.
$5000 in insurance for that car seems wildly high, especially given the quote to the same person for a Cybertruck was half the amount. Maybe there is an issue that does like in the supply/repair chain beyond just part cost.
Gas went up 20c/L overnight.. Rip off. gouging. clear as day.. It had been at the same price as it was one week ago when I filled up in Vanderhoof for 7c/L less.
The band owns the Petrocan here. The competitor squeals with delight, as they simply change their price to stay 2c less.
Can’t wait to get that EV. I called the PG Kia dealer to ask if they had an EV3 in stock. They’re takind preorders, none have arrived yet. Just like the SaveOn advertising sales on items they never have. I must’ve missed that line requiring the forgoing of any sense of ethics when i got my business license.
Ok, so we’ve had this vehicle for a month now, and still haven’t used a tank of gas. Same amount of driving, and it’s cost us $0 in gas. Actually probably a bit more driving than usual, because I’ve been driving too sometimes.
At its peak, we were spending more than $600 a month on gas just for my wife’s van. And with today’s prices, that would be even higher.
I can’t say for sure, but I’ll check my next electric bill to see what the damage there is, I’m assuming $100 or so extra. All of this has been on level 1 charging, which has been just fine. But the level 2 charger should be going in this week.
I only learned a moment ago that Alberta also has an EV tax add-on of $200 a year when you renew registration. For the $0.13/L excise on gasoline in a ~9L/100km vehicle that works out to about ~17100 km in driving a year. People are complaining about it, but when I look at it like this I feel it’s a pretty fair number - especially if you’re exceeding 17K a year.
That said, it looks like ZERO additional fees for a plug-in or mild hybrid, so not only are you not buying gas, but you’re essentially tax free by at least $200 a year too
Got the level 2 charger installed. But honestly, we would probably be ok with the level 1. I’ve really stopped thinking about charge rates and range and stuff like that. Plug in the car when it’s home, and just drive when needed.
