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I'd like an electric car but they're still way too expensive new for my budget, and I've no idea what to look for in second hand ones. The second hand prices are getting close to what I'd pay though. Quite like the look of the Kia Soul, big boot which I need and a decent range, up to 280 miles, but about £35,000 new.

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I got an i-pace last year after having a Mercedes phev and I'll never have anything but electric going forward.  

Just a comment on the grants, it is no longer £750 but £500 and my total installation costs were £1400 so I have £900 of capital costs to get back out of electric.

The I-pace gets less than 2 miles per kWh if driven as cars are supposed to be driven but can get near 3 miles per kWh on short drives and light foot.

The other benefit of electric cars is that the service costs should be a fraction of an ICE vehicle and my friends I-pace was serviced for < £200 (I haven't had my first yet since it is 2 years or far too many miles for services)

Range anxiety is something that I think all electric car drivers experience but it just needs a plan for your drive and a backup plan for when you can't get a working charger. 

The Chargeplace Scotland contract has just changed and I was emailed saying that the £20 annual charge was being dropped but then seen something else saying there is a £5 charge.  The network in Scotland is a dream to use compared to down south.  Will be driving down to Yorkshire shortly and thoroughly looking forward to it.

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I’d happily go electric but it’s just completely impractical for me.

Can’t guarantee parking near my apartment (no numbered bays)can’t even get one of the garages near me and even if I could it’s a rental and they won’t let me install a charger.

Similar at work, no place to charge!

My best bet would be a hybrid but the extra cost to buy is prohibitive for now.

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4 hours ago, welshbairn said:

I'd like an electric car but they're still way too expensive new for my budget, and I've no idea what to look for in second hand ones.

I’d avoid anything that has a Type 1 charging port. Stick to Type 2 as it is more secure.

Ideally you want a car that can be programmed to charge at a particular time to benefit from cheap electricity prices. You can get cables that include this functionality but it would be an extra expense. Obviously you want an electricity tariff that offers a cheap overnight rate, which may possibly necessitate having a smart meter installed.

You also need to consider how quickly the battery technology is advancing. Both our cars are on 4 year lease/PCP deals rather than bought outright as I have concerns as to how appealing they will be as second hand cars when newer ones will have far better range and charging rates.

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1 minute ago, Funky Nosejob said:

I’d avoid anything that has a Type 1 charging port. Stick to Type 2 as it is more secure.

Ideally you want a car that can be programmed to charge at a particular time to benefit from cheap electricity prices. You can get cables that include this functionality but it would be an extra expense. Obviously you want an electricity tariff that offers a cheap overnight rate, which may possibly necessitate having a smart meter installed.

You also need to consider how quickly the battery technology is advancing. Both our cars are on 4 year lease/PCP deals rather than bought outright as I have concerns as to how appealing they will be as second hand cars when newer ones will have far better range and charging rates.

Chargers these days can be scheduled as well as controlling the charge rate.  Our BP one that was put in 18 months ago can certainly do all this and cost the same as the dumb BP one we got about 4 years ago.

Would not recommend BP btw.  It has the functionality but the app and website are atrociously bad and the scheduling can be a bit flaky if you don’t have great mobile signal where you live.  If I was getting another charger I’d get one that connects to Wifi rather than gets it’s updates over a SIM.

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I think we are approaching the tipping point as the tech is progressing well, the range and charge times are evolving and the infrastructure is improving for these. The biggest issue for me is the cost of the car they are still higher than traditional cars but once they drop level it'll be a no brainer for me. 

The other issue is once we all swap over how do the government claw back the fuel duty?  For those that can afford the outlay now live the cheap mpg dream. 

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On 18/10/2021 at 09:47, pub car king said:

how do the government claw back the fuel duty?

They will stick the fuel duty on the electric 'fuel' :) 

And road tax. 

And anything else they can think of. 

 

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On 18/10/2021 at 09:47, pub car king said:

The other issue is once we all swap over how do the government claw back the fuel duty?  For those that can afford the outlay now live the cheap mpg dream. 

Not sure how that will work when charging from home, which is what I expect  the vast majority will do.

Most of the public charging points are already more expensive than running a 60mpg diesel.

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I've just put a deposit down on an Octavia VRS (2.0TSI / DSG), wondering if anyone has experience of the VAG Dynamic Chassis Control system. There is a c5-7 month lead time so still have a little bit of time before the order is locked by the factory. We had to make a choice between DCC or the Travel Assist pack, to get us down to the figures we wanted. I'm happy to chuck in more deposit to cover the extra, if the system is worth it. Sadly there wasn't even a standard new gen Octavia to test drive let alone a VRS as they are really struggling for stock with the chip shortage. The Salesman mentioned they are prioritising Hybrids and BEVs at the factory so the lead time is alot shorter on them.

Having had a '66 plate VRS TDI (now 2 gens ago) a few years ago I found it a comfy motorway cruiser and wasn't overly aware of it crashing through potholes around Paisley or the backroads of Ayrshire, so assuming the latest gen will still be pretty comfy on standard sports springs? Does anyone have experience of driving with this system or back to back between this and standard? Is there a real benefit to it, or is it just a nice to have toy?

My understanding is it does some form of witchcraft with the dampers to soften / stiffen them? Have watched a couple of videos from people in Europe talking about them on German / Czech roads, but they come to different conclusions. We're going from a '20 Suzuki Swift on Doughnuts and a '68 Astra 1.6T SRI on 16" alloys to 19" on this, so there will obviously be alot less rubber to absorb initial impact and a more aggressive suspension setup. By no means am I expecting the Octavia to waft along like an S Class.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
17 minutes ago, Ekhibee88 said:

Noticed on my car a number appear on a steamed up passenger window. Is this the Vin number or something more sinister.

Some vehicles have the VIN number or the VRM etched into the glass of the windows as a security measure.

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On 01/11/2021 at 10:21, Empty It said:

Looking at getting all my oils changed, engine, gearbox and diff. If I provide the oils and oil filter what sort of cost should I be looking at?

I usually do all my own oil changes. However, a couple of years ago I bought an old Golf, right at the beginning of a December.

I don't have a garage. The car sits outside. The weather was raw, and the wind shrieked up the drive.  I thought, someone else

can do this.

I took the car, engine oil, and filter to my local garage.  They charged 1/2 an hour's labour.

At a guess, I'd budget for about 1 and a half hours labour for the full monty of oil changes.

Edited by beefybake
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13 hours ago, ICTChris said:

Looks fantastic, but can you park it in a single bay at Tesco between 2 SUVs? I need the dimensions.

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1 hour ago, beefybake said:

I usually do all my own oil changes. However, a couple of years ago I bought an old Golf, right at the beginning of a December.

I don't have a garage. The car sits outside. The weather was raw, and the wind shrieked up the drive.  I thought, someone else

can do this.

I took the car, engine oil, and filter to my local garage.  They charged 1/2 an hour's labour.

At a guess, I'd budget for about 1 and a half hours labour for the full monty of oil changes.

Most cars that are FWD like Golfs will only need engine oil and one transmission oil. The gearbox and final drive (diff) are one unit so share the same oil.

I think your local garage was very reasonable only charging 1/2 an hour, especially given they need to pay to get oil collected etc.  

If you have a front engine RWD car.. then yes probably 3 different oils needed. Obviously more work so gonna have a higher labour cost.

If it has auto transmission that will alter both time and costs, as will oils for LSD (no, not the Beatles Lucy in the sky stuff).. 

 

 

 

 

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