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Post by Admin on Mar 14, 2017 18:46:09 GMT
I see they are doing a Merc e class plug in hybrid now. Only as a saloon at present but I guess they'll add the estate if it proves popular. BIK very reasonable too... Twirls moustache thoughtfully. I didn't realise you had become hirsute there Dick.
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Post by Humph on Mar 14, 2017 20:51:18 GMT
Who are you calling ( a ) dick ? 😉
Goatee, must be about 2.5 years now. Did it for mowvember anyway. Fond of it now.
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Post by bromptonaut on Mar 14, 2017 21:33:39 GMT
Neighbour over road has a PHEV Mitsubishi Outlander. Leaves it connected overnight and dumps 'live' connector on drive. Sort of thing that gives me the ab-dabs when motorhome users do it on caravan sites; vision of combined effect of water, 230vAC and curious child/pet/wildlife. Mind you if pet was other neighbour's Burmese cats.....
Apparently runs mostly on electric for his wife's commute but since she could easily walk it in 15mins I'm not sure it washes it's face compared with lease cost....
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2017 22:01:34 GMT
Neighbour over road has a PHEV Mitsubishi Outlander. Leaves it connected overnight and dumps 'live' connector on drive. Sort of thing that gives me the ab-dabs when motorhome users do it on caravan sites; vision of combined effect of water, 230vAC and curious child/pet/wildlife. Mind you if pet was other neighbour's Burmese cats..... Apparently runs mostly on electric for his wife's commute but since she could easily walk it in 15mins I'm not sure it washes it's face compared with lease cost.... That's the problem. These cars are great for shortish journeys, but they are so damned expensive for that journey. A friend is an accountant in a small firm on the fringe of Manchester city centre. Its a three mile trip each way. Electric would be perfect for him - he rarely visits clients and his social driving is mostly local as well. But, the purchase cost is immense compared to a similarly sized car. The savings of fuel and tax do not equate to the additional purchase costs. He is a modest person, so has run a Megane Convertible for seven years and has changed today for a one year old petrol Jeep Renegade list price £25,000 reduced to £14,000. No brainer...
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Post by Alanović on Mar 15, 2017 10:14:10 GMT
Neighbour over road has a PHEV Mitsubishi Outlander. Leaves it connected overnight and dumps 'live' connector on drive. Sort of thing that gives me the ab-dabs when motorhome users do it on caravan sites; vision of combined effect of water, 230vAC and curious child/pet/wildlife. Mind you if pet was other neighbour's Burmese cats..... Apparently runs mostly on electric for his wife's commute but since she could easily walk it in 15mins I'm not sure it washes it's face compared with lease cost.... That's the problem. These cars are great for shortish journeys, but they are so damned expensive for that journey. A friend is an accountant in a small firm on the fringe of Manchester city centre. Its a three mile trip each way. Electric would be perfect for him - he rarely visits clients and his social driving is mostly local as well. But, the purchase cost is immense compared to a similarly sized car. The savings of fuel and tax do not equate to the additional purchase costs. He is a modest person, so has run a Megane Convertible for seven years and has changed today for a one year old petrol Jeep Renegade list price £25,000 reduced to £14,000. No brainer... Purchase cost need not be immense. They can barely give away second hand Leafses and Fluenceses at the moment. It's insisting on brand new for keeping-up-with-the-Jonses reasons which makes the purchase cost immense.
But it's their money, without them there would be no second hand bargains.
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Post by commerdriver on Mar 15, 2017 10:23:39 GMT
As I have said before elsewhere they are extremely attractive as company cars, saving users thousands a year in tax on the car benefit. As Al says this will trickle down to the second hand market and could result in some good bargains there
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Post by Humph on Mar 15, 2017 10:25:36 GMT
Indeed, and even more so now. My son's little Aygo is 7 years old and I really can't fault it. It looks and drives like new. I can remember buying cars of 7-10 years old when I was his age that were more or less on their last legs due mainly to rust but also as a result of mechanical wear and tear. Only downside to older cars now seems to be the emissions thingy.
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Post by crankcase on Mar 15, 2017 10:27:14 GMT
Second hand leafs actually go for good money still, although the "pre-announcement" of the next version (for September) Nissan made a day or two ago might drive prices down.
Second hand Ions and the like go for relative buttons, and would do that kind journey with no issue for tenpence a decade.
Can I just also quench your fears over the cable - not live, doesn't go live, can't go live, until in car and car has signalled all is well. Can't even be removed from car live.
If you used bolt cutters on it while charging you might be in trouble though.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Mar 15, 2017 10:38:27 GMT
Jeep Renegade ... no brainer...
I connect those two in another way. Three miles? That's what bikes and buses are for!
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Post by Humph on Mar 15, 2017 10:50:35 GMT
I suppose that's sort of my view. I rarely use a car for any journey where the engine wouldn't get fully warm. Tend to use my bike for local dotting about. Or just walk if I'm not in a hurry.
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Post by Alanović on Mar 15, 2017 10:59:10 GMT
Second hand leafs actually go for good money still, although the "pre-announcement" of the next version (for September) Nissan made a day or two ago might drive prices down. Second hand Ions and the like go for relative buttons, and would do that kind journey with no issue for tenpence a decade. Can I just also quench your fears over the cable - not live, doesn't go live, can't go live, until in car and car has signalled all is well. Can't even be removed from car live. If you used bolt cutters on it while charging you might be in trouble though. Cheapest Leafses are now under 6k on Auto Trader, Fluenceses now under 3k as I pointed out a while ago.
This is very, very cheap. If you need a car for only local pottering, this must be the cheapest way to do it, except perhaps bangernomics.
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Post by crankcase on Mar 15, 2017 11:19:01 GMT
Oh I see - yes, 6k is cheap in that context, if you can get a non-flex one. Nobody in their right mind would buy a Fluence though.
Used Zoes are cheaper than non-flex Leafs, but they clobber you with the battery rental.
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Post by Alanović on Mar 15, 2017 12:20:29 GMT
I'd buy a Fluence. Which probably proves your point.
At £2.5k, why not? £70 a month battery lease, sure. The price of a tank of fuel. I use 2-3 tanks a month, so it'd be cheaper to run than a £2.5k petrol or diesel car.
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Post by crankcase on Mar 15, 2017 13:11:26 GMT
Well, the Fluence would be ok if you don't mind not having a rapid charge, so for a longer journey, run for an hour, charge for three. Factor that into your charging regime. That would be a bit of a blow for me, but actually my usage shows me I could live with that, to be honest. You'd be paying the battery lease forever - no other purchase option, which is a bore. And of course, they are all out of warranty now, so whilst your battery might be covered, nothing else will be, not that there's much to go wrong (though might be expensive if it did). Take all that into account, if it works for you, you've got a bargain. Have a look at this, if you haven't already. You've made ME think about it now. speakev.com/threads/worth-buying-a-cheap-fluence.36305/
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Post by Alanović on Mar 15, 2017 13:22:23 GMT
The no-rapid-charging wouldn't be a problem for me in day-to-day commuting use. I do about 50 miles a day, get home in the evening and plug it in for the morning. No problem. ICE car on the drive beside it for all other uses, we need to keep two cars but seldom would using both at the same time would push a Fluence beyond its limits either.
I can't seriously see how it wouldn't work for us.
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