|
May 2021
12:46pm, 20 May 2021
14,483 posts
|
rf_fozzy
I'll happily admit that it's a complex situation and I haven't read enough around this area to be able to tell you what the best outcome for every situation is.
I know that my plan is to run my current Yaris (09 plate) into the ground as far as possible and then either get a 2nd hand one to fill a gap or jump straight to an EV if possible.
In an ideal world I'd not even get a replacement vehicle, but sadly I don't think that's just possible.
|
|
May 2021
12:59pm, 20 May 2021
6,532 posts
|
FenlandRunner
I've had new cars since 1987. And swapped every 2-3 years.
It's all my fault the environmental damage 
|
|
May 2021
1:04pm, 20 May 2021
10,145 posts
|
jda
I wasn’t going to change mine any time soon but holding out for an EV (at a reasonable price) may be an additional factor for a few years yet.
|
|
May 2021
2:19pm, 20 May 2021
38,767 posts
|
HappyG(rrr)
So I'm being green by holding on to my 6 year old petrol car that does less than 30mpg. OK. Goodo! G
|
|
May 2021
2:26pm, 20 May 2021
14,489 posts
|
rf_fozzy
I think the trade-offs are always difficult to calculate and it comes down to some extent what you use your car for.
If you're doing mostly short journeys (here insert statement about could this be cycled or walked instead), then as long as it's not totally uneconomical to keep your current car running (e.g. falling to bits), then yes, probably better to keep an older car even if the mpg is lower than you'd get on a newer one.
If doing more miles or other factors in play, then that may change the calculation.
You need to do the (honest) cost/benefit analysis and factor in the environmental impact too.
My personal opinion is that should be done on everything though - do you really need that new phone/laptop/TV/car/bike/pair of trousers etc?...
|
|
May 2021
2:45pm, 20 May 2021
6,533 posts
|
FenlandRunner
My first car, Ford Escort MkII, was really slow and less economic than my fastest Octavia VRS.
|
|
May 2021
3:37pm, 20 May 2021
38,768 posts
|
HappyG(rrr)
Agree fozzy. But realistically "need" vs. "would quite like to have for convenience or comfort"? That's the challenge I guess for all of us. And where do you draw the line? As I say, ad absurdum, we should all stop using power except hospitals and other essential services? Of course, that's not realistic.
You're right, I need to do some calculations. But my 10K miles a year are probably the 20 mile commute x 2 x 200 days plus 50 x weekend drives of 20 plus 4 drives of 250 longer holiday type things? Does that add up? That's why I'm comfortable that a battery range of 50 odd miles would do me, most of the time! And 200 or more would be absolutely fine.
That 20 mile commute drive is on hills, in Scotland, in winter, with a train journey at the end and I wear a suit to work. So not easy to do on a bike. I have done 10 miles direct to work, no train and shower in the office in the past by bike or running. But it's 35 miles door to door and I'm not a confident enough cyclist to do all of that both ways every day.
I guess I'll just hang on a while and hope EV prices come down and/or second hand market picks up. G
|
|
May 2021
3:52pm, 20 May 2021
122 posts
|
theOtherRichard
My plan was to run my car (12 plate) into the ground too, but I fear that might be closer to hand than I had hoped.
It's only 9 years old with 143k miles on the clock, but it's getting to the point that I can't trust it any more - just getting it out of the garage last week for a 40 mile e/w journey one of the suspension springs went. Obviously that's not a thing that happened there and then - it's a wear and tear thing, but it rendered it unusable. Fortunately, we're a two-car family*, so we used the other car, but there's no point in having a car if it isn't available when you want it.
* That's another debate I've been having (mainly with myself). Do we actually need two cars? Would we be better getting rid of mine and sharing one - I work from home; I live in a small town with decent enough amenities; I rarely drive any more.
I think we are possibly 5-10 years away from sharing a single car. So I either need a cheap second hand ICE car, or an EV that will last me at least the 8 year battery warranty, but preferably 10+ years.
|
|
May 2021
4:13pm, 20 May 2021
20,849 posts
|
DeeGee
We're a single car family, helped immensely that the two days my wife works are spent in the same workplace as me. However, we are lucky in that on the edge of town where we live we still have 5 buses an hour to town, the land's relatively flat so bikes are an option, and there's a train station about 2 miles away with hourly trains to a railhead.
It's a bit inconvenient this weekend because I'm going away and taking the car because I need to deliver a big box of stuff, so the wife can't take both kids to visit her mum (who doesn't live on such a convenient bus route). Otherwise I'd have taken the train.
So we have a newish petrol car, reasonably fuel efficient, no bigger than we need, having considered all the possible requirements for a new car.
Of course, we *could* have two cars. Now, how much greener is two EV cars compared to one modern ICE?
|
|
May 2021
4:17pm, 20 May 2021
8,596 posts
|
Too Much Water
You get to be twice as smug, that must count for something.
|
