New boiler & new car… what type should we be buying?

[Travelplans]

In an ideal world we wouldn’t be buying either right now but they’ve both died and we don’t have a choice.

With the cost of fuel at the moment I am interested in buying an electric car and I am considering a heat source boiler but I’m also worried the technology is very new and the infrastructure just isn’t there yet, although I can see it is getting better.

if you had to replace either your car or your boiler what would you be buying right now?

We are getting a new Diesel car as we need to be able to tow our caravan, I would just replace boiler with a gas one as ASHP would not be cost effective for our 1930s house

For an ASHP, you need a well insulated house. I wouldn’t retrofit one to an old house. If it’s a straight swap out of an old boiler with a new boiler, that should be the cheapest way to do it.

I’d definitely buy an electric car though.

DP is a gas man and says Vailant or Worcester

I would change my car for an EV as it is not used a lot and I would only need a very small car

You need to consider the miles done and type of driving before considering an electric car, and your budget.

Not so long ago, I bought a small petrol car for £8k. The same car as an electric vehicle costs over twice as much. I only drive about 6000 miles a year and even if I had the best electric vehicle tariff available, it would cost nearly a decade to recoup the extra cost due to lower fuel and other costs like maintenance, tax etc.

Unless you do a lot of miles, in short to medium length journeys where you can always charge at home or work (most commercial chargers cost at least 70% of the cost of an efficient petrol car, some service station ones are actually more expensive than if you just buy your petrol from a cheap petrol station because with electric you're more likely to be 'caught short' on a long journey) then an electric car isn't a cheap option.

Otherwise, I'd go for an efficient petrol engined car, as small as you can manage for your transporting needs. If you're not buying new/nearly new, one first registered before March 2017 (check exactly when) will have £30 or less RFL so a good saving if you're planning to keep it for the long term. Then next time you come to change, it could have value as a scrappage trade in against a new electric car.

I would look at electric for both, personally. Gas is not going to get any cheaper, and nationally we can more easily create new sources of electricity (with gas for back up in power stations), so it is time to shift I think.

@Travelplans

electric car and heat pump .

I wouldn't buy an electric car, because I couldn't charge at home or at work. People who have appropriate parking/charging options seem to love them tho.

Not sure what I'd do with a boiler.

Otherwise, I'd go for an efficient petrol engined car, as small as you can manage for your transporting needs. If you're not buying new/nearly new, one first registered before March 2017 (check exactly when) will have £30 or less RFL so a good saving if you're planning to keep it for the long term. Then next time you come to change, it could have value as a scrappage trade in against a new electric car.

My 2016 Ford Fiesta petrol car is £0 RFL

I would only buy an electric car if I had private, off road parking and could install a charging point at home, otherwise it's a pain in the rear end. Also check local charging infrastructure and consider the type of journeys you do regularly e.g. 300 miles on a motorway is likely to be less of an issue for charging along the way than a couple of hundred miles round the scottish highlands.

I’ve done both over the last 12 months.

Boiler is a highly efficient Worcester Bosch Greenstar
Car (arrives mid December) is an electric mini. I have an existing charger and a drive.