Thinking of getting an EV

lordrobs said:
There is no point in me suggesting anything because if the criteria is saving on running costs and not costing £20k there are literally tens of thousands of cars on auto trader at various price points.
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If you could suggest something I'd really appreciate it, I can't see the wood for the trees at the moment.

If for example, for 10k I can still only get a 12 year old car, that doesn't mitigate any repair risk. If a diesel I may save 50 a month in fuel. But the loan will cost 200. So I'm still a lot worse off.
 
Your maths is all over the place though. Buying a second hand 20k car will cost 'more' but you'll own it at the end. There are a bunch of 3 year old Polestars around 20k which can only be 300 odd quid per month over a longish loan? You need to stop paying car insurance monthly as well.
 
dlockers said:
Your maths is all over the place though. Buying a second hand 20k car will cost 'more' but you'll own it at the end. There are a bunch of 3 year old Polestars around 20k which can only be 300 odd quid per month over a longish loan? You need to stop paying car insurance monthly as well.
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I pay car insurance annually. I just show it monthly to make it comparable with the monthly lease scheme.

Owning the car is kinda irrelevant if I can't afford the monthly repayments though. I need to consider all aspects.
 
danlightbulb said:
I pay car insurance annually. I just show it monthly to make it comparable with the monthly lease scheme.

Owning the car is kinda irrelevant if I can't afford the monthly repayments though. I need to consider all aspects.
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If you can't afford a second hand car you can't afford a brand new car on salsac. You're just paying the equivalent monthly but have nothing at the end; the cycle will repeat in 3 years.
 
dlockers said:
If you can't afford a second hand car you can't afford a brand new car on salsac. You're just paying the equivalent monthly but have nothing at the end; the cycle will repeat in 3 years.
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So what do you suggest?

A 20k loan is nearly £400 a month over 5 years. I still have to meet insurance, servicing, tax, fuel and maintenance. If it's not an EV, there is another c.£300 per month on top of the loan payment. If it is an EV, I would save about £160 a month in fueling costs.

I'm paying £400 a month now on my current car. The car is zero, but insurance, servicing, tax, fuel and maintenance adds up to £400. And there is a reasonable risk of it dropping a big bill on me or sudden end of life failure. I'll have nothing at the end of 3 years if I keep what I have now (other than a 22 year old BMW on its last legs).
 
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If you want low cost motoring then the answer is neither a brand new car or an old BMW with a 2.5 litre petrol engine.

Why not buy something reliable and cheap to run for about £10k?
 
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[TW]Fox said:
Why not buy something reliable and cheap to run for about £10k?
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Like what? Everything around £10k is already 10 years old or approaching 100k miles. I have no risk reduction from what I have now if I buy a car like that. So I take out a £200 per month loan to buy the car, I still have £300-400 per month running costs and I still carry the risk of a big bill dropping. I don't understand how that is better?
 
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danlightbulb said:
Like what? Everything around £10k is already 10 years old or approaching 100k miles. I have no risk reduction from what I have now if I buy a car like that. So I take out a £200 per month loan to buy the car, I still have £300-400 per month running costs and I still carry the risk of a big bill dropping. I don't understand how that is better?
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All cars are under 50k miles and newer than 2019

Skoda Octavia 14k
Prius 13k
RAV4 19k
3 series 19k
Leaf 11k
Juke 12k

Golf E 10.5k
DS3 electric 12k
E2008 15k

17k loan over 5 years is 330mo
EVs have 0 tax and very little maintenance
Stay under 40k original price and you save 500an luxury car tax

This is easy if your baseline is a rotter of a 325i.
 
Ok so I need a reasonable size car firstly. The Juke, Leaf, Golf, DS3, E2008, Prius - none of those are big enough.

Secondly I'm not sure you are quite understanding my point.

I currently spend £400 a month running and maintaining my old car. That is dead money, I have nothing to show for it after 3 more years.

I could get a new car on the salary sac scheme at work that will cost me £450 a month (the MG5). Yes I also have nothing to show for that over three years either. But instead of driving round in a 19 year old petrol BMW and carrying all that repair risk and worry, I will have been driving round in a brand new all inclusive MG5.

If I'm buying a second hand car I will need a loan. If I don't buy an EV, that loan is on top of the fuel costs, so I can't offset the cost of the car with the fuel saving. Hence, even though it's a newer car and I carry less risk the outlay per month is still higher. I am also still carrying risk, I could buy a £17k car tomorrow and in 6 months the engine fails. That liability is on me no matter which car I buy.

If I buy an EV with a loan, it's a hefty loan, needing around £20k. So whilst I do then own the car (and still carry any out of warranty repair risk), I will still increase my monthly outgoings substantially even with the fuel savings.

Consider my position from where it is right now - a £400 per month cost of running a car which is 19 years old. How can I a) reduce this or b) keep it the same whilst getting a better car?
 
danlightbulb said:
Ok so I need a reasonable size car firstly. The Juke, Leaf, Golf, DS3, E2008, Prius - none of those are big enough.

Secondly I'm not sure you are quite understanding my point.

I currently spend £400 a month running and maintaining my old car. That is dead money, I have nothing to show for it after 3 more years.

I could get a new car on the salary sac scheme at work that will cost me £450 a month (the MG5). Yes I also have nothing to show for that over three years either. But instead of driving round in a 19 year old petrol BMW and carrying all that repair risk and worry, I will have been driving round in a brand new all inclusive MG5.

If I'm buying a second hand car I will need a loan. If I don't buy an EV, that loan is on top of the fuel costs, so I can't offset the cost of the car with the fuel saving. Hence, even though it's a newer car and I carry less risk the outlay per month is still higher. I am also still carrying risk, I could buy a £17k car tomorrow and in 6 months the engine fails. That liability is on me no matter which car I buy.

If I buy an EV with a loan, it's a hefty loan, needing around £20k. So whilst I do then own the car (and still carry any out of warranty repair risk), I will still increase my monthly outgoings substantially even with the fuel savings.

Consider my position from where it is right now - a £400 per month cost of running a car which is 19 years old. How can I a) reduce this or b) keep it the same whilst getting a better car?
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danlightbulb said:
Ok so I need a reasonable size car firstly. The Juke, Leaf, Golf, DS3, E2008, Prius - none of those are big enough.

Secondly I'm not sure you are quite understanding my point.

I currently spend £400 a month running and maintaining my old car. That is dead money, I have nothing to show for it after 3 more years.

I could get a new car on the salary sac scheme at work that will cost me £450 a month (the MG5). Yes I also have nothing to show for that over three years either. But instead of driving round in a 19 year old petrol BMW and carrying all that repair risk and worry, I will have been driving round in a brand new all inclusive MG5.

If I'm buying a second hand car I will need a loan. If I don't buy an EV, that loan is on top of the fuel costs, so I can't offset the cost of the car with the fuel saving. Hence, even though it's a newer car and I carry less risk the outlay per month is still higher. I am also still carrying risk, I could buy a £17k car tomorrow and in 6 months the engine fails. That liability is on me no matter which car I buy.

If I buy an EV with a loan, it's a hefty loan, needing around £20k. So whilst I do then own the car (and still carry any out of warranty repair risk), I will still increase my monthly outgoings substantially even with the fuel savings.

Consider my position from where it is right now - a £400 per month cost of running a car which is 19 years old. How can I a) reduce this or b) keep it the same whilst getting a better car?
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Size is an issue ?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-de...0000&sort=price-desc&twcs=true&year-from=2018
 
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keyser van someone said:
Sounds like you need to get a cheaper ICE car for now and then in 1-2 years get an EV. Prices will continue to come down, Ionic 5s will be around £15k by then.
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I'm not reducing my current £400 per month outlay though am I? Any ICE car from the used market would see my costs increase.

Given that I'm spending £400 a month now in keeping an old car going (including fuel), why don't I spend that same money on a brand new lease EV?

I can still look at used cars again in 3 years time when the lease ends.
 
danlightbulb said:
I'm not reducing my current £400 per month outlay though am I? Any ICE car from the used market would see my costs increase.

Given that I'm spending £400 a month now in keeping an old car going (including fuel), why don't I spend that same money on a brand new lease EV?

I can still look at used cars again in 3 years time when the lease ends.
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Peugeot Traveller MPV 100kW Allure Standard [8 Seat] 75kWh 5dr Auto Lease - Select Car Leasing

Find your perfect Peugeot Traveller MPV 100kW Allure Standard [8 Seat] 75kWh 5dr Auto [2025] lease deal with Select Car Leasing, the industry experts. Compare a wide range of unbeatable offers, available for both Personal & Business car leasing.
www.selectcarleasing.co.uk www.selectcarleasing.co.uk

£15k miles per year £416 per month, 8 seats big enough? ;)

I'm not up on the world of leasing tbh.
 
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Is something like a 2019/20 Kona 64kWh really too small? Without knowing exact usage, could external bike racks or roof boxes etc. make up for space lost vs the 325i? They look pretty spacious with the rear seats flat, even if not quite as large as some estates.

There's plenty out there for £15k or less, with very sensible mileage by the look of it, you save fuel costs etc. and it'll likely still be worth a bit in 3 or 4 years so the money going into the loan payment isn't totally dead money.

Edit - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202404248997086

Not recommending the specific car but there's a good selection of photos, including interior. There's a good few about by the look of it.
 
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Kenai said:
Is something like a 2019/20 Kona 64kWh really too small? Without knowing exact usage, could external bike racks or roof boxes etc. make up for space lost vs the 325i? They look pretty spacious with the rear seats flat, even if not quite as large as some estates.

There's plenty out there for £15k or less, with very sensible mileage by the look of it, you save fuel costs etc. and it'll likely still be worth a bit in 3 or 4 years so the money going into the loan payment isn't totally dead money.
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Yup exactly my thought, or the slightly bigger e-Niro - why isn't that big enough for you?
 
Kenai said:
Is something like a 2019/20 Kona 64kWh really too small? Without knowing exact usage, could external bike racks or roof boxes etc. make up for space lost vs the 325i? They look pretty spacious with the rear seats flat, even if not quite as large as some estates.

There's plenty out there for £15k or less, with very sensible mileage by the look of it, you save fuel costs etc. and it'll likely still be worth a bit in 3 or 4 years so the money going into the loan payment isn't totally dead money.

Edit - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202404248997086

Not recommending the specific car but there's a good selection of photos, including interior. There's a good few about by the look of it.
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I mean the issue there is it's still a 5 year old car firstly.

Secondly yes it really is too small. I had a bike rack on a car many years ago, it's an absolute faff. One big tent, BBQ, bag of food, clothes bags, dog in the back seat. Won't fit in that boot. Scuba gear X 2 people (all the kit, 4x air cylinders, drysuits) won't fit in that boot. A trip to Wickes to pick up 6 2x4s won't fit in that car.
 
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danlightbulb said:
I mean the issue there is it's still a 5 year old car firstly.

Secondly yes it really is too small. I had a bike rack on a car many years ago, it's an absolute faff. One big tent, BBQ, bag of food, clothes bags, dog in the back seat. Won't fit in that boot. Scuba gear X 2 people (all the kit, 4x air cylinders, drysuits) won't fit in that boot. A trip to Wickes to pick up 6 2x4s won't fit in that car.
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The car that you want hasn't been invented yet.
 
danlightbulb said:
Ok so I need a reasonable size car firstly. The Juke, Leaf, Golf, DS3, E2008, Prius - none of those are big enough
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The 3 series you have now isn't exactly huge is it, the boot isn't bad but the load space is awkward and most of the extra size of a 3 series isn't providing usable interior space over a Golf or something.
 
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