Electric cars

roubaixtuesday said:
We're hopefully getting solar panels later this year, and will switch to EV then - free energy at that point. Plus the current car is 17yo and knackered.
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If you're getting panels, make sure to get a home battery too. I'd recommend the battery before panels. You can basically treat that like an electric vehicle and charge up overnight at <10p and then power the house with it the rest of the day - obviously depends how many electric devices you've got and the size of the battery.

In terms of the solar, don't bother charging the car with it, just sell any excess to the grid. We get 15p/kWh for selling it to Octopus and pay 7p to charge overnight, so it makes no sense to use it if you don't have to - there were a couple of months in summer when they owed me!
 
Blue Since 76 said:
If you're getting panels, make sure to get a home battery too. I'd recommend the battery before panels. You can basically treat that like an electric vehicle and charge up overnight at <10p and then power the house with it the rest of the day - obviously depends how many electric devices you've got and the size of the battery.

In terms of the solar, don't bother charging the car with it, just sell any excess to the grid. We get 15p/kWh for selling it to Octopus and pay 7p to charge overnight, so it makes no sense to use it if you don't have to - there were a couple of months in summer when they owed me!
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Yeah, we have a battery included. I thought the export rate was lower than overnight, but sounds I've got that wrong. Even better than free in that case!
 
Diesel and petrol for me. You can shove your solar panels and heat pumps up your arse. Mate of mine has it all in his new build. 2 heat pumps and the house is only ever just warm. Jacked his electric car after a year as well.
 
roubaixtuesday said:
Yeah, we have a battery included. I thought the export rate was lower than overnight, but sounds I've got that wrong. Even better than free in that case!
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We originally didn't have an export, as I thought they'd all ended, then saw Scottish Power was doing it at 11p. Changed to Octopus last year as already had them for import even before the panels which makes it a lot easier - meter gives them import and export so they can calculate each month as part of our usual direct debit.

There's a chance the export rate could drop but as we only export during the day when loads are usually higher, I doubt it, albeit you can get free electricity for an hour or so if it's particularly sunny and breezy, as there's too much power going into the grid.
 
Uncle Wally One Ball said:
Buy one or rent one under this PCP stuff everyone does nowadays?
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I’ve thought about leasing.

Just for arguments sake, the new ID Polo will be priced around £22,000. I could take that amount of money out of my pension pot and not have to do PCP or take out a loan. There is no guarantee I will ever see my pension money. Touch wood.

As I get a £5K bonus every November, that would easily cover my leasing payments, meaning I wouldn’t have to touch my pension money, just in case I did see it. :-)
 
Kompany Car said:
Think you've captured part of the problem with all sensibly priced electric cars in your first sentence. Electric cars don't look interesting. There's a real lack of sports cars in the market, curvy, muscular looking cars. The whole design language is bland as is the obsession with the minimalist interior designs, big touch screens, minimal buttons ...
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Yet there are interesting EV's out there. This MG Roadster has been out a long while and isn't mega money. Audi does the RS E-Tron GT. Porsche do similar.
I agree it has taken a while for car makers to understand that they don't have to go too futuristic for EV's. I think they did it at first so they would stand out. Plenty of new EV models are getting back to looking good.
Even our modest Megane EV (bottom picture) i feel looks better than the new Golf etc.
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This is general.

Obviously there are plenty of factors thst contribute to a cars depreciation.

Leasing v buying over a 3 year period.





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fulabeer said:
Yet there are interesting EV's out there. This MG Roadster has been out a long while and isn't mega money. Audi does the RS E-Tron GT. Porsche do similar.
I agree it has taken a while for car makers to understand that they don't have to go too futuristic for EV's. I think they did it at first so they would stand out. Plenty of new EV models are getting back to looking good.
Even our modest Megane EV (bottom picture) i feel looks better than the new Golf etc.
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I actually have one of the cars you listed as an interesting EV, I dont have the RS version however. Yep its quick but just not very enjoyable, I got it due to the salary sacrifice saving and because I get an allowance though work. Would I have bought it with my own money for the list price ? Absolutely not. The mg looks a bit more interesting.

Cut the roof off and maybe it might be a bit more engaging, put some thinner tyres on it, lose a few hundred kg and turn off all of the silly driver aids and you might have something more like what I want them to be building.

One thing you realise if you like/enjoy driving is raw speed and tyres that stick like glue dont necessarily equate to fun.
 
jrb said:
I’ve thought about leasing.

Just for arguments sake, the new ID Polo will be priced around £22,000. I could take that amount of money out of my pension pot and not have to do PCP or take out a loan. There is no guarantee I will ever see my pension money. Touch wood.

As I get a £5K bonus every November, that would easily cover my leasing payments, meaning I wouldn’t have to touch my pension money, just in case I did see it. :-)
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I wasnt being cunty with that post, thanks for the reply as well. Just I need to change my car in the next couple of years and all this stuff confuses me. Its a 14 plate and things are happening to it. The idea of leasing is mental to me, but it seems everyone does it and the new electric business is adding to my confusion because it seems they only last a few years or nobody knows/wants to deal with what may happen with the battery after that time span.

Will probably just use some savings and borrow a bit old school loan wise and buy a 4 yr old petrol one I think. Its mine at least. I tend to buy one and keep it a decade
 
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Uncle Wally One Ball said:
I wasnt being cunty with that post, thanks for the reply as well. Just I need to change my car in the next couple of years and all this stuff confuses me. Its a 14 plate and things are happening to it. The idea of leasing is mental to me, but it seems everyone does it and the new electric business is adding to my confusion because it seems they only last a few years or nobody knows/wants to deal with what may happen with the battery after that time span.

Will probably just use some savings and borrow a bit old school loan wise and buy a 4 yr old petrol one I think. Its mine at least. I tend to buy one and keep it a decade
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I wasn’t thinking that mate.

I’m in a similar position.

Buy new, buy used, lease?

Electric or hybrid?

I’ve set myself a maximum spend of £25K. I don’t need to go anywhere near that. Ideally around the £20K mark is my price point. I’d go a bit higher for the right car.

With so many good cars on the market atm, and so many new cars coming on to the market this year, it really is confusing and a tough decision to buy a car atm. Most of the car manufacturers have upped their game and are producing very good cars to try and beat each other, including the tempting price of a new car.
 
jrb said:
I wasn’t thinking that mate.

I’m in a similar position.

Buy new, buy used, lease?

Electric or hybrid?

I’ve set myself a maximum spend of £25K. I don’t need to go anywhere near that. Ideally around the £20K mark is my price point. I’d go a bit higher for the right car.

With so many good cars on the market atm, and so many new cars coming on to the market this year, it really is confusing and a tough decision to buy a car atm. Most of the car manufacturers have upped their game and are producing very good cars to try and beat each other, including the tempting price of a new car.
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Lucky enough to have a bit saved up here and I like the new Ford Pumas. Im fact I loved the old Ford Pumas. Can find about 3yr old ones for £12k to buy. Think Ill keep my now old blower Seat Ibiza for a year or 2 since Ive spent some coin on a few jobs with it, turbo acuator change and some servicing jobs and its going really well and then just buy one of them. No way an electric charging point could be put in where I live for less than a grand and no way I will rent a car and pay first for the privilege of having it, its mental to me. Also drove the Ford Kugas we have in work, automatic, and they are lovely to drive to my limited knowledge of vehicles. Only go back and forth to work by day in 3 seasons of the year, about 25 miles round trip. In summer Im off all over the country playing cricket but that keeps the car ticking and it loves it
 
ell said:
Has there been queues anywhere other than costco? (And that's a normal day for costco)
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According to the press, my friends and my own eyes at Tesco, then yes. There are statements asking people just to fill up as normal. Petrol/diesel prices will be going up regardless.
I own both EV and Diesels, but don't get the mad panic when prices rise. I put £20 worth of diesel in every few weeks.
Regardless of prices rises, it still only costs me £20. So why do people panic??? :)


We will be reliant on the middle east until we wean ourselves of fossil fuels.
Conflicts/wars fuck every economy whether you are involved or not. It just seems like one crisis after another these days.

Natural gas for heating is a harder nut to crack. I'm not convinced by heat pumps.
My gas heating goes off soon anyway. So any price rises won't personally affect me until next winter.
Luckily, natural gas prices rising right now won't be the problem they would have been three months ago. (going into winter)
 
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tommybooth said:
Diesel and petrol for me. You can shove your solar panels and heat pumps up your arse. Mate of mine has it all in his new build. 2 heat pumps and the house is only ever just warm. Jacked his electric car after a year as well.
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He might be wishing he'd kept his electric car if a certain narrow shipping lane remains closed for the foreseeable future.
 
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