Electric cars

[Choccolatebar]

Who else has no desire to buy one?

I have been wanting a brand new car for some time, but Honda, my preferred make is now moving heavily to hybrids and EV.

I think I will probably get a low mileage, 2 or 3 year old petrol Honda instead.

Biggest issue I can see with electric cars is their inability to go through deep puddles as the battery is at the bottom, mostly unsealed and if soaked it will cost £15,000+ according to recent reports. Otherwise I like mine, it has 350 mile range and there are now enough superchargers that I don't get worried about range.

We have 2 EV's, a diesel and petrol car, EV are ok but we don't go far in them and charge at home

This week I’m jealous of DH in his electric car that is scheduled to heat itself up for 30 mins before he sets off every morning, meaning he doesn’t have to defrost it or wait for the heating to come on properly.

We've had no problems with range or charging.

I’ve been amazed at how many neighbours leave their ICE cars running & go back in the house. We live in a decent area, but isn’t that where car thieves would head?

There are lots of recent reports but here is one for you:
OCT 18
bySHARON ADARLO

/ ADVANCED TRANSPORT

TESLA CHARGES COUPLE $20,000 AFTER THEY DROVE IT IN THE RAIN
"MY HEART MISSED A BEAT, HONESTLY."
DAVID GANNON/GETTY IMAGES
Zero Spark

A couple in Scotland are as mad as a wet hen after Tesla flatfooted them with a £17,000 bill (that's about $20,693 in USD) for repairs to their vehicle's battery that apparently experienced water damage after driving through rainy conditions, Edinburgh Live reports.

"I was flabbergasted and couldn’t really find my words," Tesla owner and Edinburgh resident Johnny Bacigalupo told the news outlet about his huge repair bill. "I honestly can’t believe that this has happened. When I first got the call I thought we would get bill[ed] for £500 or £1000. When they said over 17 grand — it’s absolutely obscene. My heart missed a beat, honestly."

The car wouldn't start after dinner. Roadside assistance picked up the car for service, Bacigalupo told the site, and a Tesla representative called him later and said the battery had been submerged in water and the repair bill was not covered under warranty.

"I’ve been driving for 30 years and this is my most premium car to date and this is what it does when Edinburgh’s roads get puddles or a little wet!" Bacigalupo groused.

The thing is, if it's a long enough drive to need to charge your car, you'd need to stop for a rest anyway. Service stations and supermarkets all have chargers these days, so you plug it in and go inside and get something to eat and use the bathroom. By the time you've finished the car will be ready to go again.

Simply not true

In Norway, which has the world’s highest proportion of electric car sales, there are between four and five times more fires in petrol and diesel cars, according to the directorate for social security and emergency preparedness. The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency this year found that there were 3.8 fires per 100,000 electric or hybrid cars in 2022, compared with 68 fires per 100,000 cars when taking all fuel types into account

amp.theguardian.com/business/2023/nov/20/do-electric-cars-pose-a-greater-fire-risk-than-petrol-or-diesel-vehicles

The planet that's seen electric cars catch fire?

Electric cars are ok if you have your own driveway. No good if you live in a fiat, or terrace, and good luck with solar this winter when you're running lights, wipers, heater etc

Op there's nothing wrong with buying a low mileage car.

Not for us. We have on street parking and can't always park near our house.

If on street charging was easily available I'd think about it.

Electric cars are great, we’re never going back!

We have an EV for running about, school runs, kids clubs and my work (3 miles away) and a diesel for DHs work (lots of motorway travel) and long family journeys so get the best of both worlds. I love my little EV. Got it last year; 3 years old and has 20k on the clock.

We're lucky we have a driveway on which to charge it though. Charge it up about once a week in winter and once a fortnight in summer.

We are lucky to park on our street where I live let alone outside our house. God knows how we'd charge them in the Valleys with the vast majority of houses having on street parking and every house having more than one car.

That's not true
Some cars may gave a long enough range but not the affordable ones. Not everyone wants to ge stopping every 250 miles for half an hour a pop.

Also day to day, I don't want to be sitting in a car park late at night for half hour twice a week by myself recharging my car.

Insurance - we went from a Fiat SUV (petrol) to a Fiat EV. Premium dropped by £150 a year and even with the outrageous increases some people have had this year, we're still paying around £50 less than we were two years ago. Servicing costs are about one-third of the cost on a petrol model.

I'm always intrigued by these ICE drivers who claim to regularly drive 300-600 miles in one go without even needing to stop for the loo.

We've been to France a couple of times in our shorter range EV. No issues. DH drives our EV with the longer range to work each week - 160 miles each way.

We have an electric car, costs £6 to charge per week (on a standard tariff not an EV one will be £2 when we switch in January).Pre-heats before you get in.
We live in Birmingham and have driven to Southampton without having to stop and charge. Its smooth its quiet. I can't fault it.

They are ok as a second car but we don't use ours as main cars.

I stop for the toilet at any services/supermarket.

That's not the same as having to find a specific place that has an electric charger, pot luck if one is free, then as mentioned before I also have an autistic child who doesn't cope well with stopping. There is no way I could manage a long drive with an EV

@SOBplus I haven't RTFT but I'm interested in what car you drive, with that range. Care to elaborate please? Cheers

We had three Tesla Model X’s on lease for four years as company cars via DH’s business.

The interior design is basic, although roomy. Good gadgets/spec and comfortable driving, but we were glad to hand them back due to two dead batteries on one car and several other ongoing issues re. two of the cars, e.g. faulty electric windows that had to be repaired twice on one car . The second breakdown took place at a motorway service station. Luckily, I was not driving that particular car with the kids in tow.
Had to wait months for replacement battery each time, although COVID-19 lockdowns didn’t help delivery times.

Having to stop to charge on long journeys is an issue, even when having access to Tesla Superchargers.
The U.K. has been slow to implement the charging network required to facilitate increased use of EVs.
We have a driveway and charging point at home. We would only get an EV as a second car, and would not use the EV for long journeys.
Running costs are now higher than when we first got the EVs, due to the rise in electricity costs.

Also, super relieved to have got rid of the Teslas just after Musk really began to show his arse.

To be fair, you said something ridiculous and obviously untrue.

How do you keep your autistic child amused generally on a long drive?

our kids watch netflix while the car charges, no need to be overdramatic. You can plan to charge just how you need to plan to get petrol.

@HotMess21 that’s a Tesla.

WHAT??!! Seriously?!

You shouldn't drive ANY car through really deep puddles.