Car buyers should have 'long, hard think' about diesel

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nilagin said:
You still don't get it, buying new an EV is already overly expensive, you are paying some the money you will be saving on fuel and servicing up front. Due to the high depreciation levels a lot of Ev's suffer, whoever had your Leaf first probably never even recouped that money. It's only been good for you as a second owner. So if prices go up further, that doesn't mean it will be any better for the original purchaser as they will likely have to increase prices further to make a profit.
A Smart car style vehicle is smaller than a Leaf so weight difference will go some way to explain range difference.
The reason that Chinese Ev's are so cheap is because they are made in China where production costs are considerably lower. Add to that, there is always the suspect quality issues. There are cars built by Reowe that are banned from sale in Europe because of their poor and dangerous crash protection. Yet their British built MG's are fine. We have had loads of Chinese built Continental turbochargers failing to give full boost after a hundred hours running equivalent to 5000 miles, yet no performance drop off from the exact same specification Continental turbos built in Europe.
I am not saying all Chinese built products will be of a poorer or substandard quality, but I would certainly be wary of them.
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Yes, I agree. The quality of those cars, and whether they will be financially viable to keep running after 5-8 years is questionable.

You keep going on about high depreciation, but if you combine the shortage of supply with the amount of people interested in EV's, simple supply vs demand tells us the opposite.

nilagin said:
I don't need any of that. I get into a car that very rarely needs any heating. I invariably put the blower on just to keep the windows clear on a cold day. Even on the days when I am driving to the gym wearing shorts.
I'd have needed to walk half a mile in bitterly cold windy conditions to get to my car to need to put the heater on, certainly not after walking out my front door from a warm home, across the road and into my car. You have an even shorter walk, your car is on the drive.
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You must be very young and fit ;) I'm 31 and I need 4 layers in these 5c days. I'd rather go from warm home into warm car. It's 4 steps from door to car by the way :p
 
Byker28i said:
I do need to save up some money and evaluate what to swap the MX-5 for for the commute though... It only does 30mpg but is fun on the roundabouts at either end, and owes me nothing now as it's 8 years old and very reliable.
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If it isn't broke then you may as well keep it until it is! BMW i3 is probably the nearest to it as it's small and light and rwd.
 
wuyanxu said:
Yes, I agree. The quality of those cars, and whether they will be financially viable to keep running after 5-8 years is questionable.

You keep going on about high depreciation, but if you combine the shortage of supply with the amount of people interested in EV's, simple supply vs demand tells us the opposite.


You must be very young and fit ;) I'm 31 and I need 4 layers in these 5c days. I'd rather go from warm home into warm car. It's 4 steps from door to car by the way :p
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The price you paid for your 2nd hand Leaf is evidence of the depreciation. The dealer that sold you the car will have paid £2k (possibly more) less than the price you saw it advertised for that gives them leeway for further loss of value whilst waiting to sell it, any work they may need to carry out on it prior to selling, and then there is there profit margin, the rest is discount on the asking price for you to do a bit of haggling and feel you got a good deal. Even the motoring press regard a lot of current Ev's amongst the highest depreciating cars on the market. The supply over demand just means a dealer can ask more and make a bigger profit, it doesn't mean the trade in value will be any higher. The only time that will likely happen is if the dealer already has a buyer eager to buy and he is guaranteed a quick turnover.

I am 56 but as I am in the gym 5 days a week, i would admit to being fitter than most people my age, but there is also a good chance my body fat content is a lot lower too.
Only layers I will be wearing is a T-shirt, possibly a thin hoodie and a leather jacket and that is only because it is cold and invariably windy when I get to work with a couple of minutes walk from the car park.
 
Byker28i said:
I do need to save up some money and evaluate what to swap the MX-5 for for the commute though... It only does 30mpg but is fun on the roundabouts at either end, and owes me nothing now as it's 8 years old and very reliable.
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Like Suz sed, keep it until it becomes too expensive to keep reliable. Mrs Nod loves hers and only misses her XK8 when she sees one when we're out and about (but the loss doesn't hurt when she remembers the running costs and fuel bills [her MX-5 {'13 plate 2 litre} goes almost twice as far on a gallon than the XK did!]).
 
wuyanxu said:
You must be very young and fit ;) I'm 31 and I need 4 layers in these 5c days. I'd rather go from warm home into warm car. It's 4 steps from door to car by the way :p
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5 degrees? I'm 57, not fit right now, yet would happily wear a short sleeved shirt & a light jacket to walk the 70 feet to my car. If there's ice on the floor then I'll pop a fleece underneath the jacket and a cap on my (bald) head - bit of temperature variation is a pleasant reminder that one is alive.
 
Nod said:
Like Suz sed, keep it until it becomes too expensive to keep reliable. Mrs Nod loves hers and only misses her XK8 when she sees one when we're out and about (but the loss doesn't hurt when she remembers the running costs and fuel bills [her MX-5 {'13 plate 2 litre} goes almost twice as far on a gallon than the XK did!]).
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Exactly where we are at the moment. It's not ideal, but great in the better weather commuting with the roof down. But it's not really costing me anything so we'll keep it.
 
nilagin said:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/science-environment-46823440
Finally the true culprits will be dealt with. Won't stop the demonizing of clean euro6 diesels though.
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The article neglected to include that people rather than buying a diesel car, might instead opt for voluntary sterilisation and/or euthanasia as a means to manage down the human population which is of course the unspoken root cause of the problem....
 
GeeJay57 said:
or euthanasia as a means to manage down the human population which is of course the unspoken root cause of the problem....
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Soylent green anyone? ;)
 
Byker28i said:
I do need to save up some money and evaluate what to swap the MX-5 for for the commute though... It only does 30mpg but is fun on the roundabouts at either end, and owes me nothing now as it's 8 years old and very reliable.
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Should have another decade of life in it, so keep it.

My rwd 2 seater will be 19 years old in a couple of months and I'm still using it to commute, and for long distance travel. Still can't think of anything I'd rather have.
 
onomatopoeia said:
Should have another decade of life in it, so keep it.

My rwd 2 seater will be 19 years old in a couple of months and I'm still using it to commute, and for long distance travel. Still can't think of anything I'd rather have.
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Well, I've also got my 21 year old RWD car ;)
 
My rwd Japanese car is only 18 years old:

IMG_9407 by Whyone, on Flickr

Fun (every journey is an occasion), cheap (last year I was offered 150% more than I paid for it), environmentally friendly (got to be better for a car not to just be a disposable 'appliance', junked after 7 or 8 years) motoring....
 
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^^ Nice! A car that had Ayrton Senna as part of the development team if I recall correctly. Some described it as too good. I always like the NSX, never got to drive one though and don't really have appetite for one now or somewhere to put it (the MX-5 fits nicely in the garage)...

Which leaves space on the drive for:
 
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Nod said:
Only problem (other than the silly bulgy wheel arches) is how slow the roof is compared to the older manual fabric one. Miss the sound of Mrs Nod's old Mk. 2.5 1800 compared to her current Mk. 3.
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I'm guessing you're more of a 'glass is half empty' sort of guy...... ;)
 
Cobra said:
Nice (y)
Just one question, does it tow the aircraft to take off speed ?
:D
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Ta :)

Towing the Shackleton does damp performance (and fuel economy) a little.

Still, you never know when a WWII long-range maritime patrol 'plane will come in handy.
 
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whyone said:
Ta :)

Towing the Shackleton does damp performance (and fuel economy) a little.

Still, you never know when a WWII long-range maritime patrol 'plane will come in handy.
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Didn't come into service until 1951, so not quite WWII.... I'll get me coat :)
 
GeeJay57 said:
I'm guessing you're more of a 'glass is half empty' sort of guy...... ;)
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When I'm drinking, yes!

Can't help not particularly liking the wheel arch extensions - in fact, I don't like any that look like tacky body kits. The S2000 managed to have relatively good looking flared arches and the earlier MX-5s did without flares completely, leaving them with lovely clean lines. At least the arches are almost invisible from inside!
 
Nod said:
When I'm drinking, yes!

Can't help not particularly liking the wheel arch extensions - in fact, I don't like any that look like tacky body kits. The S2000 managed to have relatively good looking flared arches and the earlier MX-5s did without flares completely, leaving them with lovely clean lines. At least the arches are almost invisible from inside!
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I get what you're saying. The wheel arches are what they are and not to everyone's taste I guess. A neighbour has a 2.5 and I prefer our hard top (which may be slow, but it's still faster than the one we had on our SLK) to the one attached to his car. I've never been a fan of rag tops. We got the car nearly a year ago from a close family member that has had it from new. It's a lot of fun to drive.
 
Yup, love driving it when I'm allowed!

The folding hard-top is faster than the SLK's and more watertight as well. About the same speed as the XK 8's electrohydraulic soft-top.
 
Nod said:
Yup, love driving it when I'm allowed!

The folding hard-top is faster than the SLK's and more watertight as well. About the same speed as the XK 8's electrohydraulic soft-top.
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Never had any leaks on the SLK (R171) in the seven-years we had it. Indeed the only fault we had with it was a failed headlamp bulb. Excellent car, liked it a lot and did consider just keeping it, but in the end chose to move it on in favour of a C-Class Coupe (C204) and then to the C-Class estate we have now. The MX-5 is our fun car now.
 
A mate's got an SLK which leaks badly. Now has to live under a car port. XK 8 leaked but through the pedal box seal rather than the roof!
 
Nod said:
XK 8 leaked but through the pedal box seal rather than the roof!
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I see the 1970's Ford heritage is still being built in then (y)
 
Funny how ragtops leak. The wife's beetle used to leak through the drivers door, with water running down the window, inside the door & through into the cockpit. WTH? Her present mini seems OK thus far though.
 
Cobra said:
I see the 1970's Ford heritage is still being built in then (y)
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The place that bought it reckon a previous bodged repair had left a small gap in the seal round the pedal box. The roof was watertight, despite dodgy window rubbers. Oddly, it was significantly quieter (both roof up and roof down) than the MX-5 - we could converse at a normal level. Don't bother trying in the Mazda!
 
ancient_mariner said:
Funny how ragtops leak. The wife's beetle used to leak through the drivers door, with water running down the window, inside the door & through into the cockpit. WTH? Her present mini seems OK thus far though.
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No need to have a ragtop.... speaking from rather damp and mouldy experience.... just get a new lotus :exit::LOL:
 
13 secs for the hardtop on our MX-5. At the time of launch it was the quickest folding hard top to go up/down

Ours
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then of course the other rwd
137783120.jpg
 
https://www.edfenergy.com/for-home/battery-storage
EDF are offering big discount (over 30% off) on home batteries you install if you also opt-in for grid balancing. 10 years warranty included. Inverter can also work with solar PV if/when your solar PV inverter fails. You gain electricity savings on top of battery discount, the Grid has less peak time load, It's win-win all round.

It's essentially everything I've been talking about with regard to home batteries. Now the tech is ready, the big companies are getting behind this with financial incentives.
 
Byker28i said:
13 secs for the hardtop on our MX-5. At the time of launch it was the quickest folding hard top to go up/down
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Pretty quick for a folding hard top but almost 3 times as long as it took me to drop or raise the soft top on the Mk 2.5 - I could do it either way in just under 5 seconds, including the clips. The current version seems to need you to be out of the car to raise or lower the roof...
 
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