Total Cost of Ownership - Diesel to EV.

Do you have any monthly repayments on the Passat?

If not and you own it outright you would have to factor in the monthly payments on the cost of paying back the EV which will probably wipe out any fuel savings etc.

However if you are buying a new car/nearly new you’ll have repayments anyway?

Unless you are buying in cash?

I suppose the question is how much will monthly repayments be?

If you are buying a new car anyway then you will see savings from an EV.

If you are buying a used ICE for cash, then you won’t have monthly repayments.

it’s all about the net saving/spend monthly.

The current used market is a bit skewed and prices are a bit higher than normal, so no guarantee of future price. Because the MG is so new there is no long term data to use to predict devaluation, but the old MG has really held its value. In the UK, cars under a year old are being offered the full purchase price to trade it in to the new one.

The new MG has been given a bump in the FMV that PCP give too. So that is generally a good sign that they expect the car to hold its value. EVs do hold a little better than petrol or diesel too. So you are better off getting into a new EV over a new petrol or diesel.

I've just put a deposit on that new MG ZS you are looking at, for the spec on it and the price nothing comes close.

It was €36.5k on the road (that is the car and all the dealer charges etc).

The next cost is the charge point. MG will give you a free charge point box (but not installed). They have installers they recommend and you can claim back €600 in a grant so that installation shouldn't cost you anything extra.

Tax is €120 for an EV. I think the Passat is 200 or 270? So a little extra saving there moving forward.

Final cost is insurance. This should drop, moving from a 12 year old car to a new one with loads of safety features like automatically braking if a pedestrian steps in front of you and MG Pilot to keep you in lane and at the same speed of the car in front on motor ways, it even reads road signs and doesn't let you speed (if that setting is turned on) should net you a lower premium. When I moved from my 2009 A4 it dropped from €700 to the minimum premium of €280. So maybe there is another few hundred of a saving but that one is a bit more individual.

So total initial outlay (cost of car, tax and insurance) is about €37k.

Then the savings start recouping that.

If the Passat does on average 25miles per gallon. And a gallon of diesel is €7.50 (4.5 litres X €1.65)

The ZS does 3.5miles per KW. So it will use 7.15kw to do 25 miles. Even at the most expensive electricity rate of 25cent a KW. You are still looking at just under €1.80 to do the same 25 miles.

If you get on a normal introduction discount rate that could drop to €1.20 or even 0.80 on night rates.

Every 25miles you drive it's almost a fiver in your pocket. Or over your 400km round trip it's €50 saved. If you do that once a week then €50 a week for a year is €2600. And that is just on your one 400km round trip. If you take in all your other day to day driving then that could start heading toward the €3500-€4000 ball park.

2010 Passat needs an annual NCT, New car won't. The passat is also in the age range where maintenance could be in the high hundreds to 1k a year.

MG has a 7 year warranty. So you just need the service.

So the saving on tax, insurance, diesel, maintenance could reasonably be around 5k each year.

The above is simple enough back of the envelope figures but it would suggest that if you swap the car pretty much pays for itself over the next 7 years.

Which bit?

2010 Passat average mpg is 25 https://www.fuelly.com/car/volkswagen/passat/2010

A gallon is 4.54 litres.

Diesel costs €1.65

Good catch. Thanks for actually taking the time to point that out.

Still doesn't make a huge difference. I went very conservative on the electricity price at 26 cent. Anyone with an EV will be on the cheapest rate possible so the saving will still be easily 5k.

800 km per week is appprox 40000 annually

At 45mpg and a 7 euro gallon (why we using gallons). €3900 in fuel

EV at 20kWh per 100 and 20 cent per kWh

€1600

Tax and insurance. Maybe save €200

So save €2500 running costs.

A new car depreciating at say 50% over 4 years (should really be 3)

Approx 4 to 5k annually.

So say 1500 to 2500 annual cost to change.

But you've a new car.....

New to New, not many. But comparing a new EV to a close to fully depreciated diesel passat, its hard for the New EV to compare financially.

I compared octavia to ioniq 5 (New to new), and they worked out similar total cost over 8 years or so. But that entire analysis had a baseline of spending 25 to 30k on at least an octavia. If running my old car into the ground was an option, it would have even the cheapest by far.

They’re not saving 5k a year when you add in monthly repayments on the car.

They won’t be saving anything.

You are saving 5k in the running costs.

How the car is financed is a different story.

But if you save 5k in running costs and use that to pay the finance then you have a new car for a net zero cost. And in 7 years when the Passat is 18 years old! You will still have a nice 7year old car worth 10k+ that is fully paid for that will continue to deliver that 3-4k in savings for years to come. (Reducing the 5k saving to account for maintenance)

So the question is, does the OP want to keep shoveling thousands a year into an 11 year old passat that could kick the bucket at any point and they will have to upgrade anyway. Or move into a brand new car with all the latest comfort and safety features and a 7 year warranty at no additional cost to them.

Thousands into an 11 year old car? Why?

If the car is debt free that means you have no monthly repayment on it.

If you buy a new car (diesel or EV) that means you have a monthly repayment which has to be factored into the cost of running the car. How would it not be?

With an EV to get decent range (if that’s what you need) you have to spend at least 30k which probably means a loan.

With an ICE you can buy a second hand one for 15/16k which may mean only a small loan, ergo lower monthly repayments.

I can't see the cost of the loan and depreciation on a new EV being less than the cost of running costs and fuel on the Passat.

If cost is the only factor.

Yes but the cost of the loan will be more than the 3k saving, therefore your out of pocket from a net perspective.

I still don't know how your going to spend 2-3k every year on servicing and repairs after fuel.

yes, but is that 700 euro a month a wise investment on ICE or EV? EV wins hands down in terms of running costs, future desirability / trade in etc. Personally I scratch my head when I see people buying new diesel/petrol or hybrid cars, the ship has sailed......

I suppose if you potentially have a 250-300KM drive a few days week then your starting point for EV must be abov above that in terms of distance. Some of the larger cars with large batteries will cover this (ie Kia Ev6 perhaps). Really it's not practical from a cost / time / lifestyle perspective to have to rely on fast chargers as part of your regular commute pattern is it?

€3.70-

I would pay €50 if I knew that I was guaranteed charger availability. We do 99% of our charging at home- but when you need to charge, you need to charge - with kids on board you can’t be faffing about and I’m not a fan of motorway services.

Currently waiting on a new car that has the biggest battery we could afford at 77kwh- the idea being we can get to almost anywhere in Ireland without stopping and having to wait for an unknown amount of time at a charger or give the option to bypass a broken or busy charger.

It’s unfortunate that the cheaper 58kw model couldn’t be made work, relying on public charging is stressful and something that we shouldn’t have to worry about. e-cars are currently not providing a network that is fit for purpose.

The MG starts at €32k and does 440km. That will cover 99% of most peoples trips.

That range is holding true to 400+ too from the user reviews on YouTube. And they are winter tests at the moment. New Battery heaters helps mitigate the lost winter range.

That will get you from Donegal to Kerry or cork 380km with room to spare to find a charger and plug in for the home leg. If you are doing that journey it's usually an over night stay so book a hotel with a charger.

With a 9k deposit on their 2.9% PCP it costs less than €320 a month with a final 12k payment in 3 years that could easily be done with a 3.5 year loan that keeps the payments about the same.

That is very affordable.

Does PCP limit the amount of kms you can travel?

I’ve always gone for cash and never looked into a PCP so it’s a genuine question.

And US gallon is much smaller than EU. 3.8 v 4.54