The EV fact thread

[Bobby Dazzler]

Sure, but that's provided there is a charger where you have parked. I read your original post (below) as suggesting that it was always possible to choose a supermarket with a charger (which I don't agree with), but if I misunderstood then apologies.

No need to apologise.

I don’t think what I wrote means that there is always possible to choose another supermarket with a charger - and I certainly didn’t mean that - but logically for as long as there are supermarkets with chargers then technically there is always another.

I recall you mentioning that several of the chargers are in the town centre and away from supermarket, and that although the Fire Station charger is close to Morrisons it’s not convenient, although Aldi (or was it Lidl?) had a charger but you don’t shop there.

So if you had an EV (but you don’t) and you couldn’t charge it at home (which you can) then you could choose to shop at Aldi (although the inference is that you would prefer not to) so even in Market Drayton there is another supermarket with a charger.

People who live in other places might have a choice of supermarkets with EV chargers which they could use when shopping.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

You posted an example of a Tesla with 260K miles on the clock to (presumably) suggest that buying a car with a short warranty period remaining shouldn't be a concern?

I posted a few examples of Teslas that had suffered major failures at much lower mileages to suggest that it was quite possible to have a battery die at much lower mileages (which would be a serious issue without warranty cover).

i wonder whether they were battery failures? I read a post in MBClub only today which suggested that batteries are replaced in the event of bodywork repairs being required, not because they were damaged but because there is not currently a recognised method of ensuring that the battery pack has not been damaged.

So those replacements could be due to a gentle tap like @Diana1990 recently experienced but which resulted in £12,700 repairs for two new bumpers and a headlight (plus hire car) for a car with a trade value of around £15k. If bumpers needed to be replaced - or perhaps doors or sills repaired/replaced then perhaps the battery would be questioned.

 

[Diana1990]

Unfortunately small hits can often do a lot of damage. (fyi the repair bill of the my car didn't include the the courtesy car. That was entirely separately)

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

AFAIK Tesla don't publish statistical data on the failure rates of their batteries so we'll never know the true picture.

Interesting as I posted earlier today asking whether reliable and credible data was available for battery replacements and engine/transmissions in ICE cars, but I don’t think has confirmed positively, other than have a Google.

I’m not aware of any published data which is reliable and credible - manufacturers won’t publish it, surveys are incomplete and inherently skewed, and there is no requirement for drivers, owners, dealers, garages, blokes on wet driveways to record repairs.

 

[BIGDOG]

You wouldn’t need to though, you can charge at home so charging while doing the weekly shop is not needed.

I think that you are just looking for reasons that EV cannot work, despite never planning to buy one.

Weird.

Do you have solar panels at home?

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

A Tesla Model 3 isn't equivalent to a C Class estate though. That's one issue with EVs - if you ever need to carry anything remotely bulky your only choice is a huge SUV, which is nowhere near as efficient as something like a Model 3.

For sure, hence my comments. Yours is the same size as mine, at 500 / 1500 litres.

The Tesla Y is the obvious replacement for you at 850 / 2000 litres but it's a tall riding, "fake" SUV. (It can't be used for anything Sports Utility really, it's just a tall estate car)

The Tesla S is saloon like , and cavernous at 800 / 1800 litres and not an SUV, but it's wide.

The Volvo XC40 recharge is closer to the C300 at 400 /1300 litres, or Peugeot E3008 at 500 / 1700 but both are tall, being built for chubbies who can't bend.

But you wouldn't enjoying driving any of them. apart from maybe some of the tech features like 360 degree video, and "smart summon parking" in tight places.

 

[poormansporsche]

This thread really is like self-flagellation

 

[markjay]

Sure, but that's provided there is a charger where you have parked. I read your original post (below) as suggesting that it was always possible to choose a supermarket with a charger (which I don't agree with), but if I misunderstood then apologies.

Can you not charge an EV from solar panels? Genuine question.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

This thread really is like self-flagellation

I had to Google that. Only those into flagellation in a big way would know the proper term for it

 

[poormansporsche]

I had to Google that. Only those into flagellation in a big way would know the proper term for it

I'm married. Same thing

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

I had to Google that. Only those into flagellation in a big way would know the proper term for it

Isn't self-flagellation an American thing ?

Especially on a night like this....?

 

[markjay]

Isn't self-flagellation an American thing ?

Self-flagellation - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[BTB 500]

Can you not charge an EV from solar panels? Genuine question.

Personally, yes. But only during the daytime, in reasonable weather. The output from the panels has been dismal for the last few weeks - short days, solid overcast, etc. Plenty of surplus power in summer though (which is currently exported back to the grid ... so we'd lose a bit of income from that). Storage batteries would add another layer of cost & complexity and guess what - they have a limited lifespan They also wouldn't address the fundamental issue of too little power being generated in winter and too much in summer. But they would allow you to charge overnight when the car wouldn't normally be in use.

As it happens I'm picking up a very cheap petrol car on Sunday that should cost under 9p per mile on fuel (72.43 mpg on the extra-urban cycle). I'm being given it for free, but the market value is probably under £1500. ULEZ exempt, £20 road tax, cheap group 2 insurance, 500 miles on a tank (not that you'd ever want to do that!). IMHO it's hard to argue with something like that for cheap local motoring if you can live without it being a shiny new model (although this is actually a 'first car' for my son, who turns 17 next month).

 

[markjay]

..Plenty of surplus power in summer though (which is currently exported back to the grid ... so we'd lose a bit of income from that)...

What would it cost you to charge an EV instead of feeding solar-generated electricity back to the greed (if you don't mind sharing)?

 

[BTB 500]

For sure, hence my comments. Yours is the same size as mine, at 500 / 1500 litres.

The Tesla Y is the obvious replacement for you at 850 / 2000 litres but it's a tall riding, "fake" SUV. (It can't be used for anything Sports Utility really, it's just a tall estate car)

The Tesla S is saloon like , and cavernous at 800 / 1800 litres and not an SUV, but it's wide.

The Volvo XC40 recharge is closer to the C300 at 400 /1300 litres, or Peugeot E3008 at 500 / 1700 but both are tall, being built for chubbies who can't bend.

But you wouldn't enjoying driving any of them. apart from maybe some of the tech features like 360 degree video, and "smart summon parking" in tight places.

From a practicality POV it's the shape rather than the total volume - to try and help the aerodynamics most EVs have a sloping roofline at the back plus a sloping tailgate. We can put a cage in the boot of the C Class to take a couple of collies if necessary, and I've carried tables/chairs/chest of drawers/etc. with the back seats down. I've been emptying my parents' house in Surrey for some time, hence many of the long motorway runs.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

From a practicality POV it's the shape rather than the total volume - to try and help the aerodynamics most EVs have a sloping roofline at the back plus a sloping tailgate. We can put a cage in the boot of the C Class to take a couple of collies if necessary, and I've carried tables/chairs/chest of drawers/etc. with the back seats down. I've been emptying my parents' house in Surrey for some time, hence many of the long motorway runs.

Shush, you'll talk yourself into a Tesla Y or EV6 with that kind of talk.

Stick to the programme: C300 or E class, if you must.

(If you want to sell the C300 estate , "@MikeInWimbledon is willing." (At the right price)

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Self-flagellation - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Call me old fashioned, but my comment was a sarcastic "American election thing."

Understood that extreme Roman Catholics get a buzz from this.

 

[BTB 500]

What would it cost you to charge an EV instead of feeding solar-generated electricity back to the greed (if you don't mind sharing)?

We generate about 3000 kWh a year from the panels (a fairly modest installation of 14 on the roof on the double garage), currently consuming about 25% of that and exporting 75%. Problem is that the power generated per week ranges from about 88 kWh in summer to 17 kWh in winter (just when an EV would be at its least efficient). These are obviously averages too - you'd end up importing more in bad weather. A *lot* more if the panels are covered in snow like this



We're on an old style 'feed in tariff' (FIT) and only get paid 5.07p per kWh exported (the rates are adjusted each spring), so it makes sense to use it instead whenever possible. The vast majority of the income comes from what we generate, regardless of whether it is exported or not - we get paid 71.85p per kWh for that. Annually the total pays for all the electricity we import (principally overnight), and all the gas we use, and our total water bill.

 

[BTB 500]

Shush, you'll talk yourself into a Tesla Y or EV6 with that kind of talk.

Stick to the programme: C300 or E class, if you must.

(If you want to sell the C300 estate , "@MikeInWimbledon is willing." (At the right price)

Haha ... the C300 is not quite on 40k miles yet (5 years old), so we're planning to hang on to it for a good while. Ironically if we need to move something big that's the weapon of choice rather than our Vito (which has two-tier caging for the dogs fitted in the back). The centre seats split/flip/fold/lift out and the volume is pretty significant (tall, wide and high) but the space is a lot shorter than the interior of the C Class with the back seats down.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Haha ... the C300 is not quite on 40k miles yet (5 years old), so we're planning to hang on to it for a good while. Ironically if we need to move something big that's the weapon of choice rather than our Vito (which has two-tier caging for the dogs fitted in the back). The centre seats split/flip/fold/lift out and the volume is pretty significant (tall, wide and high) but the space is a lot shorter than the interior of the C Class with the back seats down.

Yes, I thought that you probably only do 8,000 miles a year in it.

Offer’s there, at the right price

But don’t buy an EV

It’s only a matter of time before I and …. get rumbled for being in BMW Dreiers ..