Considering an EV on salary sacrifice scheme

daveyjp

As above.  If SS affects the NHS pension it could be a very expensive mistake in the long term.

WellKnownSid

A 20 reg Sandero could have up to a couple of years warranty left depending on mileage / servicing.  This will cover most things but not wear and tear items so tyres / brakes / etc will always be an expense.

As others have stated it just comes down to hard economics.  If you can charge at home the money you can save is substantial - we went second hand route with an 11 month old Zoe, saving 65% off the new price and the cost of car, maintenance, insurance and fuel is more than covered by the electric bill.  We paid a couple of thousand less than a new base model Spring but it came with double the power, double the range, leather seats, heated steering, four year warranty, etc.  We could have bought a much older Clio with ten times the mileage for the same money.

If you are going the salary sac route maybe wait once we're clear of the September rush to see what bargains come available?

I would also look at other options.  The Spring works out at £176 a month for me but a long range (52kW) mid spec Renault 5 is £245, and a Ford Puma Gen E is £233.  Probably you will see similar cars under your quoted £300 maintenance / tax / insurance cost.

Goudy

Herzlos said:

DrEskimo said:

I then realised I could save even more just by buying a used EV in the same way I had always done. Cheaper costs all round. 

That's a solid point. A quick check without knowing the details but there's a top spec 24 plate Spring 65 with 600 miles on it for £11,750, and a 2020 Stepway with ~26k miles is selling for £9k (so call it £6k trade in). 

That'd be about £192/year over 3 years or £126 over 5 years with OK credit, and the car is yours at the end. 

It doesn't factor in a charging point or insurance though. 

If you are a public sector worker, like a teacher or work for the NHS you can buy a brand new Spring 65 for only £270 more.
£12021, that's £3973 of list.
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Or Dacia themselves will give you £2250 deposit contribution on a straight HP deal with 0% interest over 4 years.
If you could get around £6k for your Sandero, you could be looking at around £160 a month.
Expression Electric 65 | Spring | Hire Purchase | Dacia Offers

Bigphil1474

I have access to the NHS scheme and took a serious look into it last year - can't see how anyone in the public sector really benefits unless they were desperate. I did price comparisons on a mid range  Kia , and I would have ended up paying net something like £150 a month all in for a brand new car  (plus charging costs) compared to what I pay now with my owned second hand petrol car, which is a great price. However, the kicker is the pension contributions. My employer pays 14.5% and I pay 6.5%, so for every £100 the car cost, I'd lose £21 a month going into my pension. It would have been a 20%ish reduction in pension contributions for me, which would have had a big impact on my final pension. I can see why employers like it, but don't see the benefit for employees myself (other than getting a new car which just needs fuel).

Re ownership - the public sector lease schemes are usually just that, you never own it.

steakmehometonight

Wow! Thank you for all your replies! I will let you all know. I am a primary teacher in Scotland (so not expecting redundancy) and I have 17 years full time worth of contributions to SPPA without any breaks. I do have a driveway and it is the Spring 65 on offer with the charging point included in the price. From research, the car does seem to serve the type of mileage and driving I do. 

I certainly will look more closely at other leasing deals though. It’s interesting to see what’s out there that wouldn’t involve sacrificing some of my pension contributions. I am in no rush so happy to also wait to see if any deals come available. 

I also hadn’t really considered the depreciation aspect of my own car - I feel I’ve been stung a bit having only owned the car for two years with repairs so far. MOT is in October so hoping nothing too costly! 

At the end of the day, I need to sit and do the sums. Thanks again for all of your advice. It’s much appreciated!