UKH

Hello

Looking to buy an electric car as my current car has just failed it's MOT and fixing it is not really an option.  Looking to spend around £7/8k on something like a Nissan Leaf, we only need small car.

I'm really looking for an advice on what to look out for when buying an electric car.
Also I've not no idea about charging it, there are a few charge points near to us but can I buy a kit to allow charging from a normal socket.

Thanks in advance

Jason

I’d highly recommend a 2nd gem renault Zoe (40kwh). Yes you can get a 13a wall charger but it takes ~24hrs to charge it like that. Better to get a 7kw installed at home if you have a suitable location.

They had an original range of 186 miles on the dash when fully charged and the trip computer reset. Expect loss of around 5 miles/yr

The other day we were looking at a site that rented electric cars out by the month. We decided that when the older of our two cars became too expensive to fix we'd use it to try a few electric cars before committing. 

It'll come with that lead. It's all I use currently, it's a bit slow but it works fine so long as you can park it near a power outlet for a decent chunk of the day/night.

jk

Some EV specific comments:

• Most come with an adapter for a normal socket in the boot.   I got a custom spec one from Zencar.net with a blue commando plug selectable charging rate and 10 meter bright green cable for half the price someone like PodPoint sell/fit inlets for.  Hooo I think mentioned recently that a socket and circuit intended for EV charging now needs a DC sensitive RCD/RCBO in the UK which would up the cost quite a bit of getting a new circuit installed for a plug based unit.
• Check the break disks for bad corrosion (due to low use) and get them changed by the dealer if bad.
• Check the rear wheel alignment on a Leaf - hard to adjust if clobbered.
• Check the battery *capacity* as separate to charge - dealer or ODB dongle and software can do a battery health report.
• On a Leaf, check the TPMS friendly tyre sealant can is not past its expiration date.
• Expect to pay over the odds due to car shortage. Dealer just sent us a letter begging to buy ours back above market rates, presumably they need it to hook some sap on a credit deal, that being where they make money.  No cars > no credit sold.  My bleeding heart.
• If haggling with a dealer, a free service isn’t worth as much as for an ICE, typically on our Leaf’s it’s just been the break fluid and cabin air filter.

Our Leaf is the best car we’ve ever had in the role of a family runabout.  

You’ve gone electric?  Excellent. 

I did exactly that when my diesel was in the garage for a while.  Discovered I hate the Tesla model 3 and was surprised how much I liked the BMW i3, although it’s transition power<>regeneration was really noticeable which was a bit jarring.  The firm behind diggerland do rentals by the day.

My folks upgraded their Leaf so I took the old one off their hands. It doesn't do everything I need but the price was right and it's perfect for commuting.

jk

I've never owned an EV but the reading I have done clearly states - check how many charge cycles the battery has been through. I understand that manufacturers give guidance on maximum number of cycles and garages can checks this via the car's system.

I rushed into buying my first electric car last summer, after my Golf went bang.

At the time the only realistic options under £10k were the Leaf and Zoe. I don't know if this has changed now. The Zoe was way too small for us, but might be OK for you. If you do get one, watch out for the battery lease.

I got a Leaf 30, and I'd strongly recommend it over the 24 (it's the battery size). The range on my 30 is barely enough, so the 24 would be a pain. The 40 is a completely different car, much better, but much more expensive and probably out of your budget.

The one thing I wish I'd known was how to do a proper check of the battery condition. This is the no.1 important thing on an EV, everything else is just regular car stuff. There's an app called Leaf Spy that when paired with an ODBII reader will get you proper battery condition info. The battery report from Nissan is useless, and basically tells you the same as the dash display. 

Sign up to the forum at Speak EV and you'll find all the info you need on EVs and how to check the battery.

The Leaf (and most EVs) should come with two leads. A type 2 that will fit any public charger, and a "Granny cable" with a 13A plug that you can plug in anywhere.

Do you have a driveway to park on? I don't think I'd put up with the Leaf if I had to public charge every time.

As Wintertree mentioned, while you have the 13A lead for temporary use, it is technically illegal to install an outside socket for the purpose of charging an EV without it having some extra protection circuitry. A normal RCD is not enough. But I'm pretty sure that this extra protection is a couple of hundred quid, so not a deal breaker. Getting a proper EVSE (charge point) is worth it though IMO. Safer, and faster charging.

And if you are charging at home, sign up to Octopus Go and get off peak electricity at 5p a unit. Shameless plug alert! use my link and we both get £50: http://share.octopus.energy/super-liger-382

We can't do the smart meter deals which we had hoped to because our wiring doesn't leave space for one to be fitted. 🙁

As someone else mentioned, Speak EV is a really good forum to get on. Before we bought our van I used it loads to ask all sorts of questions as they cropped up. Loads of really knowledgeable people and happy to help. 

I've owned a Leaf as my only car for a couple of years now and would second everything Wintertree says.  Sounds a lot but in reality they're a very easy 2nd hand buy.  Mine normally gets charged on the drive  or in the garage overnight on a 3 pin plug, gets rapid charged on trips weekly or so.  

I don't know how many charge cycles mine has had, but I think that sort of 'limit' is all theory and not reflected in reality - I know a lot of people with old Leafs, Teslas,

Really? I suspect that installer might have been a bit lazy and it'd be worth trying again. 

The guy who did mine tried to say that he didn't have room to fit it, but with a tape measure in hand and by offering to move anything that was in the way he backed down and put it in without much trouble.

Other friends in our area with a similar era of house have the same problem, so I suspect it is a design issue

It might be worth talking to an electrician to see if something can be moved, but then you have to weigh up the cost of that work against any savings you'll make.

I bought a second hand electric car (2014 Nissan Leaf), just under 3 years ago from this company https://www.usedelectricvehicles.co.uk/

The company is basically a bloke called Johnathan Porterfield who really knows his stuff.

I had a chat with him, re what my options were, set a budget and he found me a car.  Was quick, easy and no problems.  Would definitely recommend- he doesn’t do hard sell at all.  Pretty sure someone else on here also bought a car through him.

Thanks to everybody who replied, some really useful stuff to consider, it's a new world for me and I'm wary of buying something shoddy so these replies have been really helpful.

Jason

Oh and the car came with the cables necessary for charging at public charge points and a “granny cable”, which is one to plug into a normal household socket.

Good luck, let us know how you get on. I have to say that as long as you can adjust to the idea of charging it regularly instead of driving till the light comes on and filling up then EVs are far superior to ICEs. I'd much rather drive my Leaf than any ICE car.

You mention that the range is not enough, I was wondering how far you usually travel.
Our current car only gets used locally with rare trips further afield, my wife uses it most days to get to work, which is a about 3 miles away at max.  We are London based so I'm hoping a range of 100+ miles a week would be enough.

Don't have a driveway but I'm sure we'd get a proper charger installed.

Thanks for the time about Octopus, I'm looking to change my energy provider so I'll look them up

I'd be interested on anyone thoughts about leasing, it looks like it could be good option for us over 3 years.  It would cost less than buy a second hand car and would probably give us a better idea of what we need.

In lockdown I was driving into London for work. 60 miles each way, half motorway. In winter I needed to charge to almost 100% while I was at work in order to get home without worrying. 

3 miles each way is another matter entirely! She'll be fine with a Leaf 24. TBH I can't believe she drives 3 miles in London. By the time she's found somewhere to park it'd be quicker to cycle? Or even walk!

I suspect a lot of secondhand EVs are destined for the Channel Islands where people don't need the range, a friend of mine just bought one of the small battery Honda e's and it came from Scotland where the original owner found the range too small.

Masses of Leaf 24s doodling around in Orkney as well, including mine.