Dealer, private, UK import or Japanese import?

sbmayo

Hi, I'm right at the start of this with very little experience of car buying/selling having lived in London most of my adult life without need of a car. I have 2004 Prius which I think it is time to move on from. So, where to begin? I'd like similar or smaller and low environmental impact as possible. I don't do big mileage but occasionally have to make a very long trip to my parents who are very remote in West Mayo (Belmullet) so a bit hesitant on fully electric because of range even though I'dlike to. .budget is probably flexible as i understand a lot of cars are paid on contracts these days(???). I'd also like to avoid depreciation as much as possible- thatwill be a big factor in how much i spend. Any suggestions? Thanks

...Ghost...

Used Renault Zoe 50kW.

Small car, so smaller carbon footprint. Utilises 22kW charging speeds from fast and destination charge points. Has a range of "up to" 400km. Realistic 300km. Fully electric, so very cheap to run. With minimal planning (if any) you can do the long trip to Westport. Cheap to buy. Here's an example, but im sure you will find better.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/renault-zoe-ev-play-r110-z-e-50kw-digital-dash/35063537

MojoMaker

Once you have destination charging capability the anxiety around range really dissipates.

Dublin to Belmullet easily within reach of any medium-sized EV on the market now, and with a granny charger in the boot you restore your battery overnight at your parents - all you need is a window open a crack and trail the cable out - there is really nothing to it.

Leaf would be ideal and probably about the right replacement for an early Prius in terms of size and mobility. Perfect car for your urban use case as well, and some terrific deals on 1-3yr old Leafs right now.

sbmayo

I'm in Cork, 365km from Belmullet so...bit of a stretch. Is that doable on one charge these days?

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121558210#Comment_121558210

Depends on the car, battery, driving style and weather.

In the Zoe, you'd make it most of the year if you took it easy. Or you stop off at a charge point along the route for 30 minutes to top up before hitting the road again. If this was a weekly trip, I would go for a bigger battery. If it was every other month, I would take the cheaper car and be happy to stop halfway on the route.

How often do you do the long trip and how much mileage do you do per year?

sbmayo

I do it about 6 times a year but it may go up depending on my father's health. Other than that, very little - local shops and occassional trip to Dublin or the west coast - about 10,000 miles. Thanks!

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121560310#Comment_121560310

Then you honestly don't need anything more than the Zoe. Personally I hate the car and it's tiny, but it fits the bill for your use case.

If you increase the budget, you could pick up a VW ID.3

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/volkswagen-id-3-2020/35685359?campaign=3

The range is slightly less and type 2 charging will be at 7kW mostly, but up to 11kW in some cases instead of the potential 22kW the Zoe can get from Super Chargers and some destination chargers.

The VW does however come with CSS fast charge port, which will see you charging at up to 100kW speeds.....usually 50-80kW depending on the rapid charger. It's also a much nicer place to be and won't feel as cramped as the Zoe.

Another option is the Nissan Leaf. Great cars. Cheap and reliable, but the rapid charger is CHEdeMO, which is a dying charging standard. The slow charge port on all the cars is a type 2 and they will all draw 7kW from destination or home charge points. Note that the old shape Leaf 2017 and older use type 1 charge port. This is irrelevant though, because the public charge points are all untethered and you use the cable that comes with your car.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2019-nissan-leaf-nconnecta-full-electric-nct-06-25/34477350

Here's a decent example of a mid-spec version

mickdw

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121558210#Comment_121558210

In your situation and if the prius suited your needs, I'd get a modern Toyota with similar hybrid setup to prius and no need for pluging in at all.

Belmullet has an aldi charger and 1 esb Street charger plus some chargers at Broadhaven hotel. Not overrun with charging points.

Charging with granny cable drawing pretty much max current all night is not something I'd be attempting either if visiting an older property (which is very possible if visiting elderly parents).

sbmayo

Thanks both - really useful....I was considering a Peugeot 208 because they seem to have good range, a bit bigger than a Zoe, fast charge (100kw) and are not so large/expensive... I could charge it at my folks I think - the house is a 1990s build...any thoughts?

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/peugeot-208-e-allure-100kw-136-4dr-auto/35281403

Flinty997

Do you have home charging for your normal driving.

sbmayo

Yes, my neighbour has a lead out from his house to his car. No reason I couldn't do the same I think

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121562036#Comment_121562036

Charging with granny cable drawing pretty much max current all night is not something I'd be attempting either if visiting an older property (which is very possible if visiting elderly parents).

Pulling 10Amps overnight is not something I would worry about at all. Ideally there would be an outdoor socket and the OP should have one installed at his parents if there isn't one already. I would avoid using an extension lead with a granny charger though.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121562588#Comment_121562588

Same job as the e-corsa, which I have seen in the flesh and they look good for a small hatch.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/opel-e-corsa-price-dropped/35460658

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/opel-corsa-e-elite-50kwh/33881094

eastie17

i Have an EV and have done that journey twice, most recently over Christmas. if you’ll be doing it 6 times a year honestly I wouldn’t buy an EV, it’s not worth the stress.

granny charging at destination at 10A for me adds about 20% in 8 hours overnight. The amps you’ll get depends on what else needs electric overnight, you might have to lower the amps on the car which means slower charge. In my case car was charging from an outside garage on a separate 13 A fuse board so no issues

you will have to stop somewhere along the way to charge so you don’t arrive in Belmullet on fumes. I’ve used apple green tuam road 180kw charger, expensive but gets you back around 90% quickly

there are 2 esb 22 kw e chargers near the playground. Often busy but they work. Need ecars app to use, broadhaven have 2 for tesla only and one general but the general one rarely works and is supposed to be residents only. Aldi one is finicky and needs shell recharge sub.

failing those your talking Castlebar or Ballina. I believe there’s planning in for 3 or 4 chargers in Bangor but that could take years.

next time i go I’ll bring the diesel mild hybrid we also have, it’s not worth the stress of planning charging imho

you could look at installing a charger at ur parents house as another option if they’d allow it. If you had that it would make all the difference and would add to the value of the property potentially

sbmayo

Thanks very much for that @eastie17 - really helpful!

CivilEx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121574770#Comment_121574770

@eastie17 @sbmayo I think you should both have a look at @derekreilly YouTube channel which features his Coast to Coast journeys from Belmullet to Dublin in various EV's.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXEEmF91waiFmo7Xqgqq_L1KRld84SxMs

The only other charger you haven't mentioned above other than the EasyGo 50kw and 22kw ESB in Belmullet, is the EasyGo 50kW in Crossmolina, but that's 50km away!

https://www.plugshare.com/location/452743

That part of Mayo is not well served by Public charging infrastructure, so I think that a charger installed at your parents house in Belmullet would be the one I'd go for if your heart is set on getting an EV.

...Ghost...

Great that @eastie17 has experience of the journey. I would have to disagree with the comments made on granny charging. Unless the electrics are shot at the property, you will get 10A consistently while charging, or 2kW/h. If you only charge for the 8 hours (assuming night rate being the reason for that comment), then you still gain 16kW.

If we are looking at an e-corsa or e-208, the battery is 50kWh. With a full battery range of 300km at worst, that's 6km per kWh.

16kW will give you about 96km of range and that assumes the car is empty to begin with, which it wouldn't be. 96km is more than the 60km to get to the fast charger in Ballina. I might be leaning on the positive side of things when I say the car will likely have some energy in it before being plugged in overnight and will be charging for more than the 8 hours on the granny charger. It's more likely than not the car will be full, or nearly full by the time it is needed the next day.

I agree with @CivilEx that a charge point at the parents would make more sense.

Were it not for the "small car" request, I would be recommending a used Tesla Model 3. Most efficient EV out there and with access to the super charger network. Any sniff of range anxiety disappears. A boardsie has one listed on DD for €27k with low miles. I'm sure a deal could be done there.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/tesla-model-3-standard-range-plus/35981906

MojoMaker

Agree. M3 makes a lot of sense in this use case.

I know everyone's definition of a 'small' car is different, but I wouldn't consider the M3 a big car at all.

sbmayo

Thanks all... That Tesla looks great but probably a bit of a stretch for me financially...are most cars bought on credit these days?

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121581196#Comment_121581196

I would say yes, most cars over the 10k mark anyway, and many below that. The Model 3 I would say could be had for 25k and would be a great deal, covering all your driving needs mentioned and then some. You wouldn't think twice about Belmullet, though I would suggest a topup before arriving to leave you with a decent tank on arrival. It's not a small car, but it's super efficient and uses less juice than EVs half the size.

Soarer

OP, you'd be mad not to go for something electric.

You say you do 10,000 miles per year, and Cork -> Belmullet is 365km. Doing the maths...

10,000 miles is 16,000 kilometres.

Cork -> Belmullet -> Cork x 6 = (365 + 365) x 6 = 4,380 km.

16,000 km - 4,380 km = 11,620 km.

So 27% of your annual mileage will be the big journey. The other 73% is "normal". I think you'd be mad to buy a car that suits the 27% over the 73%.

As for planning, an app like ABRP takes all the guesswork out of it. I'd be amazed if a 15-20 minute fast charge on the way up, overnight charging at the parents, and a 20-30 minute stop on the way home, wouldn't see you through all year 'round.

maidhc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121582074#Comment_121582074

Or buy a phev that will do 100% of what you want… if you are buying new or nearly new then the current Prius is hard to look past.

Soarer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121582580#Comment_121582580

It would also be multiples of the EVs mentioned above.

sbmayo

thanks all...lots to consider, and now BYD are appearing...🤯