Any one have an electric car

[ShopTillYouDropp]

Due to get a new car and having a look and most of them (brand new) are electric. I'm a bit about getting an electric car, does any one have one and what are they like? How do you charge them at home (sorry if that's a daft question)
Thanks

@torquewench

What do you do if your battery overheats? What do you do if your battery degrades with age and doesnt hold a charge? (I keep my cars 10+ years on average) How much is a replacement battery? How heavy is a battery? How is a battery changed? How easy is it to put in a new battery?

The car has a battery management system which keeps the battery temperature safe using fans so it won't overheat.

The battery will last a long while - I just googled as I couldn't remember and apparently should provide at least 70% of capacity even after 200,000 miles.

I could be wrong but I don't think it would be economically viable to put a new battery in - it's a very expensive part of the car.

The batteries are very, very heavy, I suspect similar for most EVs, the battery on mine is basically the whole area under the car between the 4 wheels. Google says mine is about 500kg.

If you changed the battery (although as above you probably wouldn't) it would need to be done at the garage - would be a major job.

I heard this recently and thought it was interesting - that old car batteries, at the end of the car's life, could be used as batteries for houses. I think it was in this interview with a guy from the National Grid (which I found very informative) -

@Jackparlabane

Anyone know of a good electric 7-seater?

I had thought electric wouldn't work for us as we only have on-street parking, but I've been told a weekly charge or less would probably work (we drive 10-20 miles a week) - there's a couple lampposts on the street you can plug cars into, a couple spaces on the next street, and ones within a couple minutes' walk at supermarkets.

But we do need the minivan capability. Last I looked, that would be about 20k electric.

There aren't any cheap 7 seat fully electric cars yet. The only options I know of are the Tesla X and the Mercedes EQV, both of which are very expensive.

I have very mixed feelings about our Tesla. I love electric cars, I don't ever want to go back to a petrol or diesel car. It's quick, fun to drive and I love the technology. I love being able to charge at home and bar a long journey, we never have to worry about going to get fuel.

However I am bitterly disappointed with the build quality and customer service from Tesla. It's shocking how frequently my £85k car has broken. I've had it 3 1/2 years and it's never gone 3 months without breaking. However it looks like I won't be selling my Tesla any time soon because when it works it's an excellent car and nothing else out there can match a model X as a fully electric family car that can fit 3 seats across the back and tow my horsebox. I am waiting impatiently for Rivian to bring their cars to the UK.

Are hybrids disappearing? They sound the most practical option unless I've misunderstood?

I mean a range of just 200 miles is a bit crap isn't it?

I've just looked it up (quickly) and saw range anxiety! How do people manage in the U S ?

I don't want to stop for an hour. Especially in the middle of the night.

I forget to plug my phone charger in. Could easily forget to plug my car charger in. Wouldn't work for me.

I have a Tesla model 3, I love it! The super chargers are fast if you are driving beyond range but I don't mind as just watch Netflix on the screen for 15-20 mins whilst it charges. We plug it in to charge at home 2-3 nights a week, you don't forget really as it tells you if mileage is below 50

tobee you don't have to stop for an hour!

Generally, if I am driving a long distance (eg around 400 miles) with dc we like to stop for lunch, toilet, leg stretch etc. By the time we've done that it's easily 40 minutes, by which point the car has recharged to almost full (although we could probably reduce the time and still have enough charge to complete the journey). So it fits into our life fine, but I don't think anyone is pretending it would fit perfectly into everyone's life. I don't like to drive 5 hours without a decent break, and stopping at a nice place with a charging point, cafe, shop, playground etc is no hardship for me. I think pretty much all service stations and many big supermarkets, garden centres etc have charging points now as well so plenty of choice on the journeys we do. We just plan ahead to ensure it's a nice place to stop (garden centres fit the bill rather well).

Worth watching Harry's Garage on YouTube. He drives some expensive ones and it's interesting to watch about the charging, mileage etc the charging on the road can be a problem. Tesla offer the best one but others are catching up. Note that car companies are buying into the charging game so expect prices to vary in a few yrs. The Govt will also want a cut to get back the fuel duty they lose. Cold can affect mileage dramatically. However as a town car they are good. Go on a long journey you will have to build in recharge time for the journey. On the site I mentioned the claimed range on a small VW was out by a third and not in the drivers favour.

Should say the battery is really part of the car. The battery fails you are looking at a new car.

Thank you for the reply @SquishySquirmy

Has anyone ever been to a charging point and there have been people waiting?

@Paddy1234

Has anyone ever been to a charging point and there have been people waiting?

Not happened to me yet, and I also take a look when I’m out and about even if I don’t need to charge and they’re often free. I have occasionally taken the last available charger (of 2) - the other Fay I sat and charged for almost an hour (couldn’t sit in the Starbucks and drink my coffee obviously 🙄) and the charger next to me was also used, so I guess if anyone else had turned up in that hour they’d have had to wait. Maybe they did and I didn’t notice!

I read the title as "Does anyone have an electric chair" so clicked on the thread with interest.

However it seems I have nothing to contribute so will leave!

My dil made the mistake of getting a second hand Nissan Leaf that only does 80 miles
Less in cold weather
So do be very careful

Also she visited me at new year
Plugged her charger in our normal socket, in 3 hours got about 11 miles
Went to town one, New Year’s Day
Was shut
She lives 60 miles away

Think carefully about the Leaf, it uses chademo charging. This is becoming obsolete. New chargers are all CCS type. You cannot charge the leaf with the new CCS chargers. I wouldn't buy a leaf. We have a Tesla Model S, it's fab. Especially the supercharger network for long journeys. I'm hoping to switch my hybrid car for a Kia Niro alongside DH Tesla soon.