The Car thread

[Dreadnought]

It works for us from a company car tax perspective and is an all round brilliant car. The engine is so good in petrol, electric and hybrid modes. 
I have the most marmite BMW ever made on order with the same engine in it, the XM. The only colour it looks ok in is black so that is what I have gone for! I run a car finance company and have sold a lot of cars for the BMW dealer we work with and they have looked after me on price so it is a financial choice more than anything for the XM. I would have had an X5 but two of them on the drive would have made us look like Howard and Hilda (showing my age there🤣)

[Countryfox]

On 09/03/2016 at 17:58, Unabomber said:

Bmw I series 120d m sport coupe in dark grey.

Wouldn't mind a 325d m sport next.

 

On 09/03/2016 at 18:06, Countryfox said:

 

BMW and the M letter ...  still one of my favourite cars.   

 

Annnnnnd ...  8 years later on I've got one !!     A BMW M3 Competition (F80) ...   7 years old (nearly as old as this thread I started !) low mileage ...   black outside and inside ...   carbon absolutely everywhere ...   tinted glass, even on the lights ...    slightly lowered on Eibach springs ..   slightly powered up   ..   and noisy as fvck with it's M Performance exhaust !  

 

One happy bunny !   

[FoyleFox]

Our hire car for the last week has been a Peugeot 2008. Awful to drive and highly uncomfortable. Wouldn't recommend one to anyone. 

[kenny]

Brand new leaf arrived this weekend. £15k off asking price.

 

Pleased so far, lots of car for the money 

[Greg2607]

11 hours ago, kenny said:

Brand new leaf arrived this weekend. £15k off asking price.

 

Pleased so far, lots of car for the money 

So we've had our BMW i4 for around a month now..... we've done 3231 miles in it, in that time.... we haven't had to charge at a public charging station once, and because of our EV electricity rate at home, it's cost us a total of £239 in "fuel"..... doing the same in our Diesel Volvo XC40 (which we loved btw) would have cost us around £480.   so our fuel costs have been reduced by £240....

 

average that out across the year and it is going to save us around £3000 a year in fuel costs alone.... not to mention, as a company car, it's already saving us around £200 a month in BIK..... 

 

I understand people's reticence about going for an EV... it does provide challenges if you don't have the ability to charge at home etc.... but we are now £440 a month better off than we were in May.... which is staggering really!

[Zear0]

26 minutes ago, Greg2607 said:

So we've had our BMW i4 for around a month now..... we've done 3231 miles in it, in that time.... we haven't had to charge at a public charging station once, and because of our EV electricity rate at home, it's cost us a total of £239 in "fuel"..... doing the same in our Diesel Volvo XC40 (which we loved btw) would have cost us around £480.   so our fuel costs have been reduced by £240....

 

average that out across the year and it is going to save us around £3000 a year in fuel costs alone.... not to mention, as a company car, it's already saving us around £200 a month in BIK..... 

 

I understand people's reticence about going for an EV... it does provide challenges if you don't have the ability to charge at home etc.... but we are now £440 a month better off than we were in May.... which is staggering really!

I've not experienced any naysayers regarding EVs from actual EV owners. They're brilliant and I'm I the same boat. 35k on my e-Niro and never once had to charge at a public services. 

[Robo61]

2 hours ago, Greg2607 said:

So we've had our BMW i4 for around a month now..... we've done 3231 miles in it, in that time.... we haven't had to charge at a public charging station once, and because of our EV electricity rate at home, it's cost us a total of £239 in "fuel"..... doing the same in our Diesel Volvo XC40 (which we loved btw) would have cost us around £480.   so our fuel costs have been reduced by £240....

 

average that out across the year and it is going to save us around £3000 a year in fuel costs alone.... not to mention, as a company car, it's already saving us around £200 a month in BIK..... 

 

I understand people's reticence about going for an EV... it does provide challenges if you don't have the ability to charge at home etc.... but we are now £440 a month better off than we were in May.... which is staggering really!

That sounds very expensive for electric, for that mileage I'd be spending around £70, so either the i4 is very inefficient or your not making the most of cheap overnight electric

[Greg2607]

6 minutes ago, Robo61 said:

That sounds very expensive for electric, for that mileage I'd be spending around £70, so either the i4 is very inefficient or your not making the most of cheap overnight electric

sorry, you are absolutely right......... I'd done mileage and not number of Kwh............ it's cost me £30 for those 3200 miles...... i'm now off to look at holidays based on those savings!!  

[dsr-burnley]

3 minutes ago, Greg2607 said:

sorry, you are absolutely right......... I'd done mileage and not number of Kwh............ it's cost me £30 for those 3200 miles...... i'm now off to look at holidays based on those savings!!  

And when prices drop so that people who have to buy their own car and haven't a driveway can make those savings too, then electric vehicles will really become popular.  Not yet, though.  (That's not a dig at you.  Good luck to you.  Make the most of it while it lasts.)

[Greg2607]

9 minutes ago, dsr-burnley said:

And when prices drop so that people who have to buy their own car and haven't a driveway can make those savings too, then electric vehicles will really become popular.  Not yet, though.  (That's not a dig at you.  Good luck to you.  Make the most of it while it lasts.)

agreed, I said in my original post that I can see the logistical issues that some people might have.... the main issue being people's ability to charge aqt home... you can pick up solid 2nd hand EV's for about £15k now... so cost is less of a barrier than you think for people wanting to update their vehicle. 

[Tommy G]

4 hours ago, Greg2607 said:

So we've had our BMW i4 for around a month now..... we've done 3231 miles in it, in that time.... we haven't had to charge at a public charging station once, and because of our EV electricity rate at home, it's cost us a total of £239 in "fuel"..... doing the same in our Diesel Volvo XC40 (which we loved btw) would have cost us around £480.   so our fuel costs have been reduced by £240....

 

average that out across the year and it is going to save us around £3000 a year in fuel costs alone.... not to mention, as a company car, it's already saving us around £200 a month in BIK..... 

 

I understand people's reticence about going for an EV... it does provide challenges if you don't have the ability to charge at home etc.... but we are now £440 a month better off than we were in May.... which is staggering really!

You could really of hammered home the point by grossing that up to take home pay and your effective pay rise from owning an EV. It can be eyewatering (in a good way). 

 

Needs to be enjoyed before the government tighten up on the BIK.  

[Greg2607]

Just now, Tommy G said:

You could really of hammered home the point by grossing that up to take home pay and your effective pay rise from owning an EV. It can be eyewatering (in a good way). 

 

Needs to be enjoyed before the government tighten up on the BIK.  

as an accountant, i'm more than happy for you to do that work for me Tom  I couldn't even calculate the right fuel cost it appears! lol. it actually cost me about £200 less in electric than I thought! 

[Countryfox]

I’m sure I’ll get all electrified up at some point but for now it’s good old 4 star for me ..  well super unleaded tbh ..  so those 500 horses have a chance to really breathe ! .. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tommy G]

4 minutes ago, Countryfox said:

I’m sure I’ll get all electrified up at some point but for now it’s good old 4 star for me ..  well super unleaded tbh ..  so those 500 horses have a chance to really breathe ! .. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bucket seats in the M3 are worth every penny

[Lako42]

The EV sceptics make me laugh. 

 

I'm leasing mine for nothing and my fuel costs have more than halved.

 

They are so good to drive as well. 

 

 

 

Oh and when it was nearly 30c the other day my car was nice and cool when I got in it after work, that alone wins. 

[dsr-burnley]

8 minutes ago, Lako42 said:

The EV sceptics make me laugh. 

 

I'm leasing mine for nothing and my fuel costs have more than halved.

 

They are so good to drive as well. 

 

 

 

Oh and when it was nearly 30c the other day my car was nice and cool when I got in it after work, that alone wins. 

If they are giving them away, then I'm interested.  Where is that deal available from?

[kenny]

1 hour ago, Lako42 said:

The EV sceptics make me laugh. 

 

I'm leasing mine for nothing and my fuel costs have more than halved.

 

They are so good to drive as well. 

 

 

 

Oh and when it was nearly 30c the other day my car was nice and cool when I got in it after work, that alone wins. 

I'm glad EV sceptics exists, I would never have bought one if the prices hadn't fallen through the floor.

[fox_favourite]

I'm still debating, but I did the maths on an ID3 and a Niro (used). Prices of the cars have dropped. I saw an ID3 with 10k on the clock 3yrs old for 16k! 

 

I looked at the price of insurance as people always said it's more expensive, and shockingly it was cheaper than my Sportage Diesel (3yrs old) by £60. 

 

Cost of fuel would be a lot lower as well. I think I worked out I'd potentially save around £130pm+. My maths is terrible, but I was suitably convinced that EV maybe the way for me. I do 90% town driving and once a month do 140 miles round trip to the in-laws and that's about it. 

 

Not completely convinced but it does give the EV an edge 

 

My main reservation is the cost of the home charger, but I think it'll be worth it. 

 

And for the record, I terrible at making decisions! 

Edited 1 July by fox_favourite

[The Bear]

3 minutes ago, fox_favourite said:

I'm still debating, but I did the maths on an ID3 and a Niro (used). Prices of the cars have dropped. I saw an ID3 with 10k on the clock 3yrs old for 16k! 

 

I looked at the price of insurance as people always said it's more expensive, and shockingly it was cheaper than my Sportage Diesel (3yrs old) by £60. 

 

Cost of fuel would be a lot lower as well. I think I worked out I'd potentially save around £130pm+. My maths is terrible, but I was suitably convinced that EV maybe the way for me. I do 90% town driving and once a month do 140 miles round trip to the in-laws and that's about it. 

 

Not completely convinced but it does give the EV an edge 

With that sort of usage you can safely go for EV without ever having to worry about public charging. Even on your 140 mile round trip. Should comfortably do that all on one charge. 

[fox_favourite]

11 minutes ago, The Bear said:

With that sort of usage you can safely go for EV without ever having to worry about public charging. Even on your 140 mile round trip. Should comfortably do that all on one charge. 

Yeah, this is my way of thinking. I drive round the city for work, rarely venturing out of the shire on a day to day basis. It's so much more viable with used prices being competitive 

[Robo61]

22 minutes ago, fox_favourite said:

I'm still debating, but I did the maths on an ID3 and a Niro (used). Prices of the cars have dropped. I saw an ID3 with 10k on the clock 3yrs old for 16k! 

 

I looked at the price of insurance as people always said it's more expensive, and shockingly it was cheaper than my Sportage Diesel (3yrs old) by £60. 

 

Cost of fuel would be a lot lower as well. I think I worked out I'd potentially save around £130pm+. My maths is terrible, but I was suitably convinced that EV maybe the way for me. I do 90% town driving and once a month do 140 miles round trip to the in-laws and that's about it. 

 

Not completely convinced but it does give the EV an edge 

 

My main reservation is the cost of the home charger, but I think it'll be worth it. 

 

And for the record, I terrible at making decisions! 

With the right charger and energy tariff you can safe around 85% of you fuel costs so £130 a month is certainly doable if you are currently spending over £150. Maintenance costs should also be lower as no oil to change and with good use of regenerative braking brakes and tyres will last longer.

[The Bear]

Octopus are the best. Specific EV tariff that gives you cheaper leccy at night, and using one of their partnered chargers it will charge the car at various different times throughout the night using 30 min blocks of when the electricity is cheapest. 

[The Bear]

6 minutes ago, Robo61 said:

With the right charger and energy tariff you can safe around 85% of you fuel costs so £130 a month is certainly doable if you are currently spending over £150. Maintenance costs should also be lower as no oil to change and with good use of regenerative braking brakes and tyres will last longer.

I've just done my first MOT on my Tesla as its 3 years old. £49 and that's all I've spent on it in 3 years other than insurance. I could service the brakes and get them lubricated for a couple of hundred quid, but I don't do lots of miles so it doesn't really need it. Tyres will likely need changing next year as they all still have a few mm left on them. 

Edited 1 July by The Bear

[fox_favourite]

6 minutes ago, The Bear said:

Octopus are the best. Specific EV tariff that gives you cheaper leccy at night, and using one of their partnered chargers it will charge the car at various different times throughout the night using 30 min blocks of when the electricity is cheapest. 

Oooo, I didn't know that bit. I have swapped to octopus recently (eon next are a bag of tripe). So will double check that. 

[Robo61]

7 minutes ago, fox_favourite said:

Oooo, I didn't know that bit. I have swapped to octopus recently (eon next are a bag of tripe). So will double check that. 

Octopus inteligent go is the EV tariff. 7p for 6 hours every night for all the house plus random extra slots when the car is plugged in. You need a smart meter and ideally a compatable charger (zappi, ohme or wallbox). A compatable car is also ok but works better with the right charger.