Motors Help me pick a car

EVs aren't a con. Sure not buying new stuff and using what you have is always the best way but the OP has done his time already, 20yrs in a Corsa, people get less harsh punishments for murder

The size of vehicle someone chooses is up to them, it does not fundamentally change the cars impact on the world, or all that garbage being spewed on the grid...yawn, it's plenty capable it is also expandable by the companies that run the generators.

EVs will likely become part of the home/national energy storage solution as well as a mode of transport done in the goverments favour way funded by the hardworking people buying EVs.

Because renewables are not reliable, nor do they generate enough power for their footprint, nuclear is small, reliable and cleanish.

Not wholly true, you get info down to the cell or bank that is failing on many and they can be repaired, it's just a issue at the moment that the replacement market hasn't had decades to grow like ICE and main stream manufacturers taken the same approach they do on ICE for the most part which is replace rather than repair, once Dave's garage down the road makes the shift to EV repair things will change.

But I ask the question do you think modern ICE cars with all the safety gear, screens and sensors are going to last 20yrs and be able to easily replace parts on in the future....no chance, ICE or EV yer going to need a element of luck for longevity as you have done with every car since the dawn of time.

Unrealistic for many, cuts to public transport, immobility issues, carting families about, decent reliable transport is needed.

Companies produce whole life reports on their cars, it is absolutely considered and many are working towards improving such things, it's just a little bit more complicated than your toaster though.

 

I never said the size of the vehicle effected the planet. I just said it makes them more annoying to drive/park/get damaged.
I also didn't make the OP I pasted it from another forum user. but I still agree with him, all the rare minerals and things required to create these batteries etc that are now becoming rinsed and harder to find/running out makes this all pointless.

All they're doing is shifting the problem to another material that will become extinct soon anyway.

And fyi if we didnt have these stupidly big cars we wouldnt need as big an engine/motor to move the heavy asf pos! it has become a pathetic fashionable fad to now think we're in america etc etc in suv's and weigh 30 stone.
I see so many people without families driving them it's ridiculous!

We should just support the synthetic fuels and go with that or hydrogen powered stuff...

Anyways I've no further interest in debating this, what I shared above sums it up nicely vs the wool eyed bs we're fed.

Unsubbed

 

That is definitely a major part of the problem. Hardly any that own those lard-arsed cars, actually need 4wd and extra ground clearance, they're just wasteful.

 

Such a wild generalisation, how have you qualified that statement, how do you know what people need?

The toll the weather has taken on the roads this past year, I reckon my next car might need to be a rock crawler.

 

I stand by what I said and, like @keef247 above, I'm done with this thread.

 

On smaller EV's, there's a VW polo-sized EV that's "coming", rumoured to be £22k.

Hyundai Kona has a small footprint. Even smaller, there's VW e-Up and VAG sister cars. Renault Zoe is also quite compact, though I suggest only consider recent version with CCS rapid charging.

eCorsa and e208 are sister cars, they are smaller car sized. I don't rate Stellantis cars because of their inefficient heating system. You'll use more energy for heating compared to other EV's when temperature drops.


On safety checking, I agree it need to be taken seriously and anything doesn't feel right should be looked at in the first instance. But not much can go wrong in first 3 years, then yearly MOT will be enough to ensure the car is safe to drive. Our Leaf is over 8 years old, I've only changed air filter and a suspension arm. Clean MOT history and almost nothing in servicing cost. But some drivers do treat cars like appliance, my wife never noticed the front suspension joint feeling loose.

I firmly believe Vehicle-2-Grid / Vehicle-2-Home is the solution. Most cars are parked over 90% of the time and it's a huge waste just letting it sit there. Plug it in and let it work as part of energy solution. Unlike ICE, battery in EV's are very useful for other stuff.

For example, I'm getting this installed soon: https://www.indra.co.uk/v2h/
It means the Nissan Leaf my wife drives will be used to power the home when parked. When there's renewable, when power is cheap, it charges up. I can then mostly live off the car throughout the day. By my calculation the 18 kWh usable capacity in the Leaf is more than enough to power my house for 1 day and do existing local runabout duties.
When I get heat pump, an upgrade to the current 40 kWh Leaf will see us through a day or two no problem. All powered using excess solar or when electricity are cheap.

So I think EV are part of overall energy solution, not only for transportation, but also the enabler for cheaper cleaner renewable energy.

 

Related follow up question:

What percentage of your annual salary was your car when you bought it? For example, if your annual salary is £30k and your car cost £15k (cash price) that would be 50%.

 

3.09%
2001 BMW 325Ti Compact bought in 2019
£1500
Lol

 

All the monies

 

With vehicle prices mostly advertised transparent, I'm not sure you'll get a straight answer.....

For example, this translates to £45-50k:

sorry....

Are you buying on finance or monthly payments? Asking this question I'm guessing this is the first expensive car you've considered? I asked myself similar question when I was transferring money to Musk Co.

I think the overall burden it may have on your personal finances is more important than cost of car vs salary. A person may earn a lot but due to huge on going expenditure (eg. live in a mansion and have 10 kids at private school) an expensive car places a huge burden on their already strained finance. Or a person may earn below average but have won lottery, so buying an expensive car is no big deal.

 

Fair enough on prices, guess I wasn't even looking for make and model just a percentage.

It would be financed but personal loan rather than PCP as the idea of not owning it sits wrong with me. Plus bank is offering me 5.0%. as before,can afford the money but not sure if I really need to spend it. Wanted a sanity check that I'm not spending "silly" money

 

I guess like when speccing a new PC, it all depends on use case.
Since lockdown, I WFH, so only do around 2500 miles a year now.
Any old car will have little trouble doing those local miles and I do my own maintenance and servicing.
I could get a lease car through the NHS scheme tomorrow but why ***** £350-400 a month for a local runabout?... Total waste of money.

 

It's always been a high percentage for me, and it is silly money, cars aren't investment vehicles, they are all going to wear and depreciate, costing you a fortune. I've made my peace with that.

I've often gone the PCP route as you can do a deal on the price of the car and the take finance incentives, sometimes I'll settle the finance right away, others its so cheap I let it run, I've always bought the cars at the end. Finance deals at the moment are high, I requoted my car for the new model as it came with a faster charger, it was an extra 10k in interest alone for same negotiated list, no thanks, I'll keep the old deal.

I tend to work on a percentage of my disposable on a monthly basis for car related stuff aiming to pay the car off with other income streams, I look at what it would cost me to buy the car in 3 or 4yrs, put the extra over PCP into these other things and then gamble my monies with reckless abandon, works out well most of the time beating inflation, the interest and some times far more the car payments/depreciation

 

That's absolute nonsense and the tech doesn't know what they're on about. If a *sealed* light unit is sealed properly, as they absolutely should be, then you won't have a misting issue at all. Sounds like they're making excuses for quality control issues.

 

Sensible choice, the six cylinder was the only decent engine they put in the compact. By any chance do your window switches not work?

 

Yeah, as long as it has been changed, I'm not bothered. They say it's a slightly newer revision, so hopefully it's fixed.

I feel at traditional dealership, it's going to be the same, except the excuses comes before even filing a warranty claim. It will also need time off work taking the car to dealership to have a chance of having it sorted.

 

Yeah, potentially, depending upon the brand and calibre of the dealership. I’ve had both good and bad experiences with BMW over the years but largely down to the dealership, not the marque.

 

Things like that depend on your dealership, most of my cars are too old for me to bother with main dealer anymore, excusing the one I have just bought, I'm not some one who needs to change cars a lot, much like @Spraduke I run until it makes no more sense, or lifestyle changes kids, climate etc, push me some way.

When I was using main dealer on my Fiats/Alfas/Abarths, my dealer would come and pick my car up, leaving a loaner if needed and that was just a Fiat dealership but when I moved back to Bristol the dealership there did no such thing despite charging more. I liked that method of aftercare and I was considering a Genesis for that sort of concierge care again, always dealing with the same person, regularly checking in with you etc. do you need that/should you need that, no but I liked it and much prefer it to the online app based life.

Annoyingly my car failed its MOT yesterday because I'm a muppet, I checked everything except the rear fog light, which of course failed, now have the annoyance of retest etc as it was tested before closing yesterday, the old guys would have just stayed open and sorted it for me rather than inconvenience me. Still 12yrs/~100k that was being abused on track since 3 weeks old and used for club motorsport I'll take it, well built motors these Italians, cost less than a bus pass to own

 

If you buy a car from a "deliver to your door" type service (cinch, carwow whatever) what is the arrangement with local dealerships? Say I bought a 1 year old Hyundai (still very much in warranty) do I have to do servicing at a local dealer to maintain the warranty? If there is a fault would the local dealer handle it even if I never bought it from them?

Sorry for the newb questions but I have never owned anything new enough to have to worry about dealerships and warranties.

 

If you buy a car thats NOT from the dealer, it's already 'out of the dealer network' and therefore the dealer has no oversight of the vehicle and/or servicing. To get back into the dealer network, which depending upon the age of the car may or may not be worth it, just simply go back to your marque's dealership and request servicing. Simple as that and there's no charge/fees for doing that. You're just asking the dealer to service your car.

As far as warranty goes, it depends.... There may be small print that certain warranted parts require dealer maintenance in order to honour that warranty. Not always the case though, so worth checking with Hyundai, if that's your car in question.

We have two BMs at home. One is only a year old and bought new from the dealer direct, the other was bought out of the dealer network when it was a year old. Our local BM dealership looks after both and undertakes warranty work on both without issue.