Electric Car For My Mum
Discussion
kambites said:
On the other hand, there's surprisingly little difference in cost between leased and owned battery Zoes yet the battery buy-out is pretty expensive, so buying a leased one and then buying it out doesn't make much sense if there are owned ones available. 
If you can find an owned battery ZOE then it will cost a fair amount more than a similar leased battery car, many battery lease ZOE's are advertised as battery owned when they aren't.There are relatively few 22kWh "i" model Zoes around. They were battery lease only for a while, and after that the PCP deals on the battery lease ones were spectacular. There are more 40kWh "i" versions, but they basically start at about 15k (don't necessarily believe Autotrader - there's some flaw with how it posts Zoes). And while 200 miles might be possible in a ZE40 given the right conditions (warm, dry, not windy, lowish speeds), that's definitely not the average, even in summer.
Battery lease buy-out isn't cheap, so if you can get a Leaf for the same money, that's probably a better bet. If you choose a 24kWh one, try to get a Nissan built one (13 onwards?) as they have heat pumps rather than the resistive heater.
Battery lease buy-out isn't cheap, so if you can get a Leaf for the same money, that's probably a better bet. If you choose a 24kWh one, try to get a Nissan built one (13 onwards?) as they have heat pumps rather than the resistive heater.
V8RX7 said:
Can charge at home
Max distance 50 miles
Currently has old A3 3dr 1.9 TDi doesn't want any larger
It doesn't have to pay for itself as long as it isn't a financial disaster.
The issue with petrol / diesel is that AFAIK there isn't anything like her Audi - she's kept it 15yrs because the other options are either larger, much slower or cheap and nasty.
A3 etron?Max distance 50 miles
Currently has old A3 3dr 1.9 TDi doesn't want any larger
It doesn't have to pay for itself as long as it isn't a financial disaster.
The issue with petrol / diesel is that AFAIK there isn't anything like her Audi - she's kept it 15yrs because the other options are either larger, much slower or cheap and nasty.
OK it won't do 50 miles on pure electric but a lot of the short stuff will be covered
DuncanM23 said:
There are relatively few 22kWh "i" model Zoes around. They were battery lease only for a while, and after that the PCP deals on the battery lease ones were spectacular. There are more 40kWh "i" versions, but they basically start at about 15k (don't necessarily believe Autotrader - there's some flaw with how it posts Zoes). And while 200 miles might be possible in a ZE40 given the right conditions (warm, dry, not windy, lowish speeds), that's definitely not the average, even in summer.
Battery lease buy-out isn't cheap, so if you can get a Leaf for the same money, that's probably a better bet. If you choose a 24kWh one, try to get a Nissan built one (13 onwards?) as they have heat pumps rather than the resistive heater.
Wifey’s 40 during the recent heatwave, yes it was hot but it does generally sit around 200, drops to 170 in colder months. Battery lease buy-out isn't cheap, so if you can get a Leaf for the same money, that's probably a better bet. If you choose a 24kWh one, try to get a Nissan built one (13 onwards?) as they have heat pumps rather than the resistive heater.
V8RX7 said:
Thanks - have looked at all the options suggested and I'm going to tell her to buy a petrol as none make any kind of sense with her mileage.
I think that makes sense for such a small mileage. £10k buys you a medoicre EV without much range; £3k buys you a pretty decent small petrol car and at that mileage it'll take a very long time to make up the difference. Residuals may make up the difference, but I wouldn't bet on residuals of things like first-gen Leafs holding up once the second-hand market starts to fill with things with twice the range and proper thermal management. Edited by kambites on Friday 3rd July 07:59
lost in espace said:
Electric is a good shout for oaps as nothing to go wrong with them. Well compared to an ICE, and they never have to fill it up.
I'd say it's also "Automatic+" as they are even easier to drive than an automatic. Never having to worry about anything but tires and brakes (but the latter also a lot less), clean, silent.
My parents are completely sold and really want an EV but they have a 10 yo C class that's done 50k km so they won't wear that out anytime soon
.V8RX7 said:
Thanks - have looked at all the options suggested and I'm going to tell her to buy a petrol as none make any kind of sense with her mileage.
No one has mentioned it, I guess because it's new and because of COVID there probably are only a handful on the road, but have you looked at leasing a Skoda Citigo, the new electric one? I was seriously considering leasing one at about £200 a month rather than putting £180 of fuel a month into my old Lexus, but I don't need the second car any more so that £180 is now roughly £5 and the maths have gone. Might sell the Lexus and get an e-motor kit for my bike.
Anyway, obviously your Mum isn't doing £180 a month in fuel, but if she's planning to spend on a new car how does that divide out into a lease and how much value is there in having a nice small simple car?
The Skoda is cool, the Zoe and Leaf are not.
V8RX7 said:
Thanks - have looked at all the options suggested and I'm going to tell her to buy a petrol as none make any kind of sense with her mileage.
Doesn't that entirely depend on how much she spends buying the car? A £9k petrol engined car will cost far more to run in fuel than a £9k electric car. Obviously you wouldn't spend £40k on a Tesla Model 3 and expect it to cost less in the long run than a £9k Honda Jazz, but if the budget is £9k and she's going to spend £9k, then electric makes all the sense in the world.You can buy a 24kwh Leaf for £9k easily now, just make sure it's got all battery bars showing and it will be good for an 80-100 mile range on a charge, which costs at most £3 from domestic supply.
Your Mum's sort of driving is exactly where a small capacity electric car makes absolute sense.
I'm speaking from experience, I've been driving a 24kwh Leaf for 3 years, I've done 25k miles in that time. Never once had a range anxiety. It has been 100% reliable, cost nothing to tax, peanuts to service and is absolutely brilliant in all regards.
ElectricSoup said:
Doesn't that entirely depend on how much she spends buying the car? A £9k petrol engined car will cost far more to run in fuel than a £9k electric car.
I get your point but to me a £9k Leaf looks / feels like a £3k car with a £6k electric premiumShe likes the A class - which seems a much nicer car for less than half the price
Renting a zoe battery means Renault are responsible for it and you get breakdown cover. Not sure it makes much difference with 3k miles a year.
Potentially even an imiev could do, or smart?
I3 rex would be a potential issue as you would need to keep the petrol fresh and the thing serviced, they've not got the best reliability record
Potentially even an imiev could do, or smart?
I3 rex would be a potential issue as you would need to keep the petrol fresh and the thing serviced, they've not got the best reliability record
V8RX7 said:
ElectricSoup said:
Doesn't that entirely depend on how much she spends buying the car? A £9k petrol engined car will cost far more to run in fuel than a £9k electric car.
I get your point but to me a £9k Leaf looks / feels like a £3k car with a £6k electric premiumShe likes the A class - which seems a much nicer car for less than half the price
Each to their own of course. I thought your budget was £9-15k in your original post, but now it's £4.5k?
Mr E said:
ElectricSoup said:
Have you driven a Leaf? Very well built, high quality materials, excellent seats.
Are we driving the same car?Mines built ok, but very plastic. The seats are probably the worst of anything I’ve owned.
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