Tips for your first EV that nobody talks about

Six years in myself with a Bolt and before that a leaf, and I'd co-sign almost all of this. The one place I'd push back a little is Level 1. I managed on a wall outlet for about eight months and it worked because my commute was short, but any surprise errand in the evening ate into my morning buffer. Once I had an electrician run a 240 line to the garage I stopped thinking about charging entirely. Agree on getting the quote first, mine came in higher than expected because the panel was on the far side of the house.

Winter is the big one though. My first January with the Bolt was a wake-up call. Sticker said 259, realistic cold-day number with the heater running was closer to 170 on the highway. Still plenty for daily use, but I planned my first road trip around the sticker figure and paid for it sitting at a charger longer than I wanted.

The test drive advice is spot on. I tell friends to rent one for a weekend in cold weather before committing if they can. Nothing sells you on the real range like watching the estimate drop on a cold morning drive you allready know.

One thing I'd add to the home charging side is the utility angle. I assumed charging was just charging til I actually read my bill and realized I was on a flat rate around the clock. Switched to a time of use plan, set the car to start after midnight, and the cost per mile dropped enough that I felt slightly foolish for waiting two years. Call your utility before the car shows up, becuase some plans have a peak window in the late afternoon that would sting if you plugged in the moment you got home from work. The car's own scheduling feature handles it once you set the window.

Kind of embarrassing but I don't actually know how many miles I drive in a day. Never tracked it. I guess I coud look at my odometer and divide by the weeks since I bought the car, but I feel like that hides a lot, like a couple big trips throwing off the average. Is there a rough way people figure out their normal daily driving before committing to all this?

Lurked here for a bit before posting, so bear with me. My situation is a bit sideways from most of this thread because I've got a driveway but no garage, just an outdoor outlet on the side of the house. Been wondering if that changes the math at all for plugging in over winter, like wheather cold affects the outlet itself or if that's not really a thing. Haven't bought anything yet, still in the reading stage. The point above about not overestimating daily miles hit home though, since I genuinely guessed wrong when I tried to figure mine out last month. Anybody else charging from an exterior outlet rather than a garage setup?

Update: the time of use tip was the big one for me too. Checked my bill, called the utility, moved charging to overnight and the cost per mile genuinely dropped. Also want to second the point about Level 1 being fine right up until a surprise errand eats your morning buffer. To the poster who doesn't track daily miles, I just eyeball a normal week instead of averaging since purchase.