Is buying a new BEV worth it ?

Vogon

Vogon

Vogon

Soldato
Joined
14 Nov 2002
Posts
4,440
So its time to change my car, should I go BEV ?

I have read conflicting reports of the "Expensive car" VED supplement, some say it's the same as ICE cars, others say BEV are excluded, anyone know for sure ?

I know I'll get 2 years of no VED, then have to pay it from 2025.
My journeys are 99.9% home and back later and usually under 120 miles which means I very rarely will have to use public chargepoints, so that downside isn't a concern.

Currently I am on 35p per KWH for my Electric, but could switch to a lower 7 hour night rate of 23p per KWH, current and/or future ICE cars I would have return around 35mpg with my usage and I don't do diesel.
Disregarding the higher price of EV's, (that's negated mostly by the type of ICE car I would buy) is it worth switching to Electric.

For those that have made the jump, Do you regret it, or are you happy you did ?
 
Last edited:
If you can charge at home. Install a smart meter and switch to a time of use tariff like Octopus Go and you'll save a lot in running costs in addition to the generally lower maintenance costs.

I switched 4 years previous and wouldn't go back even if the costs was similar as driving an electric car for daily use is just so much nicer. I haven't had to physically defrost a car in those 4 years. The next few days will highlight this feature.

I was supposed to pay the luxury tax on my current car but that was scrapped just as I took delivery. Paying zero VED is nice but I know I should pay something in the long run. I assume the scheme will be banded like it is for ICE cars.
 
Just made the move and happy I did. No more going to forecourts and should work out a fair bit cheaper once finally get my charge point installed in next few weeks.

It's nice not having the drone of an engine and the power being instant.

120miles will be doable on an overnight charge for most vehicles.
 
Octopus Go wouldnt work for me as the day rate is pricey when I checked the postcode and only 4 hours of cheap rate, albeit half the price of the cheap rate my current supplier does.
Even the cheap rate tarrif from my supplier is a bit hit and miss, with 3 kids my standard rate increased cost eats into the benefits, so unsure if thats helpful or not !
 
Vogon said:
Octopus Go wouldnt work for me as the day rate is pricey when I checked the postcode and only 4 hours of cheap rate, albeit half the price of the cheap rate my current supplier does.
Even the cheap rate tarrif from my supplier is a bit hit and miss, with 3 kids my standard rate increased cost eats into the benefits, so unsure if thats helpful or not !
Click to expand...


Yup similar situation hence getting solar and a battery. Hoping to charge batt overnight to discharge during the day. Slippery slope though ha!
 
Vogon said:
Octopus Go wouldnt work for me as the day rate is pricey when I checked the postcode and only 4 hours of cheap rate, albeit half the price of the cheap rate my current supplier does.
Even the cheap rate tarrif from my supplier is a bit hit and miss, with 3 kids my standard rate increased cost eats into the benefits, so unsure if thats helpful or not !
Click to expand...
We're lucky that with just 2 of us (and only me with a BEV) on Octo GO we managed an average rate of 26p/kWh on our last bill with barely any load-shifting so it works for us, but I did a lot of spreadsheeting beforehand to make sure it was the right choice.
 
Vogon said:
Octopus Go wouldnt work for me as the day rate is pricey when I checked the postcode and only 4 hours of cheap rate, albeit half the price of the cheap rate my current supplier does.
Even the cheap rate tarrif from my supplier is a bit hit and miss, with 3 kids my standard rate increased cost eats into the benefits, so unsure if thats helpful or not !
Click to expand...
It almost definitely would work. Im without an ev ATM but still average 22p/kWh on go just running appliances at night. Charging an ev would bring the average down way further than that. If you can get on intelligent octopus then you get way more cheap hours, min 6 hours, often way more depending on your charging needs, cheaper rate than go as well, 10p Vs 12p.
 
Vogon said:
So its time to change my car, should I go BEV ?

I have read conflicting reports of the "Expensive car" VED supplement, some say it's the same as ICE cars, others say BEV are excluded, anyone know for sure ?

I know I'll get 2 years of no VED, then have to pay it from 2025.
My journeys are 99.9% home and back later and usually under 120 miles which means I very rarely will have to use public chargepoints, so that downside isn't a concern.

Currently I am on 35p per KWH for my Electric, but could switch to a lower 7 hour night rate of 23p per KWH, current and/or future ICE cars I would have return around 35mpg with my usage and I don't do diesel.
Disregarding the higher price of EV's, (that's negated mostly by the type of ICE car I would buy) is it worth switching to Electric.

For those that have made the jump, Do you regret it, or are you happy you did ?
Click to expand...

For 120 miles you wouldn't necessarily need to go new, a 40kWh Leaf or Zoe should be able to do that
 
Kill_Phil said:
No more going to forecourts
Click to expand...

Unless you only ever use your car for the sort of journey you could have taken using the bus, you'll probably find yourself charging at public charging stations at least occasionally. So I'm not really sure how 'no more going to forecourts' is the sort of benefit that deserves any credit when deciding how to spend £30,000+ on a car. It's very difficult to argue that using a public charging point is anything but much less convenient than using a petrol station, even if you only measure it in terms of time taken.
 
Agreed, occasionally, and generally when it’s nice weather. It’s huge benefit, from experience, commutes broken by fuel stops before, after or mid journey are an utter chore.
 
[TW]Fox said:
It's very difficult to argue that using a public charging point is anything but much less convenient than using a petrol station, even if you only measure it in terms of time taken.
Click to expand...

That depends...

A) Pull up to charger, plug in, start charge, go for poo/coffee/burger/change nappy, go back to car, unplug, drive off.

vs

B) Park in car park, go for poo/coffee/burger/change nappy, go back to car, drive to petrol station, sort out pay at pump, stand in the cold for a few minutes filling car, drive off.


A is always going to be quicker, as the car is filling itself up while you do other things - most current EVs charge quick enough that the 30-40 mins taken to do what you'd already be doing at a services is enough to get another 150-200 miles in the battery.

Of course you might be waiting for a charger to become free which obviously makes it less convenient on that occasion, but to use your metric of purely "in terms of time taken", on average charging an EV* will be quicker than filling your ICE vehicle.



* provided you have home charging
 
I prefer 'pull up, press the 'pay at pump' button, stick another 450 miles of range into the tank in 2 minutes, click the receipt button and drive off again myself.
Even though my next car will most likely be an EV, I don't like the fantasy that charging it up for 30 minutes every time I stop will be easier than filling my fuel tank.
 
The range on a conventional car is so large that you never really need to think about getting fuel mid journey in a way you would with an electric car, so there is rarely any value to combining a fuel stop with a food stop. I accept that some of this is a result of fuel pricing on motorways - they are so expensive you do anything you can to avoid buying fuel at the same time as you stop at the services for anything else.

Whereas because of the time taken to charge an electric car you almost have no choice but to combine it with something else unless you want to sit in the car and wait, which most people don't. But the pace of electric car sales is much higher than the rate of new charging stations so there are often wait times for a spare charger, during which you've no real choice but to sit in the car.

Whereas if you use your car only for short local journeys and you charge at home, electric really makes sense - you never need to charge anywhere but overnight at your own home and you never drive far enough that range becomes a concern. For this sort of usage, electric is excellent, especially given the local air quality benefits of zero emissions vehicles in city centres.

By contrast I think it'll be some time before electric cars on long journeys are anything like as simple and easy as a conventional car.
 
Last edited:
For me the thought of stopping a journey every 450miles to fill up and get rinsed is not something I’d move (back) to.

Horses for courses but I’m 33k miles and 2 years in. Done both sides of coin, have both sides of the coin, no axe to grind… experience not hypothesis. #justsayin
 
Last edited:
That depends...
Haggisman said:
A) Pull up to charger, plug in, start charge, go for poo/coffee/burger/change nappy, go back to car, unplug, drive off.

vs

B) Park in car park, go for poo/coffee/burger/change nappy, go back to car, drive to petrol station, sort out pay at pump, stand in the cold for a few minutes filling car, drive off.


A is always going to be quicker, as the car is filling itself up while you do other things - most current EVs charge quick enough that the 30-40 mins taken to do what you'd already be doing at a services is enough to get another 150-200 miles in the battery.

Of course you might be waiting for a charger to become free which obviously makes it less convenient on that occasion, but to use your metric of purely "in terms of time taken", on average charging an EV* will be quicker than filling your ICE vehicle.



* provided you have home charging
Click to expand...
To be fair, you've loaded the dice here. The only reason A is "always going to be quicker" is because you've factored in stopping to do other stuff in both examples. Which you have to do given that charging an EV will always take a fair amount of time for any significant charge.
But with petrol, you'll always have the option of only having to spend 5 minutes tops filling up.
 
Last edited:
Conscript said:
That depends...

To be fair, you've loaded the dice here. The only reason A is "always going to be quicker" is because you've factored in stopping to do other stuff in both examples. Which you have to do given that charging an EV will always take a fair amount of time for any significant charge.
But with petrol, you'll always have the option of only having to spend 5 minutes tops filling up.
Click to expand...

You have to do those other things anyway if you have kids, so it makes no odds in that scenario - obviously this depends on your personal circumstances.

Don't forget that you have no choice but to spend 10-15 mins visiting a petrol station every week or so when driving an ICE car, and while that may only be 10-15 mins, that time does add up over the year (e.g. filling once a week is over 8 hours a year).

Currently driving an old diesel estate, and I loathe having to visit the petrol station, it's dirty, expensive and inconvenient, and I can't wait to get back in an EV

Uther said:
I prefer 'pull up, press the 'pay at pump' button, stick another 450 miles of range into the tank in 2 minutes, click the receipt button and drive off again myself.
Even though my next car will most likely be an EV, I don't like the fantasy that charging it up for 30 minutes every time I stop will be easier than filling my fuel tank.
Click to expand...

If you're having to wait 30 mins every time you charge then it sounds like an EV isn't for you as you either don't have a home charger or you're doing 300+ miles/day

Edit: maths fail... 52*10 mins is 8 hours, not 4 :cry:
 
Last edited:
[TW]Fox said:
Unless you only ever use your car for the sort of journey you could have taken using the bus, you'll probably find yourself charging at public charging stations at least occasionally. So I'm not really sure how 'no more going to forecourts' is the sort of benefit that deserves any credit when deciding how to spend £30,000+ on a car. It's very difficult to argue that using a public charging point is anything but much less convenient than using a petrol station, even if you only measure it in terms of time taken.
Click to expand...

Alright calm down. It is a benefit to me, I didn't say it would be for everyone and the op's 120 daily round trip could easily be covered by home charging.

I use my car for more than bus journeys; I routinely go to my parents 130 miles away, can charge overnight and make the return journey without issue
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom