Electric Car Charger

[Boeing Guy]

Sadly it is not that easy.

Yes you can get a car for under £200 per month for two years, but the reality is this.
Your deposit £3099.50
24 monthly payments £199.00
This is based on 7500 miles per year, after that it is 10p per mile.
Total spend £7875.50
(Current Nissan Offer, terms and conditions etc)

Remember you don't own the car and when you return it you could be liable for any damage to the car, (many years ago, I was a car salesman, Lythgoe Peugeot and others, before changing careers, so I do know what I am talking about)

Compared to my car, a large Diesel Estate, which is paid for and does an average 50 mpg and nearly has as much tech on it as a Leaf, I could drive, at current Diesel prices, 75,400 miles, As I tend to drive 15 to 20,000 miles per year there is no way I could ever justify an electric car, even a BMW i8.

Of course there are other things to take in to account, service costs, tyres, road tax, etc

I have no doubt that they have a place, but seeing there are Diesel cars out there that have 80mpg+, I cannot see a bright future for them.

[Neil]

Something will have to replace fossil fuel cars and something will have to replace the way we make electricity so the two could go very much hand in hand. It's still very early days yet. It's only the last 15 years ish that most people would even have considered a diesel car.

[Gremlin]

My son has a mate with a BMW i8, Simon.
Not a very practicable car but a posers motor.
He let my son drive it and here it is.
Apparently on a 500 mile run without any charging points it manages about 18 MPG with its little engine, the fuel tank holds enough for about 80miles.

I'll stick to my gas guzzling 4X4, 24.3 mpg, it's done 11,000 since new and is capable of doing over 40MPH, as I found out last week when I was caught at 48MPH in a 40 zone.
Last bit of dual carriageway on the Nelson end of the Padiham by-pass. Only thing about was the police camera car.
my first offence since passing my test in 1957. I have been very lucky indeed.

[Gordon Booth]

Originally Posted by Shurm

The thing with electric vehicles is that people complain that there isn't an infrastructure in place to charge them otherwise they might consider one.

I was quite sceptical of electric cars but I now drive a Nissan Leaf as a company car and for me personally it saves me quite a bit of money because I only use it to work and back and I can charge it free there.

The problem with the cars as far as I can see is residual values because people are sceptical and also the expensive batteries which someone has mentioned so the second hand market is still difficult for these cars.

As far as New cars go the Nissan Dealer where I work was selling a New Leaf for under £200 a month on a 2 year PCP contract in March which when you take your fuel bill out of the equation isn't bad for a 25k car.

Like I said previously I was quite sceptical myself but I think it's one way city/town cars might go in the future.

Originally Posted by Shurm

Sorry another obvious problem is the range of these cars currently around 100 miles .

That's the sales pitch, now let's talk facts.

You want the infrastructure. You'll pay for it? No, the taxpayers will have to to, £40k to £60K a time.
How many do you want? Thousands? Poor taxpayer.

Free car/free charging, company car. Excellent- for popping into work and back.
Have you ever had a day out in the Lakes in it? Can't do that.
Taken the family on holiday in it? Can't do that.
Ahh, you have a proper car to do those things in? I'm sure you do. Not many can afford a proper car and a £25K toy for doing a few miles a day.

£200/month not bad for a £25k car? But it's not a £25k car, it's a £12,000 city car with no engine,just a very expensive battery.
I can buy a much better Focus for half that, £12K will pay for a lot of miles(about 155,000!).

Range 100 miles? You'll be lucky, especially in hilly country like East Lancs.
You can't fully charge the battery, the car won't let you because it damages it.
You can't let it go flat because- guess what, it damages it.
You can't fast charge it too often because-yes it damages it.
Your realistic range- about 70 miles?
In sub zero conditions(you get them in Accrington) one Leaf showed a range of 32 miles when fully charged. It ran out after 8 miles.

Worried about battery life and residuals? I should think so. What do Nissan charge for a new one? £3000? Possibly more? Guarantee life? 5 years?
Rent the battery for £70/month? That's 1000 miles a month in the Focus- so you get to work and back free in your £13000 car with a trip to the Lakes thrown in. And you've still got 155,000 miles to play with.

No, you can keep your £25000 toy, I'll wait for a practical solution.

[Boeing Guy]

I could not agree more Neil, BMW have been leading the move to 'Lean Burn' engines in recent years, the uber efficient 320d only emits 109 carbons and is £30 road tax per year, still goes like stink and returns a real world 60+mpg. Ironically M Thatcher, wanted to push lean burn back in the 80's, but the car lobby managed to lobby against the idea and instead went for the much cheaper catalytic converter instead.
We have to find an alternative to internal combustion engines, but whether that is Electric or not we will see.

Russell, love the i8, but I too also have a car that can go above 40 mph, some say it's limited to 155!! Cannot say I have been there! and it's a gas guzzler, it will be my long suffering other halls car when the Estate arrives in a few weeks. Nice to know my V6 is nearly as economic as your 4x4 !

[Shurm]

We did several Leafs for £150 a month with a £500 deposit and a couple of those live in Accrington. No battery rental £150 that's it for 2 years and yes I'm sure they will just hand them back at the end.


Don't want to get into any arguments like I said I was very sceptical as well, only time will tell if they become popular.

[Boeing Guy]

Fair enough, however they will become very popular, just like the Prius, another car I cannot stand.

[Gordon Booth]

Originally Posted by Gremlin

I was caught at 48MPH in a 40 zone.
Last bit of dual carriageway on the Nelson end of the Padiham by-pass. Only thing about was the police camera car.

Shame about that. If you'd been doing 47 they probably wouldn't have done you-10%+3MPH seems to be the unwritten rule. I got done a few years ago rolling down a hill at 37-they said at 36 they wouldn't have bothered.

Originally Posted by Shurm

We did several Leafs for £150 a month with a £500 deposit and a couple of those live in Accrington. No battery rental £150 that's it for 2 years and yes I'm sure they will just hand them back at the end.

Don't want to get into any arguments like I said I was very sceptical as well, only time will tell if they become popular.

Fair enough, no argument intended. But I feel it's very much a second car for very short journeys. Be honest, working where you do I'll bet your proper car is a Qashqai or an X Trail(I love mine, keep looking at the new ones but I'll have to wait 'till they're a couple of years old).

The deal you did wasn't bad but I'd be terrified of going on a car park, people are so careless with their doors. As BG said, you want them back like new and that's not easy over 2 years.

[cashman]

Wrong Gordon i was done fer doing 34 in a 30 approx 3/4 yrs back had to go to Bury for one of those speed courses or whatever they call em, was done on that road oer tops from Helmshore to Tottington. Maybe it depends on the area yer in? was my first offence also.

[accyman]

Originally Posted by cashman

Wrong Gordon i was done fer doing 34 in a 30 approx 3/4 yrs back had to go to Bury for one of those speed courses or whatever they call em, was done on that road oer tops from Helmshore to Tottington. Maybe it depends on the area yer in? was my first offence also.

ahh theres your problem cashy

you were in helmshore where anything over 30mph is deemed as witchcraft.Your lucky you didn't get the duckingstool

[Gordon Booth]

Originally Posted by cashman

Wrong Gordon i was done fer doing 34 in a 30 approx 3/4 yrs back had to go to Bury for one of those speed courses or whatever they call em, was done on that road oer tops from Helmshore to Tottington. Maybe it depends on the area yer in? was my first offence also.

That was tough, it's hard to keep to 30 max, a slight downhill, as I found, and you can soon speed up. Mind you Wales was worse under the 'Mullah' Brunstrom. You got done for 31/32.

I was offered a 'speed course' but on the day I was having a bad heart day so couldn't go.Rang up to re-book it-'Sorry, can't do that',end of.
So I ended up paying £80 for the course,£60 fine, 3 points and God knows how much extra on insurance. Not a good day.
Bought a Talex camera warning thing straight away, they make you very aware of your speed and nag you to death- when the satnav joins in its worse than the wife. Never speed now

[Less]

Originally Posted by Gordon Booth

That was tough, it's hard to keep to 30 max, a slight downhill, as I found, and you can soon speed up. Mind you Wales was worse under the 'Mullah' Brunstrom. You got done for 31/32.

I was offered a 'speed course' but on the day I was having a bad heart day so couldn't go.Rang up to re-book it-'Sorry, can't do that',end of.
So I ended up paying £80 for the course,£60 fine, 3 points and God knows how much extra on insurance. Not a good day.
Bought a Talex camera warning thing straight away, they make you very aware of your speed and nag you to death- when the satnav joins in its worse than the wife. Never speed now

My disgrace caught on camera just within tolerances that costs me money, I was offered the course or points on licence took the course, it did no good I still drive the way I normally do. (For good or bad). One piece of advice I ignored was "in town always drive in third gear, it may cost you fuel but it reminds you not to speed up to fourth".
I don't drive a fuel gussling car but I would if I took those guys seriously.
It's just another form of jobs for the boy's (retired speed cops) and money in the coffers to pay for ignoring other problems.

[Shurm]

I agree unless you have a second car there probably are a bit pointless our other car is a petrol Zafira !!! for the kids and that eats fuel so I try to save some pennies where I can, it probably saves me £100 quid a month by using it but if its a day out were all in the Zafira.

Regarding handing them back, most accept fair wear and tear but any customers we have on contract hire who tend to hand them back we sort the dings and scratches at cost before the finance companies pick them up, just keeps everyone happy then.

I'm by no means a convert and at 25K its madness to buy one outright I'd agree but the PCP was just a bargain I felt. Its early technology at the moment I'm sure it will get cheaper and more popular in the future.

[Gordon Booth]

The latest madness here is to cover every road and street except the main roads with 20MPH signs.
Expected cost- £250,000 for the main town area, £1.5 million for the borough!
Even the big wide main avenues with no schools etc. on them are 20MPH.
Trouble is we have hardly any police left(we can't afford them??) so I don't know how it will be enforced.Vigilantes perhaps?
Most drivers seem to be ignoring it.
It's a good job we're short of money, Heaven knows what else they'd get up to if they could afford it.

[Shurm]

Thorneyholme Road is probably the best surfaced road in Accy and wide as well and people still do 50+ mph even though its now a 20 !!!