[Technology] Buying a new car

[Half Time Pies]

Is there any chance you can get a company car or are you self employed? Company car BIK on electric vehicles is currently 0%.

Yes and if you are a business owner there is 100% capital allowance on electric vehicles.

 

[nwgull]

Yes and if you are a business owner there is 100% capital allowance on electric vehicles.

This is how I'm paying for my iPace, which is easily the best and fastest car I've ever owned

 

[Half Time Pies]

This is how I'm paying for my iPace, which is easily the best and fastest car I've ever owned

Great cars! Im thinking of buying one when the lease expires on our Nissan Leaf. Also considering the Tesla model Y and the VW ID4.

 

[Goldstone1976]

The current road tax system is based on emissions and some cars pay zero road tax as emissions a very low. So where do cycles full in that bracket? I suspect in the low emissions and I would the wear and tear on the tarmac is negligible.

I think you may have been whooshed...

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

If memory serves me correctly Poojah lives in Yorkshire, so parking in Brighton probably isn’t much of an issue.

 

[Blue3]

What age and mileage are you two cars and what's the motivation to buy replacements ?

 

[GOM]

I'm looking to to get one next year as well, going from a 2 car family to a one car.

When did new cars get sooooo expensive. Last new car we bought was in 2007 a Fiesta for my wife, and I still have my car which I bought second hand 12 years ago. Now even a mid range car seems to be wayyy expensive.

 

[studio150]

I don't get the obsession with cyclists and insurance. In a car you could credibly cause an accident and write off another car resulting in damages of 10s of thousands of pounds, which most people couldn't afford to pay. That is why insurance is mandatory.

Cyclists are still liable to pay for damage they cause to another road user, but the damage from a soft 80kg vehicle hitting a metal box at 20mph is going to be limited to a bit of a paint touch up and payable by nearly everyone. Besides, lots of cyclists do have insurance.

Actually compulsory insurance was introduced under the road Traffic Act to cover injury or death to people. The liabilities for which can run into the millions.
.

 

[Justice]

I don't get the obsession with cyclists and insurance. In a car you could credibly cause an accident and write off another car resulting in damages of 10s of thousands of pounds, which most people couldn't afford to pay. That is why insurance is mandatory.

Cyclists are still liable to pay for damage they cause to another road user, but the damage from a soft 80kg vehicle hitting a metal box at 20mph is going to be limited to a bit of a paint touch up and payable by nearly everyone. Besides, lots of cyclists do have insurance.

I’ve seen them cause loads of damage to vehicles in London mainly at traffic lights with paint scratches.

 

[nwgull]

I’ve seen them cause loads of damage to vehicles in London mainly at traffic lights with paint scratches.

Yes, and the cyclist is still liable to pay whether he has insurance or not. What's your issue?

 

[Justice]

Yes, and the cyclist is still liable to pay whether he has insurance or not. What's your issue?

They shoot of down the road, with no number plate system they could say or do anything

 

[TWOCHOICEStom]

You should buy a Poogeot.

 

[Taybha]

You should buy a Poogeot.

Nah they're shit aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

 

[jakarta]

If I didn't need a car to do my job would be happy to zoom around in Mrs Jakarta's SLK and ride my CBR600 for the rest of my puff.

Retirement is beckoning so every chance the next car I get will be the last one I own.

Downsized from BMW330 diesel (it was a lovely car to drive!) to a Mercedes A200 petrol as by choice I'm winding down my Company & don't do even half the miles I used to do.

Don't think I will get into this electric car thing and have a feeling that the infrastructure issues will stop lots of people doing so for years to come.

Have no great desire to buy another car although motorcycle wise as a guilty pleasure I wouldn't say no to a tidy Yamaha RD400 or 350LC but they seem to be going for absolutely daft money these days. Probably too old to do one justice in any case!

 

[RandyWanger]

You should buy a Poogeot.

Correct pronunciation. English people say it wrong, it's 100% Poo and not Per.

I'm thinking of swapping the Benz in, my local MB garage are useless, customer service is terrible. We're thinking of getting a Land Rover. Being part of the Jag family, how have you found them to be?

Maybe a small engine petrol hybrid might be a good intermediate option before going fully electric.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

They shoot of down the road, with no number plate system they could say or do anything

And no doubt there will be a perfectly good cycle-path right next to the road, for them to shoot off down?

 

[Audax]

Or more specifically, two new cars. I’m due to change both my wife’s car and my own early next year, but for the first time I’m really scratching my head as to what to go for.

Currently, I have a 3.0 diesel Jaguar F-Pace and my wife has a petrol Corsa. When I bought my last car, I swore I wouldn’t have another diesel but the deal was so attractive I couldn’t resist. However, if 2020 has taught me anything it’s that the world is a better place when it’s not completely fúcked and so concern for the environment has probably reached a turning point in my mind.

The trouble is, petrol cars appear to be seen as just about as evil as diesel now, and electric cars are expensive as hell with nascent technology and limited infrastructure to support their use.

So, what to do? I can probably do without an SUV now the kids have outgrown their pushchairs, but beyond downsizing I’m not sure where to go.

Economically and morally speaking, what should I buy?

Exactly how urgent is it that you update? Given that battery technology for cars is expected to improve massively over the next 5 years (there are multiple new technologies, from more efficient Lithium-based batteries through to graphene and others that are on the cusp of being ready for commercial use in cars), if you really want to go electric then your best option will be to either wait a few years to see what hits the market with the new tech or go with a lease that you can easily hand back and switch to the next-gen BEV's when they arrive.

The next-gen batteries are expected to be cheaper, faster to charge, give longer range, and be more environmentally friendly (mostly through not using heavy metals like cobalt). The graphene battery in particular looks amazing - recharge times measured in minutes instead of hours, and 500+ mile range being talked about.


Edit: whatever you do, do not, under any circumstances, buy an Ecoboost Ford. They've had reliability issues in them since the mark 3 Focus was released that they've still not got on top of. Bad enough that Ford has been underwriting out-of-warranty full engine replacements for a lot of owners.

 

[nwgull]

They shoot of down the road, with no number plate system they could say or do anything

So insurance isn't the issue then, is it?

 

[Driver8]

Great cars! Im thinking of buying one when the lease expires on our Nissan Leaf. Also considering the Tesla model Y and the VW ID4.

I have a Tesla Model 3 and it’s fantastic. I’ve never driven a car with performance like it and costs next to nothing to run.

 

[Justice]

And no doubt there will be a perfectly good cycle-path right next to the road, for them to shoot off down?

London is mess now Park Lane used to be three lanes now we have a full lane for cyclists, a bus lane and one for traffic. Once the world gets back to normal London will grind to a halt just to accommodate non road tax paying cyclists