Man-Maths Me this: An electric car and a petrol drop-top.

[romeogolf]

Currently we PCP a bog-standard C class diesel, but with my annual mileage being 22,000 the monthlies, including services, are £410. On top of this, we put just shy £200 of diesel in it each month.

We're moving home this year and while currently the other half walks to work, this move will require a bus with a monthly ticket of £130, although my commute remains unchanged at around 32 miles each way.

So, estimated monthly cost would be £740.

I miss having a convertible and I'm trying to justify swapping the C-class for an SLK or SLC, and a used electric jobby like a Leaf or Zoe. These are now sub £11k used, so a straight loan over 5 years would be around £200/month at most, potentially less if I PCP, plus £80/month to 'fuel' leaving me potentially £350/month for a SLK/SLC and then £100/month to stick fuel in it for the 12 miles/day the other half will be using it for plus any longer weekend trips we take.

So my questions are threefold:

(1) Does the 22kw Leaf have enough range for my commute (70 miles a day, return), plus a bit of back-up range if the weather is poor/I need to pop out during the day? I believe we pay around 14p per Kwh, so is it simple 22 x .14 = £3.08 per charge?

(2) How long does the battery last? If I bought a used Leaf, would the battery being dying on me in a few years? And if I do the leased-battery option, roughly what is the monthy cost of the lease? (I can't find it on their website for used cars).

(3) What have I missed in order to properly man-maths sell this to the other half in time for summer?

[romeogolf]

Thanks for all the replies so far, really useful info.

gangzoom said:

70 miles all year round your need the 30kWh car which in real life will be 100miles range in winter. My 24kWh will do 65-70 miles in coldest days and you really don't want to be pushing the range that far every day as 100-0% runs will shorten battery life compared to x2 100-50% discharges.

Nissan seem to be pushing new 30kWh cars at the moment so you should be able to get deals around £225-250/months on 2-3 year deals.

Used Leafs are great buys but only if your regular daily commute is around 60 miles. Batteries are lasting much longer than anticipated, there is a Taxi company with a 24kWh Leaf thats done 170k miles and only showing <20% degradation.

I have seen that post going around about the 170k mile Leaf, so that is promising. Will take a look at new PCP deals then - It seems to make sense for EVs where the values plummet, it's just my mileage which often deters me.

danp said:

I don't own one (yet!) but I think you'd need the 30kWh one for that round trip.

You can PCP these new for £189 down and £189 a month for 3 years.

e.g. https://speakev.com/threads/brand-new-nissan-leaf-...

If you're only keeping it 3 years battery life isn't going to be a concern? (i.e. It won't drop off much in that time)

edit: have a look on speakev - lots on info on deals/battery life/range etc

I think that the mileage limit here will be the problem, but thanks for the info.

JPJPJP said:

Is there any way to get a chargepoint installed at work?

Sadly not. It's complicated, but we looked into it last year and got no where. Private land, lack of interest from land owner, and also our car park is limited to who can park there - Putting a charging post in would encourage those who shouldn't be parking there to use it.

[romeogolf]

danp said:

15k miles p.a. might do you? £199 down and £230/month - mentioned in this thread:

https://speakev.com/threads/brand-new-leaf-acenta-...

Thanks - Yeah, I'm looking through it now for a 20k PCP. My commute alone is around 18k/year and we'd probably use it around town a bit at weekends. Excess mileage could sting us.