Tempted by EVs, advice please
Discussion
My current household fleet is:
1. 2004 Honda CR-V (useful for dump runs, moving kids into and out of university etc but mostly used by Mrs U for local trips)
2. My 2003 Alfa Romeo 156. Like any Alfa this is a hobby but it’s also my daily, I commute about 30 miles a day in it and we use it for longer trips but very rarely longer than 100 miles.
Fuel consumption on both is poor by modern standards, and the Alfa is now using so much oil it’s a non-negligible monthly expense. I reckon I’m spending around £400 per month on fuel, tax and oil (very rough figures, I should probably refine these). Plus, as they’re old cars there are the usual maintenance expenses - suspension components etc. Mrs U is also keen to have something with modern conveniences that looks a bit better at the tennis club!
Im thinking of replacing Mrs U’s CRV with something like a Renault Zoe, and my Alfa with something like a Kia Soul. I know it won’t be as fun to drive but I’ll get my jollies on my motorbike instead. I’m put off Leafs because of the reputedly older battery technology.
However I’d be looking at EVs that are 6-10 years old. Would these be a sensible buy? I’ve read comments saying that batteries seem to be lasting longer than was originally expected.
For my current monthly outlay on petrol & tax I’d be able to borrow about £13k over 3 years. I know I’ll have to factor in the cost of a charger and installation. What combination of EVs would you recommend (one big, one small) for this budget?
Thanks in advance, any other advice from seasoned EV users appreciated!
1. 2004 Honda CR-V (useful for dump runs, moving kids into and out of university etc but mostly used by Mrs U for local trips)
2. My 2003 Alfa Romeo 156. Like any Alfa this is a hobby but it’s also my daily, I commute about 30 miles a day in it and we use it for longer trips but very rarely longer than 100 miles.
Fuel consumption on both is poor by modern standards, and the Alfa is now using so much oil it’s a non-negligible monthly expense. I reckon I’m spending around £400 per month on fuel, tax and oil (very rough figures, I should probably refine these). Plus, as they’re old cars there are the usual maintenance expenses - suspension components etc. Mrs U is also keen to have something with modern conveniences that looks a bit better at the tennis club!
Im thinking of replacing Mrs U’s CRV with something like a Renault Zoe, and my Alfa with something like a Kia Soul. I know it won’t be as fun to drive but I’ll get my jollies on my motorbike instead. I’m put off Leafs because of the reputedly older battery technology.
However I’d be looking at EVs that are 6-10 years old. Would these be a sensible buy? I’ve read comments saying that batteries seem to be lasting longer than was originally expected.
For my current monthly outlay on petrol & tax I’d be able to borrow about £13k over 3 years. I know I’ll have to factor in the cost of a charger and installation. What combination of EVs would you recommend (one big, one small) for this budget?
Thanks in advance, any other advice from seasoned EV users appreciated!
Supply of EV's at 6 - 10 years old will be very tight. Not that many people were buying them back then, so 2nd hand supply will be low I expect.
There will be Leaf's and Zoe's and some Tesla's but not huge numbers of other vehicles I would expect. Both Leaf and Zoe have non-existent/primitive systems to look after the battery health and condition. The Leaf was purely ambient heating/cooling, whereas the Zoe did make some effort using the HVAC.
Unless you've got big brave ones I personally would avoid a really old Tesla, as I believe parts such as suspension etc can get very pricey! Our family had both a Leaf and a Zoe, and they were both really good cars. The Leaf saw greater battery degradation, if I recall correctly it was down to 85% at 65k miles in 5 years. The Zoe was at about 90% at 85k miles in 7 years. The Leaf had zero problems, whereas the Zoe needed a new sensor and ate it's suspension components!
The good news is that 2nd hand prices are substantially down now, so your £13k budget might get you a far newer vehicle! A search on Autotrader for EV's between 10k and 14k gets a surprising number of results, including quite a few Hyundai/Kia models and even a handful of Tesla's. I'm a big fan of the Korean EV's - they're not exciting but well put together, well specced, and seemingly bulletproof with great batteries.
You may not need a dedicated charger at home for your usage profile. A "granny charger" 3-pin socket will give about 4 miles/hour, so you might be able to get away with this, at least in the short term.
Consider also your power supplier. Best results are obtained from a smart meter and an EV tariff, such as those offered by Octopus.
There will be Leaf's and Zoe's and some Tesla's but not huge numbers of other vehicles I would expect. Both Leaf and Zoe have non-existent/primitive systems to look after the battery health and condition. The Leaf was purely ambient heating/cooling, whereas the Zoe did make some effort using the HVAC.
Unless you've got big brave ones I personally would avoid a really old Tesla, as I believe parts such as suspension etc can get very pricey! Our family had both a Leaf and a Zoe, and they were both really good cars. The Leaf saw greater battery degradation, if I recall correctly it was down to 85% at 65k miles in 5 years. The Zoe was at about 90% at 85k miles in 7 years. The Leaf had zero problems, whereas the Zoe needed a new sensor and ate it's suspension components!
The good news is that 2nd hand prices are substantially down now, so your £13k budget might get you a far newer vehicle! A search on Autotrader for EV's between 10k and 14k gets a surprising number of results, including quite a few Hyundai/Kia models and even a handful of Tesla's. I'm a big fan of the Korean EV's - they're not exciting but well put together, well specced, and seemingly bulletproof with great batteries.
You may not need a dedicated charger at home for your usage profile. A "granny charger" 3-pin socket will give about 4 miles/hour, so you might be able to get away with this, at least in the short term.
Consider also your power supplier. Best results are obtained from a smart meter and an EV tariff, such as those offered by Octopus.
Maracus said:
Knock_knock said:
You may not need a dedicated charger at home for your usage profile. A "granny charger" 3-pin socket will give about 4 miles/hour, so you might be able to get away with this, at least in the short term.
Mine charges at 9-10 miles an hour off the granny charger.(to show my working a granny charger usually supplies perhaps 2.7kW after losses {13 amps, 230 volts is about 2.9kW}, so 2.7kWh, and if the car does 4 miles/kWh this gives you 10 - 11 miles/hour)
If £13k is your budget for two EVs, then what about a;
10 year old Renault Zoe for £3,100
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202405189...
4 year old Hyundai Ioniq for £9,500
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202404138...
That's £12,600 for both of them.
10 year old Renault Zoe for £3,100
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202405189...
4 year old Hyundai Ioniq for £9,500
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202404138...
That's £12,600 for both of them.
Muzzer79 said:
I'm an EV advocate and run a VW ID5.
But I wouldn't recommend two EVs as your only vehicles.
Personally, I'd buy a family car and a small car. One EV and one ICE/Hybrid - which way around that is depends on your usage.
We've managed it over the past 2.5 years. Mini E and a 2020 Model 3 SR (now replaced with a 2024 RWD).But I wouldn't recommend two EVs as your only vehicles.
Personally, I'd buy a family car and a small car. One EV and one ICE/Hybrid - which way around that is depends on your usage.
I can understand why people wouldn't though.
Muzzer79 said:
But I wouldn't recommend two EVs as your only vehicles.
We have, since 2017, and it's worked fine despite being reasonably heavy users of both (c. 25k miles combined between both a year). But that was with new EV's, rather that quite old ones, and it's become much much easier now we're both in bigger range models.CivicDuties said:
Are you saying you want to buy 2 EVs with £13k? That would be very ambitious.
On a re-read that is exactly what is wanted. I agree this would be very ambitious and not for the faint of heart or light of wallet (potentially).Maybe a safer route would be a c. £10k EV to start, give it a year or so, then address the 2nd car by which time the used market will be wider still?
raspy said:
If £13k is your budget for two EVs, then what about a;
10 year old Renault Zoe for £3,100
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202405189...
4 year old Hyundai Ioniq for £9,500
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202404138...
That's £12,600 for both of them.
Wow, I didn't know Ioniq could be had for that price. That looks quite good value for a 4 year old car. Not my preferred supplier but are these cars pretty reliable or do they have a lot of niggly little issues?10 year old Renault Zoe for £3,100
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202405189...
4 year old Hyundai Ioniq for £9,500
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202404138...
That's £12,600 for both of them.
Thanks all for the replies, lots of useful advice here. I agree £13k for two EVs is optimistic/foolhardy, that’s just the ballpark I arrived at if I spent my current fuel & tax budget in monthly loan repayments over 3 years. I could possibly go higher although sadly I think a Taycan is out of reach 
I think I’ll look at replacing the CRV first with something in the 10k range - that Ioniq looks tempting. Maybe I’ll look at replacing the Alfa in a year or so. In the meantime the kids will have to travel lighter when moving into and out of university (fat chance, I’ll probably end up hiring a van!)
Again, thanks for all the replies.
I think I’ll look at replacing the CRV first with something in the 10k range - that Ioniq looks tempting. Maybe I’ll look at replacing the Alfa in a year or so. In the meantime the kids will have to travel lighter when moving into and out of university (fat chance, I’ll probably end up hiring a van!)
Again, thanks for all the replies.
I’d keep the Honda as it’s practical and probably won’t break. I hire a van for twins who are at unis - a Kia Stinger is our biggest car!
Kia come with 7 year warranties, Hyundai with 5 but you might struggle to get anything still warrantied depending on budget.
We had a 2018 Soul and it was faultless over 2.5 years and a 2015 Leaf before that, again faultless, but both were leased from new.
Ioniq would be my shout to replace the Alfa.. and lend it to her indoors on tennis nights.
A quality 3 pin plug will work fine, don’t be drawn into a £1000 7kw charger install when you probably won’t need it.
Kia come with 7 year warranties, Hyundai with 5 but you might struggle to get anything still warrantied depending on budget.
We had a 2018 Soul and it was faultless over 2.5 years and a 2015 Leaf before that, again faultless, but both were leased from new.
Ioniq would be my shout to replace the Alfa.. and lend it to her indoors on tennis nights.
A quality 3 pin plug will work fine, don’t be drawn into a £1000 7kw charger install when you probably won’t need it.
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