Electric car costs and additional costs

Herzlos

silverwhistle said:

These post-Covid Zoom days business mileage has dropped off a cliff.

Very good point. Covid has shown that you can do the vast bulk of meetings remotely so I don't think we'll ever go back to the days of face to face meetings being the default for everything.

Herzlos

AdrianC said:

The 53yo moped is on the original engine, but it's in bits being very slowly rebuilt - some numpty clearly ran it with neat petrol instead of premix. No wear from too much use, just knackered bearings from abuse.

At least you can't mis-fuel an EV

dipsomaniac

Supersonos said:

dipsomaniac said:

DrEskimo said:

dipsomaniac said:

DrEskimo said:

dipsomaniac said:

DrEskimo said:

dipsomaniac said:

5000 miles and you pay £0 VED at the moment?  At least you can't complain about the state of the roads.

I would be really worried if a 2 year old car didn't sail through the next 2 MOT's.

What happens at 8 years if the batteries cause too much range anxiety? How much do they cost to replace? Does the car get scrapped?

Yes I can. I still pay tax....

Why would I suddenly have range anxiety after 8yrs? It's lost 2% in 4yrs, so even if it for some reason accelerated and lost double that in the next two years (and all data suggests the complete opposite happens, that degradation is fastest in the first years, and then levels off), I would be at 94%....why on earth would I worry about replacing them at 94%?

That equates to an average loss of about 9miles of range, given that I average 150miles all year round.

How much does it cost to replace the batteries?

Range anxiety is a problem with ev. I can get in my £200 focus and drive anywhere in England without stopping. You can't do that in a £40k+ ev car

I don't know. 

that would have been my very first question before buying a ev car.

How much does an engine replacement cost?

Obviously depends on what engine you are replacing. In 30 years of driving I have never had to replace one.

You've had the same car for 30yrs and have never had to replace the engine??

No, in 30 years I have never changed a engine on any of the cars I have owned. The one car I currently have on my drive Ive  had for the last 18 years. My motorbike I have had for 11 years.

Engine changes do happen. Chat with someone the other day in a old Austin. It's been in the family for 85 years and it's on its 3rd engine

Freecall

GunJack said:

lots of people do 400 mile round trips in a day for business meetings...easy in an ICE, with no garage stops in the day. 

Actually I'm not sure that they do.

No garage stops in the day?  You mean that 'lots' of people routinely keep their car fully (or nearly fully) fueled when parked on their drive just in case they need to make a 400 mile trip?

Given that the vast majority of EV charging is done at home, EV's will routinely be fully charged when hitting the road but I don't believe that many ICE drivers go to the trouble of topping up each day before arriving home 'just in case'.

AdrianC

Freecall said:

GunJack said:

lots of people do 400 mile round trips in a day for business meetings...easy in an ICE, with no garage stops in the day. 

Actually I'm not sure that they do.

No garage stops in the day?  You mean that 'lots' of people routinely keep their car fully (or nearly fully) fueled when parked on their drive just in case they need to make a 400 mile trip?

Given that the vast majority of EV charging is done at home, EV's will routinely be fully charged when hitting the road but I don't believe that many ICE drivers go to the trouble of topping up each day before arriving home 'just in case'.

It's irrelevant, though, because refuelling is a five minute minor inconvenience.

Grumpy_chap

Herzlos said:

At least you can't mis-fuel an EV

Please do not make the mistake of underestimating the ingenuity or determination of complete fools.

Petriix

Grumpy_chap said:

Herzlos said:

At least you can't mis-fuel an EV

Please do not make the mistake of underestimating the ingenuity or determination of complete fools.

It's actually surprisingly common for new EV drivers to select the type 2 AC connector at certain rapid chargers rather than the appropriate DC connector for their vehicle. This typically leads to charging at 7kW rather than the expected 50kW because only a very few EV models can utilise higher powered AC current.

Not exactly mins-fueling but a frustrating mistake to return to a barely charged vehicle after your 40 minute break.

Grumpy_chap

I am quite sure someone somewhere sometime will somehow force a 3-phase plug into the charger socket.  

born_again

GunJack said:

It's not the so much that you do that day in, day out, but it's the ability to do it should it be necessary. As someone mentioned earlier, lots of people do 400 mile round trips in a day for business meetings...easy in an ICE, with no garage stops in the day. Probably not possible in an EV, and especially not in an under-£1000 EV. The price differential between an ICE and EV for me would give me 6-7 year's-worth of fuel and VED, along with almost-zero depreciation, so with the leccy costs that would probably add another couple of years. And I'm one of the lucky ones who has a driveway on which to charge, should I ever in my lifetime have to have an EV.

Simple. The car gets charged while they are in the meeting.

Covid has taught companies some great money saving. No need to send someone so far for something that can be done via Video call.

Bonniepurple

I’ve just had a look on AutoTrader.  Plenty of very nice vehicles, and, if I were to hire the battery, almost within budget.  The big issue for me is the lack of space.  I need a car that will fit my mobility scooter in, along with 4 people.  My DH is self employed (well, pre covid!) and needs a big boot to cart his stuff around.  Until EVs have enough space - and battery range- to cope with all that, they’re not worth even dreaming about for me.