[Closed] Nissan Leaf

Well, you would need to buy 2 cars when you only actually need 1

So any cost benefit of using electric would be gone straight away.

Aren't they hideously expensive and need the very expensive battery replaced every few years costing £1000s?

Until they can do 500 miles on a charge and take 10 mins to recharge then I don't see the point.

If your only doing local runs in it, it will be cheaper having a bike or using public transport.

£18k and you need another car for longer trips?

You could buy a basic small car for commuting for half that, even new.

http://www.macklinmotors.co.uk/new-car-deals/nissan/leaf/?tr=f11&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=04%20|%20New%20|%20Nissan&utm_term=textad

Why does it talk about battery lease at £70 per month?

Streuth - and I'm subsidising anyone buying one to the tune of £5k!

FFS, yet another brill policy by someone spending other peoples money.

Why does it talk about battery lease at £70 per month?

I'm guessing they get round the small issue of the battery costing £1000s which only lasts a few years by leasing you one and then covering the replacement cost themselves. So you pay the £1000s in small installments rather than one big hit at service time.

Well, you would need to buy 2 cars when you only actually need 1

So any cost benefit of using electric would be gone straight away.

That argument doesn't hold water though. A great many people have a second small car that only does local trips. That car could easily be replaced by an electric one.

Until they can do 500 miles on a charge and take 10 mins to recharge then I don't see the point.

See above. A lot of cars never do more than 150 miles in a day - that's the point of the electric ones.

The only real drawback is cost, which is the reason I'm out.

So you pay the £1000s in small installments rather than one big hit at service time.

Expensive yes, but I bet servicing is bugger all which would offset it a bit. And the fuel's cheaper too.

[i]but I bet servicing is bugger all which would offset it a bit.[/i]

Except you still need to service and maintain the car, so while you'll save on oil/filters there is still everything else there that is in any car - tyres, brakes etc. Plus one bugbear on older cars is always the electrics...

I still reckon servicing is much less. I'd be interested to find out.

I suspect servicing will be less but only as the cars won't do many miles, so wear and tear on shocks, bushes and bearings will be quite low. Against a comparable mileage small petrol car, I doubt there'd be much in it.

NB The £70/month for the battery is really a servicing cost, so add that in and the Electric car will cost way more to keep on the road.

The point is we need 2 cars as my OH needs a car at the same time as me. All I ever do is about 50 miles a day but I do that or least one of us does that nearly every day. Surely this would be a massive saving on running costs. I know about the battery degradation issue. It just seems to be a great wee car. Was a bit stressed though when I took into Oslo got lost and forgot the magic key which enables you to charge it for free in loads of places. Boy do quickly learn how to drive smoothly using the min amount of power when you only have 60km left of power and the Pratt-nav tells you home is 65km!

[i]Surely this would be a massive saving on running costs.[/i]

True, but it'll lose at least twice (as it costs x2 as much) what an equivalent petrol/diesel car would in depreciation. And it'll be difficult to sell on the open market with the battery issue - so stuck having to p/x at a dealer.

BMW i3 is about £5k less. You'll have to wait a few months though.

Or get a Vauxhall Ampera which would enable you to go much further than to the shops and back without having to take a 4-gang extension lead.

For the price you get two weeks conventional car hire thrown in per year. Overall I don't think it makes economic or environmental sense though: it's just moving the problem to another location and the production materials and processes are pretty nasty.

Often wondered... would it be entirely unethical to buy an electric car charging cable and use it to charge my petrol car's battery while I'm out shopping in town? Free parking, ground floor spaces that are always empty, keeps the battery happy in winter. 😈

That argument doesn't hold water though. A great many people have a second small car that only does local trips. That car could easily be replaced by an electric one.

Or by bicycle, public transport or walking. It's just that most people would rather gouge their own eyes out with a spoon than give a car up and then walk 4 miles a day. Or cycle 30. Or get on a bus.