Are you ready for an electric car?

That article includes an interesting approach I hadn’t considered. Digging a trench to the edge of your property so that you have a curb side outlet;

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This is exactly why EVs are unaffordable for most - that’s an insane amount to pay each month on a car and for 5 years too. Plus you’re paying all of that for a… Renault… :face_vomiting:

You could pay less than half of that and have something really nice and a bit special. If you’re doing long journeys you want a big comfy motorway cruiser with nice massage seats and such.

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I’ve been leasing a Nissan Leaf for the past 3 years but have now ended the lease and gone back to a cheaper ICE car. Having recently retired, I can’t justify the current cost of an EV and will also be doing more long-distance driving which would require using the currently poor public charging infrastructure. I also never got over the range anxiety!

Perhaps in a few years time when I’m looking to replace my car again…

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Your right, it’s off topic :sweat_smile:

Will not venture into that topic and stick to EV related stuff.

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To be fair, I choose that particular finance deal because it had no mileage limitation and worked out similar to DaveJ’s monthly fuel cost.

Many brand new EVs are around £30k, so if you want to pay for it over 60 months, £472 pm is how much it’ll cost with 0% finance. You could of course look at second hand EVs for half that, or a more affordable PCP offer (if your mileage is more reasonable).

I do agree though that the EV market hasn’t had the time to mature yet, but hopefully 5-10 years time there will be the same spread of EV prices as there are ICE.

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Ahhh ok. I am a bit of a car snob as well haha.

Saying that, I’ve never seen the appeal of buying brand new. As soon as you drive it off the forecourt you’ve already lost thousands in its value.

Same with leasing. You pay all that money and have nothing to show for it at the end.

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There’s ups and downs to both versions.

If you want a brand new car then buying it outright isn’t a good way to do it.

Yeah, it definitely takes a change in mindset about it. The loss in value once it drives off the forecourt doesn’t matter with a PCP as the return value is guaranteed. You’re basically only paying for half the car (over the term of the finance) and giving the car back at the end to pay the other half. For me I’ve just shifted my thinking towards “how much can I afford to spend on travel each month” and spend accordingly. I could definitely spend significantly less, but I like owning a nice car and am fortunate enough to be able to afford it.

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There may be a wide choice of electric cars in September because many PCP contracts will end.
Of course there will be many petrol and diesel vehicles available at the same time which may take some of the heat out of the present used car market.

I asked my council if I could create a channel across the path in the front of my house and they have failed to answer :thinking:

My plan was to sink a channel and cover it with a hinged grating so that the cable could be removed.

I am surprised the guy in the story you have found had such an easy ride.

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I think it will be one of those things that will be absolutely fine until it isn’t. Hundreds of people have zero problems with it, but it only takes one and then you’re screwed.

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I suspect that that guy was able to do it as he made no modifications to the pavement so probably hasn’t sort permission at all. He just dug a trench in his front lawn and installed an outlet on his garden wall.

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Doh!
Of course you are right. I noticed that and the power point at the gateway but became fixated by my own struggle with the Council.

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Well I was encouraged by the statement by LV= that any mishap would be covered by the car insurance.

Something that I’ve noticed recently, and I had a letter from my own council about this the other week as well, is that a lot of cities are now arranging for public charging on roads - in areas such as where there’s a lot of on street parking with no options for people to install their own chargers.

The letter I had the other week about this said that they were running a consultation in Exeter (my city) and that they were considering a new charge point just down the road. Checking the website, if all the chargers they’re considering are approved and installed, there will actually be 5 all within handy walking distance of my home.

The downside is, and I’ve noticed this on Twitter, people are starting to complain because street side chargers are being placed badly on roads. They’re being installed in the middle of the path instead of actually at the curb and blocking the footpath. It’ll be a shame if scheme’s like this, which would make walking and cycling more pleasant generally as it reduces local air polution, would have a lot of complaints and people protesting about it because the chargers themselves are blocking the footpath and cycle lanes.

The Exeter scheme is ‘Rapid Charging Devon’ https://rapidchargingdevon.co.uk/ but I know Manchester is definitely also doing this and I think some London councils as well.

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Bit of backlash against these charge points in the middle of the pavement, but it looks like its because cars tend to park half on the pavement;


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context: https://twitter.com/theJeremyVine/status/1407702617615126530?s=20

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The chargers do appear to be bulky if they are of the type shown on the makers website but I would be surprised if the siting when eventually approved will cause complaints.
Have to say I think residents are being well served with so many charging options, I really approve of a rapid charger coupled to a time penalty.
Not clear to me if between 9pm and 7am the charger is still available?
—————————————————————
*To ensure the charging points remain available to as many people as possible, cars remaining in a bay after they have been fully charged between 7am and 9pm will incur an overstay fee. Between the hours of 9pm and 7am an electric vehicle can remain in the charging bay at no cost.”
—————————————————————

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In all the stuff they posted through the door, they confirm that cars can be parked and charged overnight with no penalty fee. It’s just to avoid expecting people to go around at 3am to move their car because it’s finished charging…

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It will be interesting to learn more about the arrangements as time passes.
It will be a headache for someone to manage the site if the night time slot is monopolised.
I think I would prefer that penalty charge be removed after a later time, 10pm perhaps.

Those ones in the middle of the pavement are ridiculous, they render half the pavement unusable because cables need to be strung across :rofl: I can see why people would be annoyed by them.

Adding time restrictions is a recipe for disaster too. I imagine there will be a battle for a charger space in the hours prior to the restrictions being lifted at 7pm. Then people can leave their car to charge overnight without worry of being fined.

Those that lose out on a spot will have to get up extra early in the morning so that they can sit at a charging station for an hour on their way to work :grimacing: So it has the potential to cause a lot of friction in the community - I for one wouldn’t be best pleased if the same car kept getting a charging bay each evening forcing me to get up super early!

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