Owning a full Electric without a house

Virgil° · 15-02-2022 2:10am #1

I've been saving for a few years now as I'm enamoured with the idea of owning a full electric car. But I'm not blind to the inconvenience that comes with it either.

I live in an apartment in D15 and recently the management company have been looking into placing some communal chargers in the estate.(But I've no idea when, what kind of charger or even if it will happen for sure). There's a Tesco(ESB charger) and a LIDL(cant remember what kind) nearby but from what I've heard and read they have piddling output. I visit the parents once every 2 weeks so I guess granny charging the thing once every fortnight is possible. Or if I get back to the office at some stage I could use the ones there. I don't do long distance drives very often and even if I'm brought back to the office my commute is relatively short(40km round trip).

I have nearly 35k in savings, 5k coming in a march and a car worth about another 5 in trade in(was offered this)or private sale. That puts me at roughly 45k which leaves a few options in or nearly in range that I've looked into and am interested in.

Second hand Model S 75D from 2017-18 with 100k-ish on the clock.

Almost a new base spec Model 3.

Almost base Polestar 2 which is supposed to be the same as an entry Model 3 but who know when it'll ever release here or what the starting price will be in Ireland.

Possibly the most interesting : Hyundai Ioniq5 58 exec plus(Test drove this recently and really like it. The dealership is actually a 10 minute drive from me and they have several fast chargers which they've said would be available to me).

Am I mad to even be considering any of this given my circumstance and Irelands charging infrastructure? Apologies but even as a regular lurker of these forums I still feel pretty underinformed. Thanks for any replies.

yoke · 15-02-2022 3:46am

If you’ve already got your heart set on it, then it’s too late to argue with you 🙂

that said, in the real world it sounds incredibly inconvenient, having to charge the car away from home on a regular basis. Unless your management company can basically guarantee you’ll always get a charger every night for a set amount of time, which doesn’t sound realistic.

Gumbo · 15-02-2022 8:13am

It can be done.

Id try get the car with the most range for your money as you can charge less often.

Once your not depleting the battery daily as the constant walk to and from the chargers will be off putting

You could boost the charge once or twice a week in Blanch SC. Go at late hours or off peak.

30 mins here or there may be enough to keep you going

fits · 15-02-2022 8:25am

Could you hire one for a week or two and see how it goes?

Grumpypants · 15-02-2022 8:33am

It is possible, I've friends that do it. It sounds inconvenient but they seem okay with it. A trip to the on street charger once a week / parents house and they manage okay.

If you think about it you can make it work. If you do a weekly shop in Lidl or Tesco top it up. If you normally get out for a walk or a run a few times in the evening. Plug it in and go for a 30 min walk.

Set up a coffee meet up with a pal and plug it in and go for coffee.

If it is part of your routine and not something you are forcing yourself to do and you just sit in the car waiting then it will be fine.

slave1 · 15-02-2022 9:41am

I wouldn't but away you go. As you will be public charging exclusively you will be missing the large cheaper electricity that makes an EV economic sense.

Although you are Northside I would refresh your 2017/2018 Tesla choice to a 2015/2016 with free supercharging given there will be 4 SuC in Sandyford next month (hopefully). A quick dip there once a week would suffice all your local weekly driving.

vimalandrew · 15-02-2022 9:54am

Somewhere I heard that using fast charger always will damage the battery. It would be better always use the home charger and use fast charger occassionally.Somebody please correct me if I am wrong.

Gumbo · 15-02-2022 11:03am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118633154#Comment_118633154

That may have been true for the original Nissan Leaf, but nearly every other EV is fine. Unless your super charging 2, 3 times a day!!!

Virgil° · 15-02-2022 11:51am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118632804#Comment_118632804

Hah thanks. To be clear I can definitely be argued with. I probably won't be argued off the idea entirely but if the prevailing opinion in the thread was that i was 100% buying a headache then i'd probably hold off and continue saving for a year or until the situation changes for me. Thanks for the replies so far.

Coddle4dinner · 15-02-2022 2:55pm

Big EV fan here but not a hope in hell I'd be buying an EV without home chargeing.

You'll never get that time back for one and the public unit rates are too expensive for everyday use IMO.

Redfox25 · 15-02-2022 5:31pm

You could do it but it might turn into a painful experience and may put you off the idea of using your EV.

It might be advisable to hold off for a while yet till you have access to charging (either at work or home).

afatbollix · 15-02-2022 5:41pm

Talk to the management company. I know someone who was able to put in a cable from their apartment to their parking spot. Not sure of your layout but it might be an option. Maybe you could be a test case for them.

Communal chargers won't work as it will be a high price to pay per KW whereas you could get on a night rate and save a fortune.

Owning a full Electric without a house

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