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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if you have an electric vehicle? Would you recommend it?

180 replies

LordGribeau · 25/05/2023 18:40

Just that really. We are looking at replacing our current mitsubishi outlander with an EV. Possibly a Kia Niro or Peugeot 2008. If you have one, would you recommend it? Are they good as a family car? DC are no longer in booster seats, so fit a bit more comfortably in the back.

OP posts:
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GasPanic · 31/05/2023 13:36

I think if you do the mileage they are good.

A salesperson doing 200 miles per day, plus stuff like the company car tax relief they are going to work well.

If you are just buying a tesla to pop backwards and forwards to the shop though its going to be expensive motoring because you aren't recovering the money on fuel costs.

People say that the fuel top up is cheap (it is) but don't point out that they cost a lot more to start off with than petrol/diesel.

There is also the issue that with relatively new tech something may go horribly wrong and cost a fortune. Although every indication so far is that they are pretty reliable and cheap to maintain.

Panda89 · 31/05/2023 13:41

Most people we talk to are surprised by the price of our Tesla, they thought it would be much more expensive.
We lease it, my previous lease was a Volvo xc40, a new xc40 was the same price as the Tesla so it made sense to switch over as DH can charge for free at work.

FergalforPM · 31/05/2023 15:51

Panda89 · 31/05/2023 13:41

Most people we talk to are surprised by the price of our Tesla, they thought it would be much more expensive.
We lease it, my previous lease was a Volvo xc40, a new xc40 was the same price as the Tesla so it made sense to switch over as DH can charge for free at work.

Was your Tesla £1850 to buy outright like my latest car?

Until they are in that territory they are just a dream for me and no doubt plenty of others.

FergalforPM · 31/05/2023 16:17

weightymatters73 · 31/05/2023 13:15

@CutYourCloth You need a model 3 or model Y - much much faster charging then the 100D's.... I know they are lovely cars but older charging tech.

@FergalforPM I would have a very careful calculate about what your car is costing you.... having done this both ways I found a Nissan Leaf on lease/pcp has about the same cost as my well looked after 10 year old petrol car as well as being much better for the environment. On one hand the "car" itself costs more, (but that can be offset or spread with finance) vs the servicing, repairs and petrol on the older vehicle. We now both have new lease EV vehicles and the cost overall is lower. You find that the repairs, servicing and petrol costs can mount up considerably on an older car.

Yeah, done the calcs, but also the convenience is low. I make a 336 mile round trip (168 each way) once a fortnight. I'd have to make at least one stop per leg, possibly more and though I can charge at home there's nowhere to charge overnight at the destination.

My current car is 20 years old, diesel and averages 50mpg on the trip. It's also an estate car so I can take my dog or carry stuff if I need to.

A 4K Leaf (cheapest I can find at present) would get me 80 miles on a (very) good day.

Current car will do 600+ miles on a tank of fuel, and I don't need to worry about using the aircon/heater of doing 70 on the motorway.

Having a Tesla would solve most of those problems, but they can't be had for £1850 outright purchase cost.

Oh, and servicing and MOT cost me less than £300.

Kaftanesque · 31/05/2023 16:22

Been driving electric for 7 years .A Leaf and now a Tesla.We have solar panels and mainly charge at home. I would never go back to petrol or diesel now and love not going near petrol pumps in particular. Plus great to drive.

Digestive28 · 31/05/2023 16:34

Have a Kia Nero. Would recommend it. 270ish miles per charge and to be honest most journeys are significantly shorter running kids around town to various clubs/friends or commuting to work. So can’t comment on long journeys but plenty of boot space, can get a shop, paddle board or dog in boot no problem (not at the same time obviously) with plenty of space in the back. Works well as a family car - would be nicer if kids hasn’t sprayed sun cream all over the back but can’t win them all

weightymatters73 · 31/05/2023 16:57

@FergalforPM Your Diesel will be a big cost though....for me a 336 mile trip would cost around £10 in electric, so I'm £1000 per year up on your long trip alone....we calculated based on 16,000 miles a year which for us saved about £2000 per year in fuel alone.

We weren't as lucky as you with £1000 in servicing, MOT and repair costs per year on the petrol car. The EV is zero, as its on a maintenance inclusive lease.

It's a choice, and BTW (whispers) I do have the aircon on and do motorway speeds.

FergalforPM · 31/05/2023 17:00

weightymatters73 · 31/05/2023 16:57

@FergalforPM Your Diesel will be a big cost though....for me a 336 mile trip would cost around £10 in electric, so I'm £1000 per year up on your long trip alone....we calculated based on 16,000 miles a year which for us saved about £2000 per year in fuel alone.

We weren't as lucky as you with £1000 in servicing, MOT and repair costs per year on the petrol car. The EV is zero, as its on a maintenance inclusive lease.

It's a choice, and BTW (whispers) I do have the aircon on and do motorway speeds.

Fuel costs me more but I can buy a lot of fuel for the purchase price of an EV. And I don't have the cash available to either buy or lease and kind of EV - that's the point I am making.

Busbygirl · 31/05/2023 17:21

I’ve got a hybrid car (Ampera). Definitely would not recommend anything electric.
When it goes wrong I can’t take it to my local garage man but have to book it into the Vauxhall repair centre. He hasn’t got the equipment to repair a lot of the problems.
Vauxhall charge £300 just to put it through a diagnostic test before they’ve even done any repairs!
I think a lot of people will change their minds about electric cars once they start going wrong.
Also there’s a severe shortage of charging points.
I’m moving back to petrol asap

mafsfan · 31/05/2023 19:14

Busbygirl · 31/05/2023 17:21

I’ve got a hybrid car (Ampera). Definitely would not recommend anything electric.
When it goes wrong I can’t take it to my local garage man but have to book it into the Vauxhall repair centre. He hasn’t got the equipment to repair a lot of the problems.
Vauxhall charge £300 just to put it through a diagnostic test before they’ve even done any repairs!
I think a lot of people will change their minds about electric cars once they start going wrong.
Also there’s a severe shortage of charging points.
I’m moving back to petrol asap

The problem with hybrids is you've got the worst of both worlds in that you've still got all the mechanical things that can go wrong with an ICE car.

With an EV there is less mechanically to go wrong other than the fairly basic things like brake pads, but if the system goes wrong (like a computer running the car) it does need somebody who knows what they're doing. It's not a regular mechanic job but more people are training to be able to deal with EVs so that will be come more common place.

Our servicing costs have been much lower with our EVs because there is less to check and and less that can go wrong. There have been rumours for years about battery replacement but they continue to just be rumours. As far as I know there hasn't been an influx of even the older EVs needing battery replacements.

The upfront cost is an issue - no doubt about that. However, that will come down and more and more older EVs will become kore available with each year. A lot of the other things said about EVs, especially the modern EVs, is not true (e.g. needing to charge on a 100 mile trip).

AGreatUsername · 31/05/2023 19:15

I have a Cupra Born and I love it. It costs anywhere between 20-50% the cost of petrol (it uses more electric in cold and wet weather as that reduces the range by 30% or so!) I’ve had it 6 months now and don’t ever want to go back to fossil fuel.

CutYourCloth · 31/05/2023 20:34

weightymatters73 · 31/05/2023 13:15

@CutYourCloth You need a model 3 or model Y - much much faster charging then the 100D's.... I know they are lovely cars but older charging tech.

@FergalforPM I would have a very careful calculate about what your car is costing you.... having done this both ways I found a Nissan Leaf on lease/pcp has about the same cost as my well looked after 10 year old petrol car as well as being much better for the environment. On one hand the "car" itself costs more, (but that can be offset or spread with finance) vs the servicing, repairs and petrol on the older vehicle. We now both have new lease EV vehicles and the cost overall is lower. You find that the repairs, servicing and petrol costs can mount up considerably on an older car.

We had use of both the Model Y and Model 3 for months as loan cars, and charging these two newer models took the same amount of time to charge overnight as our Model X P100D’s. Longer in fact re. the Model Y.
I only drove my Model X in Chill Mode around London, and only occasionally in Ludicrous Mode. DP drove his in Ludicrous Mode at all times. Maybe this is why his Model X Tesla went through two batteries within 3 years?

I also drove in gloves and a blanket over my legs for a week or so, when the air con was faulty in my Model X.

We also had issues with the driver window getting stuck and not going all the way up on both Model X’s, and more than once on one car.

I was unfortunate enough to get into two different Uber Tesla’s twice on one day last week when the weather was warm. Both Uber drivers had all the windows open whilst driving fast on a 40 mph A road and also when we were stuck in slow moving polluted London traffic, as they were reluctant to use the air con. I asked one of the Uber drivers to put the windows up as my son was complaining that he was cold.

Uber driver had initially agreed to take me back to my pick up destination after I had dropped off my son. He then changed his mind as we were reaching the destination, as he didn’t want to sit in the same traffic again and took another job instead to a destination in the opposite direction and with a Tesla Supercharger on route (he told me so), effectively kicking me out of the Uber!
I then had to wait 20 mins for another Uber, which was yet another damn Tesla with all the windows down in a London traffic polluted hotspot and was late for my meeting!

I will most definitely avoid booking EV cars as taxis in future.

CutYourCloth · 02/06/2023 01:18

Also, if you can avoid it do not install the car charging unit externally on the side of your property, as criminals are stealing them!

Our charging unit is installed inside the garage. The soft rubber tubing along the bottom of our garage door allows enough space for the charging cable to be positioned under the closed garage door when charging. We did this for four years and there was no damage or kinks to the charging cable.

If anyone is considering a particular MINI Hybrid, beware that you’ll only get 30 miles electric charge capacity before needing to re-charge! My longtime MINI sales contact advised against it unless you’re only driving locally.

chupachucks · 02/06/2023 04:46

mafsfan · 31/05/2023 19:14

The problem with hybrids is you've got the worst of both worlds in that you've still got all the mechanical things that can go wrong with an ICE car.

With an EV there is less mechanically to go wrong other than the fairly basic things like brake pads, but if the system goes wrong (like a computer running the car) it does need somebody who knows what they're doing. It's not a regular mechanic job but more people are training to be able to deal with EVs so that will be come more common place.

Our servicing costs have been much lower with our EVs because there is less to check and and less that can go wrong. There have been rumours for years about battery replacement but they continue to just be rumours. As far as I know there hasn't been an influx of even the older EVs needing battery replacements.

The upfront cost is an issue - no doubt about that. However, that will come down and more and more older EVs will become kore available with each year. A lot of the other things said about EVs, especially the modern EVs, is not true (e.g. needing to charge on a 100 mile trip).

Show quote history

Complete and utter rubbish, both myself and my partner have driven self-charging Toyota hybrids for more than a decade. Never had a single issue and the milage is phenomenal on them as we do really high mileage trips.

What are these worst of both worlds you speak of? 🤔

Fact the Toyota hybrids are the world's best selling and most popular cars, most taxis are Toyota self-charging hybrids or do taxi drivers like having the worst of both worlds lol.

Toyota hybrids are also one of the most reliable cars on the road.

If you want to prise your EV but dont so but don't spout generalised bollocks like that.

Reluctantadult · 02/06/2023 18:44

I'm looking to do a rapid charge in the Lakes tomorrow. Does anyone know the area, and able to tell me anything about Keswick, Kendal, Windermere or Kirkby Lonsdale for charging, but also more in terms of getting in and out without a traffic jam and finding somewhere to eat and break up the journey for the kids?

mafsfan · 02/06/2023 20:06

Presume you've tried ZapMap? I don't know the area but the Instavolt ones at a couple of Booth's (Windermere, Kendal) look like the kind of place we'd stop with the kids. No idea about traffic though sorry!

Badgergirl123 · 02/06/2023 20:40

We've had a Kia Nero for 4 years and love it. We charge from electricity generated by solar panels so from around April to September we pay nothing to charge unless we're away. Wouldn't go back!

Reluctantadult · 02/06/2023 20:54

mafsfan · 02/06/2023 20:06

Presume you've tried ZapMap? I don't know the area but the Instavolt ones at a couple of Booth's (Windermere, Kendal) look like the kind of place we'd stop with the kids. No idea about traffic though sorry!

Thanks! Yes looking at zap map there are good sounding charge station options, I'm just not sure whether trying to get into a town in the Lakes on a Sat in half term would be silly busy..!

Nordicrain · 07/06/2023 12:55

DH has one he uses for commuting. It's a great car and really cheap (£300 a month in petrol vs about £60 a month in electric) BUT we also have a petrol car (mine) that we use for longer trips. Both due to range, but also I think charging publically can be both time consuming, (in some areas) unreliable and expensive.

dancinginthesky · 07/06/2023 13:02

Have one, love it, wouldn't go back

SamanthaCaine · 07/06/2023 13:06

VanGoghsDog · 07/06/2023 12:51

Rowan Atkinson is an idiot of the highest order. Starts by boasting about his credentials and then spouts a load of the usual misinformation. He should stick to Mr Bean.

SamanthaCaine · 07/06/2023 13:09

Love my EV and it's been a great alternative to the ICE.

As with everything it has pros and cons and depends on whether you can live with the cons. But let's not fool ourselves that petrol/diesel is all flowers. Sure you can fill one up in 5 minutes but there are tonnes of other drawbacks that we moaned about loads before EV's turned up.

FooFighter99 · 07/06/2023 13:09

I have an eGolf, and it's honestly the best car I've ever driven. I absolutely love it!

Mines a 2020, so has the larger battery, meaning in the summer I get about 160 miles per charge and in winter it's about 90

My commute is 10 miles, and I've only done 12900 miles in 3 years, so I can't comment on batter degradation

Just make sure you can have a home charger fitted, we couldn't as we're a mid-terrace and it wasn't practical to install one, but my husband can charge it at work for free (we haven't paid to charge in well over a year!!) and also download Zap-Map as you can use it to plot journeys using public charging points

FergalforPM · 07/06/2023 13:43

SamanthaCaine · 07/06/2023 13:06

Rowan Atkinson is an idiot of the highest order. Starts by boasting about his credentials and then spouts a load of the usual misinformation. He should stick to Mr Bean.

Show quote history

What is misinformation in what he says?