To ask for your experiences of second-hand electric or hybrid cars???

[loveyouradvice]

We are about to buy a second-hand car... our last one died after 10 years....

And the figures for electric cars over 5 years don't look so bad given there are no fuel costs ... and we are trying to be a bit more eco

Bit concerned though we may be ahead of the curve and may regret it... Any thoughts or experiences?

We will only have one car and have noticed people go for electric for their second car.... but less so if they only have one!

Cornishmaid-it will be really interesting to see if it lives up to the hype it has got on the EV forums and in the press. I’m very lucky that we got in on the first batch, so will be arriving in just under 2 weeks. ....I think resale will be fine, even if for whatever reason it didn’t come up to reality. I’m very excited.

I have a Toyota Yaris hybrid. My petrol costs are half. Zero road tax. Still too new to have any maintenance issues. So I have saved money already

We're on our 3rd leaf, this one is 2nd hand. Adore it. Although we also have a diesel bmw (my company car) the leaf is really our primary car, the bmw doesn't generally leave the drive on a weekend.

Agree with others that the range can be an issue - we've just been to Norfolk for example and took the bmw - but that is the exception rather than the norm. We get about 80 miles from a charge and probably charge twice a week if that. In the early days I kept an eye on the electric bills but barely noticed a difference.

Zero road tax plus no parking charges for EVs in council owned car parks here (look out for similar schemes wherever you are, they're not well publicised but are common) and many other benefits mean it's a perfect choice and we have absolutely no plans to change. Saving up for a Tesla one day in fact - that's the dream! Driving the leaf is a dream, DH takes great pleasure in burning up boy racers at lights, no one believes how quick off the mark they are due to no gearbox.

Another tip - if you're worried about range on long journeys see if you can negotiate a deal with your dealer whereby you can swap out for a conventional car for a weekend. We had this before we got a 2nd car and were solely electric. Nissan Dealer lent us a Quashqai for the weekend on a few occasions when we wanted to do a long journey, FOC, just had to self insure.

following

The Tesla has to be the dream.... and definitely the dream....

But going to enjoy the practicalities... so looking forward to the silence! Being able to hear people speak and listen to music....

Actually getting rather excited! Though do wish our old car had lasted another -12 months or so as it does still feel a little early to buy second-hand....

I looked today at a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Really liked it. I couldn't afford to buy new but there seems to be a reasonable supply of nearly-new.

Anyone got advice on plug-in hybrid vs traditional hybrid, pros and cons? We mainly do shorter journeys eg taking kids to football around 30 min each way, supermarket 10 min each way etc, but the odd longer journey for holidays. There isn't a lot of choice of plug-ins - Outlander seems to be the only family plug-in available - but a lot more hybrids on the market.

This threads been really interesting. Electric is totally out my price range but I really fancy one now

I have a very basic understanding of engines so this might be a load of bollocks however
If you just do loads of short journeys in a hybrid, won't the petrol go old and sludgey. Doesn't swapping between electric and petrol take it's toll on the engine? How much is maintenance; are the main mechanics the same and it's just the source of power that differs?

Sorry op bit of a derail on your topic!

I can only answer your petrol query. I sometimes go two months between visits to the filling station, it's not a problem.

For those talking about drop in fuel costs, how much does it add to your electricity bill if you charge at home? We are considering electric as a second car

I'm resurrecting this thread because it was super useful in helping me settle on an Outlander PHEV.

Except I just can't afford it. No matter how I work the figures it's just too expensive. So with that in mind, is there a 'nearly as good as' second hand electric/petrol hybrid I could look at instead? I currently have a CMax so can't go smaller than that but can't afford to go as big as an Outlander. Thank you!

I bought a second hand Leaf 2 years ago (Nissan approved used) so now 5 years old, and its great for local trips, which is mostly what I do. Saves me loads of money. Long motorway trips cost a fortune in coffee at service stations, take ages, and usually involve a trip to Ikea (free charging), so I either plan the extra time in, swop cars with my mum for the weekend or take the train. For holidays, bear in mind that the National Trust are fitting charging points, as do lots of tourist destinations, and you can plug into a caravan socket with the right plug, but really rural holidays need a bit of planning.

I would really like the new Leaf but couldn't afford it, and apparently, second hand electric cars are now holding their value better than second hand petrol cars as they don't deteriorate as fast.

I can't go fully electric as I live in a village surrounded by small towns which are all VERY backward when it comes to charging points.

Thanks for this very informative!

I drove a PHEV for a few months. 15 plate I think. It's quoted as a 30 like range on the battery but I couldn't do more than 15
miles because if you put the radio on, heater on etc the battery life would reduce dramatically. I know I'm going against the grain here but this plus the awful way the charging point system is run made it a very frustrating experience.