Choosing a car that will be used sporadically - Hybrid/electric/petrol?

St1mpMeister

I want to get a car for occasional, rather than regular, use. So the car will be stationary 95% of the time as I would generally commute around using other methods (bikes / public transport / taxis etc).

There are times, though, when I would need a car at short notice where the other transport methods wouldn't be suitable, and a car rental isn't convenient, so say once every 1 or 2 weeks I would use the car.

Car share also isn't an option as I'm not near any drop off points.

I understand that older petrol car batteries can die from lack of use, so would an electric or hybrid be more suitable for my purposes and I could just charge up the battery every week or so by plugging it in?


I'm mainly looking for a car with lots of rear storage space as I want to put kiteboarding equipment in there, so the rear seats will generally always be down.

Mooooo

I think some of the hybrids come with sealed petrol tanks so the petrol would last longer. How long would your journies be? An electric van may suit plenty space it they seem to have a short enough range and dunno how the battery would do not being used

colm_mcm

Would Go Car suit I wonder?

If you actually look at the cost per km of owning a car that rarely gets used, it might shock you.

Hybrids wouldn't be suited to being left sitting for extended periods

elperello

If you have private parking you might consider a petrol car fitted with a trickle charger.
Something like this-
http://www.halfords.ie/motoring/bulbs-blades-batteries/car-battery-chargers/halfords-maintenance-charger

St1mpMeister

colm_mcm wrote: »

Would Go Car suit I wonder?

If you actually look at the cost per km of owning a car that rarely gets used, it might shock you.

Nope, Go Car isn't an option as I'm not near any car sharing places. Also I want the car there when I sporadically decide to use it (weather changes and I don't want to cycle to work etc), not having to pre-book it or whatever.

Cost isn't a problem, I'm well aware I'm paying for the convenience rather than the actual function.

colm_mcm wrote: »

Hybrids wouldn't be suited to being left sitting for extended periods

Would electrics be ok?

elperello wrote: »

If you have private parking you might consider a petrol car fitted with a trickle charger.
Something like this-
http://www.halfords.ie/motoring/bulbs-blades-batteries/car-battery-chargers/halfords-maintenance-charger

Hmm looks like it would need to be connected to an outlet regularly?

Unfortunately, despite having private parking, it's a terraced house so postmen walk in area between my front door and the parking spot.

I guess what I want to know is: Is there any car you can leave for 2 weeks without being driven and it won't be a problem?

The bi-weekly drives will probably be 5-20km depending on whether I go to the shops or visit the folks.

colm_mcm

St1mpMeister wrote: »

Would electrics be ok?

Not sure to be honest.

I would just get an old small engined petrol car like a Yaris Verso for €1k and a jumper pack.
Obvs insurance on an older car might be more expensive.

St1mpMeister

colm_mcm wrote: »

Not sure to be honest.

I would just get an old small engined petrol car like a Yaris Verso for €1k and a jumper pack.
Obvs insurance on an older car might be more expensive.

Cheers for the suggestion. Not too keen on the appearance of that car really.

Maybe a commercial vehicle would be better, at least it would be more secure leaving my kiteboard equipment in the back all the time since the windows would be concealed.

I'll check the electrical forum to see what they say about leaving one of their cars idle for 2 weeks.

Shefwedfan

Leaving a electric car idle is no issue. Mine is sitting up for last 3 weeks. You just don’t leave it fully charged.

I am not sure what you meant in regards to your parking? You have a house with your own parking so I guess this is a spot in your own driveway and not in street parking?

colm_mcm

St1mpMeister wrote: »

Cheers for the suggestion. Not too keen on the appearance of that car really.

Maybe a commercial vehicle would be better, at least it would be more secure leaving my kiteboard equipment in the back all the time since the windows would be concealed.

I'll check the electrical forum to see what they say about leaving one of their cars idle for 2 weeks.

Berlingo Multispace then. You can get them with 1.4 Petrol too.

St1mpMeister

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Leaving a electric car idle is no issue. Mine is sitting up for last 3 weeks. You just don’t leave it fully charged.

I am not sure what you meant in regards to your parking? You have a house with your own parking so I guess this is a spot in your own driveway and not in street parking?

Would doing this regularly damage the car at all?

For the parking space I though the idea of the trickle charger is that you have a cable running from the car to your house at all times, and this wouldn't be an option as the space between my house and the parking space is essentially a "public" walking area.

colm_mcm wrote: »

Berlingo Multispace then. You can get them with 1.4 Petrol too.

I'd prefer something a little less "boxy". Something like the Citroen C4



It's more length rather than vertical space I need. I could probably tint the windows.

Ireland doesn't have any laws about tinting windows does it?

elperello

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/nissan-qashqai-high-spec-low-milage-/17089243?campaign=3

Something like this?
Lots of space, good spec, low mileage.
You won't lose too much depreciation on this and you could stick a good heavy duty battery in it which should be ok for 2 weeks.
If you could manage the charger maybe running cable in conduit all the better.

St1mpMeister

elperello wrote: »

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/nissan-qashqai-high-spec-low-milage-/17089243?campaign=3

Something like this?
Lots of space, good spec, low mileage.
You won't lose too much depreciation on this and you could stick a good heavy duty battery in it which should be ok for 2 weeks.
If you could manage the charger maybe running cable in conduit all the better.

More like it alright, thanks!

Shefwedfan

St1mpMeister wrote: »

Would doing this regularly damage the car at all?

For the parking space I though the idea of the trickle charger is that you have a cable running from the car to your house at all times, and this wouldn't be an option as the space between my house and the parking space is essentially a "public" walking area.

colm_mcm wrote: »

Berlingo Multispace then. You can get them with 1.4 Petrol too.

I'd prefer something a little less "boxy". Something like the Citroen C4



It's more length rather than vertical space I need. I could probably tint the windows.

Ireland doesn't have any laws about tinting windows does it?

You can tint the back windows, the front ones no

In regards to electric cars. No it doesn’t do any harm, you get guidelines on what to do. E.g. don’t have fully charged and leave lying up. About 50 % I think is recommended, it will slowly lose some of that charge over an extended period(over 8 days).

Like any car an electric car has a smaller battery, if left for a really long time this battery could discharge and you would need to charge this first to start the car. How long are you talking about leaving the car lying up?

St1mpMeister

Shefwedfan wrote: »

How long are you talking about leaving the car lying up?

I'd say on average no more than 2 weeks, though it could be a up to a month if I go abroad.

Shefwedfan

Any car sitting up for 2 weeks should not have a issue with starting. Even after a month I would expect it to start.....if a diesel you just let it warm up a bit before starting it, I used to turn ignition on/off a few times to warm its cockles......also don’t stand at the exhaust pipe on a diesel after a bit of a lie up.....

The benefit of electric would be lower service cost, lower tax, lower insurance, lower fuel costs.

The draw back of electric, you need to charge, so if you leave at 50% as recommended when not driving if you get up in morning and want to drive off will it have enough power to get you around? What range would you need? For planned trips that should be no issue....

Fast chargers and slow chargers are available and free to use but it is shocking bad system at the moment, with the normal Irish attitude of “its someone else’s job”.......so don’t rely on them.....do you have a charger at work?

St1mpMeister

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Any car sitting up for 2 weeks should not have a issue with starting. Even after a month I would expect it to start.....if a diesel you just let it warm up a bit before starting it, I used to turn ignition on/off a few times to warm its cockles......also don’t stand at the exhaust pipe on a diesel after a bit of a lie up.....

The benefit of electric would be lower service cost, lower tax, lower insurance, lower fuel costs.

The draw back of electric, you need to charge, so if you leave at 50% as recommended when not driving if you get up in morning and want to drive off will it have enough power to get you around? What range would you need? For planned trips that should be no issue....

Fast chargers and slow chargers are available and free to use but it is shocking bad system at the moment, with the normal Irish attitude of “its someone else’s job”.......so don’t rely on them.....do you have a charger at work?

I'd be looking to take occasional trips across to Leitrim from Dublin so that might factor into the decision about whether the electric would be suitable as I'm not sure where there are electric stations around there.

If the hybrid can't be left for long periods then I guess a fuel-guzzler might be my only option.

Shefwedfan

Dublin to Leitrim can be done in newer ELectric cars but you are talking 20k+, a lot to spend on car that won’t be used.....

Hybrid can sit up the same as petrol, going for hybrid will be more expensive than a straight petrol

Depends on budget now

St1mpMeister

St1mpMeister wrote: »

Would doing this regularly damage the car at all?

For the parking space I though the idea of the trickle charger is that you have a cable running from the car to your house at all times, and this wouldn't be an option as the space between my house and the parking space is essentially a "public" walking area.



I'd prefer something a little less "boxy". Something like the Citroen C4



It's more length rather than vertical space I need. I could probably tint the windows.

Ireland doesn't have any laws about tinting windows does it?

Looking at this again...

I see Opel have a 15% off sale event on now and I spotted a "Corsa Van" going for 13K (and I think that becomes €11K after the sale drop).

Are Corsa Vans good and have decent storage space at back?

If I get a new car I'd probably end up using it more than "sporadically"