Never thought I would say this, but, I'm considering an Electric car.

[Berber]

I'm honestly thinking about going for an EV.
I'm no EVangelist and in most cases I'm convinced they are not practical, but in my case it might be.
I currently drive an old MG/Rover, I'm a big fan I've had it for 15 years and it's my 6th one. I've been a disciple of Longbridge since I passed my test in an MG Metro
But it's only being used as a spare car for when the Mrs is out in her car (a Lexus) and I need to go somewhere.
Last year it did 900 miles, which works out at 34p per mile in road tax alone!! That's plus fuel, insurance, maintenance etc.
I maintain it myself and I know it's going to need about £500 spending on it for the next MOT, a new catalytic converter being the big one, it's split and they are £265

It rarely goes outside the town and the maximum journey it will ever do is 20 miles each way.

Now there is no way I can afford a new EV and I'm never going into one of those lease plan glorified rent a car schemes, butI I've been browsing auto trader and have realised there are hundreds of first gen Nissan leafs for under 3 grand.
They are only 24kw (some 30kw but not many) and most have knackered batteries but they can be found at that price with good battery health indicated (handy little readout on the dash) and about 70 miles range. Which is more than enough for my needs.

So a cunning plan started forming.
For about £1200 I can get 4 x 200w solar panels, a 700w wind generator, 4 x 130ah storage batteries, a charge controller and a 3kw inverter. Thinking about a 48v setup? Looks like the best option.
So for £4500 all in I could have the car and charging set up
By my calculations if I'm only doing about 20 miles a week average then that should be adequate to keep a small EV charged up.
Ok, I might have to top it up off the mains a bit on the winter months but in summer I should do it easy.
Plus I'm lead to believe that slow charging in this manner is kindest to the EV batteries, it's toasting them on fast public chargers that does the damage. Keep them sitting nicely between 20% and 80% and they should last.

I could actually own an EV that's good for the environment.
Charge off self generated renewable energy.
Keep an older car on the road longer (the best way to cut emissions by far)
And even taking into account the upkeep of the solar, wind, batteries etc, I should save money.
Use an EV for the only task they are actually good at. A short range, round town pootling about car.
Plus 20 miles each way to the range on Saturdays

I might be one of the 5 or 10 percent of the population that an EV would actually work for (as long as there is a petrol car sitting next to it in the yard)

Don't know if I will make the leap of faith yet, would be a sad day not to have an MG Rover in the yard, but it's a serious possibility.

P.S please don't suggest I get one of those soleless Chinese mobile tumble dryers that they have stuck a fake MG badge on the front of, I might throw up
It's heracy to the name!

Sounds brilliant. My son got a deal on a little Honda. His wife drives the big BMW estate that is plug in Hybrid. They just had a commercial solar installation done ( he didn’t want the blame in the event of a disaster) and after 3 years, they have free electricity, all paid off.

 

[Gilly]

I watched this a little while ago as I was curious about the millage loss/range loss of second hand EV's. Might be of use/help to you as they actually use a cheap nissan leaf in the test.

 

[Clubsport911]

Didn't happen on my home insurance. Not sure where your getting your data from

This

 

[Bigwalk]

I’ve owned a electric car in 2016 we leased for 2 years a BMW i3 with range extender £300 a month , so over two years £7500 , no deposit just hand the car back , the spec we ordered was £37000 , my wife used the car locally , getting payed millage and we got a free home charger thrown in (£2500) which we still have, absolutely fine for running round Cumbria but if you wanted to go to Manchester factor in 45 minutes extra to charge and travel at 67 on motorway to extend the range , honestly I would NEVER , own one again , we now have a rav4 and a Peugeot 108. The range issues and worry we could change away from home were two much. Plus the depreciation was immense we could have punched the car ar two years for £16,000 .

 

[junglie2022]

Go for it neil if the batteries in the leaf give up at least you've got your solar & wind set up to power your sheds or house.

 

[Neil123]

I watched this a little while ago as I was curious about the millage loss/range loss of second hand EV's. Might be of use/help to you as they actually use a cheap nissan leaf in the test.

This is the key thing to look at,( picture below) battery health bars, the small ones on the left hand side.
He's got 9 out of 12, meaning his battery is one quarter knackered with a corresponding range drop.
I've seen dealers trying to sell on cars with 3 or 4 bars, that's a 20 mile range car on a good day.
They never did 120 miles from new anyway, more like 90
I'm under no illusion that it's going to be a cross country weapon, it's going to be a round town/local area knock about.
There are cars out there with 11 bars of health for around the 3 to 4 grand mark.
If I get 50 miles I will be happy, aiming for 70 under ideal conditions with everything not absolutely necessary turned off.

 

[Neptune]

I had virtually the same scenario as you. A reliable petrol car (which was later traded for an HEV) and a Leaf. We used to get around 140 miles to a full charge (a bit more in summer) on the Leaf, the charger was installed free and we charged it on over night rates. It did around 5000 miles a year.
It was leased and cost £7200 for 3 years (not a year) a bargain I probably couldnt find today. The batteries were showing 100% when we sold it.
Great little car, perfect for that kind of use. For low mileage local use EV’s are a good choice.
The Dacia Spring has got good reviews and new comes in at around £14k
Home insurers in the 3 years we had it never asked about an EV.
We currently have a very soon to be sold, I hope 2013 Diesel Hyundai i20 1.0, very nippy over 55mpg and currently free of tax. Had it 3 months and should get the money it cost me back in a couple of weeks time.

 

[BARNEY20]

I'm honestly thinking about going for an EV.
I'm no EVangelist and in most cases I'm convinced they are not practical, but in my case it might be.
I currently drive an old MG/Rover, I'm a big fan I've had it for 15 years and it's my 6th one. I've been a disciple of Longbridge since I passed my test in an MG Metro
But it's only being used as a spare car for when the Mrs is out in her car (a Lexus) and I need to go somewhere.
Last year it did 900 miles, which works out at 34p per mile in road tax alone!! That's plus fuel, insurance, maintenance etc.
I maintain it myself and I know it's going to need about £500 spending on it for the next MOT, a new catalytic converter being the big one, it's split and they are £265

It rarely goes outside the town and the maximum journey it will ever do is 20 miles each way.

Now there is no way I can afford a new EV and I'm never going into one of those lease plan glorified rent a car schemes, butI I've been browsing auto trader and have realised there are hundreds of first gen Nissan leafs for under 3 grand.
They are only 24kw (some 30kw but not many) and most have knackered batteries but they can be found at that price with good battery health indicated (handy little readout on the dash) and about 70 miles range. Which is more than enough for my needs.

So a cunning plan started forming.
For about £1200 I can get 4 x 200w solar panels, a 700w wind generator, 4 x 130ah storage batteries, a charge controller and a 3kw inverter. Thinking about a 48v setup? Looks like the best option.
So for £4500 all in I could have the car and charging set up
By my calculations if I'm only doing about 20 miles a week average then that should be adequate to keep a small EV charged up.
Ok, I might have to top it up off the mains a bit on the winter months but in summer I should do it easy.
Plus I'm lead to believe that slow charging in this manner is kindest to the EV batteries, it's toasting them on fast public chargers that does the damage. Keep them sitting nicely between 20% and 80% and they should last.

I could actually own an EV that's good for the environment.
Charge off self generated renewable energy.
Keep an older car on the road longer (the best way to cut emissions by far)
And even taking into account the upkeep of the solar, wind, batteries etc, I should save money.
Use an EV for the only task they are actually good at. A short range, round town pootling about car.
Plus 20 miles each way to the range on Saturdays

I might be one of the 5 or 10 percent of the population that an EV would actually work for (as long as there is a petrol car sitting next to it in the yard)

Don't know if I will make the leap of faith yet, would be a sad day not to have an MG Rover in the yard, but it's a serious possibility.

P.S please don't suggest I get one of those soleless Chinese mobile tumble dryers that they have stuck a fake MG badge on the front of, I might throw up
It's heracy to the name!

No, just No.

 

[Gilly]

This is the key thing to look at,( picture below) battery health bars, the small ones on the left hand side.
He's got 9 out of 12, meaning his battery is one quarter knackered with a corresponding range drop.
I've seen dealers trying to sell on cars with 3 or 4 bars, that's a 20 mile range car on a good day.
They never did 120 miles from new anyway, more like 90
I'm under no illusion that it's going to be a cross country weapon, it's going to be a round town/local area knock about.
There are cars out there with 11 bars of health for around the 3 to 4 grand mark.
If I get 50 miles I will be happy, aiming for 70 under ideal conditions with everything not absolutely necessary turned off.

100% mate, if it fits the bill it fits the bill The vid's title is a bit negative, just thought it had some useful info on the car, like the little OBD brick you can buy. Depending how expensive it is, could be a useful little tool to check cars if you go to look at any.

I've not driven a leaf, but work is now mostly EV's (MG's) with 200 or so mile range batteries in them. After driving them around for over a year, personally I won't be buying one myself in the near future, they're a level of stress I can do without and that's shorter journeys as well as longer distance.
Whatever range you reckon the car has, I'd half it for driving in winter conditions. It's also amazing how much battery they eat when stuck in traffic or waiting on something/someone which needs to factored in too. I've had a few close calls getting to a destination after being stuck in traffic!

 

[Wizzygoth]

Get one with a wind-up key...for when you run out charge...which you will - The stated range on all of them is a big lie

 

[pjgtech]

NOoooooo.....!!!! You've succumbed to the brain washing, stop it and have a word with yourself Man!
Just swallow the £500 bill and keep the existing car, or buy a cheap and older (but reliable) petrol car, loads still out there, eg: Ford Fiesta (pre ecoboost/ecoboom engines), Honda Jazz, any small Toyota, Hyundai i10/i20, Dacia, etc, etc.
Only bought my last car last Oct and still refusing to go leccy, bagged myself a nice petrol only nearly new car. Should last me 10+ years, by then hopefully someone will have seen sense and reversed this green eco bullox!

 

[pjgtech]

 

[kozikot]

 

[Bill.B]

The Leaf is economical on water too, only 20,000 gallons required when it all goes Pete Tong.

 

[Lt.Dan]

They are not for me. Good luck.

 

[BTB 500]

We have a 1 litre Citroen C1 (same car as the Toyota Aygo). Market value about £1500, £20 road tax, super cheap insurance, 70+ mpg (petrol) on a long run - we fill it up (35 litre tank) roughly once a month. It's theoretically my son's (he's learning to drive), but my wife and I use it all the time now rather than our own cars. It's good fun to drive, even on motorways etc.

 

[Caruso]

If you go for the Octopus Go tariff you can charge your EV overnight for 7p per kwh for zero outlay. This will be much more cost effective than purchasing and fitting all the equipment needed to charge via solar/wind. In particular you will have a problem in the winter when solar output will be minimal. Do you research on home wind turbines, you're unlikely to get anywhere near 700w output unless you've a nice wide open field to site your turbine in.

The ideal setup would be an EV you can charge overnight for 7p per kwk then run the house off during the day. But there are not too many with this ability, plus you need the infrastructure to split your power input between grid/car. I have something similar which cost about £3k to fit.

 

[colin99999]

Give an EV a try if you feel like it. Bit of a different use case for us but we’ve done about 10k miles per year in an Ioniq 5 for the past couple of years. I reckon I’ve used public charging about a dozen times over that period, all when away travelling further afield for work or holidays. Can tow a 1.5t trailer with it, used the on board mains electric outlet to run her coffee machine, a microwave for making porridge whilst driving, induction hob to cook brekkie on, compressor to pump up a slow puncture, all sorts.

 

[Bill.B]

Give an EV a try if you feel like it. Bit of a different use case for us but we’ve done about 10k miles per year in an Ioniq 5 for the past couple of years. I reckon I’ve used public charging about a dozen times over that period, all when away travelling further afield for work or holidays. Can tow a 1.5t trailer with it, used the on board mains electric outlet to run her coffee machine, a microwave for making porridge whilst driving, induction hob to cook brekkie on, compressor to pump up a slow puncture, all sorts.

What reduction in range do you have when towing a 1.5t trailer? The Porsche Macan EV has been tested and loses approx. 40% of its useful range when towing a caravan.

 

[Sidney]

I'm honestly thinking about going for an EV.
I'm no EVangelist and in most cases I'm convinced they are not practical, but in my case it might be.
I currently drive an old MG/Rover, I'm a big fan I've had it for 15 years and it's my 6th one. I've been a disciple of Longbridge since I passed my test in an MG Metro
But it's only being used as a spare car for when the Mrs is out in her car (a Lexus) and I need to go somewhere.
Last year it did 900 miles, which works out at 34p per mile in road tax alone!! That's plus fuel, insurance, maintenance etc.
I maintain it myself and I know it's going to need about £500 spending on it for the next MOT, a new catalytic converter being the big one, it's split and they are £265

It rarely goes outside the town and the maximum journey it will ever do is 20 miles each way.

Now there is no way I can afford a new EV and I'm never going into one of those lease plan glorified rent a car schemes, butI I've been browsing auto trader and have realised there are hundreds of first gen Nissan leafs for under 3 grand.
They are only 24kw (some 30kw but not many) and most have knackered batteries but they can be found at that price with good battery health indicated (handy little readout on the dash) and about 70 miles range. Which is more than enough for my needs.

So a cunning plan started forming.
For about £1200 I can get 4 x 200w solar panels, a 700w wind generator, 4 x 130ah storage batteries, a charge controller and a 3kw inverter. Thinking about a 48v setup? Looks like the best option.
So for £4500 all in I could have the car and charging set up
By my calculations if I'm only doing about 20 miles a week average then that should be adequate to keep a small EV charged up.
Ok, I might have to top it up off the mains a bit on the winter months but in summer I should do it easy.
Plus I'm lead to believe that slow charging in this manner is kindest to the EV batteries, it's toasting them on fast public chargers that does the damage. Keep them sitting nicely between 20% and 80% and they should last.

I could actually own an EV that's good for the environment.
Charge off self generated renewable energy.
Keep an older car on the road longer (the best way to cut emissions by far)
And even taking into account the upkeep of the solar, wind, batteries etc, I should save money.
Use an EV for the only task they are actually good at. A short range, round town pootling about car.
Plus 20 miles each way to the range on Saturdays

I might be one of the 5 or 10 percent of the population that an EV would actually work for (as long as there is a petrol car sitting next to it in the yard)

Don't know if I will make the leap of faith yet, would be a sad day not to have an MG Rover in the yard, but it's a serious possibility.

P.S please don't suggest I get one of those soleless Chinese mobile tumble dryers that they have stuck a fake MG badge on the front of, I might throw up
It's heracy to the name!

I'm no expert on cars, but experience taught me to NEVER buy the first iteration of anything. Mark 1 is closely followed by Mark 2 for a reason. That reason being that the people who buy the Mark 1 are paying for the research into the Mark 2.
Remember the first microwave? The first video recorder? You're buying the Wright brothers in a world of Boeing.
It's a no from me, you must be mad.