Electric Car Conversion: A new way to go green

With the market for electric cars exponentially growing over the course of the past five years, it’s safe to say that there is a demand for electric vehicles. The only problem with these vehicles is that they come with a hefty price tag. Not only that but we are, as a society, just nearing the point where we have really honed in on electric technology. Why would we want to pay $30,000 for a Prius or $40,000 for a Chevy Volt if you prefer to buy American for a car that is just nearing its engineering peak? This is why there is a new electric car in town; home brewed electric cars or people doing electric car conversions.

What is an electric car conversion?

To put it simply, an electric car conversion is simply taking an existing gas powered vehicle and converting it to run off of electricity. People involved in the electric car conversion movement are mostly using their own back yards and garages to perform the electric car conversion. In fact, there is an ever growing community on various websites like Reddit and the DIY Electric Car Forums in which people share tips, tricks, and ideas for the electric car conversion process.

Generally when a person is doing an electric car version they do not use their main every-day vehicle, but they use a donor car. Almost always the donor car involved in the electric car conversion is a normal gasoline powered vehicle that has a manual transmission.

Electric Car Conversion Costs

Now that we have an idea as to what an electric car conversion is. We need to think about the cost. Generally, to do an electric car conversion it costs anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 not including the cost of the donor car or labor.

For Car Enthusiasts Only

You should probably consider hiring a professional to do electric car conversion for you unless you have extensive background in welding, wiring, electricity, and thoroughly know the mechanics of a car motor inside and out. Although doing an electric car conversion DIY will save you countless dollars in the long run, it is not something you should try and save money on by attempting to do it yourself unless you are certain that you are completely qualified to take on an extensive task like performing an electric car conversion. If you do an electric car conversion DIY, you will definitely be the talk of your neighborhood so expect to answer a lot of questions from your neighbors about all of the money you’re saving!