BMW 330e ordered...

[Funkydunc]

Don't forget though that BIK rates are climbing quite dramatically over the next few years though on these cars.

[caseys]

Funkydunc said:

Don't forget though that BIK rates are climbing quite dramatically over the next few years though on these cars.

Yep. Hence me just getting one on a 2-year lease for now to see how the market is in 2 years (Tesla 3 for example).

Re your gearbox question - yes - the gearstick can be shifted left to go into manual mode, or just pressing up or down shift paddle on the steering wheel flips it into manual mode

[Soov535]

Funkydunc said:

Happy_Harris1431 said:

madalfa said:

Just received my car last week and I was wondering which paddle you meant and if you had to be in cruise control/sport or which ? Thanks in advance.

Just the down gear shift paddle on the rear left of the sterling wheel.

If you are driving along in 6th gear for example and need to overtake, pull it towards you and hold it for a couple of seconds and it will automatically select 2nd gear for example and match the perfect revs for you to overtake with instant power.

Works well

I've not had an automatic before, always preferred a gear shift.

Can you put the car in 'manual' mode and use the paddles to manually select gears? ie so that coming in to a corner you can down shift?

Yeah, simply use the paddles when you want to. If you want to "lock" it into manual mode then push the gear selector over to the left and pull a paddle.

[DragonflyTrumpeter]

Funkydunc said:

Don't forget though that BIK rates are climbing quite dramatically over the next few years though on these cars.

7%, 9% + 13% bik for the current and following 2 years. I would not say the increases are overly significant and still very cheap for what you are getting, particularly for those with private fuel paid also.

Worth noting that a 320d auto ED has a list price of circa £32k and bik of 20% then 22% + 24% for the same period.

[Happy_Harris1431]

Mcpaynter said:

Doesn't kickdown do the same thing if you just put the pedal to the floor?

Nope, this is different.

It gets you in the correct gear in preparation for acceleration/overtaking.

Pressing the accelerator accelerates the car before chossing the right gear and sometimes kicks down twice depending on how quickly you accelerate.

With this you can be sitting in the right gear right on the best torque band ready to overtake.

[330edriver]

Hi it's seems to cost just over £1 to charge in 3 hours using the supplied BMW charger lead - plugged in at a standard wall

Electric works out at about £1 for 16-18 miles on full charge which is about 5/6p per mile while on petrol is about 12p per mile based on £1.10 per litre


Also looking into having the specific charging station at home - looks to be about £200 installed

[330edriver]

[jason61c]

Funkydunc said:

Don't forget though that BIK rates are climbing quite dramatically over the next few years though on these cars.

As the are on all cars, if you look at the comcar website you can work it all out. Even over the next 3 years, works out at an average of about 120 quid ish over the 3 years for a 40% tax payer. Cheap as chips really.

[oop north]

DragonflyTrumpeter said:

7%, 9% + 13% bik for the current and following 2 years. I would not say the increases are overly significant and still very cheap for what you are getting, particularly for those with private fuel paid also.

Worth noting that a 320d auto ED has a list price of circa £32k and bik of 20% then 22% + 24% for the same period.

not sure which years you are referring to but it goes to 16% after 13% (2019/20?)

[DragonflyTrumpeter]

oop north said:

not sure which years you are referring to but it goes to 16% after 13% (2019/20?)

As I posted, I was referring to the current tax year and the following 2 years. And yes, it goes to 16% in year four, 2019/20. Absolutely cheap as chips. Go to comcar or such like as jason61c says and check the rates for any motor. The 330e is a total bargain, all the more so with private fuel.

Rising bik costs are not confined to 330e's

[Funkydunc]

330edriver said:

Also looking into having the specific charging station at home - looks to be about £200 installed

Where can you currently get a charge point for £200? When I last looked it was £350.

If I could get one for £200 I would do as that is the cost of a lead to carry around.

Edit - Just done some googling, and they have come down in price! When I first started looking in February units were about £300. They then went up to £350 when government grants changed, now looks like they have come down to £200 ! Obviously demand isn't as high as they hoped !

Next question - I was going to get a 3 pin socket installed for about £60. Is it really worth paying £200 for a box on the wall, and a cable?

Edited by Funkydunc on Friday 29th July 12:38

[Chris1712]

Yes because you can take the Type 2 cable to use at public charge points .

http://www.rolecserv.com/ev-charging/product/OLEV-...

£149 from Rolec, would be all over it if I wasn't stuck in rental all my life.

[modeller]

330edriver said:

Hi it's seems to cost just over £1 to charge in 3 hours using the supplied BMW charger lead - plugged in at a standard wall
Electric works out at about £1 for 16-18 miles on full charge which is about 5/6p per mile while on petrol is about 12p per mile based on £1.10 per litre

Interesting .. you're getting < 2 miles / kWh. My i3 is averaging 4.7 mi/kWh , I pay 4.7 p/unit (E7), so cost is 1p / mile.

[boogybaz]

Funkydunc said:

Where can you currently get a charge point for £200? When I last looked it was £350.

If I could get one for £200 I would do as that is the cost of a lead to carry around.

Edit - Just done some googling, and they have come down in price! When I first started looking in February units were about £300. They then went up to £350 when government grants changed, now looks like they have come down to £200 ! Obviously demand isn't as high as they hoped !

Next question - I was going to get a 3 pin socket installed for about £60. Is it really worth paying £200 for a box on the wall, and a cable?

Edited by Funkydunc on Friday 29th July 12:38

Rolec do non tethered ones for £150 now http://www.rolecserv.com/ev-charging/product/OLEV-...

[Funkydunc]

I saw the £149, but that's just for the box on the wall and no cable.

Cables are £150-£200?

Edited by Funkydunc on Friday 29th July 22:10

[kingofthehill]

What predicted and real electric ranges are people seeing from their 330e vehicles? I consistently see 16 miles on the former (as reported by the car and the app) and am yet to calculate the latter.

[chrisoldroyd]

I will be taking delivery of a 330e Sport in a week or so and its my first PHEV coming from a Lexus CT200h.

This car will be a company car and I am trying to get my head around the charging element and how I can claim that cost back through the company. At present I pay BIK and declare my personal mileage each month and pay £0.12 per mile for that. Not a big personal user so around £30 a month.

Now I plan on charging my 330e every night at home to use the next day for work mileage, this is where the confusion arises. How do I claim that cost back? I can easily stick a power meter on the socket I use to charge it and produce a report each month showing electricity consumption and work out a net cost to me to claim back. My employer is happy with that but believes I will be taxed on it as a benefit?

I don't know why this should be the case but apparently HMRC don't recognise electricity as a fuel. anyone any experience with this mess?

Hope someone can help as I am the first in our company pushing PHEV.

Thanks
Chris

[Mcpaynter]

I'm a company car user and don't claim the energy used at home

Hmrc rate is 13p per mile which covers business mileage based on the engine and is made to cover the cost of fuel per mile. If you're charging then you haven't actually used that mileage yet.

Also if your electric range is say 20miles and you complete 10 of them using the Electric motor then you still claim the total mileage so you'll be claiming 20miles of fuel at 13p per mile - £2.60 despite the fact you've actually only used 10miles of fuel.. At circa 5p per mile you're slightly better off than if you just ran petrol with a cost of approx £1.80 (£1.30 fuel and 50p electric) against a hmrc expected journey cost of £2.60

If you were to claim electricity on top of the standard then you are double claiming. Or if you're looking to literally follow the exact journey cost then you would claim 10miles at 13p and 10 miles of energy.. But either way the hmrc mileage rate is standard and as the car is a 2.0 petrol it makes sense to just claim the approved rate of mileage or you'll be worse off.

Edited by Mcpaynter on Saturday 30th July 13:44

[chrisoldroyd]

Yes, that's the difference though, I am given a petrol card and have all of my petrol paid at point of sale. I then tell the company what my monthly personal mileage has been and I pay that back.

So if I charge the car at home it's 100% out of my pocket unless there is a way to claim that back.

Edited by chrisoldroyd on Saturday 30th July 15:33

[madalfa]

Hi, Does anybody know if you can get a energy flow display on the screen i.e like in any other model of electric vehicle?