Björn Berg answers questions by the readers of online news outlet Vísir.

A 30-year-old man asks:

This is one of those questions that's hard to answer with a simple yes or no, but we can certainly think it through.

Electric cars do come with real advantages. Some of them can be measured in money, while others are harder to price.

If you can charge the car at home, you don't need to stop at a petrol station as often. That saves time, and probably a few impulse hot dogs along the way. Electric cars also produce no exhaust emissions while driving, and there may be a wider benefit to the Icelandic economy, since they run on domestic electricity rather than imported oil or petrol.

So the question isn't whether electric cars have benefits.

They clearly do.

The harder question is whether those benefits are enough to make a car loan a good idea.

Is the car cheaper to own?

Running and regular maintenance costs can be lower for electric cars today. There are fewer moving parts, and electricity may cost less than petrol or diesel.

That said, repairs can be very expensive, especially if a battery needs to be replaced. As FÍB, the Icelandic Automobile Association, has pointed out, we can't assume that an electric car will necessarily be cheaper than other cars, except perhaps when tax discounts and special rules are included.

That matters, because tax rules and fees can change quickly.

Over the last few years, various incentives have been used to encourage people in Iceland to buy electric cars. But those rules are not fixed forever. Taxes and charges on cars change often, and new ones can appear.

Driving charges, customs duties, excise duties, vehicle fees, VAT, registration fees, insurance, road tolls and other charges can all affect the real cost of owning a car.

So it's difficult to know what an electric car will cost next year, never mind several years from now when you may be ready to replace it.

What about depreciation?

New technology often loses value quickly.

A new and impressive pair of virtual reality glasses, for example, can fall in price fast when better models are released every year.

The same risk can apply to electric cars.

There can be a big difference between generations. Range may improve, charging may become faster, software may get better and energy use may fall. Driver-assistance technology may also develop quickly.

That means the answer to your question may depend on whether you're thinking about buying a new or used electric car, and when you plan to buy it.

Taking out a car loan

I said at the beginning that your question is hard to answer, but this part is much easier.

As a general rule, car loans are among the worst things you can bring into a household budget.

They are expensive loans. At the moment, I see interest rates in the range of about 9.15% to 11.15%, and that doesn't include borrowing fees, registration fees and payment fees.

On top of that, you're taking on debt to buy an asset that will almost certainly fall in value, and often very quickly.

Car loans often do serious damage to household finances in Iceland. They increase risk, reduce flexibility and make it harder for people to handle setbacks or improve their financial position.

So my general answer to your question is no.

No, no, no, absolutely not.

Don't take out a loan to buy a car, whether it's an electric car, a petrol car, a yellow car or a flying car.

Stay away from car loans as much as you can, because there is nothing attractive about them. Even if they are offered at surprisingly low rates, as some are. Be sceptical. Why are the rates lower? Might it be because the price of the car is higher?

But what if the electric car is cheaper to run?

I understand the question slightly differently too.

You may be asking whether it can make sense to buy a more expensive car than you otherwise would, because it runs on electricity.

I hear that argument quite often. People point to lower running costs and tax advantages. That's a reasonable thing to examine, and by all means you should compare different scenarios and look at the numbers.

But don't do it with a car loan.

Electric cars are not going anywhere.

If you want one and can't pay for it today, drive a cheaper car for a while and save up. Then you can buy the car that suits you, and immediately start saving for the next one instead of spending every month servicing a heavy loan payment.

That can leave you in a much better financial position for years to come.

And if you ever start missing the car loan, don't worry.

I'm sure it will still be there, arms wide open, waiting for you.