Anyone have an electric car?

[markm]

Only interested in full electric, as that's what I'm looking into. 

What do you have?

Lease, company car or buying it?

 

What do you think?  
Would you go back to ICE?

Edited May 31 by markm

[Zoli 12 guage]

everyone i know with a "company" supplied electric vehicle hates it.

Jaguar, Mercedes,Volvo and BMW are the ones they have.

the range and journey planning are the issues they have with all of 'em

[mellors]

Hi. 

Well at present sat outside a lodge in north devon. 

Chap nxt door volvo electric from nth Birmingham had to  charge twice to get here 7 hr journey due to queuing at the services and only 2 hr parking so a full charge would result in a fine. 

Also tyres don't last long. 

I definitely wouldn't want one or the cost and aggro that goes with them. 

[spanj]

15 minutes ago, mellors said:

Hi. 

Well at present sat outside a lodge in north devon. 

Chap nxt door volvo electric from nth Birmingham had to  charge twice to get here 7 hr journey due to queuing at the services and only 2 hr parking so a full charge would result in a fine. 

Also tyres don't last long. 

I definitely wouldn't want one or the cost and aggro that goes with them. 

Hmmm, my ps2 has a pretty **** range but still achieves 200 miles per charge. Only just changed my original rear tyres at 68000 miles ! (Fronts had to be changed earlier due to puncture damage). Not bad for a 3 tonne (nearly) car with 400hp. The queuing is down to combination of bad planning and poor network v demand. I do 30k per year in mine without issue but get they arent for everyone. Some of the bs repeated about them is hilarious though

[Zoli 12 guage]

7 minutes ago, spanj said:

Hmmm, my ps2 has a pretty **** range but still achieves 200 miles per charge. Only just changed my original rear tyres at 68000 miles ! (Fronts had to be changed earlier due to puncture damage). Not bad for a 3 tonne (nearly) car with 400hp. The queuing is down to combination of bad planning and poor network v demand. I do 30k per year in mine without issue but get they arent for everyone. Some of the bs repeated about them is hilarious though

have you made a typo🤔

68000😮

never owned any vehicle that's done more than 30000

Edited May 31 by Zoli 12 guage

[London Best]

2 hours ago, Zoli 12 guage said:

have you made a typo🤔

68000😮

never owned any vehicle that's done more than 30000

I have regularly achieved 55,000-60,000 plus using good quality tyres (BFG, Michelin, Good Year) on Land Rover/Discovery/Range Rover vehicles. 
Smaller wheels obviously rotate more times and wear faster, and cheap tyres will not last so well. Also, driving like Clarkson won’t help.

[Jaymo]

Love mine. 

Never had a problem charging en-route. Longest wait for a charger was under five mins. 
Would I go back to an ICE car? Nope, well certainly not at present and esp not during winter, when I’m able to go to work in a pre heated and de-iced car. 
 

Do chuckle at some of the negative comments. 

[Stimo22]

For me it is a no on the price point. My new car would have been 14k more for the same car in electric or 1/3rd more cost. Not many personal users can justify that and can’t see them being popular until they reach a much lower price point 

[Jaymo]

Oh, forgot to say. Having mine on Octopus Intelligent has my monthly ‘fuel’ costs at just under £19 plus the whole house benefits from 7.5p kWh and it’s more than halved my normal winter heating bills with our ASHP

[ph5172]

I tinker with the EV route planner. 
You put in your car model and destination and it works out where you need to charge and for how long giving ‘rough’ battery status at each point and on arrival. 
 

interesting changing the models from the smaller to long range EVs

 

i think I would have one, the couple of yearly long trips could be planned for but it’s just the price that is a massive pinch point for me. 
 

I have looked at the MG estate as suited to my needs 

[JohnfromUK]

Interesting points here. https://www.motorpoint.co.uk/guides/electric-car-depreciation

[spanj]

7 hours ago, Zoli 12 guage said:

have you made a typo🤔

68000😮

never owned any vehicle that's done more than 30000

Nope. Amazing longevity

[amateur]

I reluctantly started contract hiring my Nissan Leaf last year, thanks to that idiot Khan's emission zone tax grab, but, a year later, I am really happy with it.

It gets used for local stuff, so range isn’t a problem. I have half price electricity on a Sunday, so that's when it gets charged. Apart from insurance, all the other costs are covered by the hire contract.

It's a pleasant drive, too.

[shaun4860]

12 hours ago, markm said:

Only interested in full electric, as that's what I'm looking into. 

What do you have?

Lease, company car or buying it?

 

What do you think?  
Would you go back to ICE?

My niece is now on her 3rd.

First one was an Audi through the NHS.

After she changed jobs that went back and she got a Mokka, bought that one but decided it was too small.

She now has a Jaguar e pace, again bought second hand and she loves it.

She gets free electricity through the night so costs nothing to charge.

She said she won’t go back to ice.

I have a hybrid which I still think currently is the way to go 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Mungler]

I am nearing the end of a 3 year business lease of a Jaguar iPace (November); we got the top of the shop versions (400 bhp) on a lockdown deal and at the time it was peanuts a month. The prices have since dropped further because of all the know nothing negative commentary in the press and on-line from people who haven’t owned an EV let alone even driven one - long may that continue because come November we’re leasing I5 M60’s for little more than what we’re paying now.

To recap:

1. My last 3 cars SQ5, SQ5, 640. And now I’d never go back. Over the years I’ve driven them all and for my driving needs EV wins hands down. I got an EV to match my driving needs and because it suited my inner accountant (tax deductible, no Road tax, no ulez, no congestion etc). I didn’t get an EV for eco reasons and I don’t know anyone else who did.

2. Google ‘’average car journey Uk in miles” and then ask about average commuter car journey. You’re talking less than 10 / 20 miles. That’s me and that’s EV sweet spot. Yeah if I regularly drove from Lands End to John O Groats I’d want a diesel mondeo but that’s not me, that’s not my commute and that’s not reflective of my motoring needs in the same way if I wanted to plough a field I wouldn’t do it with a motorbike or in a fiesta. 

3. They don’t eat tyres or catch fire. I’m on the same set of tyres and my driving style is spirited.

4. Don’t ever buy one unless you’re planning on keeping it for 10 years. if you can business lease and throw the keys back, do that. Because of the PR disaster their prices are plummeting - bad news for those who bought, great news for business leasers. If buying and keeping Kia or Hyundai are both great and with donkeys long warranties.

I’ve run out of steam. I’ve said it all before. I just get amazed at the mass hypnosis of people re-posting or forwarding on nonsense stories about EVs yet they have no personal or real knowledge/ understanding. Ask an EV owner / driver what they make of their EV and go from there. 

If you’re not sure about what you may need a car for or have regular  long journeys then the answer is actually a hybrid Toyota Prius- they are quite simply the best engineered car for the money - ask any Uber driver and to a man they will say that their car has over 150,000 miles on the clock and that they’ve never had a garage bill beyond oil, filters and routine servicing. Seriously, jump in an Uber and ask someone whose had one long enough to put 200,000 miles on the clock what they make of them and don’t listen to anyone else.

 

[London Best]

I have a friend who has had a Tesla for about two years now. I have seen him in it ONCE. Every time I see him he is driving his old Defender.

[CoventryWire]

I work in Automotive Engineering at OEMs, I've worked at most of the big UK companies you can think of (Aston Martin, JLR, London Taxis etc.) so I've got alot more insight into these things than most 99.9% of people on the planet (including Journalists and Politicians)........I drive a Tesla Model Y (Dual Motor, Long Range)

Absolutely fantastic, I would never dream of going back to a ICE car as my main driver, we've been to Cornwall on holiday in it with the kids (6 hours each way, stopped once in each direction for a walk/wee/quick charge) and could of actually done it without stopping for juice if needed.  Its nig enough for me to put the kids in and all the junk, way more space in it than any other car of about the same external dimension's.  Level of technology in the car is incredible, being able to schedule departure times and have it pre-heat and de-ice the battery and interior whilst still on charge is something I will never get tired of.  I've used it on shoots (lots of jokes about if I will find a charger on the 2nd drive while we have 11's 😞 ) 

 The charging infrastructure across the UK is already there, there are literally chargers everywhere when you start looking for them, we even have public, council installed ones in our street and all around our local area for people with no driveway.  I charge overnight on Octopus and it costs approximately £7 to "fill my tank" and that happens while I'm asleep, if needed i can top-up at public chargers which will cost more but is handy.  All the charges going in now are hyper chargers capable of upto 300Kw which would charge my car from empty to full in about 30 mins.

Running costs for me are about the same as a comparative ICE car (BMW/Merc etc), Tyes/Insurance/Servicing etc some bits are higher, some lower so sit avergaes to about the same. Safety wise its as safe if not safer than any other car on the road, I've never seen an EV go up in flames in public first hand? but I have seen at least 5 ICE cars on fire at the side of the road in the past few years?  The amount of safety systems and interlocks on an EV is huge, compare that to what you have with an ICE car? a big metal box full of explosive liquid sat under your car, usually just under where your kids are sat.....joined with a rubber hose to an engine in the front? with no leakage detection. 

I could go on and on but until you've tried one for yourself you just wouldn't get it! 

[Gordon R]

To any EV doubters - read Mungler's post. My lad has a Merc EQC400 and shares Mungler's thoughts.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Does any body actually own an electric car?

Or are they all leased/company cars?

Everyone that I know that has one does not own it and most state that they would not have one if they had to pay for it themselves.

Although they mostly like them, possibly as they are NOT picking up the bill.

[ph5172]

As mungler has said. If your in the market for a company car and your doing the usual and not repping Scotland to the south coast then you would be silly to have anything but electric. 
especially as a lot of companies now have on site charging along with some of the larger hotel chains. 
 

 

[Mungler]

1 hour ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Does any body actually own an electric car?

Or are they all leased/company cars?

Everyone that I know that has one does not own it and most state that they would not have one if they had to pay for it themselves.

Although they mostly like them, possibly as they are NOT picking up the bill.

Would I buy one from new? Yes. I’d go for a Hyundai or a Kia and if I went that route I’d be looking for the long warranty (both 7 years standard) and aim to keep it for at least 10 years. Because of the bad press rep, the prices are in the toilet. But if you’re in business, business lease deals on some EVs are for next to nothing when you factor in gross of tax.

That said, lots of people are holding back from buying because we’re early doors and what’s coming over the horizon looks to be better and cheaper and so people will wait and see. The Chinese stuff is heavily taxed as imports to the EU and whilst still cheap here they’re a third of the price back in China - shows you what they can cost though. Indeed, on this aspect the Chinese have gone mad for solar and EVs and it’s working for them. 

In the meantime, leasing works (business or personal) and throwing the keys back in 2, 3 or 4 years time still makes economic sense if you want a brand new car.

Ok a Nissan Leaf won’t pull you any birds but it’s a cracking car, 0-60 in 6 or 7 seconds, bomb proof and cheap as chips to run (there’s naff all servicing on EVs - no engine, no oil, no radiator, no exhaust, no gearbox etc).

.

 

Edited June 13 by Mungler

[Jaymo]

On 13/06/2024 at 20:14, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Does any body actually own an electric car?

Or are they all leased/company cars?

Everyone that I know that has one does not own it and most state that they would not have one if they had to pay for it themselves.

Although they mostly like them, possibly as they are NOT picking up the bill.

I own mine! 

[markm]

Picking up a black Tesla Model 3 next Saturday. We don't have any perks / business deals so we went for a 3 year PCP rather than leasing as -

1. Payments are very similar a month.  After 3 years we can still hand the keys back, but took a gamble on the fact we may keep it or have some equity (looking at current 3 year old models with the mileage we will do).  

2.  Tesla are throwing in 15,000  miles supercharge for every car registered this month (not on a lease) There is a Tesla site 1/2 way between the 150mile round trip to see the outlaws (the wife visits at least once a week due to age / health).

 

A new local Aldi and Lidl have free chargers in store with a 'charge whilst you shop' type sign. Whilst it won't fill up the car, a free journey there and back, isn't to be sniffed at especially as I can spend 1/2 an hour raking through the middle isles and the boss goes mad - I now have an excuse. 
 

Now we are joining the 'sparkside' it's surprising how many elec vehicles you start to notice on the road. 
 

Still keeping my x trail so when the world ends, I'll be able to siphon diesel out of the tanks. 

Edited June 16 by markm

[sandspider]

May I ask what sort of amount you pay per month, and for what mileage? Pm if you prefer, obviously.

Thinking of replacing my aging diesel, but I'm pretty sure however I pay for a new car, an elec one will cost me a good bit more per month.

[markm]

1 hour ago, sandspider said:

May I ask what sort of amount you pay per month, and for what mileage? Pm if you prefer, obviously.

Thinking of replacing my aging diesel, but I'm pretty sure however I pay for a new car, an elec one will cost me a good bit more per month.

All depends on how much deposit you put down, mileage, credit rating. Also model Y is a lot cheaper APR as it's older spec. 
 

Rough monthly payment are shown / calculated on their website and then when you commit (pay £200 initial deposit) you get lots of different options. 
 

You can lease, PCP and HP.  My interest rate went down a little after I committed.
 

The £200 is taken off the cost of the vehicle. 

Tesla don't want PX so offer silly money. Sold our Nissan QQ on motorways. It was seamless and £2300 more than WBACDC. 

Edited June 16 by markm