Pro's and con's for buying an electric vehicle

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  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited January 2018 #302

    Ah ok then, I must have misread about the air pollution in London?

  • Oneputt
    Oneputt Club Member Posts: 9,144 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2018 #303

    Typical London, we will be zero carbon.  Unfortunately other parts of the country will pick up their carbon bill, building and running generation plants etc, etc, but never mind we’re ok ⚡️

  • cariadon
    cariadon Forum Participant Posts: 861
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    edited January 2018 #304

    is this better Brue.laughingwink

  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited January 2018 #305

    Much better....smile

  • Oneputt
    Oneputt Club Member Posts: 9,144 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2018 #306

    Unfortunately not reliable in the UK.  My solar panels generate less than a third off the output in the winter than in the summer.  Today due to the strength of the wind the local turbines means the vast majority are feathered and not producing.  In fact our standby gas fired power station seems to generate nearly every day.

     

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited January 2018 #307

    According to our cabby friend that the Hibrid buses that are in use run mostly on internal combustion engine as in hard stop start use the batts are unable to cope and to increase the capacity,would need a large weight increase

  • cariadon
    cariadon Forum Participant Posts: 861
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    edited January 2018 #308

    IF all vehicles have to be electric, what happens at large festivals, Agricultural shows, steam fair, Glastonbury etc when vehicles need charging, will these events die out.

  • nelliethehooker
    nelliethehooker Club Member Posts: 13,636
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    edited January 2018 #309

    How will farmers do their work, as I can't imagine tractors/combines with electric motors?

  • JohnM20
    JohnM20 Forum Participant Posts: 1,416
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    edited January 2018 #310

    Something that I heard on the TV the other day was that electric hybrid cars can't be towed in the case of a breakdown. I've never heard this before but it was a guy from either the AA or RAC that was talking about it so I guess it might be true. Anyone know differently?

  • Metheven
    Metheven Club Member Posts: 3,987 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2018 #311

    It is true, the wheels turning the motor could generate electricity for all the wrong reasons. Most if not all EV manufacturers accept a vehicle can be pulled slowly only onto the flatbed for recovery, as there's not really much alternative for getting it onto a flatbed in reality.

  • Rocky 2 buckets
    Rocky 2 buckets Forum Participant Posts: 7,101
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    edited January 2018 #312

    There’s always this option Mucker👍🏻

  • Navigateur
    Navigateur Club Member Posts: 3,880 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited January 2018 #313

    Ah!  The future electric vehicle scrapage scheme !

  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited January 2018 #314

    Our EV can be towed in neutral. Some don't have neutral.

  • cyberyacht
    cyberyacht Forum Participant Posts: 10,218
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    edited January 2018 #315

    You need that for safety don't you? Positive, negative and neutral/earth.

  • cariadon
    cariadon Forum Participant Posts: 861
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    edited January 2018 #316

    Before EV's become the norm a lot of investments needs to be done to create an infrastructure to cope with the demand. I don't think this has been fully thought through by whoever made the decision. Don't think this country has the money to implement the work needed.

  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited January 2018 #317

    At present the pace of things seems about right, judging by comments on here people aren't rushing to buy EVs or Hybrids so the change will be gradual and no doubt there'll be further developments with hydrogen fuel cells etc.

  • Kennine
    Kennine Forum Participant Posts: 3,472
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    edited January 2018 #318

    EV's , Hybrids and Fossil fuelled vehicles are very much a personal choice depending on lifestyle.  There is no right or wrong and at the moment there is no need to change your choice..  As the years go by, eventually the choices will become fewer.  But by then Battery technology will have improved enormously and EV's will be the order of the day. 

    smile

  • cariadon
    cariadon Forum Participant Posts: 861
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    edited February 2018 #319

    makes interesting reading, definitely something that has to change sooner rather than later when the demand is higher.

    https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/09/the-dark-side-of-electric-cars-exploitative-labor-practices/

     

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,302 ✭✭✭
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    edited February 2018 #320

    The reluctance to address / push the issue is of couse linked to costs. The last thing manufactures and even governments want is for battery prices to increase substantially. However, eventually public pressure will force a change for the better. Hopefully before too many more children are poisoned.

  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited February 2018 #321

    Cariadon, if you put in "child labour and car production" on the web you'll find many examples to do with all types of vehicles, not just EVs and also other examples from many things we buy and use. I checked out BMW who have said they are making efforts to set up "best practice" supply chains in the D.R. of C and it's hoped that cobalt can be reduced as battery development improves. Meanwhile we poison the atmosphere in our towns and cities by continuing to ignore pollution levels. Not much else I can add is there? undecided

  • Grant705
    Grant705 Forum Participant Posts: 164
    edited February 2018 #322

    It is a fact of life that cars pollute somebody somewhere but the "Electric car lobby" do love to publicise how green EVs are. I wonder what the people in the DRC think about all the extra cobalt required to run these EVs

  • Malcolm Mehta
    Malcolm Mehta Forum Participant Posts: 5,660
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    edited February 2018 #323

    They probably don't think much about it. Most people just go to work earn their money and pay their bills!

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited February 2018 #324

    All modes of transport have their downsides ,and the downsides are always exagerated by the latest "ideas"from the "new" ideas of which the downside is "hidden in the push to impliment it"like the latest EV publicity 

  • Malcolm Mehta
    Malcolm Mehta Forum Participant Posts: 5,660
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    edited February 2018 #325

    I had an email from the salesman to say that he will be in contact to let me know a build date for my new Electric Smart car that is on order.

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited February 2018 #326

    Just a thought how much more to buy is the Smart EV than the petrol versionundecided,

    The Kia Soul EV is £10,000 more than the petrol versionsurprised

     

     

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,302 ✭✭✭
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    edited February 2018 #327

    As it is a category one vehicle it should qualify for a government grant of £4500. Does the £10000 you quoted take that into account?

  • Oneputt
    Oneputt Club Member Posts: 9,144 ✭✭✭
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    edited February 2018 #328

    Hope Malc has carefully read the T&C’s of his PCP agreement particularly what happens if he were to die before the completion of the contract.  The debt doesn’t die with the purchaser.

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited February 2018 #329

    There is no mention of that ,but of course the "grant"system is just for now,the same as it is being reduced for other forms of "green"initiatives that will be be loaded on the consumer in some way.

    Ps yes that is with plug in grantsurprised

  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited February 2018 #330

    I think there are some good  cheap fuel and tax efficient cars out there now as alternatives to expensive EVs. But if you have got yourself locked into attempting to end a PCP early you are in a catch 22 situation and a very expensive one too.

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,302 ✭✭✭
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    edited February 2018 #331

    Crumbs, that's circa 100,000 miles worth of fuel, once the offer period has ended 73,000 miles even with the offer. That's 22 / 30 years mileage for our second car. I'm not sure I will be driving that long.☹️