Haven't bought one...yet

[Fishettibean]

I’m still with EDF Go Electric on a flat rate of 11.70p per KWh across the board, this is only until May and I can already see the prices have increased substantially..daily rate 29.03p

Has Brexit created higher electricity prices? A look at the impact of decoupling from EUphemia

The first week of 2021 has been a turbulent one for the UK’s energy market, with price spikes and tight margins keeping traders on their toes.

www.current-news.co.uk

Short term prices for 12 month tariffs have been impacted thanks to decoupling and deffo Agile.

 

[kiltox]

Yes that makes sense, but let’s hope they get rid of this cheap stock and start getting the prices back up to where they were originally otherwise some will really suffer with depreciation value, I would expect 5k in year one but some are losing more I would think..?

I’m sure @Sam Luscombe was saying that the flow of heavily discounted ZS EV has dried up. I wonder if the VW CO2 pool agreement was driving that - lead to believe the amount that they were saving them in fines was significant.

 

[Jake]

Octopus is often first choice for EV drivers mainly because they have three smart tariffs which are great for drivers.
1. Agile - "roulette of electricity prices". Prices change each 30mins, and prices can go negative sometimes (octopus pays you to charge). Prices for the next day is published around 4pm. However britxit and weather has impacted price on this tariff for the last 2 months. With clever usage people have got single figure average p values. It takes work to make this tariff pay off so the other two are simpler.
2. Go - 5p between 0.30am to 4.30am. (South wales 14.02p outside the period).
3. Go Faster - 3, 4 or 5 hour window, with a start time between 20:30 and 03:30, 4.5p (3h)/5p (4h)/5.5p (5h). You have to ask or be invited onto this tariff and the window is selected by octopus. Outside the window the same price as Go 14.02p (South wales).
Also before you sign up to octopus, get someone's referral code. You get £50, the other person gets £50.

Hi Fish. I understand the principles about balancing the grid but how on earth do you cope with all the changes in cost of the Agile tariff. It means trying to plan your heavy usage at short notice and is it worth the effort to have a third party controlling your life? I considered the Go tariff but our heaviest user works shifts so would be unable to make use of the cheap rate at least 1 week in 4. Also all of these tariffs require a smart meter to be fitted at the premises so I've shied away for the moment preferring to take advantage of Economy 7 which best suits our lifestyle. I admire those of you who have the energy to keep up.

 

[kiltox]

Hi Fish. I understand the principles about balancing the grid but how on earth do you cope with all the changes in cost of the Agile tariff. It means trying to plan your heavy usage at short notice and is it worth the effort to have a third party controlling your life? I considered the Go tariff but our heaviest user works shifts so would be unable to make use of the cheap rate at least 1 week in 4. Also all of these tariffs require a smart meter to be fitted at the premises so I've shied away for the moment preferring to take advantage of Economy 7 which best suits our lifestyle. I admire those of you who have the energy to keep up.

Agile is heavily dependent on your usage pattern. I used it for the entire month of November, switching out to Go in the first week of December when prices got a bit crazy.

Dec-Jan on Go was 1.5p/kWh more than the previous month but the huge volatility in Agile pricing meant I was still ahead. Still sub 10p/kWh average.

 

[shikoku14]

@Chrispydoc I had a tentative look at an ID3 a couple of weeks back (as they were doing some good deals before the end of the year), the VW dealers site initially offered 22K for my car (2020 70 plate 2.5K miles) but then when I spoke to them and they spoke to their brokers in their dealership that got down to £18.5K (which as others have said, was actually pretty fair considering deals you can have on new at the mo), which was too much difference between the ID3 (family model, 28K, 6K and I was interested, 9.5 and it didn't work) and the MG, especially as I don't really need the extra range right now. Factoring in I'd also be a glutton for software bug punishment, if you think our BMS issues and updates have been bad, check out how many bugs the ID3 currently has (supposed to be getting fixed with revision 2.1 next month, but you can't guarantee that will be the case/what the fixes will break). By a lot of accounts its efficiency in these temperatures is worse that the ZS EV certainly for short trips.

 

[Mark Holmes]

@Chrispydoc I had a tentative look at an ID3 a couple of weeks back (as they were doing some good deals before the end of the year), the VW dealers site initially offered 22K for my car (2020 70 plate 2.5K miles) but then when I spoke to them and they spoke to their brokers in their dealership that got down to £18.5K (which as others have said, was actually pretty fair considering deals you can have on new at the mo), which was too much difference between the ID3 (family model, 28K, 6K and I was interested, 9.5 and it didn't work) and the MG, especially as I don't really need the extra range right now. Factoring in I'd also be a glutton for software bug punishment, if you think our BMS issues and updates have been bad, check out how many bugs the ID3 currently has (supposed to be getting fixed with revision 2.1 next month, but you can't guarantee that will be the case/what the fixes will break). By a lot of accounts its efficiency in these temperatures is worse that the ZS EV certainly for short trips.

I’ve heard similar stories, but at least they don’t catch fire like the Kona...

 

[Fishettibean]

Hi Fish. I understand the principles about balancing the grid but how on earth do you cope with all the changes in cost of the Agile tariff. It means trying to plan your heavy usage at short notice and is it worth the effort to have a third party controlling your life? I considered the Go tariff but our heaviest user works shifts so would be unable to make use of the cheap rate at least 1 week in 4. Also all of these tariffs require a smart meter to be fitted at the premises so I've shied away for the moment preferring to take advantage of Economy 7 which best suits our lifestyle. I admire those of you who have the energy to keep up.

I dont use agile because I have fair bit of usage inside the 4pm-7pm main peak, and couldn't average out enough to make it work. I dont have a home battery either so can't store energy. Its a tariff that doesn't work for everyone but its can work for people who can adjust their energy usage.
A lot of Octopus tariffs use smart meters as they use that data to dispute and bring different tariffs to the energy market. Agile or even Go tariffs wouldnt work without smart meters. Even the Christmas gift Octopus gave out, free electricity to all smart meter users. (8am-12pm on the 25th dec)

Also automation with smart home devices helps keeping track of prices and can be set to turn on devices at certain prices. Ohme charger is the best for agile support, zappi has finally added it via their website.

myenergi account

myaccount.myenergi.com

 

[Kithmo]

Just to add, @MrG there are free fast (7kW) charging locations out there as well, Tescos for example, where you can add 20 miles to your range for every hour you spend parked there, subject to local time and spend restrictions.

 

[MrG]

Thanks for your very thorough replies, particularly @Frank! There's a lot for me to mull over there.

My mileage is incredibly low - approximately 4000 miles per year - so I'm not sure I have any major concerns over a charging regime. The furthest we tend to go is the in-laws who are 20 miles away. Work is approximately 11 miles round trip.

As with most people, I am planning on having a fast charger installed at home (cable hopefully through the wall and along the skirting into the box under the stairs.) Are the home chargers much of a muchness or should I be looking out for anything in particular?

Thanks for the tips about sales @shikoku14! Vic Young is selling at just about what we could afford at the moment. I'm based in North West London so would be happy to fly up north, or take the train, as that would still work out at excellent value.

My concern is that, without testing the car and being unable to visit any showrooms to actually have a good look at it, those cars won't last for long. By all accounts, dealers are planning on shifting prices back up once this current stock are sold? Or have I misunderstood that?

 

[DanRiz]

Hi MrG
I am also based in North West london and we have had ours for just over a week.
I contacted vicyoung in December as I was considering buying from them. We worked out the flight/train prices and then a cab from the station and the costs quickly add up, plus its a long journey back needing many charging stops.

They wanted £330 to deliver to us and I think it comes on a flatbed truck, so no mileage added. This was actually our preferred option, as when you consider the cost and hassle it wasnt worth collecting.

I then emailed all my local dealers asking to price match and I ended up buying from MG St. Albans, as they were able to provide a really great price. Also for peace of mind its only 15 mins up the A1, so if any problems ever arise we can get there quickly. I dealt with Kev mostly over emails and he was was very helpful. So definitely worth asking. Good luck.

 

[DanRiz]

My concern is that, without testing the car and being unable to visit any showrooms to actually have a good look at it, those cars won't last for long. By all accounts, dealers are planning on shifting prices back up once this current stock are sold? Or have I misunderstood that?

Just to follow up VicYoung have now sold all their pre-reg stock of the ZS EV's, they had 15/20 come in just a couple weeks ago. Iv been keeping an eye on prices since september There are still bargains to be had, a pre reg Excite under 20k or under 21k for an Exclusive, but it does seem that these deals are drying up.

 

[MrG]

That's really useful to know @DanRiz. Thanks! Did you manage to get a test drive in before you bought? As for the deals, it's so tricky without a test drive-I could hate the car! I don't mind going for a used car but it does seem silly when the new ones are so aggressively priced.

I didn't realise that, if a problem arises, you have to go back to the place you purchased from? I always assumed you could go to your local dealer?

What home charging unit did you opt for? Was it a hassle getting it installed?

 

[Noraf142]

Not sure why you would call anything over 7kw for a fast charger?
If it's ac, it can be ut to 22kw, if the car can take it (no mg can that though).
Fast, then you're on dc, and in the area ip to arround 50kw. Then you'll get into the rapid range (and still on dc.)

The main difference, apart from ac vs dc, is that when charging on ac, it's the onboard charger in the car that transform ac to dc, witchs is what the battery takes, and thus limits the kw you can charge with, while on dc, it's the chargstation you're connecting to that handles the conversion, and the car can accept an higher kw for the charge. But still not unlimited, as the BMS needs to contend with heat, cell states etc.


That said, the zs is a very nice car, even more so when you take the price of it in to the equation.
It's my first ev, and I don't regret getting it.
But, like every other car you buy, test drive is important. Not everyone will find a good/acceptable driving position in it.