Another 'Help me buy my first EV' thread

Gobthemagician · 26-04-2018 05:22PM

Thanks again to everyone. I'm going to view the car on Saturday so will update this thread afterwards.

Shefwedfan · 26-04-2018 06:06PM

Gobthemagician wrote: »

Me again.... I'm sure ye're thrilled I've been in contact with the dealer re this car http://www.electricautos.ie/viewanad.php?ad_id=1990560 and, as a clueless newbie, I again need yer advice on how good a car this appears to be? It's over the budget but the low mileage and 6.6kw charger makes me think it could be worth it.....opinions please? NCT not due until next year. Not registered in Ireland yet. The dealer would register it in my own county upon purchase.
I'm living about 3 hours drive away from Naas so haven't viewed the car or anything yet, all contact has been via email so far.
Also, am I right in thinking that the only grant I'd be entitled to from SEAI is the €600 home charging grant? Not that I'm complaining, mind! Just to clarify, do I buy the car, then apply for grant or is the dealer involved in the grant application process in any way?
Thanks a million again!

Phil is a gent, I bought 2 cars off him. He won't screw you either on price. Very competitive

26-04-2018 07:22PM

_dof_ showed me the LeafSpy report on the blue car. It's first one I have personally seen with battery health at over 100 percent (SOH was 104 I think) and Hx was almost 110 percent. It also reported 67Ah of battery capacity which is several percent better than my old 152 had even when it was new.

Good colour too imo.

Gobthemagician · 28-04-2018 08:09PM

So I stretched the budget and bought it! Found it a real dream to drive (very smooth), and the silence - wow! Car was in really excellent condition, battery over 100%. Siobhán was a real pleasure to deal with as well, very thorough in her explanation of everything and wasn't in any way pushy. I bought a Zappi home charger too. Looking forward to getting it all set up but will hold on to my current car for a few weeks until I'm well used to the Leaf and get a handle on my range anxiety

Thanks so much to everyone for your help / information / comments, etc. Massively appreciated.

Best wishes from another EV convert,
Gobthemagician

waynegalway · 28-04-2018 08:39PM

Gobthemagician wrote: »

So I stretched the budget and bought it! Found it a real dream to drive (very smooth), and the silence - wow! Car was in really excellent condition, battery over 100%. Siobhán was a real pleasure to deal with as well, very thorough in her explanation of everything and wasn't in any way pushy. I bought a Zappi home charger too. Looking forward to getting it all set up but will hold on to my current car for a few weeks until I'm well used to the Leaf and get a handle on my range anxiety
Thanks so much to everyone for your help / information / comments, etc. Massively appreciated.

Best wishes from another EV convert,
Gobthemagician

Nice, well done. Best wishes to you for many years of safe and happy driving.

Keep us posted on how you’re adjusting to it. There’s not much of a learning curve, but getting the best efficiency is something that develops with time.

_dof_ · 28-04-2018 10:23PM

Gobthemagician wrote: »

So I stretched the budget and bought it! Found it a real dream to drive (very smooth), and the silence - wow! Car was in really excellent condition, battery over 100%. Siobhán was a real pleasure to deal with as well, very thorough in her explanation of everything and wasn't in any way pushy. I bought a Zappi home charger too. Looking forward to getting it all set up but will hold on to my current car for a few weeks until I'm well used to the Leaf and get a handle on my range anxiety
Thanks so much to everyone for your help / information / comments, etc. Massively appreciated.

Best wishes from another EV convert,
Gobthemagician

Congratulations, well wear.
See, I told you it was a lovely car

I was also impressed by Siobhán, Before taking me on my test drive she wanted to discuss my car usage needs to understand if an EV would be right for me. That's very refreshing, no hard sell at all.

I thought you would need to get the offer letter for the SEAI charger grant before buying the Zappi or else they wouldn't cover it, you might want to check that out.

peposhi · 28-04-2018 10:38PM

_dof_ wrote: »

Congratulations, well wear.
See, I told you it was a lovely car
I was also impressed by Siobhán, Before taking me on my test drive she wanted to discuss my car usage needs to understand if an EV would be right for me. That's very refreshing, no hard sell at all.

I thought you would need to get the offer letter for the SEAI charger grant before buying the Zappi or else they wouldn't cover it, you might want to check that out.

The SEAI approval comes within 2-3 days after the application is submitted. Perhaps the OP can get the charger invoiced separate to the car and at a later stage so the purchase of it is “completed” after the approval is granted.

jca · 30-04-2018 10:54AM

Gobthemagician wrote: »

So I stretched the budget and bought it! Found it a real dream to drive (very smooth), and the silence - wow! Car was in really excellent condition, battery over 100%. Siobhán was a real pleasure to deal with as well, very thorough in her explanation of everything and wasn't in any way pushy. I bought a Zappi home charger too. Looking forward to getting it all set up but will hold on to my current car for a few weeks until I'm well used to the Leaf and get a handle on my range anxiety
Thanks so much to everyone for your help / information / comments, etc. Massively appreciated.

Best wishes from another EV convert,
Gobthemagician

That’s great, well done, best of luck with her. I’m sorry I didn’t take the plunge myself instead of playing safe and going with an ice. Everyone who drives one says they’ll never go back, they can’t all be wrong.

30-04-2018 11:34AM

It's very difficult to drive any other cars afterwards especially a manual one. I had a culture shock when riding my motorcycle first time in a few months last week. It feels like a lots of work. Also couldn't believe how smelly the petrol station was (It was my second visit since July last year). A very quick rapid charger there though. I was able to charge 350 km or range in a couple of minutes. Take that CHAdeMO.

Shefwedfan · 30-04-2018 12:40PM

Gobthemagician wrote: »

So I stretched the budget and bought it! Found it a real dream to drive (very smooth), and the silence - wow! Car was in really excellent condition, battery over 100%. Siobhán was a real pleasure to deal with as well, very thorough in her explanation of everything and wasn't in any way pushy. I bought a Zappi home charger too. Looking forward to getting it all set up but will hold on to my current car for a few weeks until I'm well used to the Leaf and get a handle on my range anxiety
Thanks so much to everyone for your help / information / comments, etc. Massively appreciated.

Best wishes from another EV convert,
Gobthemagician

i was thinking you had bought when Phil done stock video and mentioned the car you posted was sold...

Best of luck with it. Siobhan and Phil are excellent people. Really look after their customers.

NIMAN · 30-04-2018 03:37PM

Well wear Gob. Nice car.

peposhi · 30-04-2018 05:29PM

samih wrote: »

It's very difficult to drive any other cars afterwards especially a manual one. I had a culture shock when riding my motorcycle first time in....

Especially after you have driven a car with an e-Pedal... brakes and gearboxes make no sense afterwards hahaha

Gobthemagician · 12-05-2018 12:23PM

Update - between sorting tax, insurance, home charger, etc it’s only today that I’m ready to drive the car.

I’ve another question for ye, however. My electrician installed the Zappi (& filled out the paperwork for the SEAI grant) yesterday. He seemed a bit overwhelmed with the whole thing to be honest and admitted afterwards that this was just his second installation. I wasn’t home at the time to witness him testing it but he says he did and all was fine. Thing is though I tried charging the car today for the first time using the Zappi but it won’t charge. The display says ‘ventilation’ in place of ‘charging’, which I can’t find anywhere in the Zappi handbook or on the internet. I’m guessing the car doesn’t need to be ventilated (seems ridiculous for that to be a problem in Ireland) so is it something to do with the installation? I’d be very grateful if anyone here could advise me. I’m currently charging it with the granny cable so it’s not a massively urgent problem, just a headwrecking one!
Thanks

peposhi · 13-05-2018 07:47AM

Gobthemagician wrote: »

Update - between sorting tax, insurance, home charger, etc it’s only today that I’m ready to drive the car.

I’ve another question for ye, however. My electrician installed the Zappi (& filled out the paperwork for the SEAI grant) yesterday. He seemed a bit overwhelmed with the whole thing to be honest and admitted afterwards that this was just his second installation. I wasn’t home at the time to witness him testing it but he says he did and all was fine. Thing is though I tried charging the car today for the first time using the Zappi but it won’t charge. The display says ‘ventilation’ in place of ‘charging’, which I can’t find anywhere in the Zappi handbook or on the internet. I’m guessing the car doesn’t need to be ventilated (seems ridiculous for that to be a problem in Ireland) so is it something to do with the installation? I’d be very grateful if anyone here could advise me. I’m currently charging it with the granny cable so it’s not a massively urgent problem, just a headwrecking one!
Thanks

Hmmm, could you post a picture of the display, please?

Gobthemagician · 13-05-2018 09:59AM

Hi Peposhi,
I can’t seem to copy & paste a photo of the display, which is odd as it’s never happened before (I’m guessing it’s because I’m a new boards user?)
However, I could copy & paste the link below showing the normal Zappi display. Mine is basically the same except in place of the word ‘charging’ it says ‘ventilation’ and there is what looks like steam rising from the little car in the right. The reason I don’t think it’s anything to do with the car though is that I charged the car with the granny cable last night and drove it around without a problem. I’ve been in contact with Siobhan & Philip re the problem, Philip is trying to figure it out but obviously I won’t hear back until tomorrow. I’ve also been on to the electrician again, he’s baffled and is adamant it’s nothing to do with the electrical supply / wiring. There’s nothing at all referencing ‘ventilation’ in the Zappi handbook or in their website!

https://goo.gl/images/HtoqzK

goz83 · 13-05-2018 11:33AM

The only thing I can think of is that the unit is too hot and needs ventilation. Can you check if there are any vents on the unit which could be blocked? It's just a stab in the dark.

_dof_ · 13-05-2018 10:19PM

According to :https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAE_J1772#Signaling it seems the vehicle can request ventilated charging, and the charger will only supply if it's in a ventilated area, e.g. outdoors.

So maybe that's what's happening, don't know why the vehicle would be requesting ventilated charging, maybe it's a setting in the car, although I doubt it. Maybe it's a setting in the charger somewhere hidden away to configure it as being in a ventilated area.

Could be a fault or some dirt on the connector which changes the resistance so that it loooks like the car is requesting ventilated charging.

peposhi · 13-05-2018 10:35PM

Gobthemagician wrote: »

Hi Peposhi,
I can’t seem to copy & paste a photo of the display, which is odd as it’s never happened before (I’m guessing it’s because I’m a new boards user?)
However, I could copy & paste the link below showing the normal Zappi display. Mine is basically the same except in place of the word ‘charging’ it says ‘ventilation’ and there is what looks like steam rising from the little car in the right. The reason I don’t think it’s anything to do with the car though is that I charged the car with the granny cable last night and drove it around without a problem. I’ve been in contact with Siobhan & Philip re the problem, Philip is trying to figure it out but obviously I won’t hear back until tomorrow. I’ve also been on to the electrician again, he’s baffled and is adamant it’s nothing to do with the electrical supply / wiring. There’s nothing at all referencing ‘ventilation’ in the Zappi handbook or in their website!

https://goo.gl/images/HtoqzK

Pity you are that far, I would have driven down to you and plug either my L30 or the L24 to see if the message stays the same.
I searched online too and so far had no luck. I am sure Phil will defo look into that and come back to you. He wouldn’t let things go until resolved.
If I come up to something that make sense I’d be in touch too. Most important is you are not stuck as the granny works.

Hmm... it really bugs me what is the reason...

Gobthemagician · 14-05-2018 07:33PM

Happy to report that the issue seems to now be sorted re the Zappi. I had the electrician out again this evening and as suspected, there was a problem with the way he had wired up the charger. Car is currently charging away happily

Thanks again to everyone for your input.
Gobthemagician

peposhi · 14-05-2018 09:20PM

Gobthemagician wrote: »

Happy to report that the issue seems to now be sorted re the Zappi. I had the electrician out again this evening and as suspected, there was a problem with the way he had wired up the charger. Car is currently charging away happily

Thanks again to everyone for your input.
Gobthemagician

Yes!
Great news!

creedp · 14-05-2018 11:37PM

Gobthemagician wrote: »

Happy to report that the issue seems to now be sorted re the Zappi. I had the electrician out again this evening and as suspected, there was a problem with the way he had wired up the charger. Car is currently charging away happily

Thanks again to everyone for your input.
Gobthemagician

Glad to hear that as I'm still thinking about buying a zappi but was holding off as debating about waiting for an untethered Type 2 Unit which would future proof the unit in case I wanted to upgrade to a Type 2 car in a couple of years. However it appears the untethered model wont be available until after my grant approval runs out so I think I will go ahead and get the Type 1 tethered instead. Presumably its possible to swap out the charging cable for a Type 2 in the future if necessary? Anybody done this already?

As a matter of interest do you mind me telling me where you your zappi?

peposhi · 08-06-2018 11:47PM

Hey, magician, how are you getting on with the EV life? Experienced range anxiety yet?

it’s always a pain the first time

:)

Gobthemagician · 11-06-2018 09:56PM

I'm really loving it, Peposhi! So impressed with the overall feel of the car, the smoothness and cleanliness. I definitely had a bit of range anxiety there for a while but have taken a few long spins since and pushed the car so I feel a lot more confident in it now. I'm seeing the financial benefits too

The only hiccup is that my SEAI home charger grant hasn't come through yet. It looks like I'll have to reapply as they say they've no record of my application. Other than that though, it's all been relatively straightforward and tbh I can't see myself ever going back to a petrol / diesel. It's got a lot of conversations going amongst family & friends about EVs as I seem to be the only person in my circle with one. Anyone who has driven mine has been pleasantly surprised by the car so I think it'll have a bit of a knock-on effect, fingers crossed.
Thanks again to all on this thread who offered advice. I'd never have had the confidence to go the EV route without ye!

peposhi · 13-06-2018 02:24AM

Gobthemagician wrote: »

I'm really loving it, Peposhi! So impressed with the overall feel of the car, the smoothness and cleanliness. I definitely had a bit of range anxiety there for a while but have taken a few long spins since and pushed the car so I feel a lot more confident in it now. I'm seeing the financial benefits too The only hiccup is that my SEAI home charger grant hasn't come through yet. It looks like I'll have to reapply as they say they've no record of my application. Other than that though, it's all been relatively straightforward and tbh I can't see myself ever going back to a petrol / diesel. It's got a lot of conversations going amongst family & friends about EVs as I seem to be the only person in my circle with one. Anyone who has driven mine has been pleasantly surprised by the car so I think it'll have a bit of a knock-on effect, fingers crossed.
Thanks again to all on this thread who offered advice. I'd never have had the confidence to go the EV route without ye!

When it gets quiet on someone’s thread the things have normally gone either great or horribly wrong

I am so happy it is working for you!
Even when you notice that your electricity bill goes up a bit you don’t really care as the overall financial benefit is great to have.
And being the first EV in your area would get a lot more people attracted to the whole EV concept once they can hear your experience first hand...

peposhi · 13-06-2018 02:26AM

And you got a damn good car so lots of heads will be turned

Another 'Help me buy my first EV' thread

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