Cheery's path to fulfilment - finishing the DIY, looking after myself, appreciating the garden 🌻

Cheery_Daff

Ah found it, page 358 of the same thread is when he bought it - I'll go back a bit for the pondering, thank you!

themadvix

Cheery, we’re away at the moment, but will reply properly on Monday (and will get Mr MV’s thoughts too as he is the geek). But I know we’ve worked out that in some circumstances a lease would be excellent value, and it’s definitely a low-risk way to try an EV. What are you looking at make/model wise?

Baileys_Babe

@KajiKita I took was going to post a link to Organgrinder's tales on the how much to live on thread. I have found it fascinating and it has made me have a more serious think about our future vehicles, but until we are able to have a charger installed (listed building) it's a mute point.

@Cheery_Daff your stay at your friend's sounds both supportive and fun, I'm sure the appreciated it.

Cheery_Daff

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81992180#Comment_81992180

Thank you 😊 I love how each of us pondering our own circumstances leads to other people pondering theirs too 😊😊

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81992086#Comment_81992086

Thank you, I look forward to it! 😃 Not thinking of any particular model - cheap, small, preferably not an SUV of any kind. But other than that, we're pretty easy. We were planning on (eventually) replacing the two we have with one we can sleep in, and one with a soft top roof 😂 but I don't think an EV is going to meet either of those criteria anyway 😂😂

Leisurely morning here 😊 Put on another half pound at slimming world 😬 NOT paying attention at all at the minute so I'm now going to post every day on the private FB group as that does help me with accountability.

Went to Mr M's cafe for breakfast - breakfast for both of us, plus refillable drinks (we had 2 hot drinks each) was £7.88 (between us) - thankfully I remembered the 25% meerkat discount as I was paying. Definitely a good option for a weekend breakfast for us, and SW friendly for me (I had poached eggs on toast). Mr C not impressed to discover he qualifies for the senior discount 😬 (not on anything that he'd actually want though)

I bought a couple of charity shop books for a fiver, plus a posh Yankee candle that someone had set fire to once and decided they didn't like the smell for £3.50, which is a bargain as they're usually knocking on for £20 at that size 😱 The scent is something like pineapple upside down cake 😂

Popped into Mr A for fresh stuff, spent £16. We've got a good stock of store cupboard stuff at the minute so going to focus on cooking cheaper stuff rather than just leaving it sat there and buying more expensive picky bits for the fridge.

Just getting changed for an afternoon of pottering and gardening, and then I'll get some soup in the hay box before I head outside 😊

Viking_mfw

I think there are electric convertible minis but they are ££££

Greying_Pilgrim

Cheery - "daft" questions of the day coming from someone who does not, and has never owned, nor driven an electric vehicle.

Do any of your neighbours own EV's? - I'm wondering this because aren't EV's prone to have less of a range in cold weather, and I'm pondering if this is an issue in a place where the weather can be cold for certain parts of the year? ie, would a charge get you from home to the next charging station/place, if cold weather reduced the range? Do neighbours commute or pootle with their EV's?

Also, I'm not necessarily thinking certain brands/dealerships, makes/models, but have you got local garages that can service/mend EV's. I don't know - which is why I'm asking this question - whether all (perhaps limited to smaller garages, rather than dealerships?), garages can mend EV's? I was under the impression (might be talking baloney), that mechanics have to be trained on EV maintenance, if only from a safety aspect, rather than how you mend a miniEV over a nissAnEV, over a r0llsr0yceEV - if you get my example.

Folks who own EV's may be able to say ^ are not such an issue (especially as EV technology has developed), plus hybrids may (easily) circumvent these issues, and EV's aren't just for urban areas. I just thought I would ask - hope you don't mind.

Greying X

greenbee

EVs were popular in Sweden when I was working there pre-Covid, so I don't think that the issues with cold are quite what the UK/US anti-EV brigade make them out to be (it's a bit like the whole 'heat pumps don't work in cold weather which is odd given Scandinavia has been using and manufacturing them for years).

I think if you're on a lease, then service/repair will need to be through the lease-provider approved service partner. And as you'd be looking at a new EV, then you might be able to get one with bi-directional capability which would be handy in power cuts :)

If you were staying where you are long term, I'd be suggesting you put solar on one of your outbuildings as well, and revisit the heat pump options now the grant has increased, but if you're thinking of moving in the next 3-5 years that probably isn't realistic.

Cheery_Daff

No, those are excellent questions @Greying_Pilgrim thank you! I don't know the answer to either 😂 well, I don't know any neighbours with electric cars (but I don't have many neighbours full stop, and they're mostly farmers with some kind of 4wd). We would have a diesel too, but I wouldn't want it to be out of action for much of the winter.

As for the garage, good question, and I also don't know. The lease includes maintenance, and it makes sense that would need to be an approved dealer, but I have no idea where the closest one is. Mind you, our current garage is near work, 26 miles from home, so it might not make much difference!

Greying_Pilgrim

Fair do's greenbee - I know nothing of EV's and it's a fair point about Northern Europe's use of EV's. If the argument is over-egged, then that is fair enough, but I wouldn't want Cheery stranded either. We have alot of EV's around where I live, but then I'm on the edge of a town, most of the owners have garages/driveways, and we consistently stay a degree or two warmer in winter than chums who live more rurally. Plus, many (perhaps all???) of the dealerships with the 'popular' EV models are within sort of reachable distance - perhaps even recoverable distance, if things go wrong.

And - EV/battery technology is changing all the time, so 'where' you live is possibly becoming less of an issue. I just thought i would mention it - as I don't know the answer to the questions I posed, and wondered if geographical location could be a consideration.

Greying X

Cheery_Daff

I very much appreciate your questions lovely Greying, they are very relevant! And thank you for pointing out the cold weather stuff greenbee. We have no plans to move, but we're just not in a position to afford solar at the minute - if we were we'd have panels on the house, it's got a massive south facing roof (which has far more structural integrity than any of our out buildings 😂😂)

EV discussions are being prompted because it's likely we'll need to replace a car soon, not because it's the logical next step - I realise it'd probably make sense to do solar first but it's just not going to happen.

Hadnt realised the heat pump grant had increased, that must have been very recent? Will investigate, although the problem with the survey we had done was that they couldn't provide a heat pump big enough to meet our needs, not that we couldn't avoid it. That might have changed in the last few weeks though I suppose.

Right now though, I have an hour left to potter gently in the garden so I'm going to prioritise that 😊😊