First EV

avgeek2

Hi all,

I've been researching buying an EV. Budget was 7-10k but could probably stretch to 12k. What year/KM on the clock would I be looking at? Have been looking at the Zoe and Leaf.

I've been hearing about a "battery lease" does this only apply the Renault Zoe? Looking to do my bit for the environment and try and save money in the long run! I'm thinking that an EV would be suitable as it will be mostly city driving.

Thanks

billy king

Check out Bob Flavin on youtube he has good info

ei9go

billy king wrote: »

Check out Bob Flavin on youtube he has good info

Look anywhere but there.

Contact Phil in Electric Autos in Naas.

Water John

If your on low mileage, a Leaf post 2013 may suit you.

liamog

Bob Flavin can be good for a general review of the car, but sometimes misses the trees for the forest, so take his reviews with a pinch of salt. Personally I tend to find a Bob Flavin plus a Fully Charged review will balance each other out.

With a budget of 7-12k you are pretty much limited to Zoe's and Leaf's. At that price level your looking at a range of around 150km in city summer driving down to about 75km for winter motorways.
What's your expected usage going to be like? Best thing to do is share your normal daily usage and any long journeys you do once every six weeks.
You'll also want to hold some money back to install a home charger, if it's relatively simple, you can do it for around €300 over the grant.

slave1

Prime terrority for a 30kw Leaf, it’s a 2016 reg you are after and will come with battery warranty until 2024 but those battery packs are proving bulletproof to date.
I have one and have a 104km daily commute with around 18% battery left when I get home in Winter and that’s using preheating via the remote App and AC/heating on 24/7. In Summer, around 35% left after commute.
Annual service is €77 at main Nissan dealer and it is so comfortable to drive and extremely well built.
In 67k kms all I’ve done is change two tyres and had annual services.
Read the huge Nissan Leaf thread, will take some time but well worth it.

zg3409

What is your daily commute round trip in km?
Do you go through any tolls daily?
Do you have access to a second car for long trips?
What is the round trip distance of typical weekend trip to visit relations etc?

What is your current car and annual mileage?

Battery lease has pros and cons,

Long distance trips where you need to stop en route are the main downside of EV ownership, with often 50kW esb chargers being busy, blocked or broken.

If you can do 98% of trips without stopping to charge and fill up at home you can save some fuel money with it much if a downside. 100km a day is a good sweet spot for savings without needing to buy an expensive EV.

Have you been in a Zoe, its a relatively small car. Main downside is most older ones only charge at 22kW maximum versus 50kW of most other EVs meaning on a long trip beyond range you will be waiting twice as long to fill up. You could easily be waiting one full hour at motorway services if charger is not busy. Main upside is it can fill up at 3 times the typical rate at esb slow chargers, most cars can only take 7kW on them while Zoe can take full 22kW.

slave1

Don't touch a battery lease

Black_Knight

From the OPs other posts, "Looking at about a 30-35km round trip each day."
and "Won't really be using it for motorway driving". Also "have driveway where a charge point could be installed."

As I mentioned in that thread OP, an old leaf is probably your man.

Nedveds leaf is tipping a bit over the top of your budget, but depending on where you are in the country it could be a bother to buy and drive back. He has it off the market while in lockdown, but as far as i know it's not sold.
https://www.adverts.ie/car/nissan/leaf/2016-nissan-leaf-30kwh/20146589

So maybe 2016 leafs might be out of reach.

slave1

As an option.....

2016 Leaf 30 with 25k miles on the clock on Autotrader.

FX 0.884 today so say, £10,250 = €11,595 + €510 transported to your door.
€12.1k all in

ELM327

2016 leaf 30 , this one has been for sale for a while, you'd get it for 12k without bothering with going to UK

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/nissan-leaf-ev-30kw-sve-2016/24203709

slave1

Nice looker but I'd be hesitant in that high mileage if going to be putting more on it as you'd blow the battery warranty prior to 2024.
Just something to consider, 26k kms left to spread across 4 years.....

ELM327

I think the warranty is irrelevant for leaf 30 tbh, it's the best Nissan battery.