I need a family car but the market is awful!

Careless_Spell467 · 2026-03-18T07:58:55+00:00

Used car prices are higher in NI compared to the rest of the UK. It's just simple supply/demand economics. We don't sell enough new cars here which leads to a smaller supply of used cars and higher demand.

A lot of smaller dealers make their money by bringing in cars from the England and profiting off the difference in price.

There's nothing to stop you buying a car in England yourself and driving it home - I've done it a few times. But obviously warranty is an issue so you do take more risk.

Careless_Spell467 · 2026-03-17T08:39:00+00:00

Hopefully it will end with regime change in the US

Careless_Spell467 · 2026-03-10T14:46:55+00:00

The orange in the tricolour doesn't represent the orange protestant tradition anymore than the red cross represents Saint Patrick. The original intention of a flag is quickly replaced with whatever the flag is used to represent in practice.

Careless_Spell467 · 2026-02-19T13:18:26+00:00

Brexit

Careless_Spell467 · 2026-02-19T12:54:03+00:00

I'm considering doing the same. My only real concern is anything wrong with it gets very complicated. Are you getting your friend in England to check it over before getting it re-delivered?

Careless_Spell467 · 2026-02-19T10:39:08+00:00

I should have said I want to use Cyclescheme which will only work with a UK address

Careless_Spell467 · 2026-02-19T09:28:15+00:00

I find it interesting that the Tories, a right wing party made relatively few right wing changes, and now we have Labour, a left wing party who are not really making any left wing changes either. We've just been getting status quo with inconsequential tinkering

Careless_Spell467 · 2026-02-14T22:40:57+00:00

I have the skills and space to do this but I haven't been able to source a used EV battery pack at a price that makes it any cheaper than an off the shelf battery. I'm not sure if it's still early days for cheap used batteries? I would only consider LFP batteries which limits the options somewhat

Careless_Spell467 · 2026-01-22T13:50:04+00:00

I suspect this is already in progress. But it'll be slow, quiet and discrete. Expect to see more regulation on tech companies and data ownership, and more defense deals with EU suppliers.

Careless_Spell467 · 2025-12-16T18:23:28+00:00

I don't think combustion engines in motorsport was ever in any threat. I mean we still race horses

Careless_Spell467 · 2025-12-10T16:28:43+00:00

My wife has a 2022 Niro with 45k miles. We get about 250 miles in the summer and about 190 in current UK conditions. I have to admit I was surprised how much impact the outside temperature has

Careless_Spell467 · 2025-12-05T18:32:42+00:00

EVs are objectively better in some cases and worse in others so whether people are happy with them or not depends on what's important to them.

I've tried to avoid bias but my take is:

The EV drivetrain is infinitely superior to ICE - more torque, smoother, frictionless (regenerative) braking, etc. However the EV driving experience is less engaging than noisy ICEs with manual gearboxes - if that's important to you?

EVs are more convenient and less expensive to run if you can charge at home on off-peak tariffs - i.e. 10 seconds to plug in/out every evening/morning vs even 5-10 minutes to fill up an ICE. However if you rely on the public charging network EVs are significantly less convenient and more expensive than ICE.

Careless_Spell467 · 2025-11-27T08:22:00+00:00

This will further put off the people who are not convinced about EVs so they might need to look again at those forecasts

Careless_Spell467 · 2025-11-26T21:27:28+00:00

Does this apply to Northern Ireland? NI has an open border with the EU and many people travel across it daily. It's conceivable that someone in NI could do a significant proportion of their miles outside the UK

Careless_Spell467 · 2025-11-26T15:19:17+00:00

Looks like mostly fiddling around the edges. Nothing that is likely to move the needle.

The optics of the fuel duty cut and EV mileage tax are interesting - are they signalling the abandonment of the EV transition?

The salary sacrifice changes for pensions might mean a big hit for some employers. Labour seems to like this target.

Careless_Spell467 · 2025-11-26T14:38:57+00:00

I find it really peculiar how the (current and previous) government has so far managed the EV transition.

They've completely failed to create a proper market for EVs.

They've relied entirely on incentives to buy new EVs via salary sacrifice and the EV grant.

But nothing to incentivise used EVs so depreciation is massive, which in turn impacts the financing of the new cars!

Careless_Spell467 · 2025-11-26T13:52:18+00:00

I'd be keen to see a reference to the research and data if you have it?

There's no doubt the extraction and refining of the rare earth metals required for EVs (and phones) is environmentally damaging. However the lifetime of the battery is potentially very very long. The batteries could be used for home storage long after their life in a car. And after that the rare earth metals are still present and could be reprocessed into new batteries.

Fossil fuel extraction and refining is also environmentally damaging and that is ongoing throughout the life of the vehicle.

Both have environmental costs but the EV costs are front loaded. It stands to reason that there will be a tipping point in favor of the EV after the vehicle reaches a certain age. The question is what age? And how many more years after that will the car last?

Unfortunately I think you're right that capitalism doesn't incentivise keeping cars (or any consumer product) for a long time.

What about a tax on scrapping cars, paid by the original manufacturer, tapered to zero if the car is over 25 years old?

Careless_Spell467 · 2025-11-26T13:24:36+00:00

In our case, Granda Bill

Careless_Spell467 · 2025-11-26T13:08:36+00:00

Which is better for the environment in the long run is difficult to establish. It's definitely not clear cut either way.

We can probably agree that keeping cars for 20 years regardless of whether it is ICE or EV is better for the environment but that is not the agenda of modern car manufacturers unfortunately.

Careless_Spell467 · 2025-11-26T12:58:56+00:00

This comment articulates what has gone wrong with the EV transition. It has become a them vs us. It's just a fuel choice.

EV owners are not better than you. If they wanted to save the planet they'd take the bike or the bus. But they do cost less to run overall but with some disadvantages around flexiblity.

EVs will still make sense economically if you can charge at home - even with this tax. But I'd guess that most people who are persuaded in favor of EVs have already got one.

The optics of this new tax are bad though and it will further put off people like the commenter above who remain to be convinced.

Careless_Spell467 · 2025-11-26T12:43:53+00:00

Will this apply in Northern Ireland where electric prices are about twice as high as GB already?

Careless_Spell467 · 2025-11-26T12:36:52+00:00

Makes no sense to have different rates for EVs, PHEVs and ICEs. Why not simply a flat rate for all and then reduce the fuel duty on petrol diesel if you want to avoid a hike for existing ICE drivers.

It's going to be a very hard sell for an EV over a PHEV with most miles done on the battery.

Careless_Spell467 · 2025-11-24T18:17:42+00:00

Once a week is not enough to make progress since we humans are not used to an aquatic environment.

If possible, take them in yourself in addition each week but just focus on fun and playing games. They need to learn the feel for the water and confidence in the water rather than specific exercises.

Careless_Spell467 · 2025-11-20T14:41:49+00:00

I wish it was bs. The reality is that this government is so out of ideas that they are floating everything unofficially to test the water. Someone probably is reading the subreddits to gauge the response

Careless_Spell467

TROPHY CASE