Is it worth getting an EV?

thegentleway

Need a new car and considering getting a large EV for family duties - finally got a drive so could home charge. 
Option 1: I can get one through my job: PAYE with salary sacrifice. I would save 12% NI and 20% income tax as I'm basic rate on PAYE. I have other income that takes me into higher rate so I'd save an additional 20% on my tax return. I make that 52% saving in total - is that right?
Option 2: I also have a ltd company but no idea how this works - presumably I won't get anywhere near 52% saving putting it through the business?
Option 3: Get another petrol car, i.e. 4 year old BMW 440i - only do 8k miles per year so fuel bill isn't that astronomical. I can pay cash for it so I suspect this will be the cheapest. The money calculator says it'll "only" depreciate by £226 a month on average for the next 2 years. 

SergeantBaker

Re Option 1: Didn't you get the advice here?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6370147/electric-car-salary-sacrifice-scheme#latest

Grumpy_chap

Re Option 2:  Is the Ltd Company trading or dormant?

DrEskimo

Option 4: Buy a second hand EV. Save both on depreciation and fuel costs. 

thegentleway

Grumpy_chap said:

Re Option 2:  Is the Ltd Company trading or dormant?

It's trading

thegentleway

DrEskimo said:

Option 4: Buy a second hand EV. Save both on depreciation and fuel costs. 

Concerned about battery degradation

DrEskimo

thegentleway said:

DrEskimo said:

Option 4: Buy a second hand EV. Save both on depreciation and fuel costs. 

Concerned about battery degradation

Based on what?

In our family we have three 6 yr old EVs, one of which has now done 90k miles. Battery degradation is a non issue on all three. 

thegentleway

DrEskimo said:

thegentleway said:

DrEskimo said:

Option 4: Buy a second hand EV. Save both on depreciation and fuel costs. 

Concerned about battery degradation

Based on what?

In our family we have three 6 yr old EVs, one of which has now done 90k miles. Battery degradation is a non issue on all three. 

Based on my day job modelling lithium ion batteries degradation is more of less linear then hits a knee point and falls of a cliff. It's very difficult to model the knee point as even for the same conditions there's a wide range for how long the pack will last. I definitely wouldn't buy a 6 year old EV with 90k miles. But I guess I could look at 2-3 year olds ones with plenty of warranty left. That's probably going to be the most cost effective.

Flight3287462

DrEskimo said:

Based on what?

The laws of battery physics, Lithium batteries degrade from first use.  The only way they kid you on they are not degrading is having more batteries that can be switched as the battery degrades.

There are plenty of scientific papers you can peruse.

Ectophile

Petrol and diesel engines wear over time, losing power and becoming less efficient. But people tend not to mention that.

You tend not to notice if a tank of fuel doesn't give you as many miles as it used to.

thegentleway

Ectophile said:

Petrol and diesel engines wear over time, losing power and becoming less efficient. But people tend not to mention that.

You tend not to notice if a tank of fuel doesn't give you as many miles as it used to.

True but different order of magnitude. Modern petrol and diesel engine will only lose a few percent whereas EVs lose 10s of percent. E.g. you may not notice if your 300 mile range petrol now only does 294 miles but you will probably notice if your 300 mile range EV now only does 240 miles.