electric car

skivenov

Same people who buy photovoltaic solar panels and don't know what the service life of a panel is?

sterlingstash

Strider590 wrote: »

Skivenov ^^

Your a little bit like me, you do the maths.
Most people can't be bothered, they're socially influenced sheep, they believe only what they are told, often by the loudest person spouting it.

When I got the Vectra I had a choice, 2004 Vectra for £3000 or 2004 small hatchback for £7000. I've had the Vectra nearly 5 years, 33mpg compared to 38mpg on a small hatchback, has the extra fuel cost me the initial £4000 saving? hell no........

I've done the maths, and find that with the various incentives on offer, and with a smidge of careful tax planning, I can drive a brand new, highly spec'd and very comfortable car which fits perfectly for 90% of my driving needs for the same or less than running an old Vectra or a 25 year old Audi. A quick look at the cars passing out the front would suggest that I don;t fit into the sheep category just yet!

Richard53

sterlingstash wrote: »

I've done the maths, and find that with the various incentives on offer, and with a smidge of careful tax planning, I can drive a brand new, highly spec'd and very comfortable car which fits perfectly for 90% of my driving needs for the same or less than running an old Vectra or a 25 year old Audi.

What do you do about the other 10%, though?

I ride a motorbike by choice, and it satisfies probably 95% of my driving needs, but I still can't manage without a car for the other 5% (in my case, load lugging, towing, passenger transport etc, although your 10% will probably be different).

If I had a car which fitted 90% of my driving needs, I would still need another car for the missing 10%, which seems wasteful on resources and an expensive choice. Not getting at you here, just curious.

skivenov

sterlingstash wrote: »

I've done the maths, and find that with the various incentives on offer, and with a smidge of careful tax planning, I can drive a brand new, highly spec'd and very comfortable car which fits perfectly for 90% of my driving needs for the same or less than running an old Vectra or a 25 year old Audi. A quick look at the cars passing out the front would suggest that I don;t fit into the sheep category just yet!

Guessing there's a business/self-employed aspect to that? Then yes, it can be a different story.

The Audi's a toy, not my work hack, though it is insanely comfortable, better so than the sofa I'm currently on in fact.

If I did the sums on my work hack for you, you'd be stunned. I'd probably be able to add the big van in and still show a saving over a new lease car.

sterlingstash

Richard53 wrote: »

What do you do about the other 10%, though?

I ride a motorbike by choice, and it satisfies probably 95% of my driving needs, but I still can't manage without a car for the other 5% (in my case, load lugging, towing, passenger transport etc, although your 10% will probably be different).

If I had a car which fitted 90% of my driving needs, I would still need another car for the missing 10%, which seems wasteful on resources and an expensive choice. Not getting at you here, just curious.

It's a fair point Richard, an electric car as our only vehicle would be a struggle. Unfortunately, we need two cars as wife needs one for work, so we have one normal car, the electric car (and my two wheeled toy, fellow biker ). That covers all requirements, business and pleasure, but as a default the electric car is always first choice for commuting and shopping trips, and any trip within range.

sterlingstash

skivenov wrote: »

Guessing there's a business/self-employed aspect to that? Then yes, it can be a different story.

The Audi's a toy, not my work hack, though it is insanely comfortable, better so than the sofa I'm currently on in fact.

If I did the sums on my work hack for you, you'd be stunned. I'd probably be able to add the big van in and still show a saving over a new lease car.

Crunching the numbers is a hobby of mine too! I'm not sure the sums can stack up for a private purchase just yet, unless you pay the congestion charge regularly. But for company cars, I think that we are in a golden window for these things just now.

First year full tax writedown allowance (saving 20%+ of purchase price), no benefit in kind tax until April 2015 and of course the £5k plug in car grant. Add in free charging point installation at home, and workplace charging point subsidies and you've got the full package.
Now, clearly this is the government throwing our hard earned taxes into offering these, and the politics of that is a different discussion, but if going electric fits well into your daily pattern, then it seems to be a decent time to jump in (if you can get your company on board).

In terms of my arrangement - company bought the car (£18k-20% so £14.5k) and I will run it for 18 months then sell it. I'm paying depreciation via salary sacrifice, saving tax and NI, so if we get £10k for it in 18 months time, then my cost would be under £3k (less than I would have spent in fuel/tax/parking in 18 months so net cost zero). Company saves on NI so they are quids in.

Cornucopia

This looks (perhaps) a bit more practical as a town car at the moment...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RBl1LFUQ4c

Annoyingly, it doesn't show how long it takes to "refuel", but it shouldn't be the overnight charge that most electric vehicles need.