What they don't tell you about electric cars

What they don't tell you about electric cars

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Discussion

M4cruiser

Original Poster:

3,662 posts

151 months

Sunday 11th February
quotequote all
1. They are cheap to run until something breaks, then they cost a lot.

Example: Changing your old petrol hatchback for a second-hand EV like a Leaf/Zoe/Corsa/208/Niro/E-Up etc:-
Saves you up to £300 per year road tax;
Saves you up to 20p per mile on "fuel" (depends a lot on previous mpg and electric supplier deal)
Saves you maintenance like oil changes, cambelt changes etc .
But:-
When the battery goes wrong it costs at least £3,000 to repair. Expect 1 repair on average in 10 years.


2. There aren't enough qualified mechanics to cope with the current repair demand.

When the HV system goes wrong, you may find a 3-month wait to book it in.

So: Ask questions on the above things before you buy.
There are examples on the internet, just use Google.




stuartmmcfc

8,664 posts

193 months

Sunday 11th February
quotequote all
Surely you mean “if” not “when”?
A friend has had a leaf for over 7 years and so far, rather annoyingly, nothing gone wrong.

Murph7355

37,761 posts

257 months

Sunday 11th February
quotequote all
This part of the forum must be what it would have been like a couple of hundred years ago if social media and the Daily Mail existed.

The really enlightening thing is though that there are examples on the internet PEOPLE!

SAVE YOURSELVES FFS.

(Because ICE cars never, ever incur large bills. No sir. Never).

biggrin

timbo999

1,294 posts

256 months

Sunday 11th February
quotequote all
Put the £300/annum you're not paying in VED into a high interest account and use it to buy a new battery every 10 years... and you're ahead 'cos you've earned interest on your savings...

What have I missed?

Discombobulate

4,852 posts

187 months

Sunday 11th February
quotequote all
M4cruiser said:
1. They are cheap to run until something breaks, then they cost a lot.

Example: Changing your old petrol hatchback for a second-hand EV like a Leaf/Zoe/Corsa/208/Niro/E-Up etc:-
Saves you up to £300 per year road tax;
Saves you up to 20p per mile on "fuel" (depends a lot on previous mpg and electric supplier deal)
Saves you maintenance like oil changes, cambelt changes etc .
But:-
When the battery goes wrong it costs at least £3,000 to repair. Expect 1 repair on average in 10 years.


2. There aren't enough qualified mechanics to cope with the current repair demand.

When the HV system goes wrong, you may find a 3-month wait to book it in.

So: Ask questions on the above things before you buy.
There are examples on the internet, just use Google.

Where did that 3k battery repair bill every 10 years (on average) come from? I struggle to believe that.
You know they are nearly all warranted for 8 years so any repairs are free? Unlike the engines in most ICE cars after 3 years.

CheesecakeRunner

3,822 posts

92 months

Sunday 11th February
quotequote all
M4cruiser said:
wibble
Nobody cares.

Muzzer79

10,049 posts

188 months

Sunday 11th February
quotequote all
M4cruiser said:
1. They are cheap to run until something breaks, then they cost a lot.

Example: Changing your old petrol hatchback for a second-hand EV like a Leaf/Zoe/Corsa/208/Niro/E-Up etc:-
Saves you up to £300 per year road tax;
Saves you up to 20p per mile on "fuel" (depends a lot on previous mpg and electric supplier deal)
Saves you maintenance like oil changes, cambelt changes etc .
But:-
When the battery goes wrong it costs at least £3,000 to repair. Expect 1 repair on average in 10 years.


2. There aren't enough qualified mechanics to cope with the current repair demand.

When the HV system goes wrong, you may find a 3-month wait to book it in.

So: Ask questions on the above things before you buy.
There are examples on the internet, just use Google.

Won’t somebody think of the children?!?!

Monkeylegend

26,467 posts

232 months

Sunday 11th February
quotequote all
timbo999 said:
Put the £300/annum you're not paying in VED into a high interest account and use it to buy a new battery every 10 years... and you're ahead 'cos you've earned interest on your savings...

What have I missed?
The 20p per mile saving on fuel and the cost of oil changes, cambelts etc.

Quite a bit in fact over 10 years at say 10k miles per annum.



dvs_dave

8,645 posts

226 months

Sunday 11th February
quotequote all
M4cruiser said:
1. They are cheap to run until something breaks, then they cost a lot.

Example: Changing your old petrol hatchback for a second-hand EV like a Leaf/Zoe/Corsa/208/Niro/E-Up etc:-
Saves you up to £300 per year road tax;
Saves you up to 20p per mile on "fuel" (depends a lot on previous mpg and electric supplier deal)
Saves you maintenance like oil changes, cambelt changes etc .
But:-
When the battery goes wrong it costs at least £3,000 to repair. Expect 1 repair on average in 10 years.


2. There aren't enough qualified mechanics to cope with the current repair demand.

When the HV system goes wrong, you may find a 3-month wait to book it in.

So: Ask questions on the above things before you buy.
There are examples on the internet, just use Google.

It said so on the internet, must be true.
Cute laugh

WonkeyDonkey

2,342 posts

104 months

Sunday 11th February
quotequote all
I don't own an EV but all the anti ev stuff is nauseating.


moktabe

914 posts

106 months

Sunday 11th February
quotequote all
WonkeyDonkey said:
I don't own an EV but all the anti ev stuff is nauseating.
Almost as much as the endless stream of EV stuff.

MajorStare

16 posts

39 months

Sunday 11th February
quotequote all
Neighbour has a Model S Tesla which is 10yrs old and 120K milles, not a single problem.
Current Kia EV is 6yres old, no battery deg and been faultless.

How much is a 10yr old ICE engine to change for a brand new engine?

nick1871

375 posts

113 months

Sunday 11th February
quotequote all
moktabe said:
Almost as much as the endless stream of EV stuff.
You know you’re reading the EV section, right?

moktabe

914 posts

106 months

Sunday 11th February
quotequote all
nick1871 said:
moktabe said:
Almost as much as the endless stream of EV stuff.
You know you’re reading the EV section, right?
And?

Even ICE threads get the constant guff.

Right?

GT9

6,687 posts

173 months

Sunday 11th February
quotequote all
Based on the other bizarre thread the OP also just started, I'm surprised he hasn't included in his list 'that the sun doesn't shine at night'.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
As far as I know, they don't tell you that either when you buy an electric car.
bds.

Rough101

1,745 posts

76 months

Sunday 11th February
quotequote all
I think they tell you everything, the drawbacks are

Elon Musk
Iffy residuals

Battery borkage is a similar risk to that of ICE cars.

ATG

20,616 posts

273 months

Sunday 11th February
quotequote all
moktabe said:
nick1871 said:
moktabe said:
Almost as much as the endless stream of EV stuff.
You know you’re reading the EV section, right?
And?

Even ICE threads get the constant guff.

Right?
Except they don't. But apart from that ...

stevemcs

8,676 posts

94 months

Sunday 11th February
quotequote all
Monkeylegend said:
The 20p per mile saving on fuel and the cost of oil changes, cambelts etc.

Quite a bit in fact over 10 years at say 10k miles per annum.
On most cars you would only need 1 belt change in 10 years, yes you have an oil service but don’t electric cars need servicing too ? So in reality the running costs are not that massively different

dvs_dave

8,645 posts

226 months

Monday 12th February
quotequote all
stevemcs said:
On most cars you would only need 1 belt change in 10 years, yes you have an oil service but don’t electric cars need servicing too ? So in reality the running costs are not that massively different
EV’s require way less maintenance. Brake fluid changes, and tyres about the only regular maintenance items they have in common with ICE. Oh, and cabin air filters.

So in reality EV running costs are massively cheaper to run than ICE, not to mention “fuel” costs.

moktabe

914 posts

106 months

Monday 12th February
quotequote all
ATG said:
moktabe said:
nick1871 said:
moktabe said:
Almost as much as the endless stream of EV stuff.
You know you’re reading the EV section, right?
And?

Even ICE threads get the constant guff.

Right?
Except they don't. But apart from that ...
But apart from that....

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...