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Trying to Convince Myself an EV is Right

GTE

Hi all,

I will try to keep this concise as I attempt to deal pragmatically with numbers in my head and avoid the bias of just wanting an EV.

I have a 40km commute and a 2018 PHEV, which will cover that in warm weather or around 35km in colder weather. I rarely drive over 250km a week (commute plus extras). I drive much less during the Summer, so most of the 15,000km I have driven the car since purchase happens from September to June.

My VW app reports that a 4264km patch of driving from December to Feb (ish) used:

11.8kWh/100km (115 euro at 23 cent per kWh*)
2.7l/100km (182 euro, at 1.60 per litre)

*My charger reports that 728kWh was used during those dates, so I think that is 167 euro for the electricity instead of 115.

The maths looks to be 8 cents per KM with my PHEV: (167+182)/4264, is that right?

I am using rough cost calcs, I understand. I have had the car for 15,000km over 15 months.

The air-con leaks, and there is noise from the front over bumps. The door seals need replacing. All are simple bread-and-butter fixes considering the car is at 205,000 km, but I am considering costs here.

I paid 180 to have the aircon regassed with dye to find the leak as the vacuum test was inconclusive; I'd say I still have 400ish euro to go to resolve the aircon, assuming it is a condenser replacement. The shock absorbers are another couple to a few hundred (but that is guesswork, I don't know what is causing the noise). Door seals are simple, but again a cost.

My biased maths says that the loan repayments on the PHEV plus the upcoming aircon and shock absorber maintenance spread across 12 months would almost equal the cost of the topped-up loan to get the EV I like the look of. I assume the car would need more work next year, but the car is in good shape, considering. The timing belt is a while off yet. Tyres are next year too.

My context is that I have been paying a car loan since 2016. This is my third car, and I am fortunate that I could sell the previous two and clear the loan each time with a couple thousand left over each time. Given the issues with the current car, I would not want to sell it privately, so I would trade it in. Trade-ins valuations are more than what is left on my personal loan (not a car loan btw). If I were to go for an EV, I would top up my existing loan rather than go through dealer finance. I feel as if I have basically need leasing a car since 2016 since I have always been able to sell each car for more than what is left on the loans.

Pragmatically speaking, I don't do enough driving to justify the 200 euro per month extra for the EV I am interested in. EV efficiency gains would not reduce the electricity cost too much, and the petrol cost savings are not colossal. The ID3 is due a price plunge, I feel, so I may not get out of the ID3 with a car that is worth more than the remaining loan in a few years time.

Man wanting a new toy speaking, the ID3 with good spec would be good, but I come from a Passat Estate, and I tend to use the boot enough to miss it. I tend to think an ID4 is where it is at, but the small battery version seems too small, even if I do not drive all that much. The second car in the family is an ICE, so that will do holidays but I would prefer if any EV I could get could comfortably do holidays without worrying about charging. For instance, a recent holiday to an AirBnb 180km away left us over 30 minutes from a public charger and with an AirBnb host who probably would not have allowed me to hook up a three pin plug to an extension cable.

My logic is not foolproof but is leaning towards keeping the Passat. I just feel ages away from being in a position to do what I would want to do and get an EV. Used prices are steep and the cars too small.

Thanks for the advice!

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...Ghost...

Forget the spreadsheet. Get what you want. 50 quid a week extra for a little bit of happiness which doesnt involve drugs and hookers....sounds like a good deal to me.

Larbre34

You're overthinking the equation, I would suggest.

It's all about one question. And that is;

Which type of vehicle is going to see the greatest rise in both purchase cost and running cost over the next few years, simply down to a scarcity induced by it's own ubiquity?

And that is further affected by the scarcity that will arise in charging module components and highly volatile mains electricity costs too.

No prizes for guessing, the EV.

Go ahead and trade in your PHEV and buy a self-charging hybrid or an MHEV with a petrol motor. By the time its fit for the scrapper in ten years, the way the wind is blowing on EVs will be well settled.

alan partridge aha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120684409#Comment_120684409

I know what your saying but an EV of the size they want are mental money.

Costing at current prices 7.5cent/km, plus on low mileage t belt not needing change for 4 years by the op annual mileage. And you have the versatility of an estate.

GTE

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120684409#Comment_120684409

Ahh he knows what he's doing.

On your other question, I just assumed that I'd get less that trade in price if it had faults. I didn't put too much thought into it really. Good question, it may be a middle ground if I get the right offer.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120684087#Comment_120684087

OP has a PHEV and is considering an EV. Why would they buy a diesel?

User1998

Why can’t you sell privately? Its only air conditioning and some self diagnosis on the shocks. Let the new owner deal with it.

GTE

I've a third-ish of a tank, so that's August before the next fill up.

alan partridge aha

Really once every 5 weeks, hardly very often. You'd get a 2020 with low mileage for 23-25k.

GTE

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120684087#Comment_120684087

I'll pass, I'd be visiting filling stations too often in that.

alan partridge aha

Buy a 2019 Octavia estate diesel with low mileage from a Skoda dealer. 2 year full warranty/breakdown with option of 3rd for €350. Nearly as large as a Passat and 60+mpg. No range anxiety as they'll do 1200km.

Water John

EVs aren't silent, but the generated noise can be turned off in some.

GTE

Thank you for the posts so far. I agree with the sentiments and understand the suggestions so far.

Another option is to deal with the aircon and suspension noise and sell privately. My only issue selling privately now is I'd find it difficult to sell. I'm sure I'd get my money back and a bit more of I solved those issues.

I didn't think of the Born as I thought they'd be too new. A quiet car matters to me. The Citroën eC4 was attractive from that point of view. If I do have to downsize, I'd push for a quieter car. The Born seems to have the acoustic glass as standard. I'll look into it, thanks!

Fixing up the car would put me closer to mid to late Summer, by then hopefully I can sell it fast and take advantage of a used car price drop. Speculating, of course.

the_amazing_raisin

I think used EV prices are going to start going down dramatically this year. So keep an eye out and you might get lucky on an ID.4

I will say if you're used to Passat Estate boot space then not much compares, those things are like a TARDIS for internal space

The ID.4 is definitely the closest you'll get from VW at the moment, and I can confirm it will happily handle plenty of luggage and haul it anywhere in Ireland or Europe. Having driven 900km in a day, the weak point is definitely the driver rather than the car

Perhaps one option is to sell the car to a dealership for cash and then buy a car privately, you'll definitely get a worse trade in but generally the lower price for buying private might offset that

I'm also going to throw out a slightly sideways option if you're looking to get running costs down, get solar panels. Big investment I know, but they do get that nasty electricity bill under control and if you're able to leave the car plugged in during the day then you can charge for free. By your math it would roughly halve your cost per kilometre

Water John

As a family with 2 EVs I don't want to push. I suppose reliability enters into it, but a five year old car should not have major issues. Mainly do want to flog it now or how much will it depreciate over the next 4 years? Will it then be a big leap to getting a new EV? At some stage you and all other drivers will make that move.

I've seen some reports favourably comparing the Cupra Born to the id3, better level of trim etc. Built on the same chassis.

Buddy Bubs

Everyone changes cars, some go down the spreadsheet route to try make it seem like a sound financial decision, it rarely is. Others just like the idea of a new car and go for it.

I came from an audi a6 to a cupra born (which you should take a close look at if you are looking at id3) and it didn't really make financial sense, but I wanted an ev so I went for it. Audi was causing small bit of trouble at 8 years old but the cupra cost 20k on top of the audi which will be a long time recouping but I'm part of the revolution now and enjoying it.

Take a spin in whatever you think you might buy and decide if you're a spreadsheet person or not, I feel you might be