Second hand Zoe vs Leaf ~£4-7k mark advice
Discussion
Evening all,
I hope all is well.
I'm looking to get a nice weekend car and then something a little more economical which I can rack up the miles on (~10k a year).
My driving of this car will only really be from home to work and back, so charging overnight will be main source of 'topping up'. Something fun to drive would be nice, but more emphasis on cheap repairs / cheap running costs might be nice.
Just wondering if anyone has any preference on the above? I drove a Zoe the other day and it was really quite nice on the inside. It did feel quite heavy around the corners though.
The leaf looks like a heap of **** but I heard from someone that they are more reliable than the Zoe, so this in itself might be a deal breaker.
It seems you can pick up the Zoe at much cheaper price, and there are more of them, but you still get hit with a ~£80 monthly cost for the battery leasing. This makes me think it might just be better buying a Suzuki Alto (petrol 1L) and just keep with the old school for a little longer.
Also, has anyone replaced a battery in a leaf? I have heard it's possible to get individual cells replaced at the time, rather than the whole lot, which I would imagine would be more manageable.
Thoughts welcome as I get the impression the used market is picking up quite well now.
Best
Theog
I hope all is well.
I'm looking to get a nice weekend car and then something a little more economical which I can rack up the miles on (~10k a year).
My driving of this car will only really be from home to work and back, so charging overnight will be main source of 'topping up'. Something fun to drive would be nice, but more emphasis on cheap repairs / cheap running costs might be nice.
Just wondering if anyone has any preference on the above? I drove a Zoe the other day and it was really quite nice on the inside. It did feel quite heavy around the corners though.
The leaf looks like a heap of **** but I heard from someone that they are more reliable than the Zoe, so this in itself might be a deal breaker.
It seems you can pick up the Zoe at much cheaper price, and there are more of them, but you still get hit with a ~£80 monthly cost for the battery leasing. This makes me think it might just be better buying a Suzuki Alto (petrol 1L) and just keep with the old school for a little longer.
Also, has anyone replaced a battery in a leaf? I have heard it's possible to get individual cells replaced at the time, rather than the whole lot, which I would imagine would be more manageable.
Thoughts welcome as I get the impression the used market is picking up quite well now.
Best
Theog
wow thanks for this guys.
Ok so the first thing I get from this is avoid the Zoe like a plague. I thought it seemed to be too good.
If you look 'professional reviews' they all give 5 stars for reliability, but if you go into forums and the likes of the opinion is different. I really think forums are the way forward to get the right opinion. Sure you have to average out opinions, but more often than not they do end up in the right direction.
I think I need to start doing some maths... has anyone owned a Suzuki Alto?
Ok so the first thing I get from this is avoid the Zoe like a plague. I thought it seemed to be too good.
If you look 'professional reviews' they all give 5 stars for reliability, but if you go into forums and the likes of the opinion is different. I really think forums are the way forward to get the right opinion. Sure you have to average out opinions, but more often than not they do end up in the right direction.
I think I need to start doing some maths... has anyone owned a Suzuki Alto?
Once again, thanks for all the feedback. Really appreciate the effort.
I'm still figuring out sums as I'm trying to pitch in a weekend car at the same time (at the moment I'm thinking a niceish low mileage BMW e46 M3 convertible) to rack up maybe ~3k miles a year.
So far thinking Leaf Gen 2 thanks to feedback.
I'm currently only going to be able to charge publicly, but mainly at home, so no work bonuses. I currently use ecotricity as my electricity provider. Although I have eco 7, I currently pay a flat rate regardless, so not sure I have benefits charging overnight.
Just some further questions if at all possible:
- Currently when buying a car, I would normally take it to my local trusted X dealership to have a look over to check the state of the car. Is this service available for EV's? I'm not really technically minded, so feel (at present) somewhat uncomfortable giving it a look over if buying privately.
- Anyone seen any remote financial gains from buying a solar system setup (~£10k panels + battery storage ~£4k inc install for both) especially for EV usage? From last look they only produce max 4 kwh output so will only subsidise (depending on usage). I maybe completely wrong here though.
Best,
Theog
I'm still figuring out sums as I'm trying to pitch in a weekend car at the same time (at the moment I'm thinking a niceish low mileage BMW e46 M3 convertible) to rack up maybe ~3k miles a year.
So far thinking Leaf Gen 2 thanks to feedback.
I'm currently only going to be able to charge publicly, but mainly at home, so no work bonuses. I currently use ecotricity as my electricity provider. Although I have eco 7, I currently pay a flat rate regardless, so not sure I have benefits charging overnight.
Just some further questions if at all possible:
- Currently when buying a car, I would normally take it to my local trusted X dealership to have a look over to check the state of the car. Is this service available for EV's? I'm not really technically minded, so feel (at present) somewhat uncomfortable giving it a look over if buying privately.
- Anyone seen any remote financial gains from buying a solar system setup (~£10k panels + battery storage ~£4k inc install for both) especially for EV usage? From last look they only produce max 4 kwh output so will only subsidise (depending on usage). I maybe completely wrong here though.
Best,
Theog
mattcov said:
You can get an App called LeafSpy Pro and a Bluetooth or Wireless ODB2 adapter to check the state of health of the batteries. Personally on the leaf I would check:
1. Battery bars all present (all 12).
2. Check heating works fully.
3. Check aircon/cooling works fully.
4. Make sure sat nav works and the SDcard is there.
5. See if the remote connectivity works if possible.
6. Make sure the 2 charging leads are present - both granny lead (13a plug) and type1 to type 2 leads are there.
7. Make sure you can charge it at a rapid charger.
Apart from that just check the MOT history online. Isn't much else to check - coolant is a service item along with pollen filter. Obviously have a look at tyre condition, brake pads and disc condition.
Cant answer the solar + battery storage yet - my math for them doesn't stack up just yet... I've just swapped Electric to Outfox the Market ~ 9p per kwh unit.
Once again many thanks for this + other contributors. I'm still fairly new to forum so sorry for not quoting other peoples messages.1. Battery bars all present (all 12).
2. Check heating works fully.
3. Check aircon/cooling works fully.
4. Make sure sat nav works and the SDcard is there.
5. See if the remote connectivity works if possible.
6. Make sure the 2 charging leads are present - both granny lead (13a plug) and type1 to type 2 leads are there.
7. Make sure you can charge it at a rapid charger.
Apart from that just check the MOT history online. Isn't much else to check - coolant is a service item along with pollen filter. Obviously have a look at tyre condition, brake pads and disc condition.
Cant answer the solar + battery storage yet - my math for them doesn't stack up just yet... I've just swapped Electric to Outfox the Market ~ 9p per kwh unit.
Bassed on info so far, I think it's very interesting about outfoxthemarket.co.uk. Currently I think I'm paying ~17.56p with ecotricity, so maybe going back to E7 (whilst it's around) if I were to charge over night.
FYI I sat in a soul. My wife who is from the east says that's the stereo typical car that grannies drive, but over here I think it looks great. Maybe that could be a possible second EV for future usage. Quite expensive up front. I think maybe a ~£8k leaf might be nice if I can get one.
As others have said, I think I may have worked out things in the past and PV + battery might be just another chunk of money I could invest else where for time being. I can all add up.
One more question - if I do shift back to E7, and get a charging point installed (still don't know much about this) is there away way to connect the car when I get back from work (~5:30pm) and then it delays charging until the E7 low rates click in?
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