Reply With QuoteLink please. I did a lot of research into battery life and manufacturer warranties before purchasing an EV and it doesn't concern me in the least.Originally Posted by aa388
Mercedes haven't been making (full) EVs for that long - the first (EQCs) came out in 2019, so it couldn't have been that old. I'm surprised that a 3 year old EV developed a battery fault that wasn't covered by the warranty.
Link please. I did a lot of research into battery life and manufacturer warranties before purchasing an EV and it doesn't concern me in the least.
Don't just do something, sit there. - TNH
Aa388 didn't say it was a full EV, could have been a hybrid?
Even so. Batteries in EV have proved far more reliable than what you have in your gadgets. Furthermore, a whole industry is developing in recycling them, as it seems both easy and very cost effective. People's fear of EOL for batteries stem from their mobile phone experience, and it couldn't be more different.
2 things: the quick charging network (across Europe) and the range. Without those 2 assets Tesla would possibly not be around anymore. But with them, for the moment they are probably the only choice I could consider if I switched, as we need a family car to take us to SW France at least once a year.
Of course, things will change quickly and my F11 has not even reached the 100k miles yet, so I can wait.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
They previously made the B250E which was a short lived and quickly forgotten EV using Tesla batteries (but only about 20-30kwhr- I don’t remember exactly) and only slow charging capability.
With respect to battery life, I’ve had my Nissan van for seven years and have covered over 65,000 miles in it without any significant degradation. There are taxi firms using (or were) early, small battery Leafs with 200,000 miles on them.
All these old negatives about EVs being raised on this thread are just fluff, having been mentioned and discredited many times before on almost every other thread about EVs.
My wife drives a Suzuki hybrid, we understand the technology thank you and have no fear of it. At the moment we need two cars, her £15k new hybrid averages 65mpg, and my £8k second hand diesel mini averages 75mpg. A single £23k EV wouldn't work for us at the moment, when it does that is the route we will likely take.
However, aa388's post illustrated that it can potentially be a scrap the car event if it does go wrong.
This is also true of course if the engine or gearbox goes in an ICE car, but scrapping the car because of this is usually well down the road when the car is only worth a few £k anyway. If the car is newer but out of warranty it's usually cost effective to replace the item unlike perhaps battery packs?
Last edited by Ruggertech; 1st August 2022 at 09:49.
Hybrids may be a different kettle of fish, but the recycling possibility means that a new set of batteries on a full EV -should it be required- wouldn't be that expensive considering the left over value of the dead one.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
EV batteries are made up of packs of cells. Should a few cells fail then they can usually be replaced without having to replace the whole pack.
Again, there are businesses springing up to either repurpose the good cells or replace bad cells to bring the whole pack back up to 100%. They can then do a complete pack swap for far less than the cost of a new pack.
If you’re looking at EV batteries as a throw away item then you’re looking at it wrong.
Enjoy the savings while you can. As ICE car usage falls, so will the govt's funds from RFL and fuel taxes, and they'll need to replace those with new taxes ...
The cost of the batteries themselves no, not that expensive agreed. But depending on the design of the car itself the labour required to change them may be extensive. A little like having to pay a few grand to take the front bodywork and engine out of some ICE cars to change a £100 clutch for example.
That certainly used to happen. E-type I think was notorious -Menno will be more precise.
It still does today but seems to be on purpose rather than "we hadn't considered that", like changing the whole light instead of bulb/LED, or having to remove front wheel to access said light.
Those who do that will catch the first users out and the ensuing bad reviews will take them out of the market if the occurence is anything but exceptional.
This is a relatively new, and immature market.
Early adopters take the risks, but also get greater incentives. As Hogthrob pointed out, the current benefits are not viable long term.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
It was one of there hybrids, but just goes to show the potential pitfalls of batteries. Think it was an E class hybrid.
Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app
Very true, but by the time the first users are being caught out it will be too late for the later buyers who have already bought.
One story and anecdotal at that; I don’t think that’s really showing the potential pitfall of batteries!
Toyota have been building hybrids for the past twenty five years without any major horror stories.
I've just bought a full EV at 20k which is 18 months old with 18k on clock. I wouldn't buy a petrol car right now - but (and this is a significant caveat) buy what suits you. Used prices are fluctuating, new cars are hard to find, EV's don't suit all kinds of driving - even diesels still suit under certain conditions.
Buy what suits you right now - the future will be electric in some guise but we're a good few years away from having the supporting infrastructure for it to make sense to everyone.
I did, but its not quite the same question as its a 17yr old Aston.
https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/n...attery-6545540
Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app
He needs to get it to a HEVRA garage, there’s one in Leicester.
Lots of 8 year old cars would be financial write offs if you paid the costs of a main dealer repair or replacement.
My 7 year old Audi S3 would have been in that boat had I got the engine replacement from the Audi dealership rather than a specialist refurb engine supplier fitted by a competent independent garage.
On the original subject, buying any car won’t ‘save the planet’, but when you need a new one you could choose one that impacts less/is more sustainable. That’s it really, it’s not rocket science, it’s about least worst options if we’re being honest.
Every credible study on ICE vs EV lifetime emissions (including building) shows the EV benefits even in a country with dirty electricity generation such as Germany. It’s a much better picture here in the UK, and even better in places like Norway.
We’re running excess electricity generation at the moment via CCGT and minimal coal here in the UK currently, not to power EVs but to keep the lights on in Europe…
As of 1615 today, we were generating 3% of the UKs demand via coal, but were exporting 8% to Europe to help with their demand.
If there were no export, there’d be no need to fire up the coal power station, the price of electricity makes it profitable to do so, which kind of makes a mockery of our own efforts to clean up electricity generation.
Money still talks I guess…
https://gridwatch.co.uk/
+1 ... now for the fuel/service bills
Doesnt have to cost that much, like all things in life there is an alternative, as battery usage becomes more prevalent these kind of places will spout from everywhere.
https://www.hybridrepairservice.co.u...eries-for-sale
£1500-3000 Comparable to replacing an engine in an ice car
I'll still be buying / running petrol cars until there really is no choice as I don't think EV's are the answer.
Andy
Wanted - Damasko DC57
Sadly, yep. Unless you have a house with a driveway and a company car scheme or own a company.
Cheers for all the input
It depends what the question is really doesn’t it?
The answer probably isn’t to carry on as we are either.
Or, hydrogen, which until we have sufficient surplus green electricity to make it is even worse than just generating the greenest electricity we can for direct consumption.
If anybody wants to make a serious impact on their personal motoring carbon footprint, then I’m afraid no car at all is the only answer.
For the rest of us, going for the least worst option is still an ‘answer’, imperfect as it is…
what did you go for?
A nice little MG ZS EV. It’s perfect in every way.
Last edited by RickChard; 8th August 2022 at 16:48.
I was chatting to my neighbour about his Ford Mach E and he reckons its saving him a fortune in fuel. We chatted some more and he does under 10,000 miles a year and the car cost him £45k. His previous car was a 12 year old diesel Mondeo he’d had for 3 or 4 years - doing similar annual mileages - and I just can’t make the maths work in my head.
I understand a man’s need for a bit of techy gadgetry in his life, preferably on wheels and a nice shiny colour - but as a money saving exercise I think he’s loopy! - sure give it 10 years (with the same car all that time) and I’ll look at the maths in more detail but I think he’s a bit deluded tbh!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I’ve got a plug in hybrid and the original outlay over the petrol version I worked out will take about 10 years to recoup so not really a money saving exercise in any shape or form your neighbour sounds like he’s just making pathetic excuses for shelling out loads of money on an electric car
I don't get it either. He was spending less than £3000 a year on petrol, so that's his maximum 'saving', even is charging the car is free. Either he isn't factoring in the cost of the car, or is making some ambitious depreciation calculations.
I have none of these things and drive a Tesla and it's been super convenient
Looks nice - other half is contemplating an EV as she does 20k miles a year. No decent MG EVs under 22k that I can find so far unfortunatelyA nice little MG ZS EV. It’s perfect in every way.
The financial savings only stack up if you were going to replace your old worn out car with a similar EV equivalent.
Replacing an older ICE car with another ICE doesn’t make financial sense if you’re looking to recoup the capital cost short term either.
Posting Permissions