Electric vehicles, pros and cons. Have your say.

[panhard65]

3 grand for a 2012 city car ? Really are they worth that much even if it had a proper drivetrain and can do more than 50 miles without having to stop and charge it up? I really don't think specialising in EV's is a good idea, pretty much everyone else in the trade is running away from them. All this youtube nonsense probably pays better than trying to make money out of EV's. Maybe it is just me and my dislike of the modern world but I can't see a need for any car that can only do 50 miles. I hardly use my electric scooter as I worry about it getting me back home if I go more than a few miles.

[Eddie Honda]

my e̶l̶e̶c̶t̶r̶i̶c̶ s̶c̶o̶o̶t̶e̶r̶ gayped.

FTFY

[LynehamHerc]

3 grand for a 2012 city car ? Really are they worth that much even if it had a proper drivetrain and can do more than 50 miles without having to stop and charge it up? I really don't think specialising in EV's is a good idea, pretty much everyone else in the trade is running away from them. All this youtube nonsense probably pays better than trying to make money out of EV's. Maybe it is just me and my dislike of the modern world but I can't see a need for any car that can only do 50 miles. I hardly use my electric scooter as I worry about it getting me back home if I go more than a few miles.

I assume that the 50 miles is in the summer.
What is it with the battery cold and the heating on?

The only reason I can see for buying this is if you live in and just drive around a city and there's tax benefits.
Otherwise it's a driveway ornament and a not especially good looking one at that.

[Hooli]

Even just in a city, get stuck in traffic for an hour & you'll be walking home.

I see no reason for it existing tbh.

[fraser]

Even just in a city, get stuck in traffic for an hour & you'll be walking home.

I see no reason for it existing tbh.

You could get range anxiety a mile from home with 20% charge left!!

[fraser]

Don't forget one of his selling points was - there must be loads of people with old corsas living in a city that only do 10 miles a week. Why not uses this car?
Because, if aunt Agnes, who lives 150 miles away gets sick, you can get in your corsa to visit her without stopping to recharge 4 times!!

[fraser]

OK, I bit and looked at auto trader for these. There are 6 on there, but only one with the same battery for £2.1k.
In winter it only gets 20-30 miles(manufacturer's range is 93 miles, upto obviously), but wait, it gets better. It only gets that range as he's bodged a webasto diesel heater into the cars heater system so it doesn't drain the battery.
Full autotrader description below -

Description
This car has been just great for conscience-free trips into local towns and cities, and I've owned it since 2014, having been bought at exactly 2 years old. Of course there are compromises with an EV of this age, the major one being range. I have made longer journeys and very occasionally charged up en-route, but 95% of my journeys have been there and back on a single charge. A change in personal circumstances now means it makes no sense to have 2 vehicles as I'm just not using it as once I did, so it's time for Buzz to go. In winter time the range is much less, say just ~20 to 30 miles, summer time it's ~35 to 45+ miles. Back in 2016 I fitted a Webasto Thermotop 2000 heater (a real one, not a Chinese copy) back in 2016, following advice from others on-line who had made similar modifications. The big 12V lead-acid battery was removed and replaced with a much smaller 12V AGM battery, and the heater fitted in the space released. It's a water heater and is plumbed into the cars own cooling + heating system so just sends heated water from the Webasto through the system to blow warm air into all the places that the car normally uses. It's fed from a 2 litre fuel "tank" under the bonnet which needs to be filled up every 2 or 3 main battery charges and, once started keeps the interior and windscreen toasty warm and clear respectively, even when it's freezing outside. There's a dedicated Webasto timer that when triggered keeps the heating on for 30 minutes before shutting it down automatically, although of course you can switch it on again. It makes a huge difference to the car in winter, even better if you can keep it in a garage as it takes less time to warm it up. I have all the "paperwork" (actually lots of digital and photos and drawings etc) which logs the fitting and later development of the heater, but there isn't a manual that explains all these things in simple terms! Despite this, it's worked flawlessly for the last 7 or 8 years.Buzz has been used a lot and whilst the interior is pretty tidy, the exterior does have marks and small dings. Given the background to this vehicle, it's inevitable that Buzz may be better suited to someone with some technical experience, but since this was my background, I guess I would say this. I do feel it could be a great way to learn about keeping and driving an early battery EV without freezing in the winter. Next MOT due 26/09/2025, Silver, 2 owners, £2,100

[Hooli]

So 25 mile range & that uses 2ltrs of diesel, that works out this EV is doing 56mpg plus charging costs and is incredibly useless as a vehicle as it's got less range than a fat lass on a pushbike.

Just me not seeing the attraction in it?

[DodgeRover]

I thought the EV trading bit was just a reason to have more views on the YouTube channel.

Range in winter when used is absolutely woeful though, I get range anxiety with 200+ miles on LPG and I have the option to run on petrol.

[LynehamHerc]

I thought the EV trading bit was just a reason to have more views on the YouTube channel.

Range in winter when used is absolutely woeful though, I get range anxiety with 200+ miles on LPG and I have the option to run on petrol.

Will youtube pay that much though?
He's got a 500k house if I remember correctly and he ain't a plumber.