EV Owners Thread

[Tenkaykev]

EVM on YouTube pointed out that a lot of the media headlines were being disingenuous in quoting the list prices of the electric cars against the used prices instead of using the actual purchase prices.

 

[kynikos]

I think the problem with insurance groupings is the readiness of the insurance companies being willing to write EV's off, when they've sustained far less accident damage than an ICE car, as the assessors can't really guarantee if the battery has sustained damage to the cells or not, with consequences further along in time, despite the fact that there may well be absolutely nothing wrong with it, I did read an article where collision damaged Teslas were being exported to Ukraine, then being repaired there, and put back into use, perhaps there's an opportunity for a battery specialist to strip the battery packs to check and rebuild them if found to be damaged in crashed EV's, as well as provide an after market cell replacement service for older EV's.

It's not just about the damage, it's more about the availability of parts. If it's off the road for six months awaiting parts and the insurance company is providing a like for like rental then the overall cost to the insurer means it's cheaper to write it off rather than repair and this impacts the premium.

Sadly, spares for EVs are in short supply - see recent thread re Nissan Leaf; off the road for 6-7 weeks due to lack of a battery. If that were an insurance job it would turn a £200 cost into £1,500. For an ICE car I can get a battery from any one of dozens of outlets within a 10 mile radius of where I'm sitting.

 

[geocycle]

EVM on YouTube pointed out that a lot of the media headlines were being disingenuous in quoting the list prices of the electric cars against the used prices instead of using the actual purchase prices.

Also, the EV market has been sharply skewed. The last few years has seen demand for EVs sore while supply has been low because of shortages so price was high. At the same time there weren’t many second hand options, whereas now we see a good supply. Also the functionality of current second hand vehicles in terms of range etc is now closer to that of new ones than was the case a few years ago, especially for things like range.

 

[MrGrumpy]

If you want any left hand drive white Tesla’s , Barcelona port has quite a few stacked up

 

[icowden]

Also, the EV market has been sharply skewed. The last few years has seen demand for EVs sore while supply has been low because of shortages so price was high.

Yes - as a comparison, the starting price for an ID4 2023 (in 2022 natch) was a shade under £49k IIRC. The new ID4 2024 has a starting price of £41k. Parts and batteries get cheaper and competition (e.g. Tesla slashing prices) is starting to drive down cost.

 

[Cavalol]

FWIW a used car dealer told me that the guaranteed future value (PCP) on a £27,000 used EV would be £11,500 in 4 years time. This still compared favourably to the diesel BMW next to it, which was £500 more (to buy) and was down to £10,500 after 4 years.

He intimated the PCP place would have budgeted low in case they got bitten after the 4 year time frame and said the vehicle would 'probably' be worth a grand more than that, give or take.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Monday 8th

I’ve just driven along the M62, from ‘the old’ A1/FerryBridge Services
As l got to jct 32/Pontefract, l was behind a pick-up
I noticed after a few minutes, it had the green section on the number-plate
Then EV on the tailgate

I have no idea what it was, as l didn’t want to tail-gate it
I left at jct 31

What could it be?, a Chinese built import?

 

[kynikos]

Monday 8th

I’ve just driven along the M62, from ‘the old’ A1/FerryBridge Services
As l got to jct 32/Pontefract, l was behind a pick-up
I noticed after a few minutes, it had the green section on the number-plate
Then EV on the tailgate

I have no idea what it was, as l didn’t want to tail-gate it
I left at jct 31

What could it be?, a Chinese built import?

Maxus T90EV?

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Maxus T90EV?

Yes, probably, looking at rhe rear end

 

[Cavalol]

Maxus T90EV?

Good God, are Stoneacre still going? Haven't forgiven them for the Fiat 500 my daughter bought from one of their branches.

 

[mustang1]

Had really wanted a second hand Mercedes GLE350 (I fancied the three litre diesel rather than the 2.1) it just seemed to be that the exact spec I wanted was out of reach, for various reasons. The GLC was next on the list (again second-hand), where it would appear the bigger engine models are to be avoided due to the 'crabbing issue'. Both really nice looking cars (imho) but then I noticed the EQC range and started looking at them on the internet.

Popped up to F*rds of Winsford who initially had sold the one I wanted to look at (my fault, should have checked before I left) then couldn't find the other one that was supposed to be there. No matter, they got another one in and we arranged to go and try it the following weekend. This turned out to be a massive mistake and waste of time/fuel, as the salesman was clueless about them and tried to put me off buying one. This intensified when he realised I didn't want his mega money PCP scheme, so we were fed probably half an hour of lies/nonsense/very hard sell from him and his manager. Had a test drive, loved the car but cannot forgive hard sellers and pushy people (they were honestly awful, clearly just wanted finance commission) so looked round on the internet and found this...

View attachment 724745

It's a better spec than the FoW one ('Premium', as opposed to AMG) and first impressions are very favourable. It's blooming lovely inside, seems to drive beautifully and has a great spec. Haven't got a charger at home (I know, I know) but we go into town two or three times a week so thought I'd charge at one of the shopping car parks.

So far (one attempt) it didn't go well: two or three of the chargers (they have loads) didn't work, the internet access was patchy (which effectively ruled out using the app) and then the charge was so slow. It'd do if you were desperate for a few miles of charge, but it was estimating something like 7 or 8 hours to full charge from about 30%. You've obviously got the parking fees on top of that, so to me it didn't really make much sense unless parking there anyway.

Yesterday I tried a super fast charger up the road. Bit fiddly to work, but I rang the company and they were very helpful. The lady estimated 40 minutes from 35 mile range showing to full, so parked up (they have cameras) locked it up and went for a long walk with the dog. It took 72 minutes to 98% in the end, my son says they are a slower rate up to something like 40% charge, then ramp up until they hit 80% and then slow down again. It would seem it's best to charge them to 80% and then do it again when it hits about 40%, I think.

Not going to be massively inconvenient as we don't go especially far (except for holiday once or twice a year, and a couple of trips to London) so hopefully it'll work out for us.

Obviously some of the haters have been at it 'It'll catch on fire/not a proper car/trains full of lithium juice are exploding every day/yadda yadda yadda' but I bought it because I like it.

EQC = super smooth ride quality.
EQC and GLC have a lovely shape, I think it will still be a pretty looking car years from now.
Crabbing on GLC happened with all models I think.

 

[Cavalol]

EQC = super smooth ride quality.
EQC and GLC have a lovely shape, I think it will still be a pretty looking car years from now.
Crabbing on GLC happened with all models I think.

I'm obviously biased, but have to agree with you there. The only slight let down on the EQC is the rear end, and one of the reasons black is the nicest colour, IMHO, as it makes the back look a bit nicer, though probably sounds silly.

It seems the crabbing is/was an issue on all GLCs, but is 'fixable' on everything under the 3.0 litre ones, whether petrol or diesel. Seem to recall the upgrade was replacement/upgraded steering knuckles, and it seems winter tyres work better than 'standard' ones. The bigger engined ones can't be cured as there's no upgraded knuckles, some people are saying.

Had a professional give it a buff and ceramic coating recently. Not cheap but worth every penny, it's come up a treat and rain water doesn't leave drying marks now. Getting the interior done by the same fella soon, although to an untrained eye it looks clean, he showed me how clean it could be in little parts on the steering wheel and seats.

 

[presta]

The Electric Car Shock is an interesting listen: the complacency of western EV manufacturers who are in danger of waking up one day to find that the Chinese have put them all out of business.

 

[CXRAndy]

The European car makers scoffed at Tesla, for their early build quality. The USA just ignored Tesla . China started to copy Tesla once their Giga factory was built there. Giga factory Germany really started to rock the foundations of legacy makers.

Very few makers actually use a dedicated chassis design for an EV. Most just adapt an older vehicle.

Tesla has streamlined production, making big savings allowing them to make profit per car. It is widely accepted that no legacy maker actually makes a profit on any EV.

Now the Chinese are on the march, coming to Europe, USA.

I expect many brands to merge to save their businesses from collapse in the next few years

 

[classic33]

Tesla to settle over fatal Autopilot crash
"Tesla has agreed to settle a lawsuit over a crash in 2018 which killed Apple engineer Walter Huang after his Model X, operating on Autopilot, collided with a highway barrier."

Share value continues to fall, as have their sales and share of the market.