AIBU to not want an electric car?

[Elevenfourteen]

I know IABU for asking such a dull question, but my Dh wants to buy an electric car and I’m not convinced.
I guess they’re better for the environment so that’s one thing. But are we set up for them properly yet? Do all garages have charging points? Do you have to hang around the garage for ages while they charge? I just can’t imagine how they can be a practical option.
Driving to work and back and charging at night is fine, but what about going on holiday?

Do any of you have electric cars and can you reassure me?

I don’t think people realize the resources that go into building a brand new electric car. Tyres, engine parts, batteries, you name it all have shocking consequences for the environment! Ironically it’s better for the planet to buy a second hand petrol car instead.

I plan on keeping mine for decades. The free charging - even with a battery replacement and a pessimistic maintenance estimate - offsets the cost of running it hugely. Such that my Model S is probably overall no more expensive to run than a mid range petrol estate over say 10 years, accounting for everything including depreciation etc.

For those up in arms at being expected to spend £30,000, no one said you had to buy a brand new electric car.

Think second hand starts at about £7,000, and obvs each year there will be more second hand electric cars on the market.

Our next car will definitely be electric. I mostly get about on my e-bike these days anyway.

@ItsLisaLou

I don’t think people realize the resources that go into building a brand new electric car. Tyres, engine parts, batteries, you name it all have shocking consequences for the environment! Ironically it’s better for the planet to buy a second hand petrol car instead.

100% right - if you have a car that’s still working - keep it. But if you need to replace - and unfortunately I did my lovely old 17 year old Japanese petrol car which had rusted away - then buying a second hand EV is a reasonable decision instead of a second hand petrol.

I won't be trading in the elderly diesel for a while yet. Live rurally and the charging network leaves a lot to be desired. Right now, I'm planning to replace my 14 year old car just before it becomes illegal to sell them. The claims for EVs are fairly spurious.

@Namechangeforthis88

For those up in arms at being expected to spend £30,000, no one said you had to buy a brand new electric car.

Think second hand starts at about £7,000, and obvs each year there will be more second hand electric cars on the market.

Our next car will definitely be electric. I mostly get about on my e-bike these days anyway.

True - but If you can afford it - the 30k on an old model S with free charging is probably a steal though if you do big miles to justify it.

@FuzzyPuffling I hadn’t either until I picked up my Zoe last week and I’ve got used to it very quickly.

I love it so far, we have had a charger installed on our drive so I have been mostly charging at home but I’ve also tried topping up at a few free charge points (slow, but free, and at places I was stopping at anyway) and a local solar farm has a cheap fast one, I got 70 miles of green energy for £2.50 today which suits me when my last tank of petrol cost £60.
Cons - it cost more than I would usually spend on a car by a long way but I can justify it when my fuel costs will be about a sixth of what they were. Long journeys will inevitable take longer - both to charge en route and because although the car is very powerful you really notice the fuel consumption difference between 60 and 70. Lithium is also a contentious issue but my car is currently running on sunshine and if I have no issues with it I intend to keep it for the length of the battery warranty (8 years) it’s hopefully the more environmentally conscious option overall.
I would suggest trying one and seeing what you think (and you may end up ordering one then and there like me )

I paid £1500 for my diesel car 2 years ago. I do about 6000 miles a year but the vast majority of that is journeys to DP, a 400 mile round trip every 4 weeks.

I wouldn't feel confident driving a car with a 250 mile range fully charged on a 200 mile journey. I don't tend to stop on the way there or back so having to build in a charging stop would be a pain. Plus DP rents so there's nowhere to charge at his. Plus bottom line I don't have £30k to lay out on a car when my old workhorse is pretty reliable and costs me minimal amounts to keep on the road.

Plus I get the argument is petrol / diesel will get more and more expensive, but if electric costs are going up too, wont that make even electric motoring more expensive? Not to mention the eyewatering initial purchase cost of an electric car.

I can't see how most people will be able to manage an electric car, for example in our area only about half the houses have driveways (plus flats etc), and a fair proportion of properties are rented so tenants won't want to pay to install a charging point and I'm sure landlords wont either, especially in social housing.

I had a plug in hybrid (VWGolf GTE) first and now have a fully electric Jaguar IPace.
Have a driveway and a home charging point. I've charged out and about, it can take some getting used to and not everywhere is the same but it's never been a problem.
I have no problems with charging or range and have had it 2 years, we've taken it an a few long trips with no problems but it's got quite a big range.
My main complaints with the car is that it's got a crappy turning circle and parking it can be a big of a mare but otherwise it's a fab car. The drive is fab, we charge on a cheap nighttime tariff at home so costs us little to run. Ours is on a lease so we don't own it but it was a good deal (lack of choice, I could have it in black or black and the smaller electric car I wanted wasn't available in time) and insurance, servicing, breakdown and tires are all included.

We have a Tesla as our only car. Rarely pay for charging as all the council run car parks in our town have free parking and free charging for electric cars. It does have a long range (360 miles) but we don't get that when it's less than 10 degrees.

It's super fast and has tons of gadgets.

@Grenlei

I paid £1500 for my diesel car 2 years ago. I do about 6000 miles a year but the vast majority of that is journeys to DP, a 400 mile round trip every 4 weeks.

I wouldn't feel confident driving a car with a 250 mile range fully charged on a 200 mile journey. I don't tend to stop on the way there or back so having to build in a charging stop would be a pain. Plus DP rents so there's nowhere to charge at his. Plus bottom line I don't have £30k to lay out on a car when my old workhorse is pretty reliable and costs me minimal amounts to keep on the road.

Plus I get the argument is petrol / diesel will get more and more expensive, but if electric costs are going up too, wont that make even electric motoring more expensive? Not to mention the eyewatering initial purchase cost of an electric car.

I can't see how most people will be able to manage an electric car, for example in our area only about half the houses have driveways (plus flats etc), and a fair proportion of properties are rented so tenants won't want to pay to install a charging point and I'm sure landlords wont either, especially in social housing.

All very valid concerns 👍

The electric cost issue is very pertinent. At current home tariff prices - unless you have a special deal - to fully charge my model S which has about a 240 mile range would be around £24 (usable capacity of 80kwh @ 30p / kwh). 10p per mile - It’s still a good deal, but who knows how high that could go?!

If I was doing that only, the maths vs an older petrol car become vastly different. Even at current fuel prices of say 20p / mile, a 10p per mile saving wouldn’t quite justify the car. I’d save 2k per year, but I’d be shelling out £400 more in insurance costs, and have to budget the big battery replacement at some point.

I wouldn’t have bought anything other than one with free charging. That swings it for me.

Well if there are no new cars being made other than electric, (after 2030,) people will be forced to buy them! And if they can't afford them, they will have to go without. There won't be enough second hand cars for everyone who needs them!

@thirstyformore

We have a Tesla as our only car. Rarely pay for charging as all the council run car parks in our town have free parking and free charging for electric cars. It does have a long range (360 miles) but we don't get that when it's less than 10 degrees.

It's super fast and has tons of gadgets.

The free charging at the moment in some public places, plus reduced parking etc is a fantastic perk for early adopters indeed. I can park in Belgravia for 70p for 4 hours - and no congestion charge either (well £10 for year to register).

But if you think for one moment this will last - we would be delusional. Enjoy it whilst it’s there though!

@Grenlei

I paid £1500 for my diesel car 2 years ago. I do about 6000 miles a year but the vast majority of that is journeys to DP, a 400 mile round trip every 4 weeks.

I wouldn't feel confident driving a car with a 250 mile range fully charged on a 200 mile journey. I don't tend to stop on the way there or back so having to build in a charging stop would be a pain. Plus DP rents so there's nowhere to charge at his. Plus bottom line I don't have £30k to lay out on a car when my old workhorse is pretty reliable and costs me minimal amounts to keep on the road.

Plus I get the argument is petrol / diesel will get more and more expensive, but if electric costs are going up too, wont that make even electric motoring more expensive? Not to mention the eyewatering initial purchase cost of an electric car.

I can't see how most people will be able to manage an electric car, for example in our area only about half the houses have driveways (plus flats etc), and a fair proportion of properties are rented so tenants won't want to pay to install a charging point and I'm sure landlords wont either, especially in social housing.

100% this. ^ Brilliantly put. Such a stupid idea to phases out petrol and diesel cars, and force people to buy electric. There are sooooo many reasons against it.

I have an EV and love it. It works well for me but aren't for everyone just yet.

If your usage case isn't suitable e.g. you regularly do very long trips, don't have a driveway or tow caravans, then they may not work out.

Otherwise the change is pretty straightforward and if you can charge at home you'll barely need to use the charging network, which will save you a lot of money.

I did 1000 miles touring Cornwall in mine, which only has a 120 mile range. The best way to holiday is to use zapmap to see what's available in the area and then create accounts for the most common networks.

Personally it's not worth worrying about the lifetime CO2 benefits over ICE as there's just too much guff from all sides. I just prefer knowing that I'm not chuffing out exhaust fumes, which will be great for everyone when more EV's are on the road.

I plan to stick with diesel until the current cars are unrepairable.

Given that we already have a 2000l tank of kerosene and most of the neighbours have large tanks of red diesel I don’t anticipate any difficulty having a large tank of white diesel at home to fill from.

@thirstyformore

We have a Tesla as our only car. Rarely pay for charging as all the council run car parks in our town have free parking and free charging for electric cars. It does have a long range (360 miles) but we don't get that when it's less than 10 degrees.

It's super fast and has tons of gadgets.

Your local council tax payers are paying for you to charge your car and giving you a personal subsidy!

I think that’s appalling. Council tax should be for the benefit of the community, not to pay the motoring costs of someone who can afford a Tesla.

If I lived in your town, I’d be campaigning for you to be charged at a rate that makes a profit for the council, which could then be used to install more public charging points

We have had one for a month. We love it. Charge once a week. Have charging point at home as we have a drive. Installation of charging point took 3hrs max. We have an old petrol car that is ULEZ compliant. We enjoy driving around in the EV so much we haven't bought fuel in over 6 weeks.

I have an electric car & absolutely love it. There’s so much more space inside & there’s a scheme through work that includes insurance, break down cover & a free charger setup at your home.

I charge overnight when needed and my car has around 270 miles between charges.

Work colleague has got one and it's made longer trips a nightmare by all accounts. And trips away from home where his PA now has to research parking/charging options. Stories about how he had to do diversions to charge up or plan his break around charging. I think he likes it but he's hasn't got much else to worry about so can afford to have some awkwardness about long journeys. My idea of too much faff.

My tesla does over 300 miles on a single charge. Bloody love it. Unless you're regularly doing very long journeys you can just charge it when needed at home

We got a Tesla Y. Gamechanger - it’s not a car, it’s a damn spaceship. No issues yet keeping it charged, it’s like having a petrol station at home. You get up and it’s ready to go. You can set it to warm up so it’s cosy to get into on a morning without an idling engine. And my god does it go. So fun !!

@MurmuratingStarling

100% this. ^ Brilliantly put. Such a stupid idea to phases out petrol and diesel cars, and force people to buy electric. There are sooooo many reasons against it.

Except the argument of course that petrol isn't going to last forever and we need to reduce emissions.

We're in a transitional period so EVs aren't ever going to work for everyone just now but ICE isn't going to be phased out until 2030 and even then you'll still be able to drive petrol/diesel for the foreseeable future. By which time all the issues you're thinking about will mostly be solved, including 2nd hand stock, which will be more readily available.

Not everyone wanted or needed a mobile phone when they were first introduced but we barely think about it now. It'll be the same with EV's so if it doesn't work for you now then no worries. Just wait till one does.

@BurscoughBooths - it is indeed appalling. I

• park in Tesco for 3 hours free charging and wander off to cinema
• park in Aldi and use their free charging whilst doing my email
• park in ikea and go for a mooch around and a cheap gravalax whilst free charging
• park in the finest parts of London for 70p for half a day
• pay no congestion charge on one of the widest cars you can buy
• pay no Ulez
• pay no road tax (VED)
• charge for free at superchargers

It’s shocking. It shouldn’t be allowed. I couldn’t believe it either. So I bought one 🤷🏻‍♀️😂

YANBU, they won’t suit everyone’s needs but mine is great.

I’ve got a home charging point and charge overnight at home, it costs me 25% of what petrol used to. Zero road tax, saves me £490 a year and insurance is 1/3 less than my previous car. Longer service intervals. Thanks to the buoyant used car market, I sold my 2yr old car for more than I bought my brand new, factory ordered EV.

It has been brilliant for me but I did do a bit of reading first, checking that the range would suit me, year round and that the negatives wouldn’t really affect me. The main negative is the public charging network, which can be unreliable, expensive and sparse. I have only used it twice in the 8mo I’ve had my car, using my own wall box every other time. I’ve found it perfectly fine. I stuck to InstaVolt chargers, they were pricy (though still cheaper than petrol per mile) but are considered to be amongst the more reliable charging networks.