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I've been up and down to York a few times in the last 6 weeks. Initially it was I think 39p/kWh. Last time though I charged at Poppleton and it had gone up to 59p. This was around 4 weeks ago. Still cheaper than stopping on the M74 back to Glasgow but not exactly reasonable IMHO.
Given that the price cap for domestic consumers is about 35p, and this cap doesn't apply to commercial operators, I'm wondering what people expect really. I agree it's annoying to have to pay through the nose for what is basically a distress purchase, but that's life currently. Charge at home when possible!
Yeah I'm not overly bothered personally. It doesn't seem to be harming uptake of EVs either. But it's a shame that people with no driveway are still at such a disadvantage.
Ok so how are Tesla managing to be half the price? Are they subsidising it from sales or just have the advantage of time, and building their network when it was cheaper to do so? The price differential is not a bit, it is massive.
No idea, but they don't need to make a profit if it helps vehicle sales.
But it’s a shame that people with no driveway are still at such a disadvantage.
Exactly this but stronger.
We bought a 2nd hand ev as I'm betting that medium term it will cost less than a petrol car. Ultimately it makes little difference to us what it costs to charge at a public charging station as we will do it maybe 10 times a year.
If like us you don't have a driveway (or cheap work charging etc.) then this is just never going to work for you. That seems massively unfair.
If you don’t have home charging how are you only public charging 10 times per year?
For those of you talking about charging at home, which home chargers have you had installed? (Sorry, the search function is useless).
There seems to be so much variability in price on Google and part of me worries this is a opportunity to end up buying from a cowboy? We have a recently replaced consumer unit, <30yr old house. Will need a longer than 5m charge cable to get to the car, most seem to be 5m?
We're looking at a second hand EV (2018 Kia Soul MK1 for around £10k?) to replace our ageing 6k miles per year runabout/wife's commuter. Still can't justify c.£280pm to lease an MG4 which is the cheapest I can find.
If you don’t have home charging how are you only public charging 10 times per year?
Sorry the above should say "unlike us you don't have a driveway"!
Ohme bcauae it's the one that works with Intelligent Octopus so you get the 7.5p rate with any car. Otherwise it's only supported with certain cars.
There is another supported smart charger now but I forget what.
I'm just using a 3 pin plug and cable out the window!
Sat charging in Hammersmith . It’s 35.5 c !!
WTAF
We got an EV Project untethered charger, mainly because it was cheap, relatively simple and can take solar if I ever get round to that.
People say the app is basic which it sort of is but I can't actually think what I'd want it to do which it doesn't do.
In retrospect I should have got the 10m tethered version but we keep a 5m lead in each ev and keep a 10m in the house so we never need to shuffle cars around.
We got ours fitted by a local firm on recommendation and they were great, plus the electrician was rocking a bowtie which was a nice touch!
Thanks all, we're in Leeds if that helps anyone for an installer recommendation.
Out first EV is arriving soon so like a parent painting the nursery pink, I’m wondering what is the default set of apps/cards I shouldn’t leave home without? First thought was to check out what chargers are around us, but actually those are chargers I’ll never use 🙂
I’m wondering what is the default set of apps/cards I shouldn’t leave home without?
Zapmap can be handy. Lets you check for chargers that fit certain criteria in locations you’re interested in.
A better route planner. Handy for checking out return journeys before travelling.
Cards? I have the octopus card but have yet to use it.
I use the Chargefinder app for finding charge locations.
I seem to use the Chargepoint card most often.
I installed the Tesla, evyve, ionity, instavolt, osprey and podpoint apps to my phone. Some of these cards/apps hold on to some cash for charging. Which is something to keep track of.
My debit card is also used when all other cards fail.
Zap-Map for sure. Electroverse (Octopus) may be useful too.
BP Pulse. Thankfully, being in Scotland, most charge points are tied in to Charge Place Scotland, so can avoid the pay for parking hell of different apps and cards.
... Last month I needed to be at Aberdeen Royal Infirmar. There are EV points there - hard to find - then when you get there, the provider which was French) is no longer the provider, and the new provider codes for the charge posts have different codes to those displayed. What a pile! To top it all off, they are not tied in to CPS as above. Strong letter sent, chocolate fireguard response, strong response sent to MSP, who is following up with the NHS Grampian management.
It needs to be a lot easier and less reliant on apps that hold onto money or require registration / subscription, or in fact apps at all. Everything should just work on a credit / debit card - this is gradually the way it is going but the current situation is ridiculous.
I don't bother with apps. I've always just used debit cards. The only time I needed an app was at Amroth with Dragon Charging.
I would recommend not bothering and when you plan your route check what payment the chargers you are aiming to use need.
And of course the app for your car!
That aircon isn’t going to turn itself on before you get in. Well, unless you have a regular routine and schedule it.
Is it me, or is there almost nothing on the Electroverse app?
Shell Recharge is the card I use most as it includes Osprey, ionity and MFG. not sure how it compares to other card offers from Octopus and Zap-map, the Shell card came with my car so I've not done the comparison. Basically I stick to the the networks with the best reputation when planning a route.
Whilst I have a variety of apps, I make a point of only using charge points that take normal contactless payment. Just trying to do my bit to show providers that that is what is needed.
That said, a couple of things have happened recently i think move the game on in the right directions…
BP (yes, I know) creating a car park at the NEC with charging points on every space… this is the model for all large car parks.
Tesla unveiling their new supercharger design that not only support any vehicle now with longer cables, but also takes contactless payment. If they retrofit this to their existing sites, as well as using it for all their new ones, this will massively give other providers a kick up the arse…
https://insideevs.com/news/683646/tesla-opened-first-v4-supercharger-uk/
Especially when you look at their rollout plans
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/uk-and-ireland-supercharger-site-news.91118/#post-2114400
not only support any vehicle
Except mine 🙁
That NEC charging will be handy if visiting. Assuming there is no time limit on the 7KW chargers, I could do what im doing up there and come out to an almost fully charged car. Bet they stick the usual £15+ parking charge on top though if you do 🙂
@molgrips - no, there's not much on Electroverse that I can find.
Annoyingly, it looked like I could have used my card for my ARI trip.
There's a couple / handful nearby, but that's 3/4 in a 50 mile radius!
someone on previous page had said ChargePlace Scotland is £0.30/kWh, but I don't think that's right.
I can use CPS on eg Highland Council chargers, and they're IIRC 70p, Aberdeen are about 35p, here in Moray it's about 32p from memory, Perth around 32p as well I think. . And private stations are all over the place. As I travel down to Central belt and other locations, I'm assimilating the nice places to charge - either available, or pleasant, or cheap - normal charge eg at Pitlochry Dam is free as far as I can tell and it's nice spot.
someone on previous page had said ChargePlace Scotland is £0.30/kWh
Might of been me?
30p/kwh is what I paid for the DC fast charger in Selkirk.
Other CP Scotland chargers had different prices from what I saw on their app. 0p, 16p, 30p, 50p+ depending on their location and speed.
I aimed for the cheaper ones and spent the money saved in the local economy.
Electroverse was very good in Europe both for planning and paying. Are you sure you have the filters set correctly?
Onto have gone into admin so there maybe lots of second hand EVs on the market in the near future. Might be a good time to buy in a month or so.
Electroverse was very good in Europe both for planning and paying. Are you sure you have the filters set correctly?
That was my first thing to check.
I’ve found Electroverse to be my go-to if there aren’t superchargers where I need fuel. Off to BPW at the weekend and Electroverse will save me 28% of the cost of using the Osprey charger in Merthyr.
If you’ve checked your settings it might just be there isn’t much where you live.
If you’ve checked your settings it might just be there isn’t much where you live.
Obviously I cross-checked against other apps, and there are plenty of chargers I physically know where they are.
I've de-selected the 'affiliated with electroverse' switch and it still hardly knows anything.
EDIT oh.. lol. you have to select the networks you're interested in, and it defaults to none selected. And you have to scroll down the filters page to see it. Lol.
There’s a “select all” button too.
As with many things Tesla and Space X - they can still make a small profit by doing almost everything in house and their value to shareholders isn’t in profit but in brand/share price.
Their land is owned, their local taxes reduced, their production is highly insourced and integrated. Economically, they’re very efficient.
someone on previous page had said ChargePlace Scotland is £0.30/kWh, but I don’t think that’s right.
Charge Place Scotland just collect the money - the operator of the charging station sets the price (whether that's the local council or a private operator)
Had our Ionic 5 for a year now. 8.5k miles in and nothing to fault it apart from a poor turning circle. We charge at home off the solar panels and for several months its been brilliant for tan lines as well as charging 🙂
So my question is - servicing... Had the first annual service done as part of the purchase package and all is well. But Mrs W was put under quite a lot of pressure to take a service plan at £350ish a year. Luckily she didn't succumb and I always run a mile from this type of thing. Looking at the service booklet and handbook don't really give any real indication of what needs to be done when. Lots of visual checks but nothing else really. The tick box option in the service records annual/10k or 20k miles! No list of what we used to get in a typical planet destroyer of course and I wasn't expecting one I suppose.
Given that there's next to nothing to do other than checks what are people's experiences of servicing and associated costs?
I didn't take any extended warranty or service plan on the 2nd Corsa e.
I doubt it'll break in the next 2 - 10 years. But the money I save from not purchasing a service plan should cover wear and tear and other stuff. I hope.
That’s the attitude I’m going to take but interested in experiences.
🤔
Selling our Model 3 and a question asked by prospective buyers was ‘how much is servicing’? 🤷🏻♂️ it’s not had one in 4 years. No fixed service interval. Service on demand as far as I know. If others have different information please say.
Only yardsticks I have are:
Model S needed a scheduled 1 year service in 2019. This involved a change of the battery coolant, safety checks, windscreen washer refill 🤷🏻♂️ what else. £750. That was the last year of scheduled servicing.
MB petrol and diesel services before that. Not sure any of those were <£1,000!
£350 for an annual service plan sounds like a going rate but unless there’s a schedule of things like coolant changes and the like is it needed? Otherwise what’s to do? I’d ask for the detailed service checklists before offering £350/year.
When you have those I suppose you can better assess whether £350/year (plus extras no doubt) to maintain the service record is worthwhile to maintain any warranty and resale benefits affected.
Edit- you can get it ‘serviced’ by any decent garage of course. Though folks often prefer manufacturer franchised records.
I’m aware that things like brake fluid, pads, and discs degrade/wear over time. but given how little the brakes are used I’m relying on the machine to say when something needs to be done.
Same as above, had a tesla 3yrs and it's not been touched.
I'll do the cabin air filter myself, they get manky.
Running through the list of things I can only think of brake fluid and that's not on a yearly basis. The car will ping a warning on brake pads but I expect to see 100k out of them given how little use they get.
Unless it's a model specific requirement I can't see much required annually.
£350 for an annual service plan sounds like a going rate
My Hyundai was £70 for the first service and £140 for the second. I don't think they did anything except check it over.
The service schedule for the Leaf only has checks on it except for brake fluid every 2 years I think and the reduction drive/transmission fluid change every 60k. Which is a simple drain/refill job, no complex refill procedures or expensive fluids like the other automatics I've had.
£350 sounds like a lot, but is it worth skimping on? You might find the battery warranty is affected if it's not serviced - apparently it is on my Nissan which is why I'm trying to get hold of the service record.
https://www.ioniqforum.com/threads/ioniq-5-interim-and-main-service-checksheets.37885/
Looks like brake fluid, cabin filter and special coolant every 4 years or 40k
My Polestar 2 is due it's third and final service now but as I'm not the original owner I've got no clue what it entails either (waiting for the local Volvo dealership that is also a Polestar service centre to reply to me). Apparently it should be free (even though I'm not the original owner) and will mostly be a visual inspection of stuff + some fluid changes. Seems they often want to change wiper blades and tires so they can make some money off that (but I've recently changed both of those myself anyway). Hopefully shouldn't need pads due to regen braking.
I'm also waiting to see what they do regarding the online connectivity costs (i.e. having the 4G SIM in it), there's no charge for the first 3 years but the launch edition cars (like mine) have now reached 3 years old but Polestar still haven't announced if they'll start charging monthly for it (I expect they will, it's fair enough really) and if so what that charge will be (it best not be over £15/month...)
The connectivity for my Leaf is £2.99 for live traffic routing etc - ok - but £1.99 just to allow me to find out where it is and turn on the aircon remotely. Doesn't seem like quite such good value.
However the live traffic and map updates have to go through wifi which means my phone hotspot, whereas the position logging/aircon uses the car's built-in connection, so I guess the £1.99 funds that connection whereas the traffic funds the actual service.