Page 11 | To think there are no real perks to driving an electric car?

Minnie798 · 15/04/2025 17:23

The shortage of technicians with specialist training to carry out repairs.
After 8 years, an EV is essentially worthless. Who would want to buy the car when the battery warranty is expired and a replacement costs around 7k. The lack of charging capability. Not everyone has drive ways. Some large workplaces currently have only two charging ports. Others, none. There's a long way to go. I won't get one until it's the only option available .

Iheartmysmart · 15/04/2025 17:23

I have nothing against electric cars - well apart from the fact that lots of them are really very ugly. But at the moment the downsides outweigh the benefits. My tiny Smart Car costs me £20 a year to tax and about £35 a month in fuel. Then servicing, MOT and insurance costs which last year totalled approximately £425. It’s fully paid for so no car payments.

I live in a flat with no charging points and no plans to install any. By the time you factor in car repayments and using public charging facilities, it makes no financial sense for me to swap.

irregularegular · 15/04/2025 17:21

Much cheaper to run. Don't have to go to petrol stations. Almost never charge away from home (only on very long trips). Tax benefits it bought through company scheme. Lower road tax. Feel like a nicer human.

Original poster

MyHeartyBlueShaker · 15/04/2025 17:14

Redpeach · 15/04/2025 17:05

Are your needs greater than everyone elses op?

Not at all… I’m just questioning whether the wider infrastructure and real-world experience of owning an electric car actually reflects the push to get people driving them. If EVs are being promoted as the future, then it’s fair to ask where are the incentives or practical benefits that make switching feel worthwhile for everyone - not just me?

OP posts:

RobertJohnsonsShoes · 15/04/2025 17:14

I’ve got an Audi etron and it’s beautiful to drive

couchparsnip · 15/04/2025 17:14

DenholmElliot11 · 15/04/2025 15:53

We are still 20 years away from getting the infrastructure right but I do believe it's good for the future, it just isn't quite there yet.

We just did a round trip up the M1/ A1M from Northampton to Durham. The car was on 100% when we left, we stopped once for about 40.mins each way and the car charged while we ate. It was pretty easy really. Cheaper than filling up with petrol and so much nicer to drive.
Going off the beaten track might be more difficult but we have found the infrastructure to be pretty good for major towns and cities.

LadyGaGasPokerFace · 15/04/2025 17:13

My dh has a company car that’s fully electric. His perk is that he can charge it for free at his office. I’m sure if we actually bought one it’d be a different story. Though I’ve looked at replacing my petrol car with a similar model in electric and it’s more than twice the price. I’ll pass thanks.

NoBinturongsHereMate · 15/04/2025 17:13

One perk I've not seen mentioned yet is ULEZ zones. Don't have to pay, don't have to worry about fines for inadvertently driving into one.

As well as the already mentioned ease and quietness of driving, fabulous torque & acceleration, free milage from our solar panels, and being able to pre-heat or cool from the app (including defrosting windscreen and mirrors without having to step out of the house).

Original poster

MyHeartyBlueShaker · 15/04/2025 17:13

Boomer55 · 15/04/2025 17:05

It’s a car. Why do you need rewarding?🤷‍♀️

Show quote history

I don’t mean reward as in a prize for driving, I’m talking about practical incentives. For a technology that’s being pushed as the future, you’d expect things like easier infrastructure, reduced costs or smoother access - not just higher prices and constant planning. It’s less about entitlement and more about whether the benefits actually outweigh the drawbacks in day to day life.

OP posts:

Whatsgoingonherethenagain · 15/04/2025 17:11

Very little to go wrong in electric cars

lol my neighbour has one.

it’s always going wrong, and is always very very expensive.

last was some sort of alarm on the boot. Kept going off every couple of minutes. £1k to sort it.

puts me off as it’s always the electrical components seem to go wrong and be tough to fix. I have a very old ICE with very little in the way of flashes and bing bongs and it’s had a much longer life span.

they’re getting rid.

Sevenandahalf · 15/04/2025 17:11

I feel like there's some sort of smear campaign against EVs 😂 These threads are popping up non stop at the moment!

Don't get one then! The rest of us will enjoy our super cheap travel 😎

Sahara123 · 15/04/2025 17:10

FoxRedPuppy · 15/04/2025 16:08

I also love the speed when you put your foot down! It’s like driving a dodgem or go kart 😂

Absolutely yes !! Something to do with torque apparently, whatever that is !

Firenzeflower · 15/04/2025 17:10

So bored of the anti EV people. You’re tedious. Don't get one.

Just leave us EV drivers alone.

AusBoundDD · 15/04/2025 17:09

They’re so much nicer to drive!

AndImBrit · 15/04/2025 17:09

I pay £100 pm for electricity and £0 in fuel. And drive a minimum 40 miles a day. That’s a pretty big benefit. I’m on a cheaper energy tariff that’s only available if you have an EV.

I can also get a cheaper local council parking pass for driving an EV. It used to be free but now it’s £150 instead of £350.

There used to be a lot of perks to incentivise take up, but they’re being stopped now - I expect because there are so many on the roads now, we could do with slowing down people buying them until infrastructure is improved.

That said, I wouldn’t buy anything but another electric car now.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 15/04/2025 17:08

Minieggmug · 15/04/2025 16:12

This again. You should only be allowed to comment on EVs if you own or have owned one in my opinion! I would never go back to an ICE car. Mine is easy to charge at home, cheap to run, speedy and quiet.

You don't want to hear that the level of pollution where I live has drastically reduced over the last five years? That I'm not wheezy from walking to the (electric) bus stop? That since air pollution from vehicles became something that was important to governments and manufacturers, I'm no longer having to cleanse thick black grime off my face?

OK, then.

Sahara123 · 15/04/2025 17:08

DelphiniumBlue · 15/04/2025 16:03

The safety ( electrical fires), the huge cost of replacing the battery, the distance that you can travel on a single charge and the not very accurate of the amount of charge left would all put me off buying an electric car. And the fact of needing to rail wires across the pavement or pay for underground cabling (over a grand around here) would also put me off. I don't understand how a poster only pays £3 for a charge that lasts 250 miles. Public charging points cost way more than that. Dh drives an electric vehicle for work sometimes and and a fully charged battery works for 100 miles max. It can be less, part of the problem is that sitting in traffic can use up charge disproportionately and reduce the range.
Why aren't the people responding to the OP mentioning these things? I'd have thought they outweigh any of the benefits.

Because none of the things you’ve mentioned are a typical experience for an electric car driver. ? Home charging does make a big difference, using an EV tariff overnight gets us a full charge of around 220 miles, newer cars range is increasing all the time. The one your husband drives at 100 miles really isn’t great ! I think we pay around 7p per kWh must admit I haven’t looked lately as it’s so good !
I find the range pretty accurate, put destination into satnav and it tells you the mileage and what % it will be when you arrive. Obviously you don’t risk it getting to 1% or something, but then you wouldn’t let a petrol car run in the red either, in fact I find the EV more accurate.
Just done a 500 mile return trip with no problems at all, love it !

FrenchandSaunders · 15/04/2025 17:05

I was impressed when my friend wanted to park his car in a tight spot. He got out whilst the car was sticking out the space and reversed it whilst standing in the car park!

Redpeach · 15/04/2025 17:05

Are your needs greater than everyone elses op?

Boomer55 · 15/04/2025 17:05

MyHeartyBlueShaker · 15/04/2025 15:46

You’d think there would be more incentives - cheaper parking, easier charging access, or some kind of priority. But in reality, it often feels like there are just extra costs and hassle. What are the actual rewards?

It’s a car. Why do you need rewarding?🤷‍♀️

Chocaholic1216 · 15/04/2025 17:04

Costs my husband less than £10 to charge it to drive around 300 miles

Upstartled · 15/04/2025 17:03

Humans are pretty self centered creatures. In that vein, the air quality in the cabin of an electric car is generally better for the occupants than in a ice vehicle.

Pedallleur · 15/04/2025 17:02

Depreciation seems a big issue. Charging obv if you can't home charge. Saving the planet? Only in a not using oil way. Car still costs to make and batteries are not friendly for those who have mine the minerals

Redpeach · 15/04/2025 17:01

Its a perk for others to breathe cleaner air. Drivers are pretty self centred creatures

Angrygirl · 15/04/2025 16:59

We can't charge at home due to not having a drive and charging it is proving very challenging, even though we live in a big city.

A lot of places (tourist attractions, supermarkets etc) say they have electric charging points but they aren't maintained / updated so don't actually work and often you're still charged and have to claim it back!! Or there's just 1 point and if it's being used then that's that.

We spend way too much time just driving around trying to find somewhere to charge.