Thinking of EV

mylesm

Hello

I am considering a secondhand leaf as our second car I live in Dublin and 90% of our journeys are 15km or less so I would use the leaf almost all the time and only use ice car for long runs

I would like some feedback from current ev drivers regarding problems or not with public chargers are they easily available is there a problem with ice cars etc blocking them up

If I buy a sechondhand leaf what are my options for home charging I am an electrican so no problem installing whatever is needed

If I buy in UK I will get a granny cable

Thanks

mylesm

homer911

Sounds like a Leaf (or other EV) would be ideal

The public network is pretty good but it can be a bit temperamental - if you join the Irish EV owners group on Facebook you will get a feel for it. There was a driver forum yesterday where the inconsistency and lack of updates was an issue across the various systems (eCars, Carwings etc)

As regards ICE'ing, it happens, but its getting better as the local authorities start to clearly mark the charging spots as intended for electric vehicles only

You should check out the local public network around where you drive
http://www.esb.ie/electric-cars/electric-car-charging/electric-car-charge-point-map.jsp

mylesm

Thanks for reply

I have a nissan leaf out for a 2 day test so will see how i like it

not much feedback here except for homer911 thanks

macnab

Hey Myles, Fergus here.
I would say the Leaf is ideal for your needs.
As for home charging options, I am using the granny cable which charges at 10amps. I asked about the free home charger but was told that option was for new car purchases only, the first 2000 I think.
You can buy charger units but they are not cheap.
The main problem I have encountered is the RFID card that is needed to access the public chargers. My card is "in the post" for longer than I had anticipated. Luckily my constant whinging paid off today when a fellow leaf owner gave me a lend of his spare card until I get mine. But I did got caught short last week, see my post: "stranded in Blanchardstown"
There are a good few public charge points around, the one in Blanch has 2 16amp outlets and a DC quick charger which will charge your Leaf in 20 to 30 minutes, not something you want to do too often if battery longevity is a high priority. Its not too clear on the web site but its located in the car park right beside TFI, not at the taxi rank as depicted.
A lot of train stations have 16amp outlets and Applegreen fuel stations usually have both quick and slow chargers. I think there are chargers outside Head Office, but they are of no use to me until I get the standard lead (type 1 to type 2) Other slow chargers that might be of interest are the one on Johns road, the one outside the Point/O2/Three (not sure what its called this week) building beside the east link. There's a quick charger in the docks too though I haven't used it yet.
I have not heard many people talking about ice cars parking in EV spaces, but I'm sure it happens.
I got a few dirty looks in Blanch last week from car drivers who were cruising for parking, I got the feeling they felt it was unfair that there was a free (EV) space but they were not allowed to use it.
Incidently, one of the slow chargers was o/o/s the evening I was stranded in Blanch, I hope that doesn't happen too often.

I had the Leaf again for two days last week, I just didn't want to give it back, it's fantastic to drive.

You will find yourself driving further in the Leaf than you intend because you'll simply not want to drive an ICE again.

I drove to work and back to the Naas qc and charged for 15 mins to a charge of 58% and made it to Carlow Town with 20 kms left, I thought this was good.

For me to get home to my house I would need maybe just 5 mins qc to complete 84 miles. So I'd say a Leaf would suit you for many years.

Leaf II in 2017 will have about 150 miles range, Nissan keep hinting twice the range and that should be possible.

mylesm

Thanks Guys

Hi Fergus good to hear from you I didnt know that was you stranded in Blanch

I have the LEaf for 2 Days got it this morning I find it really good to drive no lack of power charging now on Granny Cable I will have to think long and hard to see if I can justify getting one maybe not doing enough Milage now would like one but really it would be a waste as a second car only doing 5-6000 a year

mylesm

macnab

One thing I hadn't counted on was that my wife drives the leaf as much as she can. Today alone it saved her €8 but that included the weekly shopping trip. I would say it will save me about €50 a week on diesel and save her up to €20 a week.
Apart from the savings it is a lovely comfortable car and very calming to drive in rush hour traffic.

One point about the charging infrastructure,

A lot of people seem to charge to 80% and beyond at the fast chargers which if you don't need to is a waste of time and means if someone is waiting to use the charger has to wait longer than necessary.

it's not wise to charge beyond 80% especially if the battery is hot, if you absolutely need to then do but it is very unwise.

I charged last Friday at Naas QC from 30% To 58% for 15 mins which was more than enough to get me back to Carlow Town with the heat on at 100-110 Kph. Charging to 80% would have been a waste of time. It may have been quicker if the battery was warmer.

To get me home would be 10 Kms closer and maybe 5-10 mins max is all I need to get me about 84 miles a day commute.

If work install a Charge point then happy days.

Some people leave their name under the charge port cover on the car so that you can ring them to see if it's ok to unplug their car from the charger if you won't make it back by the time it reaches 80%.

After 80% the charge current reduces to about 7 Kw which means if you have the 6.6Kw charger in your leaf you might as well plug into a normal street charger.

Shallow charges are always best, say 30%-80% or 30% to just enough to get home then when you need more range charge to whatever you need.

I'm hoping 2015 will be the year I finally ditch the ICE forever as my main car.

macnab

macnab wrote: »

One thing I hadn't counted on was that my wife drives the leaf as much as she can. Today alone it saved her €8 but that included the weekly shopping trip. I would say it will save me about €50 a week on diesel and save her up to €20 a week.
Apart from the savings it is a lovely comfortable car and very calming to drive in rush hour traffic.

Most people find themselves driving more and more in the ev once they get familiar with the range and how cold and warmer weather effect range.

mylesm

Well brought Leaf Back after 2 day test drive very impressed

I looked up VRT with a view to importing from UK and VRT is 0 as expected but do you pay VAT on the purchase

I know some people here imported so would appreciate if you could tell me total extras you had to pay on top of UK price

Also I see they are available in Japan on Auction sites so that is a possibility as well but on VRT Calculator when you select orginally registered in Japan Leaf is not listed strange

thanks
mylesm

toadfly

No VAT to be paid if (I think) it has more than 6000 miles on the clock and over 6 months old.

toadfly

toadfly wrote: »

No VAT to be paid if (I think) it has more than 6000 miles on the clock and over 6 months old.

Yeah that's my understanding of it too !

axe2grind

It's 6,000km, not miles

NIMAN

You only pay VAT on one side, so if you have to pay it in Ireland you get it VAT free in the UK.