EV are they worth it?

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If I had to plug in and switch on every day, it would wind me right up and would cause me to go have a shout at people on the internet.

So... don't! I do 20,000 miles a year in an EV and I don't plug in every day. You do the square root of stuff-all miles a year, and you're crying about how onerous it would be to plug cable into a socket!

I did grocery on monday and went to top up. I made a personal record of topping up after 4 months. I have been busy doing stuff and I have everything I need. So the car was neglected. My perma-connected-and-placed 5w solar panel kept the battery in tip top condition. The car purred into life without struggle and it cost me not an ounce of effort, or a shred of thought.

Look, I accept that thought isn't something that comes easy to you, but I don't even need to crank a starter motor in an EV! None of this laborious turning a key to a first position and then a cranking position - I just press a button!

 

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EV's pose health and life risks in winter. Seems EV's either burn you or freeze you.

Oh FFS! I just get in mine and drive it in winter - just like I do in summer! I don't even have to scrape the ice off it or drive it a few miles before the engine has wasted enough energy to warm the heater matrix up!

 

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Well, got into a right pickle yesterday.................

........car needed charging, it was late at night, and I had just got home.
What to do?

After what seemed like an age, I managed to open the charge flap with a tap of the door (I couldn't be bothered with the switch on the dash, and the key-with-the-charge-flap-opening-button-on-it was tucked into my pocket), lift the charge lead from its holster, pop the rubber cap off, and plug it into the charge port.

30 seconds of my life that I'll never get back.

Exhausted, I let myself in, and wearily trudged up the stairs, and collapsed into bed.



Scraping the sleep from my eyes this morning, I blearily dragged myself downstairs, and made a brew.

Outside, unplugged the lead and reholstered it, then looked at my home energy monitor.


A FIVER ALREADY!!!!!! IT'S ONLY SEVEN O'CLOCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!


(£4.30 in electricity, 70p standing charge, and another 320 miles of range )

It's great, isn't it? Nutjob had to go to a special place to refuel his. Even then, he'd have had to stand there, like a lemon, holding the "charging lead" throughout the entire process - AND THEN get his butt kicked by the big oil companies and the chancellor, for the privilege!

 

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I got up today and suddenly realised my ICE is ready to go. It didn't cost me £4.5 over night. Nor did it keep me awake thinking if any burglar tripped over any cord, I could get sued for it. Even if they don't win, it would be a huge hassle. My car has the range for the next 4 months, shocka!

Funny enough, I didn't lie away worrying about mine last night either - but maybe I only worry about REAL problems?

 

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Adding a 2 hour wait for a place at a charging station makes a big difference to a journey that takes 4 -5 hours in a petrol fueled car.

It certainly would! Luckily, I've never had to do that in an EV...

 

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People who often drive 300 miles or 600 miles in a day need to bear that in mind.

Most people don't.

430 miles in a day last month. Took me about 20 minutes longer than the same journey in an ICE...

 

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In the event of a Mad Max catastrophe, solar panels on your wilderness shack would still work.

Israel destroys them on Arab houses as part of their policy to keep their living conditions primitive.

That's the thing. Ironically, the same libertarians who are so dramatically opposed to EVs, would actually find that they have far MORE independence with an electric powertrain than they ever could, whilst depending on fossil fuel. It always cracks me up that all these rough, tough, Bear Grylls wannabe "preppers" with their 7 litre V8 pickup trucks, bristling with hunting rifles, would actually be sat there, seething with impotent rage, come the zombie apocalypse, because they can't make their own fuel, whereas the weedy, bespectacled EV nerd would just charge from their solar panels or windmill...

 

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EV owners are getting mugged.

ICE owners getting mugged...

 

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Where does it say they are buying EV's? Most older and experienced car owners don't buy EV's. Most younger car owning apartment dwellers have no where to charge EV's. A considerable number of EV owners will be switching back to ICE. The EV market will dwindle and eventually disappear.

It's actually still growing...

 

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Most sensible people look at the comparisons and decide what suits best

Others won't.

When was the last time you bought a car out of interest ?

He doesn't need to - they last so long under his meticulous maintenance regime...

 

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I rarely buy cars. I just drive them until someone crashes into me.

Happen a lot... does it...?

 

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It's good to have a vehicle with flexibility that can handle being used infrequently, or just for short journeys or even regular or irregular long journeys. ICEs have this flexibility. Don't need to consider their use, just buy one and all uses are covered. Logically, EV limitations will cut down their appeal to future owners as they aren't suitable for all buyers. This inflexibility may explain EVs' faster depreciation as the appeal to a limited, niche market.

Another thing that may affect EV appeal ,and consequently residual values, is that when they are 2nd, 3rd or 4th hand - subsequent owners are more likely to be from lower income groups. These group of buyers are less likely to have private driveways or the means to pay for expensive installation of charaging equipment. Domestic chargers on ageing EVs will be even more important to ownership as the batteries' performance fades away. An issue that I have never heard anyone raise or even consider before.

If anything, a quick look on Autotrader will tell you the absolute opposite. It's the lower end of the market - (£5k or less) where the EVs are actually worth about the same as the ICEs. The thing is, the guy buying the sub-£5k ICE knows he's always going to be putting his hand in his pocket - a cam belt, a clutch, a tailbox, a starter, a water pump, an alternator, a DPF, an injector (or a full set if he's unlucky)... never mind the routine servicing...

The guy who buys a £5k EV won't have any of those things to worry about. He'll have a potential battery replacement to worry about, but if that happens, he'll just scrap the car and get another one. The thing is, it's actually far LESS likely to happen , and (some) people are starting to realise that...

 

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More details of the land rover involved in the luton fire are referenced in this video. The video commenters also revealed some details. I am curious on some counter evidence. Do we pretend hybrids are not EV's?

Do we pretend hybrids aren't ICEs?

 

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Let's see some counter evidence to your evidence. There's no smoke without fire. Where are these people getting their info? They would have a source.

Same place as you get your "evidence", by the looks of things...

 

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That's the same people who claimed diesel before the investigation. That's not a good source for me.

My google source says the following. I forgot, it was pointed out before on the lack of black smoke from a diesel fire.

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