Am I Silly to buy a petrol or diesel car now, to hold for the next 5yrs+?

[Deleted User]

diystarter7 said:

Stick with the petrol/diesel.  Reasons for this.
There won't be enough charging points and not everyone has a drive
Then, yes it will happen, the UK will lack the ability to power residential homes and industry, and yes,
the price of electric will shoot up
and charging you car will go up even more so

If the country has a problem providing power for car charging overnight (when the majority will do it) when business and industry use less power, it's a far greater issue than worrying about an EV charge - and that "collapse" will affect petrol stations too given they need power to pump fuel.

Or we could invest in solar and wind and nuclear over the years such that at the least we have a load more renewable power available

Mutton_Geoff

Bigwheels1111 said:

Two simple answers

Do you have a driveway so you can have a charger fitted, If so EV should work.Depends on how far you drive etc.

If not Diesel it is again.

PHEV is the second worst idea I've every heard of, first place goes to the new Nissan and VW that use a petrol engine to charge the battery that drives the car .

Are you sure those PHEVs charge the battery from the engine?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoZN828qnp8

Dogbyte009

Mutton_Geoff said:

Bigwheels1111 said:

PHEV is the second worst idea I've every heard of, first place goes to the new Nissan and VW that use a petrol engine to charge the battery that drives the car .

Are you sure those PHEVs charge the battery from the engine?

I think he's talking about cars like the Nissan Qashqai e-Power which is not a PHEV. It uses electric motors to turn the wheels and a petrol engine only to charge the battery.

To go back to the original question, this demonstrates that the tech is still evolving. Buying an ICE car now looks like a reasonable move as the alternatives - PHEV, battery, hydrogen, personal nuclear reactor, whatever - will be a lot better in a few years' time.

Bigwheels1111

Mutton_Geoff said:

Bigwheels1111 said:

Two simple answers

Do you have a driveway so you can have a charger fitted, If so EV should work.Depends on how far you drive etc.

If not Diesel it is again.

PHEV is the second worst idea I've every heard of, first place goes to the new Nissan and VW that use a petrol engine to charge the battery that drives the car .

Are you sure those PHEVs charge the battery from the engine?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoZN828qnp8

Not PHEV, they charge from a plug socket.

I think this was the video.

Love John's stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz2DgcWvSNM

baser999

For what’s it’s worth, I’m driving a LR diesel suv and face ‘The wrath of Khan’ next August when ULEZ swallows up our house. If we’re still here we’ll face a charge of £12.50 every day we move it. I’m deliberating between a LR Discovery Sport, ideally petrol to save any future issues (I foresee Khan legislating further against diesel vehicles in future) and a Skoda Kodiaq. We live in a Victorian mid-terrace, no drive, no scope for EV charger at home and nearest charging points are about 10 minutes walk away but regularly taken up by nonEV cars owned by locals and the council refuse to take steps to move them. 

On a slightly different note, Khan would be proposing a scrappage payment of £2000. If I were mad enough to accept it for my car, worth say £9000, is there anything stopping that car being sold on and Khan making a huge profit? 

Grumpy_chap

baser999 said:

On a slightly different note, Khan would be proposing a scrappage payment of £2000. If I were mad enough to accept it for my car, worth say £9000, is there anything stopping that car being sold on and Khan making a huge profit? 

For the previous ulez scrappage scheme, you had to get a certificate of destruction first and then claim the £2k.  A bit of trust you ever see the money.

Krakkkers

Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Richard53

Here's the answer..

CoastingHatbox

Personally, I wouldn't look to an electric car (or anything with batteries) for low mileage use. On the full lifecycle of the vehicle, including manufacture and disposal, it will be less environmentally friendly than a conventional ICE vehicle.

One study I recall reading concluded you have to drive 93,000 miles in a Tesla before it contends with a Euro VI diesel on carbon emissions.

In your position, I would probably look to by an older low mileage/well maintained/enthusiast owned almost classic. Lower purchase price and neglible depreciation (possible appreciation) will probably help offset any additonal costs in maintenance. Surprising how many older petrol vehicles are getting certified as ULEZ compliant.

macman

I see no evidence that residuals will 'fall off a cliff' after 2030. ICE vehicles after that date can continue to be driven until they reach the end of their natural lives, and, if built from now onwards are likely to be clean enough to pass any future ULEZ standards. With more EV's on the road, air quality should improve, even with a proportion of 'dirty' ICE cars still on the road. So ULEZ zones may become irrelevant in time.
The only unknown is what might happen to fuel prices, both in terms of the world price for oil, and what increase in fuel duty the govt might impose once the tipping point has been reached for the no. of EV's on the roads, and the need to decide how to replace the missing £26bn in fuel duty. 
Servicing, spares and repairs to ICE cars will probably get proportionally more expensive as their numbers dwindle, with EV's requiring far less maintenance. 
There is sufficient capacity in the grid to deal with overnight charging, which will account for the bulk of demand.