Making the switch - what do I need to know?
Discussion
OK, new on this forum, so be kind please.
A change of family life is about to happen in the B. household, and it may involve a change around of the cars. Currently, MrsB. drives a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and I drive a 2005 Saab 9-5 Aero. The Jeep is our second SUV and we love it. It takes us to Scotland to visit family, down to Cornwall twice a year for our little breaks away and its just a good car. However, about 80% of its life is spent going from home to the railway station for MrsB. to get the train to work. This journey is about 4 miles.
An addition to the family is about to mean we drop down to one salary, and thinking of ways to save a little cash, I'm considering selling the Jeep and buying a BMW i3 (used) for MrsB. to do her commuting in, and for general local driving. The Saab would then be replaced with an older/bigger estate/4X4 for me to use and take over the Scotland/Cornwall trips. This will save us a few quid per month. I'd probably look at a used i3 REX as its going to be be our first EV and that will alleviate any range anxiety that we might have, and also as our "get out of jail free" card if we've forgotten to charge it.
So, my question is, what do I need to consider to become an EV owner? Do I have to budget for installing a home charge point? We have a garage, but not enough space to put a car in it (full of general sh*t, like everyone's I'm sure!) so the car would sit on the drive. There is a power socket in the garage, but not an external one. Can you mount home chargers outside? Should I just run a cable into the garage to charge the car when needed? Do you get any grant/assistance with installation if you are buying a used EV? Can you just charge it through a normal wall socket, and if so, how long does it take to crate an i3? Anything else I haven't considered?
All help appreciated.
A change of family life is about to happen in the B. household, and it may involve a change around of the cars. Currently, MrsB. drives a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and I drive a 2005 Saab 9-5 Aero. The Jeep is our second SUV and we love it. It takes us to Scotland to visit family, down to Cornwall twice a year for our little breaks away and its just a good car. However, about 80% of its life is spent going from home to the railway station for MrsB. to get the train to work. This journey is about 4 miles.
An addition to the family is about to mean we drop down to one salary, and thinking of ways to save a little cash, I'm considering selling the Jeep and buying a BMW i3 (used) for MrsB. to do her commuting in, and for general local driving. The Saab would then be replaced with an older/bigger estate/4X4 for me to use and take over the Scotland/Cornwall trips. This will save us a few quid per month. I'd probably look at a used i3 REX as its going to be be our first EV and that will alleviate any range anxiety that we might have, and also as our "get out of jail free" card if we've forgotten to charge it.
So, my question is, what do I need to consider to become an EV owner? Do I have to budget for installing a home charge point? We have a garage, but not enough space to put a car in it (full of general sh*t, like everyone's I'm sure!) so the car would sit on the drive. There is a power socket in the garage, but not an external one. Can you mount home chargers outside? Should I just run a cable into the garage to charge the car when needed? Do you get any grant/assistance with installation if you are buying a used EV? Can you just charge it through a normal wall socket, and if so, how long does it take to crate an i3? Anything else I haven't considered?
All help appreciated.
Whilst you could charge an i3 from a 3 pin socket it would take a long time and puts a fair strain on the wiring and sockets. Fine for occasional use, but it become a bit of a faff eventually.
I’d highly recommend getting a 32 Amp charge point with a tethered lead installed. Plugging the car in then takes about 5 seconds, no doors to open or leads to get out of the boot. Charge points are usually installed outside.
You will be eligible for a grant. You’re looking at around £300 cost to yourself. I’m very happy with my Pod Point charger. They are not the cheapest, but their standard install covers more than a lot of other vendors. I needed mine run from the meter cupboard with an extra consumer unit which they covered but others wanted to charge extra but wouldn’t quote without seeing the job first.
I’d highly recommend getting a 32 Amp charge point with a tethered lead installed. Plugging the car in then takes about 5 seconds, no doors to open or leads to get out of the boot. Charge points are usually installed outside.
You will be eligible for a grant. You’re looking at around £300 cost to yourself. I’m very happy with my Pod Point charger. They are not the cheapest, but their standard install covers more than a lot of other vendors. I needed mine run from the meter cupboard with an extra consumer unit which they covered but others wanted to charge extra but wouldn’t quote without seeing the job first.
TooLateForAName said:
Even a used i3 is pretty expensive and from reports I've seen I'd not touch one without a bmw warranty.
look on speakev
Interesting to hear that. It’s the ones around the £15k bracket I’d be looking at, so probably a non BMW Approved car. I’ll have a read as suggested.look on speakev
I’ll also look into the charge point# for the house, so thanks for the info.
Have you considered a Misubishi Outlander?
- Will be 100% EV for your wife’s commute
- Full size SUV for those “I need to cart stuff around” moments
- Hybrid bit for those trips away
- In budget
- No range anxiety
- Buy yourself an MX5 for high days (if required)
Edited by MrOrange on Monday 1st October 22:46
MrOrange said:
Have you considered a Misubishi Outlander?
A good friend of mine ordered one as a company car, but sent it back after 3 months after lots of issues. He replaced it with a BMW 530e. I’ve never loved the looks of them to be fair, but will have a look though.- Will be 100% EV for your wife’s commute
- Full size SUV for those “I need to cart stuff around” moments
- Hybrid bit for those trips away
- In budget
- No range anxiety
- Buy yourself an MX5 for high days (if required)
Edited by MrOrange on Monday 1st October 22:46
I did suggest a Zoe, but she doesn’t like the look of them, plus MrsB. likes the elevated driving position, hence my i3 thoughts.
The i3 is a decent car and I managed to do more than 20k km a year in my BEV using only a 3 pin socket in the garage. Was absolutely fine. Just program it to charge on the cheaper electricity.
Mine wasn't super-reliable but it was mainly software issues. We had to call BMW out on one occasion but it stopped throwing a wobbly as soon as the service van arrived (after an hour of refusing to move). Saying that the 340i that replaced it hasn't been any better.
Cheap as chips to own and a really nice experience in many ways. I would have one again, on the assumption that it would have a BMW warranty.
You need to make sure it's got the fast charging options all ticked and if it's a BEV make sure it has the heat pump.
Mine wasn't super-reliable but it was mainly software issues. We had to call BMW out on one occasion but it stopped throwing a wobbly as soon as the service van arrived (after an hour of refusing to move). Saying that the 340i that replaced it hasn't been any better.
Cheap as chips to own and a really nice experience in many ways. I would have one again, on the assumption that it would have a BMW warranty.
You need to make sure it's got the fast charging options all ticked and if it's a BEV make sure it has the heat pump.
Later BEV i3's seem to be "fixed" in terms of software bugs, and the fewer options you have, the less likely it is to have a software hissy fit i think!
If you don't do many miles a day, then a normal 13A (~3kW) charger from a decent outside 3 pin socket is fine. I do 32miles a day and my car has only ever charged from a 3kW EVSE overnight on cheap rate 'lecy
(32miles at 4 miles/kWH is 8 kWh, so with say 2.5kW on average being delivered to the battery, that 3hours 12mins to charge, easily doable over night)
If you don't do many miles a day, then a normal 13A (~3kW) charger from a decent outside 3 pin socket is fine. I do 32miles a day and my car has only ever charged from a 3kW EVSE overnight on cheap rate 'lecy
(32miles at 4 miles/kWH is 8 kWh, so with say 2.5kW on average being delivered to the battery, that 3hours 12mins to charge, easily doable over night)
quinny100 said:
Whilst you could charge an i3 from a 3 pin socket it would take a long time and puts a fair strain on the wiring and sockets. Fine for occasional use, but it become a bit of a faff eventually.
Plug in at night. Use in the day. Considerably less "faff" than a petrol station.As for a strain on the wiring, it will pull 13 amps from a standard socket. Just like a toaster or hairdryer or tumble dryer. Worth getting an Electrician in to check things out, but the wiring won't be delivering any more current than it's designed to.
MrB. said:
A good friend of mine ordered one as a company car, but sent it back after 3 months after lots of issues. He replaced it with a BMW 530e. I’ve never loved the looks of them to be fair, but will have a look though.
I did suggest a Zoe, but she doesn’t like the look of them, plus MrsB. likes the elevated driving position, hence my i3 thoughts.
Your friend was unlucky, we have loads of them at work (as well as BMW and Merc PHEV's).I did suggest a Zoe, but she doesn’t like the look of them, plus MrsB. likes the elevated driving position, hence my i3 thoughts.
Some of the guys do really high mileages but not heard of any problems on the Outlander. I have one that is about 18 months old and has just gone over 24k miles, no problems at all. It's not an exciting car to drive but is comfortable and reliable.
The dealers seem to be fairly hopeless however. First service they forgot to stamp the service book and reset the computer. Second time they have reset all of the trips/WiFi etc. Maybe I got unlucky.
Gassing Station | EV and Alternative Fuels | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff