Electric only cars

[Raven]

Himself checked that out and the garage know a guy who will remove it for £300, but if I am in an accident my insurance will be withdrawn, and I may be reported to the police and charged. Simply not worth it. Much easier to try and get a petrol one.

[JBR]

I read a report in the Telegraph today that the latest bright idea by our wonderful government is to RATION the sale of petrol and diesel cars until the 2030 ban of new ICE car sales!

[klondike]

THe current shortage of micro chips means just about all new cars are pre-order with a long lead time. Mine was going to be 7 months but they needed to fill some quota or other and somehow let the UK have a load so long as they were all registered before the end of February. It did of course mean missing the 73 plate which will mean the resale price will be marginally down but I thought better than the wait.

[Raven]

I get my cars 2nd hand. Would not pay the extortionate new prices. Especially since I was told by a car salesman that the minute you drive a new car away from the forecourt, it's price halves. Disgusting trick. 

[klondike]

I always used to but I fancied one with no worries or unexpected bills. Plus secondhand car prices have gone through the roof because of the shortage of new cars. The world shutting down for two years for covid has buggered more than just the economy.

[Raven]

Yes so I believe, I got my big Yeti Girl just before Covid hit and have not actively been looking for another one BUT, I told my car guy not long ago that I want another one the same but petrol. He said no bother and will give me a call when one comes up.

[Alex]

I don't fancy an electric car, even if I could afford one.  A journey would take so much planning, where do you charge up being the main one.  There are two recharging bays at M & S car park, both were being used when I drove in and still occupied when I left.  How long does it take to charge an electric car ?  Would you have to sit drinking endless cups of coffee at a services waiting for the car to charge ?  beats me......

[JBR]

I don't fancy an electric car, even if I could afford one.  A journey would take so much planning, where do you charge up being the main one.  There are two recharging bays at M & S car park, both were being used when I drove in and still occupied when I left.  How long does it take to charge an electric car ?  Would you have to sit drinking endless cups of coffee at a services waiting for the car to charge ?  beats me......

A full charge can take hours, even if you can find a free and working charger.  Time for plenty of cups of coffee!

[klondike]

There are "high speed" chargers that can get the job done in about an hour but they are expensive (currently more expensive than fossil fuels) and in high demand so you may need to wait.

My son has two cars. One electric he uses for his  lengthy commute to work which he charges overnight  at home. That works out cheaper than a fossil fuel car. He also has a 4wd diesel which gets used mostly at weekends and always for breaks away from home.

The infrastructure simply isn't in place for electric cars to be viable as anything much more that a commuting or city car. I personally doubt it ever will be because not only will total supply need a big increase but capacity will need to be need to be upgraded street by street if each house is going to be using much more electric energy for both cars and the ludicrous heat pumps which also form a big part of the net zero fiction.

[JBR]

My son has two cars. One electric he uses for his  lengthy commute to work which he charges overnight  at home. That works out cheaper than a fossil fuel car. He also has a 4wd diesel which gets used mostly at weekends and always for breaks away from home.

The infrastructure simply isn't in place for electric cars to be viable as anything much more that a commuting or city car. I personally doubt it ever will be because not only will total supply need a big increase but capacity will need to be need to be upgraded street by street if each house is going to be using much more electric energy for both cars and the ludicrous heat pumps which also form a big part of the net zero fiction.

Exactly why the government's airy fairy ideas will come to nothing!
Home charging, of course, can only be an option for those who have a place to park the car whilst charging.  We are lucky enough to have that option, though I would never buy an EV for the reasons you outline.

The German government has announced that it will not stop the production of ICE cars, certainly not by the suggested date of 2030 or 2035 (depending on which source you look at).  In fact, I think it is only our own  inept government who are insisting that, not only will they ban the sale of ICE cars in 2030, but that they plan to 'ration' the sale of them beginning next year!

[GrannyMac]

My son in law loves his electric car, my son is considering replacing one of theirs with an electric model. Son in law has a charging point at home.  Lots of tax savings for business use.

[Michael Rolls]

on the BBC website yesterday Shapps was gloatingly confirming that from next year car manufacturers must make at least 22% of their output in EVs - wasn't clear whether this was pure EV or included hybrids. Any manufacturer failing to meet the target will be fined £15,000 per vehicle.
The power to control us has gone to this government's collective head - and I still feel Labour would be even worse.

[klondike]

Hybrids which don't have a charging plug have small batteries that achieve some energy savings by using the battery for standing starts and recovers some energy from braking. Other than that they are fossil fuel cars.

Electric cars are not viable for a sizeable proportion of the housing stock and the second hand market for electric cars will be small given the huge cost of replacing the batteries. Who will suffer? Mostly the less wealthy who likely won't have the advantage of personal transport their parents did. Maybe that is one of the goals. I doubt they could be given away once they reach 10 years old. There are lots of ICE cars far older than that now that the manufacturers bother to rust proof them when they are made. Modern oils have worked wonders for engine wear too.

[Michael Rolls]

My hybrid (bought under duress as the nearest approach to what I actually wanted) spends around a third or a bit more of each journey on battery power - it has two batteries  - a normal size one for - I presume - starting the engine when needed, and a bloody huge drive one in the boot, so big that it takes up more than a third of the boot and leaves no room for a spare wheel, a lack about which I worry.
It returns 49.4 mpg overall - it was a bit over 50 in the warmer days of summer, when I drove more often for pleasure several times a week, whereas now I only do so once or twice a week, the balance being only 6 or so miles a day.
I would still rather have had what I wanted - it cost a good £8,000 more than the petrol car I would have liked, had it not been taken out of production. It did 32-34 to teh gallon - and that extra £8,000 would have paid for a fair bit of petrol, even at today's prices

[klondike]

Can you charge it? If not then it's a petrol car despite the hybrid name.
Btw full electrics don't intrude on the boot their batteries are under the floor. The LPG/Petrol dual fuel ones use a chunk of the boot for the LPG tank.