Used Electric Cars
- Thread starter stevek
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softtop
Established Member
In case it's of interest we have a 4yo Renault Zoe, done >60K miles so far (from new), real world range of 150 miles and the battery has degraded very little compared to when we bought it.
No problems, cheap as chips to charge and run. Also a quick check on ebay shows it's not lost much value in the 4 years we've owned it!
(Early Nissan Leafs I know people with and the range drops to nothing so I'd avoid those).
No problems, cheap as chips to charge and run. Also a quick check on ebay shows it's not lost much value in the 4 years we've owned it!
(Early Nissan Leafs I know people with and the range drops to nothing so I'd avoid those).
PhilTilson
Established Member
The one thing you will find is that the vast majority of people who own EVs wouldn't consider going back to ICE. I am in this category but I'm no environmental nut! If what I do benefits the environment, then I'm happy, but I certainly wouldn't spend lots more money just to be 'green'. So what is it that makes people so loyal to EVs?
I have bought a six year old Tesla Model S. It's the most expensive car I have bought since retirement (no company car now, boo hoo!) but it is beautiful to look at, a joy to drive and costs next to nothing to run. I have a range of around 220 miles but a little forward planning makes even the longest journey problem-free, not least because I get free Supercharging. So travelling up from Somerset to see my family (when I'm allowed to...) a 30-minute coffee or lunch stop at Amesbury or Fleet services gives me plenty of range in hand.
Later this year we will be driving down to Málaga through France and Spain. I have already planned the route and don't anticipate any problems - free charging all the way!
With regard to battery reliability, my own view is that it is much like normal car reliability. If you accelerate hard, brake hard and generally thrash the engine, it's not going to last as long. Similarly, if you get your kicks by accelerating from 0-60 in 2.5 seconds in your Tesla and regularly run the battery down to less than 10%, you may eventually get problems. I try to keep above 30% and rarely charge beyond 90% and I drive sensibly (with the occasional bit of fun!) and I have no worries about the battery which I am expecting to be still going strong after another six years.
Drive one before you dismiss them!
I have bought a six year old Tesla Model S. It's the most expensive car I have bought since retirement (no company car now, boo hoo!) but it is beautiful to look at, a joy to drive and costs next to nothing to run. I have a range of around 220 miles but a little forward planning makes even the longest journey problem-free, not least because I get free Supercharging. So travelling up from Somerset to see my family (when I'm allowed to...) a 30-minute coffee or lunch stop at Amesbury or Fleet services gives me plenty of range in hand.
Later this year we will be driving down to Málaga through France and Spain. I have already planned the route and don't anticipate any problems - free charging all the way!
With regard to battery reliability, my own view is that it is much like normal car reliability. If you accelerate hard, brake hard and generally thrash the engine, it's not going to last as long. Similarly, if you get your kicks by accelerating from 0-60 in 2.5 seconds in your Tesla and regularly run the battery down to less than 10%, you may eventually get problems. I try to keep above 30% and rarely charge beyond 90% and I drive sensibly (with the occasional bit of fun!) and I have no worries about the battery which I am expecting to be still going strong after another six years.
Drive one before you dismiss them!
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From an CO2 point of view, running your old diesel until it packs up makes sense as it reduced manufacturing emissions - high up on the Ellen McAurther sustainability wheel. Plug in EVs are the way forward in my view (I have some experience of the industry) but modern large diesels are efficient and low emitting so not a bad choice at the moment for a heavy car/van (despite the bad press they get) whereas some petrol EV hybrids are somewhat of a compromise. Plug in EVs that use low carbon electric are the best environmental solution.
There are many compromised hybrids on the market - especially for SUVs that are more greenwash than a proper solution to climate change, think 20mpg after about a year running the undersized battery on a heavy vehicle!
Word-on-the-street from those involved in the Nissan Leaf/Evision plants in Sunderland is: The Nissan battery is conservative in design (Japanese quality) and has almost no returns, they are lasting well beyond the design life and never had a fire, cf Tessla's bolder but risker designs. The Leaf has stood the test of time. The Leaf has much lower maintence costs than a Nissan ICE vehicle, no exhaust and hot stuff to replace - Nissan are seeing a major drop in sales of replacement parts for the Leaf. In general EVs don't achieve the range quoted, but getting better. The technology is evolving fast so cheaper, longer range, will come in. But supporting the second hand and after market will help accelerate the move to EVs so should be applauded. Most manufacturers are accelerating the switch to EV models so and choices for diesel will diminish in next few years. There is a rise in Petrol ICE due to diesel bad press - in my view this is regrettable as its causing C02 emissions to rise!
I'd be careful about buying an after market replacement battery. The reputable brands make quality batteries that stand the test of time. There are some cheap and unreliable chinses ones out there.
Check that your preferred local garage can service the car or find one that can as there is quite a learning curve for the mechanics to master - this will come, but I've heard horror stories on shorts and melted equipment.
There are many compromised hybrids on the market - especially for SUVs that are more greenwash than a proper solution to climate change, think 20mpg after about a year running the undersized battery on a heavy vehicle!
Word-on-the-street from those involved in the Nissan Leaf/Evision plants in Sunderland is: The Nissan battery is conservative in design (Japanese quality) and has almost no returns, they are lasting well beyond the design life and never had a fire, cf Tessla's bolder but risker designs. The Leaf has stood the test of time. The Leaf has much lower maintence costs than a Nissan ICE vehicle, no exhaust and hot stuff to replace - Nissan are seeing a major drop in sales of replacement parts for the Leaf. In general EVs don't achieve the range quoted, but getting better. The technology is evolving fast so cheaper, longer range, will come in. But supporting the second hand and after market will help accelerate the move to EVs so should be applauded. Most manufacturers are accelerating the switch to EV models so and choices for diesel will diminish in next few years. There is a rise in Petrol ICE due to diesel bad press - in my view this is regrettable as its causing C02 emissions to rise!
I'd be careful about buying an after market replacement battery. The reputable brands make quality batteries that stand the test of time. There are some cheap and unreliable chinses ones out there.
Check that your preferred local garage can service the car or find one that can as there is quite a learning curve for the mechanics to master - this will come, but I've heard horror stories on shorts and melted equipment.
Stevekane
Established Member
Hello NikNak and apologies for not getting back to you, your message revealed that I was still registered on the site with my old toucansurf email address that I hadn't used for many years,,and Ive been trying on and off all day to rectify it,,Im hoping thats it sorted now, and strangely it was preventing me posting or replying even to my own posts!
No were not really committed to buying an EV although I do think we probably could manage well enough with one, were retired so having to recharge on a longer journey wouldnt be a big issue for us. Do you have an electric car?
Reading the posts, all of which were very intresting Im begining to think that perhaps the battery failure thing is not so common,,a fall off in capacity is to be expected and for us wouldnt be a great issue, but battery failure if your unlucky is going to be a shockingly expensive event.
I suspect were probably going to end up with another diesel estate, our present Saab tid estate automatic is a great car and even with over 200,000 miles its still returning an overall mpg of 43,,cheap motoring. Maybe it will be an EV the next time we have to change cars?
NikNak
Established Member
Stevekane... i've just resent it just incase you can now read your pm's.
No we don't yet have an ev but are actively looking. Would we buy one... not at the moment. We've always bought new in the past. But because battery technology is changing faster than i can change my pants, at the moment we've said we'll lease for a couple of years and let the technology 'settle down' and also prices to come down to a sensible level too. So i have a one owner from new, '65 plate, still under warranty, fmsh, 16750 mile, top spec Kia Sportage 4 diesel. Any takers
No we don't yet have an ev but are actively looking. Would we buy one... not at the moment. We've always bought new in the past. But because battery technology is changing faster than i can change my pants, at the moment we've said we'll lease for a couple of years and let the technology 'settle down' and also prices to come down to a sensible level too. So i have a one owner from new, '65 plate, still under warranty, fmsh, 16750 mile, top spec Kia Sportage 4 diesel. Any takers
Stevekane
Established Member
Hello NikNak, no still no message from you and I cannot see how to send you a PM either,,,.how do I do it? The Kia sounds very nice but probably a bit expensive for us,,were more old bangers,,,well perhaps not bangers but cars in the £2000 to £3000 range, we used to go for 2 and 3 yrs old ones but since retireing and given that modern cars are genrally so reliable weve tended to go for older more upmarket cars, presently the Saab estate weve had for 8 yrs and prior to that a Merc 250D which we also had for 7 or 8 yrs, the idea of an electric car was thinking aloud, I think in 10yrs we will be buying todays Electric cars providing the battery packs okay!Stevekane... i've just resent it just incase you can now read your pm's.
No we don't yet have an ev but are actively looking. Would we buy one... not at the moment. We've always bought new in the past. But because battery technology is changing faster than i can change my pants, at the moment we've said we'll lease for a couple of years and let the technology 'settle down' and also prices to come down to a sensible level too. So i have a one owner from new, '65 plate, still under warranty, fmsh, 16750 mile, top spec Kia Sportage 4 diesel. Any takers
On a different note, I'm also still having problems with getting onto the site, this time I had to go through the password reset again,,my guess is the next time I try to log in it will again say Im not recognised!
if anyone official is reading these posts is it possible to help me out with this sudden problem,,or any ideas anyone?
Steve.
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