I'm just generally impressed by their community efforts vs cFS. They really do their development on GitHub - not just a place to push out source, but issues, PR's, discussions.
FPrime has some rough edges, and it takes a bit to get used to, but the team's interest in continually improving the core for a wide range of users is the differentiator.
The most expensive tooling was the two floor jacks I purchased to make the process easier. The software needed was available from the manufacturer for a reasonable fee. The battery pack itself was surprisingly modular and simple to dismantle for repair.
I don't many things GM has done, but (at least back in 2010) they did a good job of letting owners do their own work.
The yardforce500 is hard to find in the USA, but it's extremely cheap in Europe. I found a great deal and paid $208 for the mower and $135 for a package forwarder to ship it from Germany. I have a complete spreadsheet of my expenses here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BV8VCtqTer8iodXvyRd1...
Now I either need to charge it every day (and add the hassle of unplugging/plugging every time I use the car) or I need to think about it more.
I can't fathom not plugging my car in to charge when I park in my normal spot. It doesn't seem like much effort.
But my comment isn't to ridicule you - it's to point out how diverse and different our home charging experiences are, without awareness of others. I had no idea that anyone charged differently than I do.
Meanwhile, I have a motion-activated light switch in the garage. So I guess I don't want the hassle of flipping light switches, yet I plug/unplug daily.
FPrime has some rough edges, and it takes a bit to get used to, but the team's interest in continually improving the core for a wide range of users is the differentiator.