Who has or is planning to get an electric car / EV Talk

[dmr727]

There is already talk of EV's with 600 mile ranges in the next 3 years which would solve even the fringe cases.

I've always been a guy that drives a car for 200K miles before getting rid of it - therefore I've never considered a lease. But for my upcoming EV purchase, I'm thinking a lease makes more sense given how rapidly the tech is changing. Just swap the car out every three years and enjoy the ride.

 

[Surfsalot]

That would make sense I suppose as you're on the otherside of the World and Asian car brands are going to be more popular there. British roads are mostly made up of Fords, BMW's, Mercedes, Audi, Vauxhall, Peugeot/Citroen as the most common, with Toyota and Mazda having a lesser pressence. One brand that seems to have faded here is Subaru as these were very common in the 90's. Exporting European cars to Australia would mean their costs would rise significantly and be less desirable as a result. Tesla, Volvo, Polestar and BMW are manufacturing EV's in China now, so perhaps you'll have more options soon.

You can’t even get a BMW serviced where I live, 90 mins drive away. Yeah heap of Toyotas, Mazdas, and Subarus still popular.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

I drive 10.5 hours straight in a working day regularly, 1000k's. If I had a EV would take me 2 and a stay overnight lol.

I call BS. That is very dangerous to drive 10.5 straight and against many laws especially when do you do that for work.

Time and time again you are looking to highlight very unusual, and not so believable edge cases. But cool, so an EV is not for your unusual and unique situation. Fine, but that doesn't mean it isn't for everyone.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

You can’t even get a BMW serviced where I live, 90 mins drive away. Yeah heap of Toyotas, Mazdas, and Subarus still popular.

There is nothing unique about a BMW; just a car with a diesel or petrol engine and potentially with hybrid or full ev drivetrain. Ultimately it is just an engine, steering, brakes etc. Any garage should be able to service that, also in Australia.

 

[Surfsalot]

I call BS. That is very dangerous to drive 10.5 straight and against many laws especially when do you do that for work.

Time and time again you are looking to highlight very unusual, and not so believable edge cases. But cool, so an EV is not for your unusual and unique situation. Fine, but that doesn't mean it isn't for everyone.

Call it whatever you want

 

[Surfsalot]

There is nothing unique about a BMW; just a car with a diesel or petrol engine and potentially with hybrid or full ev drivetrain. Ultimately it is just an engine, steering, brakes etc. Any garage should be able to service that, also in Australia.

Under warranty best to got to dealers service centre here, also fixed price servicing when in warranty

 

[Surfsalot]

Evs are not environmentally friendly, foolish to think so.

 

[JT2002TJ]

Funny thing is those same petrol heads that tell you your battery will be dead after a few years, will cost a fortune to replace and your car will barely manage half its specified range after the first few weeks, never seem to talk about how their ICE cars are loosing power, efficiency and also cost a fortune to replace an engine.
Meanwhile those that live with EV's just keep on motoring with out the predicted problems.

Taking mine to the lake district on Thursday. I've selected my option A and option B charging stops. Not very hard at all.

It's the same people who drive an AMG/M/S that require annual maintenance that's almost the equivalent of an engine rebuild... With most of those specialty vehicles, you have to expect $2k-$3k for annual maintenance, or basically the equivalent of replacing a TM3/TMY battery every 3-4 years (I see quotes of $12k for battery replacements)...

 

[4sallypat]

Can you tow a 20ft van?

Yes, I had the Ford Lightning EV pickup truck for a year that can easily tow trailers, carry large loads and even off load energy to an RV.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Evs are not environmentally friendly, foolish to think so.

Not totally when you factor in the manufacturing processes and power used to make them (like all vehicles), but they are environmentally friendly in daily use with less pollutants coming from them. It does improve air quality in more densely populated areas and they are also much nicer to travel in in regards to ride quality and effort.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Evs are not environmentally friendly, foolish to think so.

Well let's be realistic, just living is not environmentally friendly, right? lol.

I can say this tho... not burning $200-$300 a month in gas sitting in LA Traffic has definitely gotta have some effect on the air here in LA. It has a nice effect on my wallet (EVs excel in this situation).

I don't think it has to be an OR thing. My good friend, who got a Tesla in 2019, was the motivational factor for me to get a Tesla last year. He's also got a BMW M3, M5, and a nice CLK 63 Benz. Any time he asks if I want to go on a road trip, I say yes and help out with the gas.

Here in Los Angeles and most of CA, I think an EV makes great sense. Are they expensive as heck? Yes. Are they attainable for most people? No. I paid more for my Tesla than I did for 2 midline Civics that got 40+MPG easily on the freeway. Keeping those for 200-300k probably would have been the most environmentally friendly thing to do if I was specifically focusing on that.

Do I like my EV? Absolutely. Have I had people hate me for my EV? Yep. I don't think people should see EVs as a threat. No matter what CA does, EVs are still unattainable for most and there is no charging network.

Me personally (trying to keep politics out of it) - I'd rather use solar and batteries to charge my vehicle than giving certain nations my money to dig up a finite resource in the ground - not to mention how OPEC goes out of its way to keep the price of oil where it is. I am still excited to have not touched a fuel pump for my own (and my wife's own) needs for over a year now (not counting my friend's road trips, lol).

 

[jz0309]

just glad that I was sleeping over the past page of posts here ...
clearly there are edge cases, but for 80+% of the general population ...

 

[Apple fanboy]

Evs are not environmentally friendly, foolish to think so.

EVs are worse for the environment than walking.
But more environmentally friendly than petrol and diesel.
Sorry the facts don’t suit your narrative.

I assume you’ll be walking everywhere from now on?

 

[Apple fanboy]

just glad that I was sleeping over the past page of posts here ...
clearly there are edge cases, but for 80+% of the general population ...

Exactly. Most of those edge cases (not all) are multicar dwellings. So having one EV and one non EV probably makes it more like 95%.

 

[JT2002TJ]

Here in Los Angeles and most of CA, I think an EV makes great sense. Are they expensive as heck? Yes. Are they attainable for most people? No. I paid more for my Tesla than I did for 2 midline Civics that got 40+MPG easily on the freeway. Keeping those for 200-300k probably would have been the most environmentally friendly thing to do if I was specifically focusing on that.

To add to what you said, and to make you feel even better, the vehicle(s) that you got rid of to get the Tesla, did not get destroyed for you to get the Tesla. They were sold either to a dealer or directly to a person who is using it/them. People who cannot afford new, and wouldn't be able to afford a car if it wasn't for the sale of used vehicles now have a vehicle that they need. Maybe they are replacing an even older vehicle that is even worse for the environment and that vehicle ends up being scrapped...

So, even replacing your ICE with an EV, doesn't necessarily mean it is worse for the environment... The gas/fuel savings may not be there directly for you, but the downstream vehicle that gets taken off the roads is a positive too...

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Have I had people hate me for my EV? Yep.

It’s funny you should say that as I see a lot of hate across social media whenever one is discussed and it’s often people suggesting a stereotype of the sort of people that drive them too. My next door neighbour asked me about our EV the other day and then said ‘he hates EV’s and they are a complete waste of time’. Nice comment to someone who has just got one isn’t it? I just told him it’s not bad for a free car that costs is virtually nothing. He drives a 2020 VW Touareg and constantly suggests they are more wealthy than they actually are. He told me he paid £47k cash for their car and his wife told us they financed it through her business on a 5 year loan on a separate occasion lol. I really couldn’t care less but amusing to see the snobbery people aim at certain cars and the status they think it gives them.

I did experience my first instance of an ICE vehicle parked in an EV only space the other day too which reminded me of this thread.

 

[Flowstates]

I'm looking for a vehicule with the cheapest running costs. Cap at 45k euros. Continental Europe. No Teslas.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I'm looking for a vehicule with the cheapest running costs. Cap at 45k euros. Continental Europe. No Teslas.

Skoda Enyaq and the Kia Sportage EV’s are rated highly in that budget range I would say.

 

[Flowstates]

Skoda Enyaq and the Kia Sportage EV’s are rated highly in that budget range I would say.

Neat, will look them up. Thank you for the swift reply.

 

[Apple fanboy]

To add to what you said, and to make you feel even better, the vehicle(s) that you got rid of to get the Tesla, did not get destroyed for you to get the Tesla. They were sold either to a dealer or directly to a person who is using it/them. People who cannot afford new, and wouldn't be able to afford a car if it wasn't for the sale of used vehicles now have a vehicle that they need. Maybe they are replacing an even older vehicle that is even worse for the environment and that vehicle ends up being scrapped...

So, even replacing your ICE with an EV, doesn't necessarily mean it is worse for the environment... The gas/fuel savings may not be there directly for you, but the downstream vehicle that gets taken off the roads is a positive too...

The data says that any negative effects of producing a new EV on the environment only takes two years of usage to be carbon neutral. Then it’s all advantage planet earth.
I always keep my cars longer than that.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Neat, will look them up. Thank you for the swift reply.

MG4 is probably also worth looking at.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

MG4 is probably also worth looking at.

I wasn’t going to say that!

 

[Flowstates]

MG4 is probably also worth looking at.

The Kia and the MG are positively repulsive, whoa. The ioniq5 does have some sleekness and individuality to it.

I also noticed that you seem to have recommended cars that fall within the price bracket when bought new. I as a rule of thumb like to impart the cost of depreciation on others rather than carrying the burden.

From a conservative projection on acceptable mileage (>20000kms) and year (2021 onwards), the search on my local automobile marketplace is flooded with model 3's and id4's. Why does everyone seem to be keen on getting rid of their teslas ?

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Why does everyone seem to be keen on getting rid of their teslas ?

They are a common company car so a lot are now appearing on the secondhand market now 3 year leases have expired, especially the Model 3’s.

 

[Flowstates]

They are a common company car so a lot are now appearing on the secondhand market now 3 year leases have expired, especially the Model 3’s.

Fair assessment ! I would profoundly prefer not to associate myself with the tesla brand, but seeing some of the figures range/unit of currency and power/unit of currency the model 3 seems like a no brainer. Is this too good to be true ?