When are you going fully electric?

Nasher said:
Your supposed to register it in the UK if it's here longer than 6 months I think. Not that many people do.
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Visiting military is a completely different ballgame. The US may have a specific deal allowing them to continue using US plates. The paperwork can be a bit of a nightmare depending on what and how it's brought into the country so some may decide to keep US/German plates if they're allowed.

It may also depend on whether they live on base or not.
 
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Amp34 said:
Visiting military is a completely different ballgame. The US may have a specific deal allowing them to continue using US plates. The paperwork can be a bit of a nightmare depending on what and how it's brought into the country so some may decide to keep US/German plates if they're allowed.

It may also depend on whether they live on base or not.
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Nope they are still only given a certain amount of time to get there vehicles registered through our system and they had to fit UK Plates. I believe it was 3 months but that may have changed. Either way it doesn't matter if they live on or off base. The only leeway they are given is a curtsey that they can drive on a US license for the time they are based here.

When I was stationed at RAF St Mawgan we had both US Navy and US Marines based here and we were constantly impounding US cars as they always thought they didn't have to comply with the rules.

Its no different to our own forces returning from Germany technically we had one journey from our port of entry to MOT (if needed), Register and tax our vehicles. And we then had return the BFG Number plates to Germany for it to be de-registered in Germany. Of course no-one ever managed to get it done so what most people did was to report to next unit and then sort it out as soon as possible.
 
mattcrane said:
Nope they are still only given a certain amount of time to get there vehicles registered through our system and they had to fit UK Plates. I believe it was 3 months but that may have changed. Either way it doesn't matter if they live on or off base. The only leeway they are given is a curtsey that they can drive on a US license for the time they are based here.

When I was stationed at RAF St Mawgan we had both US Navy and US Marines based here and we were constantly impounding US cars as they always thought they didn't have to comply with the rules.

Its no different to our own forces returning from Germany technically we had one journey from our port of entry to MOT (if needed), Register and tax our vehicles. And we then had return the BFG Number plates to Germany for it to be de-registered in Germany. Of course no-one ever managed to get it done so what most people did was to report to next unit and then sort it out as soon as possible.
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Ok, wasn’t sure if US military had special dispensation, hence the “may”.

Out of interest do UK forces register their cars on German plates, or have dedicated UK military plates? The Canadians have specific Canada plates to use over there. I think she/we drove on them (German Canadian plates) for a few months in the UK and then had to register it too (may have been 6 months, but perhaps I’m misremembering and it was three months). She had an absolute nightmare registering her car though, apparently no one has ever driven a Canadian registered car from Europe and tried to register it before. It took about 6 months of back and forward with the DVLA. I’m guessing the system is a lot smoother with the US then considering the much larger numbers.
 
If you have a UK right hand drive car then it has to be de-registered in the UK and you then have 30 days from your day of entering Germany to get it re-registered in Germany under BFG, (British Forces Germany), Regulations, this includes changing the lights to Euro lights inc switching reversing lights and rear fog lights etc and getting it tested and then you are issued with a UK style number plate.

Motorcycles are also issued a German style number plate and have to go through the same procedure as UK cars if you take it over with you.

If you purchase a Left Hand drive car then it is de-registered from the German system and re-registered under the BFG system but is issued a comparable German number plate.
 
ubersonic said:
Most people who don't live in a city do it on a weekly/fortnightly basis or more.

Don't forget, it's not a case of driving so many miles from your house, it's a case of driving so many miles from your house and back.
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fair enough. we do like 30 miles in a typical day. on a busy day maybe 50. so 100 for us would be more than enough for everyday usage.

for the rare times we do more. we could just use the second car. i think i might go for an i3 to replace the hybrid, or possibly a newer gen leaf if they offer good extended warranty packages.
 
Based on my current use case I could go fully electric tomorrow. The problem is that there is not a car of the correct type (convertible, 4-seater) on the market and even if there was, I couldn't afford it.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
fair enough. we do like 30 miles in a typical day. on a busy day maybe 50. so 100 for us would be more than enough for everyday usage.

for the rare times we do more. we could just use the second car. I think i might go for an i3 to replace the hybrid, or possibly a newer gen leaf if they offer good extended warranty packages.
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TBH I am not so sure hes right, the average commute by car is something like 15 miles each way, various sources report various distances but all seem to be in the teens.
For every person that does 60 miles there have to be corresponding people doing way less.

Whilst the tech is in its infancy i am sure we will see the options needed at some point. I suspect there will be a hybrid (like the i3 range extender) versions for those who do need big mileage. One of the advantages of these is as they charge the system than can be made to be as efficient as possible for that given task. You can imagine BMW 3 series E versions being something like 100Amp, 200Amp, 300Extended for example, the extended having a built in range extender, or possibly the ability to add one, just as we have typically 4-8 different engine choices now for most cars, i am sure we will see the equivalent come to EV once they are the default option.
 
chroniclard said:
Actually its only 160 each way, but still rules out the majority. Hybrids would be fine but would rather go "all in".
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Kona isn't that far off that, if you stopped for long enough to pee and grab a coffee, you would be petty much there. Same with a Model 3, they are coming and coming quickly.

A 15 min break once every few months vs filling up at least once per month would work out in the wash or even perhaps in the EV's favour. That assumes there is a charger in a suitable stopping location en-route but if you can charge at your destination you wouldn't need to stop.
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
Kona isn't that far off that, if you stopped for long enough to pee and grab a coffee, you would be petty much there. Same with a Model 3, they are coming and coming quickly.

A 15 min break once every few months vs filling up at least once per month would work out in the wash or even perhaps in the EV's favour. That assumes there is a charger in a suitable stopping location en-route but if you can charge at your destination you wouldn't need to stop.
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Yes but who the hell wants to drive a Kona. :p At least Tesla are fairly decent looking.

Fully electric BMW 3 Series, M-Sport, 2-250 mile range pls.
 
trouble with owning an electric car, you need to know where the power points are and make sure your able to get to them in need, not that i go driving about much, but in Coventry i noticed there are electric pumps on the side of the ride in certain parts of town, ive never seen this before, most i see are in motorway service car parks or multistory car parks and on that note id imagine it not be cheap to charge at home however its done?
 
ExoMale said:
on that note id imagine it not be cheap to charge at home however its done?
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Quite the opposite its cheapest to charge at home, you can get your own plug installed for next to nothing with grants and you are certainly best off moving to an eco7 electricity tariff and charging overnight. You are talking 2p/mile on eco7 or 3-4p/mile on regular vs 12p/mile for a reasonably efficient equivalent regular car.
 
I'm already fully electric. Have been for three years. I can't really recommend it to others though. The old, short-range cars can be a pain in the backside. Everything else (apart from the Zoe) is silly money right now.

Thought I'd be driving something with better range by now to be honest. But the Leaf still does the job well for most of my journeys.
 
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