December 4, 201510 yr Author I think that the huge discount speaks volumes about electric cars. Renault-Nissan dived in to please the policians who were calling for the industry to get involved and clearly hoped to gain from that. They got the praise heaped on and some backing with subsidies, but I'm sure they must really be regretting it now. The overall losses must be immense and growing, but they are stuck now with carrying on in support of those they've sold internationally. .
December 4, 201510 yr When you think that they had the financial clout to take on Tesla head to head in the same fashion Airbus against all odds took on Boeing... Well the yellow cars are back in Formula One helping with the climate and CO2 emissions and all that next season...
December 9, 201510 yr This is a fascinating topic, my wife has owned a Daihatsu Sirion 1.3 automatic which she loves for 9 years and would reluctant to part with. It has been very reliable....so far, I don't want to tempt providence, but one day it will need replacing. She doesn't venture far so range would not be an issue. The Renault Zoe caught my eye, it's smaller than the Leaf and looks relatively attractive, an important factor for the female of the species. As yet I have no idea if prices or deals similar to those being offered for the Leaf are available or if the economics make any sense. What I find attractive is never having to go to a petrol station and being able to charge an electric car for free with power from our solar panels....when the sunshines. Time to do some serious research and read what you guys have to say. One quick question that you may or may not know, I quite understand that you can't tow anything with an electric car, but could a tow bar be fitted just use a towbar mounted bike carrier? At this stage electric is not an option for me, I have one of the last Renault Grand Espace IV automatic people/bike carriers with 175bhp diesel guzzling motor that also has to tow a large box trailer.
December 9, 201510 yr Author This is a fascinating topic, my wife has owned a Daihatsu Sirion 1.3 automatic which she loves for 9 years and would reluctant to part with. It has been very reliable....so far, I don't want to tempt providence, but one day it will need replacing. She doesn't venture far so range would not be an issue. The Renault Zoe caught my eye, it's smaller than the Leaf and looks relatively attractive, an important factor for the female of the species. As yet I have no idea if prices or deals similar to those being offered for the Leaf are available or if the economics make any sense. What I find attractive is never having to go to a petrol station and being able to charge an electric car for free with power from our solar panels....when the sunshines. Time to do some serious research and read what you guys have to say. One quick question that you may or may not know, I quite understand that you can't tow anything with an electric car, but could a tow bar be fitted just use a towbar mounted bike carrier? At this stage electric is not an option for me, I have one of the last Renault Grand Espace IV automatic people/bike carriers with 175bhp diesel guzzling motor that also has to tow a large box trailer. I doubt a towbar can be fitted, though I don't know for certain. That whole rear underfloor area is where the battery casing is, hence no spare wheel, so probably little or nothing structural to bolt to. Someone reported in here very recently getting a Renault Zoe for £10,000, but that was with renting the battery on a monthly charge which is minimum £70 and rising for higher mileages. So nothing like as good as that Leaf £11,640 with battery included. These prices are for the most basic models of course, steel wheels, manual air-con etc., it's a couple of thousand more for better spec models. .
December 9, 201510 yr http://www.citroen.co.uk/new-cars-and-vans/citroen-range/citroen-c-zero With the back seat folded down you could possibly get a small bike in the back. I couldn't get a large lazy dog in there because the floor is really high with the battery underneath... I prefer the design to the Renault Zoe which I believe owes a lot of bits to the Leaf.
December 9, 201510 yr I doubt a towbar can be fitted, though I don't know for certain. That whole rear underfloor area is where the battery casing is, hence no spare wheel, so probably little or nothing structural to bolt to. Someone reported in here very recently getting a Renault Zoe for £10,000, but that was with renting the battery on a monthly charge which is minimum £70 and rising for higher mileages. So nothing like as good as that Leaf £11,640 with battery included. These prices are for the most basic models of course, steel wheels, manual air-con etc., it's a couple of thousand more for better spec models. . Thanks Tony, the towbar issue was not really important . At the prices you quote the Leaf does look like a good deal, but Mrs Cyclezee would almost certainly say it's tooooo big, whereas I would probably buy a Leaf tomorrow if it worked for me.
December 9, 201510 yr Author http://www.citroen.co.uk/new-cars-and-vans/citroen-range/citroen-c-zero With the back seat folded down you could possibly get a small bike in the back. I couldn't get a large lazy dog in there because the floor is really high with the battery underneath... I prefer the design to the Renault Zoe which I believe owes a lot of bits to the Leaf. The Peugeot Citroen e-models are of course the Mitsubishi i-MiEV sold under licence. One car badged three ways. . Edited December 9, 201510 yr by flecc
December 9, 201510 yr An electric Smart with... http://www.smart-tow.com/img/towing/cycle/ebike552.jpg Oh I am in trouble now...
December 9, 201510 yr Author Can you drive them on an automatic licence, given they have no gears? Yes, they are said to be automatic by the makers. .
December 9, 201510 yr Author As yet I have no idea if prices or deals similar to those being offered for the Leaf are available or if the economics make any sense. It's possible that there could be a sudden leap in e-car prices, since this government is slashing subsidies on what they consider desirable technologies. For example the solar panels they want us to buy and install are having their subsidy slashed by a huge 85% in January. It means the £400 per annum payback that a typical householder might have expected from what they feed back to the grid drops to about £58. George Osborne's next target for these cuts could well be the £5000 subsidy for each e-car bought, which is included in all the foregoing e-car prices. .
December 9, 201510 yr I have followed this through anonymously for the Leicester dealer and found to my surprise the offer is genuine. Here's the details: New Leaf Visia Flex 5dr Auto £20,790 Metallic - Universal Silver £550 Additional options £0 Total RRP £21,340 ----------------------------------- Cash Offer £11,640 £9,700 off 45.5% saving ---------------------------------- Finance Offer £13,440 £7,900 off 37.0% saving --------------------------------- They certainly seem desperate to shift them, probably to keep the production line going rather than risk it having to shut down. . Hi Tony, How did you find that offer, was it with https://www.carwow.co.uk ?
December 9, 201510 yr Author Hi Tony, How did you find that offer, was it with https://www.carwow.co.uk ? Yes it was. They tend to pester with emails afterwards, probably since they get a cut from any successful sale. .
December 9, 201510 yr Thanks Tony, I will give it a shot but very much doubt I will take the plunge as long as the Daihatsu has life left in it.
December 9, 201510 yr We have a Zoe,they are a fantastic car. They cannot have a towbar... Thre are loads of cheap deals. We are paying two thirds of the cost of fuel per month i was paying. Charging is about twenty two quid a month, includes breakdown cover, not tax, mot and insurance is the same as our w reg a-class. We tried the zoe and the leaf, the leaf is a qualitu vehicle, it doesn't have the looks and has a different feel to the drive(personal pref). Ask away if you have any questions. I'm a bit of a petrol head, not sure if i would go back though, range is the normal issue, but you are likely to find you do far less miles than you think, longer journeys just need a bit of planning. John
December 9, 201510 yr We have a Zoe,they are a fantastic car. They cannot have a towbar... Thre are loads of cheap deals. We are paying two thirds of the cost of fuel per month i was paying. Charging is about twenty two quid a month, includes breakdown cover, not tax, mot and insurance is the same as our w reg a-class. We tried the zoe and the leaf, the leaf is a qualitu vehicle, it doesn't have the looks and has a different feel to the drive(personal pref). Ask away if you have any questions. I'm a bit of a petrol head, not sure if i would go back though, range is the normal issue, but you are likely to find you do far less miles than you think, longer journeys just need a bit of planning. John Hi John, Thanks for your feedback, good to know you are happy with your Zoe. This would be a car for my wife who doesn't do a lot of miles and rarely ventures outside the city. Being realistic we can't justify replacing her existing car simply because of cost savings, it would make more sense to run it into the ground. I paid £6000 for her Daihatsu 9 years ago from a private seller. It was 6 months old with only 600 miles on the clock, the original owner died. 6k for 9 years of reliable motoring, if a Zoe came anywhere near that I would be tempted, but that's very unlikely.
December 9, 201510 yr Author I paid £6000 for her Daihatsu 9 years ago from a private seller. It was 6 months old with only 600 miles on the clock, That was good, rather like my best one, showroom new Fiat Tipo at the very heavily discounted £6975, 10.5 years of no spares bought motoring and sold for £500 at the end. .
December 10, 201510 yr That was good, rather like my best one, showroom new Fiat Tipo at the very heavily discounted £6975, 10.5 years of no spares bought motoring and sold for £500 at the end. . Well Tony, Ah Fiat, I have had a love relationship with them over the years. You certainly had more luck with your Tipo than I had with mine, it was a black1.9 turbo diesel model that pulled like a train and pumped out almost as much soot. Driving back from the garage on the day I bought it the baffles were lose in the silencer, replaced under warranty, leaky windscreen let water into the electrics which cost a load of money to rectify. Electric window problems, I can't remember the rest. My wife and daughter have also owned Fiats at one time with varying degrees of success, but the worst Italian car I had was an Alfa Romeo 155, great to drive....when it wasn't in the garage being fixed after that one I said no more Italian cars. The best was the last, a Fiat Doblo, reliable, practical and cheap to run on LPG...Made in Turkey. The longest I kept a car was 8 years, a VW Jetta, bought new when I worked in Germany for the equivalent of £3000, despite it being LHD I sold in the UK for £1000. The best return on a vehicle was a used ex council Daihatsu HiJet van that ran on LPG, paid £1250 for it, kept it two years and sold it for £1750. My wife's best return on a vehicle, LHD Volvo 244 with 120,000 Km on the clock, cost £300 kept for 2 years sold for £300, but God knows how many gallons of petrol it got through. Vehicles I wish I had kept, Fiat Doblo, Daihatsu HiJet and Volvo V50 D5.
December 10, 201510 yr Fiat 126, Panda 45S, Panda 1000 Fire, Lancia Delta (Fiat bits and bobs), Lancia Delta, Fiat Stilo, my last car (ever?). The Stilo was lots of fun "please pull off the road ASAP something is going to explode" or equivalent it kept saying - for about three years, it used to worry my young sons silly but they got used to it. I got 50 € for scrap from it I was thrilled!
December 10, 201510 yr I won't go into detail, but here is my Italian list: Fiat 131 Mirafiori rust bucket bought in Germany. Fiat Croma 2.0 CHT bought in UK, broken into in Italy, written off in the UK. Fiat Strada, temporary rust bucket after Croma write off. Fiat Uno 1.7 diesel, problem free. Fiat Tempra 2.0 Station Wagon x 2, my wife also had one, problematic. Alfa Romeo 155 Twin Spark, loved it and hated it at the same time, my most unreliable car to date. Fiat Punto 1.2, problem free, wife's car. Fiat Punto CVT automatic, problem free, wife's car. Fiat Doblo 1.4 LPG, problem free. THE END, NO MORE ITALIAN CARS....PROBABLY.
December 10, 201510 yr OK, back on track, best deals so far for an entry level Nissan Leaf, £12,090, that's 41.8% off the RRP. Entry level Renault Zoe, £12,588, that's 31.8% off the RRP. One year old Zoe with less than 1400 miles on the clock £6985. Phenomenal depreciation!
December 10, 201510 yr that's why the PCP deals are so attractive, you can get the Zoe for around £9k. The interesting part is how long the vehicle will last, with less things to go wrong (I'm relying on the fact the electrics are a JV) and leasing the battery, the long term potential could be very good... though it's early days yet. John
December 10, 201510 yr that's why the PCP deals are so attractive, you can get the Zoe for around £9k. The interesting part is how long the vehicle will last, with less things to go wrong (I'm relying on the fact the electrics are a JV) and leasing the battery, the long term potential could be very good... though it's early days yet. John Hi John, I'm a bit old school and always like to pay for stuff upfront in full unless it's 0% interest and I can't get discount by paying cash. I guess that's partly due to my Scottish background, if I can't afford to pay for something then I go without. Where can you get a new Zoe for 9K and what is the catch? From the quotes I have had so far, the Leaf is a better deal and probably what I would choose if buying one for myself In all honesty this is basically a bit of research into electric cars which will in all probability not lead to buying a car to replace my wife's current one, it would take lot of persuasion to get her to part with her beloved Daihatsu.
December 11, 201510 yr I've driven a Leaf a couple of times and thought it drove rather nicely. Full torque from standing is a killer feature even when the equivalent horsepower is not particularly impressive. I'm not impressed with Renault though (currently drive a megane cc), most parts of the car, particularly the electrics, have had problems. It's spent ten days at the dealer without any of the problems being identified or fixed... Personally I'm waiting for the price of second hand Teslas to come down (I may be waiting a while!)
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