From Guest Blogger Richard Rossi: Clean Energy and Its Potential Effect on the Repo and Recovery Business

Clean Energy and Its Potential Effect on the Repo & Recovery Business

 When I started out on a career path, I never expected that path to lead here. I’m one of the few folks in town who still makes house calls in the middle of the night. I am a repo man, towing away all kinds of cars (when I can find ’em), from  expensive foreign sports cars to energy efficient economy cars. It amazes me how many people don’t factor in the cost to operate a vehicle before they buy or lease one.

 After doing this for a while, you learn to look for patterns. I notice people’s parking habits and how far they travel on a daily basis. Whether they stop at Crispy Creme on the way to work or if they text when they drive. I’ve also come to realize how very few hybrid and electric vehicles I tow compared to conventional cars.

 One would immediately think that this has only to do with the number of hybrid and electric vehicles on the road, and that is certainly part of the reason. But I believe there is more to it than just that. There are a number of misconceptions I wish to point out in the hope that more people will think twice before purchasing a gas-only automobile, thereby making my job much less necessary.

 Consider the immediate fuel savings.

 Lets make a hypothetical comparison. We’ve got two vehicles, one electric (let’s use the Nissan Leaf as our example) and a similar sized care that runs on gasoline. The Leaf has a 90 mile traveling range on a single charge. The electric vehicle will require roughly 20 kilowatt-hours of charge to travel that distance. At a cost of roughly 10 cents per kilowatt hour, the trip will cost the operator around $2. If we use 30 miles per gallon as our average for mpg, the gas car will require 3 gallons of gas. Gas is currently around $3.55 per gallon where I live so let’s use that figure. It will cost the operator of this vehicle around $10.65 to make the same trip.

 If that were your daily commute to work, you’d save around $2500-$3000 per year with an electric vehicle. You’d likely have any price differential between electric and gas vehicles paid for in a year to 18 months.

 Even for hybrid owners, fuel costs will be declining.

 Strides are being made every day toward renewable energy sources. Recently, a Filipino businessman refined a process that will create kerosene and diesel fuel from plastic bottles. With the help of a local biomass shredding company, the city of Edmonton will soon be turning 90% of their residential waste into ethanol. And finally, researchers at the University of Georgia have isolated a gene in plants that helps to break down biomass conversion. All these things will contribute to lower fuel prices as biofuels become easier and less expensive to produce.

 Electric and hybrid vehicles will soon be less expensive to purchase than one might think.

 Research indicates that most consumers think they’ll have to pay around $35,000 for an electric car. California based electric car maker Coda recently announced a deal with China’s Great Wall Motors to co-produce an affordable electric vehicle. No longer will the sticker price be an impediment for most of us when considering purchase of a hybrid or electric car.

 All the things I’ve listed above should make it easier to make those monthly car payments. It’s a win-win. You have a bit more disposable cash and I get don’t have to make a house call.

 [Richard Rossi is a guest blogger, writing about topics of interest between “house calls”]