How do ordinary people make the switch to electric vehicles ?

Brie

BOWFER said:

What would your fuel saving be, did you work that out?

£400 a month for an E-Up seems excessive, even with maintenance and insurance built in.
With regard to your comment about the balloon payment, that is fixed at the beginning of the agreement.
So you absolutely would know what you were expected to pay if you wanted to keep it.
If it turns out be to worth more than balloon, the equity is there for you to use.
If it turns out to be less, you hand the car back and walk away.

Fuel saving wouldn't be significant particularly as I currently WFH 3 days a week.  I fill the car every other month at most so maybe would currently pay about £200 a year for petrol.  

The £400 a month included salary sacrifice so meant I was saving on tax etc.  It was more if it didn't go through salary sacrifice.

I was specifically told that they wouldn't know what the final payment would be as they have no idea how much the car would be worth in 4 years.  So I absolutely would not know what I would have to pay.

So I'll wait until the used market has something that I can afford and am willing to buy.  The current used cars available aren't recommended.

motorguy

neilmcl said:

WJB1971 said:

I have worked all my life and having done so have got to the point where I own a Volvo XC60 of which I am very fond, it isn't new, it is several years old but it is mine.

However, I accept there is need to go electric and would like to do so.

The nearest comparable vehicle all electric would be the Volvo XC40 but at round the £60k mark there is no way I can afford to make that change. Looking for a second hand SUV I might be able to afford it would be a Kia Soul, and with the best will in the world they are just not comparable vehicles.

The biggest problem then to ordinary people wanting to make the change and to try and be greener, is the cost to us, and because we cannot afford it, we have to accept having a smaller car not of our choice, or carry on polluting.

What about leasing ? I am sorry but if you think any of us earning 20k a year can afford to lease and manage the rest of life's living expenses then think again.

What about grants and such ? yes but we still have to find the rest of the money and most of us don't have it.

So those of us with least will end up driving a polluting car because we cannot afford to do otherwise. We will end up having to pay more and more for doing so, which will make finding the money to change even more impossible. We will be frowned upon for still driving such a car by those who can afford to go green.

Anyone got a solution ?

Yes, let all the people with money to burn to take the hit then come in a few more years down the line when prices will be cheaper.

More specifically, company car owners / company owners that are getting massive incentives to go drive an electric car rather than an ICE one.  If i buy a £50K electric car through my company, i get an immediate £10K tax saving this year, and i pay practically nil in terms of BIK tax.  That makes them quite compelling for many.

motorguy

BOWFER said:

I don't accept that anyone earning £20K a year can't lease an electric car.
If anything, it's the best way to do a car on a limited budget as the costs are pretty fixed, no repairs etc.
Then you have the fuel savings, especially if you sign up to a cheap tariff (as I have).
You can easily lease a Leaf or Zoe for not much more than £200 a month
Your trouble is you want an electric car equivalent to your massive XC60.
I find it hard to believe anyone needs a car of that size, so perhaps your expectations and sense of entitlement need to change a bit in line with reducing excessive consumption?

+1

Totally my view.  Easy to pick up a lease on an electric car quite cheaply OR simply buy used.  You can buy a Leaf from under £6K.

motorguy

neilmcl said:

BOWFER said:

I don't accept that anyone earning £20K a year can't lease an electric car.
If anything, it's the best way to do a car on a limited budget as the costs are pretty fixed, no repairs etc.
Then you have the fuel savings, especially if you sign up to a cheap tariff (as I have).
You can easily lease a Leaf or Zoe for not much more than £200 a month

Not sure what world you live in where someone earning only £20K a year can afford to lease a new car for £200 or more a month. People on that sort of income have enough problems trying to heat their homes and put food into their children's mouths.

And therein lies the problem with the O/Ps "dilemma" for everyone - how can people on £20K drive brand new electric £60K SUVs?  Well, the simple answer is, in the real world they cant.  Nor should they expect to.

BOWFER

Brie said:

BOWFER said:

What would your fuel saving be, did you work that out?

£400 a month for an E-Up seems excessive, even with maintenance and insurance built in.
With regard to your comment about the balloon payment, that is fixed at the beginning of the agreement.
So you absolutely would know what you were expected to pay if you wanted to keep it.
If it turns out be to worth more than balloon, the equity is there for you to use.
If it turns out to be less, you hand the car back and walk away.

Fuel saving wouldn't be significant particularly as I currently WFH 3 days a week.  I fill the car every other month at most so maybe would currently pay about £200 a year for petrol.  

The £400 a month included salary sacrifice so meant I was saving on tax etc.  It was more if it didn't go through salary sacrifice.

I was specifically told that they wouldn't know what the final payment would be as they have no idea how much the car would be worth in 4 years.  So I absolutely would not know what I would have to pay.

So I'll wait until the used market has something that I can afford and am willing to buy.  The current used cars available aren't recommended.

I think you're maybe confused with the type of agreement it is.
You've used the term "balloon payment" which means it's PCP.
If it's a lease, then balloon payment isn't applicable.
The balloon payment is always fixed at the start of a PCP term, always...
If it's a lease, then " balloon payment" shouldn't be used at all, as you have no right to keep the car (yes you can ask to buy it and the price will be given to you at that time)

So it's either a PCP and they're incorrect in saying the balloon payment isn't known.
Or it's lease and they're incorrect in using the term balloon payment at all.

sevenhills

neilmcl said:

Not sure what world you live in where someone earning only £20K a year can afford to lease a new car for £200 or more a month. People on that sort of income have enough problems trying to heat their homes and put food into their children's mouths.

I earn around £16K, but the point is that most people spend their money on non-essential items.

I personally don't think its possible to halt climate change because the world is built on greed, we all want more.

Why would the majority of the population spend thousands to save the planet?

We cannot even agree on Brexit or giving 7% of GDP in 'Aid'. We had lockdown and still climate change and CO2 gets worse.

Our politicians are accomplished liars, if they wanted to solve climate change, they would be taxing all vehicles except public transport.

Public transport should cost £1, if you get my point?

Petriix

Ignore the premium brand side of things. The simple truth is that there aren't 4-5 year old equivalent EVs to compare to the XC60 because EV technology is very new and fast moving.

But in answer to the question about ordinary people switching to EVs: you have to look at the overall cost of ownership. We added £20k to our mortgage in December which increased our payments by £75 per month. We bought a new MG5 - not exactly an XC60, but a reasonable vehicle for a normal family.

We've spent £100 on charging to cover 8,500 miles so saved about £75 per month on diesel. So it's not really cost us anything yet. The latest valuation I've had shows depreciation of about £1200 in 10 months.

born_again

motorguy said:

BOWFER said:

I don't accept that anyone earning £20K a year can't lease an electric car.
If anything, it's the best way to do a car on a limited budget as the costs are pretty fixed, no repairs etc.
Then you have the fuel savings, especially if you sign up to a cheap tariff (as I have).
You can easily lease a Leaf or Zoe for not much more than £200 a month
Your trouble is you want an electric car equivalent to your massive XC60.
I find it hard to believe anyone needs a car of that size, so perhaps your expectations and sense of entitlement need to change a bit in line with reducing excessive consumption?

+1

Totally my view.  Easy to pick up a lease on an electric car quite cheaply OR simply buy used.  You can buy a Leaf from under £6K.

Well without the OP saying why they want a large car you can not say they have a "Need". 
They may be disabled or have a partner who is and need to carry wheelchair or mobility scooter, several kids, have several large dogs or carry stuff around for work..

So each to their own on what they want.
The answer is at the moment that large EV's are not abundant at cheap prices. So like everything else, you just have to wait till prices drop to a level that you can afford.

With any luck Chinese EV's will be hitting the UK soon & some of them are massive & well priced. Nio ES8

motorguy

sevenhills said:

neilmcl said:

Not sure what world you live in where someone earning only £20K a year can afford to lease a new car for £200 or more a month. People on that sort of income have enough problems trying to heat their homes and put food into their children's mouths.

I earn around £16K, but the point is that most people spend their money on non-essential items.

I personally don't think its possible to halt climate change because the world is built on greed, we all want more.

Why would the majority of the population spend thousands to save the planet?

We cannot even agree on Brexit or giving 7% of GDP in 'Aid'. We had lockdown and still climate change and CO2 gets worse.

Our politicians are accomplished liars, if they wanted to solve climate change, they would be taxing all vehicles except public transport.

Public transport should cost £1, if you get my point?

If someone wants to, they can buy a used electric car from under £6K.

If their budget is less than that they would be being more environmentally friendly keeping an older car running anyway.

And yes, we are as a nation (in fact a race) consumers - we consume and continue consuming.

motorguy

born_again said:

motorguy said:

BOWFER said:

I don't accept that anyone earning £20K a year can't lease an electric car.
If anything, it's the best way to do a car on a limited budget as the costs are pretty fixed, no repairs etc.
Then you have the fuel savings, especially if you sign up to a cheap tariff (as I have).
You can easily lease a Leaf or Zoe for not much more than £200 a month
Your trouble is you want an electric car equivalent to your massive XC60.
I find it hard to believe anyone needs a car of that size, so perhaps your expectations and sense of entitlement need to change a bit in line with reducing excessive consumption?

+1

Totally my view.  Easy to pick up a lease on an electric car quite cheaply OR simply buy used.  You can buy a Leaf from under £6K.

Well without the OP saying why they want a large car you can not say they have a "Need". 
They may be disabled or have a partner who is and need to carry wheelchair or mobility scooter, several kids, have several large dogs or carry stuff around for work..

So each to their own on what they want.
The answer is at the moment that large EV's are not abundant at cheap prices. So like everything else, you just have to wait till prices drop to a level that you can afford.

With any luck Chinese EV's will be hitting the UK soon & some of them are massive & well priced. Nio ES8

Well theres cheaper options available if someone wants / needs something bigger.  My point was, i'd find it hard to believe someone "needs" a £60K SUV.

And if there is an absolute requirement for something big, then probably stick with what they have for now.  Going electric is not everything to all people right now - and might not be for a very long time to come (if ever)