EV general discussion

[Journey]

My wife drives a 2008 Freelander that's just a bashed up workhorse now approaching 100k miles - and still going strong

I'd normally say you'd expect easily that from a 15 year old vehicle doing under 7k miles per year, but it is JLR so surprised it hasn't been stuck in a workshop for at least half its life.

 

[Jonnycoupe]

It’s salary sacrifice. Not here’s a new free car lol kthxbye . Think expectations need to be managed here.

 

[Greebo]

Yeah that's what I do.
A few massive trips. Or weekend trips to the beach. So car gets full of sand.

Thought it was worth a look as thought I'd save a lot on an electric. But didn't realise it was geared to higher miles.
Comes with no other costs so can definitely see the peace of mind of paying a fixed amount per month.

As you said you have to also factor in the VED saved plus savings on the fuel and maintenance costs and "subtract" that from the monthly cost of the EV. It will all depends on the miles done and every person will be different.

 

[[YG]Bug-Eyed]

I'd normally say you'd expect easily that from a 15 year old vehicle doing under 7k miles per year, but it is JLR so surprised it hasn't been stuck in a workshop for at least half its life.

Ha yep I know, and I’ve probably cursed myself now with above statement!

So far only had to replace starter motor and clutch/flywheel as it was causing starting issues. Been fine other than that and minor niggles for it’s age

 

[Haggisman]

It's logical for EV, especially if can get cheap charging / free at work? Just need to be aware it can have an impact on pension (I think?) as it comes off your gross.

Bucket maths .....

£500 lease car, but you would "save" 42% tax and NI so you'd only really be paying 58% or £290
Then you need to pay BIK on teh P11D value, but only currently 2% so say a £50k car = 50k*.02*.4/12 = £33 per month

So you're effectively "spending" £323 for a £500 car

The savings aren't quite as good as that though, as the salary sacrifice providers tend to "inflate" the monthly costs somewhat (at least ours does!)

Example of a Niro EV 3, 3 years, 8k miles/year inc. maintenance

Private lease with Nationwide Vehicle Contracts: £576.39

Salary sacrifice rental cost: £868.38

After salary sacrifice, the rentals work out as:

As a basic rate tax payer: £530.75
As a higher rate tax payer: £467.81

So really you are only saving ~£110 at best.

It's still better than nothing, but nowhere near the 42% suggested.

 

[413x]

As you said you have to also factor in the VED saved plus savings on the fuel and maintenance costs and "subtract" that from the monthly cost of the EV. It will all depends on the miles done and every person will be different.

I think VED and maintaining would be covered in 1 or 2 months of that lease cost (1 on a good year, 2 on a bad)

I guess when you're not used to new car costs it's hard to give up that much salary for something that's same but better than already have.
I'd rather take out a 15k personal loan and buy the 2-3 year old car than be paying off against a 30k car.

My head won't accept it!

 

[Penfold101]

Well, after accidentely writing off my 2016 E Class a fortnight ago in a 15mph shunt, I am taking the plunge and going to see a Polestar 2 tomorrow with an expectation of buying it. Spent a couple of weeks going over all the options, the practicalities of electric ownership, financial implications positive and negative, and at the end of of the day I've decided it's worth a try.

Also helped by randomly having one as a hire car for a week in Scotland on holiday - booked a month ago, and it was the cheapest car available so seemed like a good chance to try it...

In another random twist, I messaged the garage in Grantham yesterday to enquire about it and received a call back from the general manager, who happened to the same bloke that sold me my Insignia in 2012 which I kept for 9 years...

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Well, after accidentely writing off my 2016 E Class a fortnight ago in a 15mph shunt, I am taking the plunge and going to see a Polestar 2 tomorrow with an expectation of buying it. Spent a couple of weeks going over all the options, the practicalities of electric ownership, financial implications positive and negative, and at the end of of the day I've decided it's worth a try.

Also helped by randomly having one as a hire car for a week in Scotland on holiday - booked a month ago, and it was the cheapest car available so seemed like a good chance to try it...

In another random twist, I messaged the garage in Grantham yesterday to enquire about it and received a call back from the general manager, who happened to the same bloke that sold me my Insignia in 2012 which I kept for 9 years...

If you are not aware, the Polestar 2 is about to get a significant facelift, they are already taking pre-orders online for the new model. A lot more range, more power, the single motor is now RWD and some cosmetic changes.

Any existing inventory cars polestar have will be the old model. The above is of course irrelevant if you are buying used.

 

[Penfold101]

If you are not aware, the Polestar 2 is about to get a significant facelift, they are already taking pre-orders online for the new model. A lot more range, more power, the single motor is now RWD and some cosmetic changes.

Any existing inventory cars polestar have will be the old model. The above is of course irrelevant if you are buying used.

Yes I'd seen that in the reviews I'd been watching, cheers. It is a used model, only a year old though with 17K miles so about as new as I could get.

If this all goes well, maybe the future will hold more Polestars! (but not the Polestar 1...)

 

[Kill_Phil]

Yes I'd seen that in the reviews I'd been watching, cheers. It is a used model, only a year old though with 17K miles so about as new as I could get.

If this all goes well, maybe the future will hold more Polestars! (but not the Polestar 1...)

Thinking of a used polestar2 myself next. Will be interested to hear how you get on!

 

[SDK^]

Just looked a bit more. One of those car websites explained it well.

You dont own the car at the end?
I assumed you kind of took out a loan for the car and paid it back and owned it at the end (like a mortgage).

So it's.. What.. 2-3-400 a month to not own the car??

£400 x 36 months is only £14k - There aren't many new cars for that price !
Typically £400 a month gets you the use of ~£35k-£40k car for 3 years, then you hand it back, else you could pay £1,200 a month for 3 years and get to keep it.

 

[Penfold101]

Thinking of a used polestar2 myself next. Will be interested to hear how you get on!

The one I had for the week on holiday was flawless - single motor long range and performance wise was ideal. Hertz have them on cheap rates if you fancy trying it out for a few days.

 

[413x]

£400 x 36 months is only £14k - There aren't many new cars for that price !
Typically £400 a month gets you the use of ~£35k-£40k car for 3 years, then you hand it back, else you could pay £1,200 a month for 3 years and get to keep it.

I mean if you get a nearly new (2-3 years old) car you can save half or more the total outlay.
Seems a hell of a lot of money to have a "new" car. It's unjustifiable in my head when you aren't going to own it. And doesn't look like salary sacrifice is what I expected. Especially if the people giving those loans inflate it due to the sacrifice (like new builds being inflated sure to HTB).

 

[SDK^]

I mean if you get a nearly new (2-3 years old) car you can save half or more the total outlay.
Seems a hell of a lot of money to have a "new" car. It's unjustifiable in my head when you aren't going to own it. And doesn't look like salary sacrifice is what I expected. Especially if the people giving those loans inflate it due to the sacrifice (like new builds being inflated sure to HTB).

Yep sure
Looking on AT, my car 3 years on is going for about £33k and it was just £47k new. So that's still £920 a month to own it after 3 years. I've been paying about £420 per month to use for it for 3 years. For me, the feeling of paying double per month, for a car 3 years old feels wrong

 

[413x]

Yep sure
Looking on AT, my car 3 years on is going for about £33k and it was just £47k new. So that's still £920 a month to own it after 3 years. I've been paying about £420 per month to use for it for 3 years. For me, the feeling of paying double per month, for a car 3 years old feels wrong

For myself, to get a cheap EV. Guess would be looking at 350 a month. That's about 10-11pc of my monthly take home. Just seems a lot for a car to not own it. So it's a perpetual cost forever.

But I've never been happy with "renting" type arrangements for stuff. But it's the new normal.

 

[Jonnycoupe]

Its the fuel offset it enables as part of any man maths.

 

[413x]

Its the fuel offset it enables as part of any man maths.

Good point! This probably makes it a lot more appealing for a lot of use cases. Kind of brushed over that in my mind!

Its why I need to own my car. Because of my limited but erratic milage.

 

[ICDP]

Its the fuel offset it enables as part of any man maths.

Lol man maths for the win, so true and not forgetting the decpreciation. I have an I-Pace that costs me £430 per month on SS and I know this impacts my pension. Before I got this I was paying ~£25k for 1-2 year old cars and was losing ~£10k over 2.5 years to 3 years of ownership.

Me "owning" my nice used cars was costing me ~£600 per month for depreciation, tyres, insurance, tax, servicing and fuel.

Having said that my circumstances have now changed and I only do 4k mile sper year instead of closer to 15k miles. I think I will go for a cheaper EV next time, or a £10k ICE runabout for 4 years will be fine.

 

[SDK^]

The EV fuel saving deffo needs to factored in ! I'm running at just less than 2p per mile.
Also having an EV gets me access onto a cheap overnight electricity tariff, and as I have solar & battery storage, charging the battery overnight and running the house on 9.5p kWh (was 7.5p last Winter) vs paying 32p+ on the Standard Variable Rate, saved us over £700 through Winter (3 months), when solar generation was poor

 

[413x]

So much depends on individual circumstances. I mean it's obvious. As annual milage comes down cheap car ownership becomes more and more the better choice.

Even home setup makes a huge difference