The all things EV chat thread

pauljames87

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Been test driving a bunch of electric cars all week turns out wife really likes the bmw ix I really don’t like it at all. Trying my hardest to talk her out of it.
My main concern is the batteries are just ok the now but in say 2/3 years I would expect a leap forward in technology and meaning there’s a high chance you end up stuck with the car because no one wants old technology. Anyone thinking like me ?

Are you really hell bent on selling in? If that's the case just lease or PCP it and hand it back afterwards
 

Jason.H

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After 2 and a bit years with my e208 I’ve ordered the Cupra Born. So would you buy an electric car again? Yes. Works for me!

I test drove a Cupra Born in Chesterfield a couple of month’s ago. I must say it was very nice to drive. Had the salesman offered a good price on my Transporter I may of done a deal. Looking at some reviews from owners also had me concerned around reliability and customer service . Hopefully you won’t have any issues 👍
 

road2ruin

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Been test driving a bunch of electric cars all week turns out wife really likes the bmw ix I really don’t like it at all. Trying my hardest to talk her out of it.
My main concern is the batteries are just ok the now but in say 2/3 years I would expect a leap forward in technology and meaning there’s a high chance you end up stuck with the car because no one wants old technology. Anyone thinking like me ?

This is the reason I decided to lease as I didn't want to risk horrendous depreciation if battery tech suddenly leapt forward.
 

HPIMG

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Are you really hell bent on selling in? If that's the case just lease or PCP it and hand it back afterwards
Ive only ever bought my cars outright or else large deposit and hp the rest so I don’t have a balloon payment. With pcp don’t you still have a decent deposit and with pcp you are never seeing that back plus if it plummets in price I could end up owning them money instead of just handing it back ?
 

pauljames87

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Ive only ever bought my cars outright or else large deposit and hp the rest so I don’t have a balloon payment. With pcp don’t you still have a decent deposit and with pcp you are never seeing that back plus if it plummets in price I could end up owning them money instead of just handing it back ?

However if you are concerned about the price dropping dramatically (which ATM they have held steady and only grown) then to alay your fears could just lease the car and hand back. Small deposit and pay the monthly

Then you don't have the worry about losing money

But you could just buy the car outright and take the risk, it will be years before a sudden jump in battery tech or hydrogen to wipe the value of a car down to bugger all
 

BiMGuy

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Ive only ever bought my cars outright or else large deposit and hp the rest so I don’t have a balloon payment. With pcp don’t you still have a decent deposit and with pcp you are never seeing that back plus if it plummets in price I could end up owning them money instead of just handing it back ?

Leasing is just another way of funding the depreciation you lose when buying outright.

If a lease costs you £20k over 3 years, is that any different to losing £20k in depreciation?
 

pauljames87

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Leasing is just another way of funding the depreciation you lose when buying outright.

If a lease costs you £20k over 3 years, is that any different to losing £20k in depreciation?

And if you do change your car that often and are that worried the value is suddenly going to drop isn't it better to lose 20k than 40k
 

HPIMG

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And if you do change your car that often and are that worried the value is suddenly going to drop isn't it better to lose 20k than 40k
The taycan my wife was looking at they showed us a pcp deal 28k down and 800 a month so would be quite a sore loss never asked for the pcp option on the bmw but pcp is not for me. Also was wondering what’s the best home chargers to get ? Had an electrician in doing some work in the house today he was saying he’s fitted a few 7kw chargers but not sure what ones are best ?
 

Bdill93

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The taycan my wife was looking at they showed us a pcp deal 28k down and 800 a month so would be quite a sore loss never asked for the pcp option on the bmw but pcp is not for me. Also was wondering what’s the best home chargers to get ? Had an electrician in doing some work in the house today he was saying he’s fitted a few 7kw chargers but not sure what ones are best ?

I'd cry at those numbers :ROFLMAO:
 

pauljames87

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The taycan my wife was looking at they showed us a pcp deal 28k down and 800 a month so would be quite a sore loss never asked for the pcp option on the bmw but pcp is not for me. Also was wondering what’s the best home chargers to get ? Had an electrician in doing some work in the house today he was saying he’s fitted a few 7kw chargers but not sure what ones are best ?

7kw is standard fit. Unless you have 3 phase supply you can't get anything higher

It all depends what else you want

If you don't use much electric at home and want cheapest charge rate get the ohme pro 2 charger as it supports octopus intelligent. 10p a kw but day rate becomes 45p so you pay more for your house but save on the car (plus anything house uses at the time cars charging) , good if you do a lot of miles or can load shift at home (IE a house battery)

If you have solar a zappi is a good charger as can be set to use your excess solar on the car

Personally I'd go for the ohme pro 2 as it's smartest

But all depends on you

Mines a podpoint, basic does the job haven't had any issues (touch wood)

If your not going on a special ev tariff for house electric any basic charger will work but the ohme pro will future proof a little for if you do want smart ones
 

HPIMG

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7kw is standard fit. Unless you have 3 phase supply you can't get anything higher

It all depends what else you want

If you don't use much electric at home and want cheapest charge rate get the ohme pro 2 charger as it supports octopus intelligent. 10p a kw but day rate becomes 45p so you pay more for your house but save on the car (plus anything house uses at the time cars charging) , good if you do a lot of miles or can load shift at home (IE a house battery)

If you have solar a zappi is a good charger as can be set to use your excess solar on the car

Personally I'd go for the ohme pro 2 as it's smartest

But all depends on you

Mines a podpoint, basic does the job haven't had any issues (touch wood)

If your not going on a special ev tariff for house electric any basic charger will work but the ohme pro will future proof a little for if you do want smart ones
I have solar have no idea how they work but I do know what elc I don’t use I sell back to someone so would I be better with a zappi ?
 

pauljames87

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I have solar have no idea how they work but I do know what elc I don’t use I sell back to someone so would I be better with a zappi ?

Most likely, depends what rate your selling back your solar for .. do you know how much per kw your selling back? If it's under the the 34p price cap we all are paying for a kw ATM then it's worth using as any excess when the car is plugged in would go to the car

It uses CT clamps to monitor whats exported and with the zappi set in eco plus mode I believe it's called the zappi will turn on (low not 7kw) and take the solar

I'd prefer a zappi to a pod point now knowing more about them, they have a cult following aswell it seems very popular, also they are the next charger octopus are working on bringing into their systems so I'd say they are pretty much a good option

Look alright aswell imo
 

HPIMG

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Most likely, depends what rate your selling back your solar for .. do you know how much per kw your selling back? If it's under the the 34p price cap we all are paying for a kw ATM then it's worth using as any excess when the car is plugged in would go to the car

It uses CT clamps to monitor whats exported and with the zappi set in eco plus mode I believe it's called the zappi will turn on (low not 7kw) and take the solar

I'd prefer a zappi to a pod point now knowing more about them, they have a cult following aswell it seems very popular, also they are the next charger octopus are working on bringing into their systems so I'd say they are pretty much a good option

Look alright aswell imo
I don’t know anything about it just remember my wife saying we sell extra elc back. I’ll quiz her about it later and find out.
 

pauljames87

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I don’t know anything about it just remember my wife saying we sell extra elc back. I’ll quiz her about it later and find out.

How old is your system? I mean FIT payments (those are the good ones) closed about 3 years ago think it was .. some were really good

The new deals are terrible for sell back so it's more benefit to use (cost wise)
 

HPIMG

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How old is your system? I mean FIT payments (those are the good ones) closed about 3 years ago think it was .. some were really good

The new deals are terrible for sell back so it's more benefit to use (cost wise)
Our new house was just completed in November so I would expect it has the latest solar
 

pauljames87

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Our new house was just completed in November so I would expect it has the latest solar

Ah I see. Worth checking the rate your getting still but more likely that the zappi would help with using excess solar to top up the car

It's a cracking charger regardless I'm led to believe

It's a case for myself that I would add one tomorrow but it seems a waste of money. I have a working podpoint that doesn't exactly what I need (minus the excess solar bit) but I don't want to bin it for no reason .. if it broke on the other hand
 

HPIMG

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Ah I see. Worth checking the rate your getting still but more likely that the zappi would help with using excess solar to top up the car

It's a cracking charger regardless I'm led to believe

It's a case for myself that I would add one tomorrow but it seems a waste of money. I have a working podpoint that doesn't exactly what I need (minus the excess solar bit) but I don't want to bin it for no reason .. if it broke on the other hand
I did the live chat with British Gas and they said I have to contact feed in tariff at British Gas and only way to contact them is by email. So hopefully they don’t take too long in getting back to me. Is there some way to find out faster ? I logged into my British Gas account but couldn’t see anything
 

pauljames87

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I did the live chat with British Gas and they said I have to contact feed in tariff at British Gas and only way to contact them is by email. So hopefully they don’t take too long in getting back to me. Is there some way to find out faster ? I logged into my British Gas account but couldn’t see anything

You should have some paper work somewhere however most likely the zappi would suit you and the excess solar will be worth using for the car over selling back, and when the cars out you sell it back to grid

What I would be more interested in is your charging times, overnight octopus for example 12p a kw , but day becomes 45p so if you don't use much electric at home (you have solar anyways so your day in summer would be covered) it's worth getting on the cheap overnight tariffs

Zappi soon will be on intelligent tariff which is 10p a unit for 6 hours at night

https://octopus.energy/smart/intelligent-octopus/

See above for more information

Octopus are the best for EV imo , all these tariffs require a smart meter
 

HPIMG

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You should have some paper work somewhere however most likely the zappi would suit you and the excess solar will be worth using for the car over selling back, and when the cars out you sell it back to grid

What I would be more interested in is your charging times, overnight octopus for example 12p a kw , but day becomes 45p so if you don't use much electric at home (you have solar anyways so your day in summer would be covered) it's worth getting on the cheap overnight tariffs

Zappi soon will be on intelligent tariff which is 10p a unit for 6 hours at night

https://octopus.energy/smart/intelligent-octopus/

See above for more information

Octopus are the best for EV imo , all these tariffs require a smart meter
We found the mcs certificate but I don’t think we have been signed upto SEG scheme. I had been looking at zappi route so would need the eddi box to store the power ?
Also if I’m not selling any power back currently what’s happening to the power ? There’s a bunch of us on a WhatsApp group for the new estate and seems no one really knows what’s going on.
 
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