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Tell me about electric cars

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I'm looking at purchasing an electric car mainly from an environmental point of view.

It was an option my husband threw into the mix this morning after three unsuccessful weeks of hunting for a second hand petrol car when both of our cars died within a month of each other. After having resigned ourselves to sharing a car we've extended our budget from £1500 to £3000 and are still struggling to find a suitable car for our needs.

We've always bought second hand cars in the past which have lasted 3-5 years. I've never bought a car from new before and never had finance on anything! I'm looking to know the following:

* Are second hand electric cars an option?
* How much does it cost to charge a car? How does this compare to the cost of petrol?
* How much does it cost to install a charging point at home?
* Having never had a car from new, I'm assuming one would last 15ish years? To use as a base for working out which would be the better deal long term?
* Any other advice on entering the world of electric cars?!?!
Original mortgage total: £140,000.00 (July 2015) Original mortgage end date: June 2040
Mortgage free start date: 16th October 2018 Mortgage total at this point: £132,829.12
Current mortgage total: £54,762.71 Current mortgage end date: June 2032 Daily interest: £7.59 > £2.64

Comments

  • Just seen this. Thanks. I wasn't sure that my questions were similar but to be honest I haven't read the whole way through the thread yet.
    I can't work out how to delete this post though?
    Original mortgage total: £140,000.00 (July 2015) Original mortgage end date: June 2040
    Mortgage free start date: 16th October 2018 Mortgage total at this point: £132,829.12
    Current mortgage total: £54,762.71 Current mortgage end date: June 2032 Daily interest: £7.59 > £2.64
  • uknick
    uknick Posts: 1,771 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I'm looking at purchasing an electric car mainly from an environmental point of view.

    It was an option my husband threw into the mix this morning after three unsuccessful weeks of hunting for a second hand petrol car when both of our cars died within a month of each other. After having resigned ourselves to sharing a car we've extended our budget from £1500 to £3000 and are still struggling to find a suitable car for our needs.

    We've always bought second hand cars in the past which have lasted 3-5 years. I've never bought a car from new before and never had finance on anything! I'm looking to know the following:

    * Are second hand electric cars an option?
    * How much does it cost to charge a car? How does this compare to the cost of petrol?
    * How much does it cost to install a charging point at home?
    * Having never had a car from new, I'm assuming one would last 15ish years? To use as a base for working out which would be the better deal long term?
    * Any other advice on entering the world of electric cars?!?!

    * Are second hand electric cars an option? Not in your price range. I think a used Nissan leaf is about £5k
    * How much does it cost to charge a car? How does this compare to the cost of petrol? My car car costs 1p per mile for electricity.
    * How much does it cost to install a charging point at home? Depends on the unit you install. I spent about £500. But you can get them for about £100. Even free from some electricity providers.
    * Having never had a car from new, I'm assuming one would last 15ish years? To use as a base for working out which would be the better deal long term? The main concern about electric cars is battery life. All cars sold in the UK come with at least a 7 year battery warranty from new. I can't see why the rest of the car shouldn't last like any other.
    * Any other advice on entering the world of electric cars? You haven't mentioned range. The best new car range you can get on one charge is about 300 miles, but that will mean a car costing over £30k. You can use the public chargers whilst you're out, but these cost. The price depends ion which company you use.

    In your position I'd look at buying a 2nd hand Leaf. A £5k Nissan Leaf shouldn't suffer much depreciation in the time you have it. It will give you a range of about 100 miles in the summer, and maybe 70 miles in the winter. Unlike petrol/diesel cars temperature makes a huge impact on electric cars.
  • DrEskimo
    DrEskimo Posts: 2,445 Forumite
    Seventh Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I'm looking at purchasing an electric car mainly from an environmental point of view.

    It was an option my husband threw into the mix this morning after three unsuccessful weeks of hunting for a second hand petrol car when both of our cars died within a month of each other. After having resigned ourselves to sharing a car we've extended our budget from £1500 to £3000 and are still struggling to find a suitable car for our needs.

    We've always bought second hand cars in the past which have lasted 3-5 years. I've never bought a car from new before and never had finance on anything! I'm looking to know the following:

    * Are second hand electric cars an option?
    * How much does it cost to charge a car? How does this compare to the cost of petrol?
    * How much does it cost to install a charging point at home?
    * Having never had a car from new, I'm assuming one would last 15ish years? To use as a base for working out which would be the better deal long term?
    * Any other advice on entering the world of electric cars?!?!

    I bought my second hand EV in Feb this year, so I'll help where I can.

    * Yes, very much so.

    * Depends....if you can charge at home over night, very cheaply. As little as 1p/mile compared to ~14p/mile for petrol. If charging at home on standard electricity rate, about 4p/mile. If relying on rapid public chargers, around 8p/mile.

    *You can get a grant that covers £500 of the installation. Depending on the work needed to your home electrics (capacity to install a 32amp fuse in your consumer unit, routing cables, the type of home charger you buy, etc.) it can range from around £200 - £500 that you end up paying.

    * Your guess is as good as anyones...there are a massive range of assumptions you will have to make to come up with any real workable figures over as long as 15yrs!

    * Yes, think about your actual real world use. What types of journeys do you do, and base you decision on what EV you buy on that.
  • almillar
    almillar Posts: 8,621 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    we've extended our budget from £1500 to £3000 and are still struggling to find a suitable car for our needs

    Sorry, but I can't see you driving away in an electric car for £3k any time soon.

    But:
    * Are second hand electric cars an option?
    Yes.
    * How much does it cost to charge a car? How does this compare to the cost of petrol?
    It costs what your electric costs, and how much you put in. For example, if you have a Renault Zoe, with a 40kWh battery, half full, you need 20kWh to charge it to full. You probably pay about 17p per kWh for your electric, so 17x20= £3.40. This ignores small losses whilst charging. 1kWh could take you 4 miles. So 17p for 4 miles, 4.25p per mile. What does your petrol car do?
    * How much does it cost to install a charging point at home?
    I got a 7kW charger free with my Zoe. Say around £300 worth these days I think. 7kW, tethered type 2 charger is what you want most likely.
    * Having never had a car from new, I'm assuming one would last 15ish years? To use as a base for working out which would be the better deal long term?
    Yes it should last 15 years. You'll need to replace tyres, brake pads, suspension parts of course and you'll wear the interior. Range will likely go down 'a bit' during 15 years. Can't really say how much because nobody has really run them for 15 years yet!
  • pogofish wrote: »

    Well, yes, but at well over 4000 posts, a lot of which are not really relevant to buying or owning an electric car the OP may get a better response from here.
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