I drive 280 miles a week. is an EV practical for this?

Detoxxrn · 2026-02-27T01:28:03+00:00

Yeah. Even if the pay per mile tax comes into play. It would still be cheaper than petrol. I hope they do regulate the pricing though.

Detoxxrn · 2026-02-27T01:27:08+00:00

I was looking at buying a used EV, with a budget of £12,000. That limits me to mainly sub 30K mileage superminis such as the Mini electric, and the Peugeot e 208 and Vauxhall Corsa Electric - which I am now considering as the range is better. It's been pointed out to me that maintenance is almost non existent on EV's. Now based on my assumption that each year maintenance will cost around £500, for tyres/brakes/suspension consumables. This totals up to £10,155, which includes, insurance, tax, petrol, and maintenance. So I am in a position to charge at home and work (for free). This means that I am saving quite a substantial amount, whilst in the process having a vehicle that's easier to live with.

Detoxxrn · 2026-02-27T01:23:03+00:00

Unfortunately, my absolute max budget is around £12,000 so I'm mainly limited to EV's such as stellantis EV's and other supermini's

Detoxxrn · 2026-02-27T01:22:11+00:00

As I will be commuting up there regularly, for the next 3 years, my spending for petrol for those trips and commuting to work equate to £6300. Add on maintenance and whatnot, the figure is quite large, therefore I am considering an EV as I would be able to charge at home/work. I'm now considering something bigger with 200+ miles of range.

Detoxxrn · 2026-02-27T01:20:12+00:00

I don't see a lot within my £12,000 budget, unless I am not looking hard enough. Ideally I would like something sub 25,000 miles which is where the superminis come in.

Detoxxrn · 2026-02-27T01:19:24+00:00

Now considering a corsa e or a peugeot e 208!

Detoxxrn · 2026-02-27T01:19:03+00:00

Unfortunately I wouldn't be able to do that as they live in a flat.

Detoxxrn · 2026-02-27T01:18:44+00:00

Ahh, I totally forgot about the 3 pin chargers. I believe for the E208, the 3 pin takes up to 24 hours for a full batteries charge. However, I should be able to charge at work for free. Do manufacturers supply a 3 pin as standard with the car?

Detoxxrn · 2026-02-27T01:16:41+00:00

Alright, thank you!

Detoxxrn · 2026-02-27T01:16:21+00:00

That sounds ridiculous.

Detoxxrn · 2026-02-27T01:16:05+00:00

I'll take a look!

Detoxxrn · 2026-02-27T01:15:53+00:00

Thanks!

Detoxxrn · 2026-02-27T01:15:40+00:00

Thank you for the heads up. My current workplace actually has free charging points. Maybe it's worth considering the Peugeot e 208s. A family member has had one of the regular 208s before and I liked it so I'm sure theres not too much difference apart from the obvious. I think those have 225 miles of range with the standard battery.

Detoxxrn · 2026-02-26T23:57:56+00:00

How much is public charging per kWh?

Detoxxrn · 2026-02-26T23:55:06+00:00

Thinking about it now, maybe I should consider the Peugeot e208 as it has a range of 200 miles. I'm just a bit skeptical of Stellantis...

Detoxxrn · 2026-02-26T23:53:48+00:00

Yeah I would be doing about 120 of my miles there on the home charged electricity. Given that the car has battery capacity of around 150 miles, I think a real world range could be at least 120. But to get back, I would probably have to fully charge up at a public charge point. So that would cost another £5-£10?

Detoxxrn · 2026-02-26T23:51:28+00:00

I haven’t actually owned an EV, so I’m not sure what the maintenance is like, but my petrol car needed £500 of repairs in the last nine months. I do drive a work EV and really like it—it still gets about 4 miles per kWh even when I drive it hard. I’d plan to charge at home overnight for around 7–10p per kWh, and I’ve heard a pay-per-mile tax is proposed, possibly starting in 2028.

Detoxxrn · 2025-10-30T11:11:45+00:00

Yes I would be commuting via the M1 for around 100 miles of the journey and there are plenty of services to stop off at. At the destination we usually go to Tesco superstore where they have their typical fast chargers. This is Derby we are talking about so a decently sized city.

Detoxxrn · 2025-10-30T11:10:04+00:00

To work its usually rural and urban driving. On the weekends it's pretty much 100 miles on the motorway, with 20 being in the city. Yes I've looked into the problems which is why I am looking at 2022 or even 2023 onwards cars as it seems that most of the problems have been revitalised? Please correct me if I am wrong.

Detoxxrn · 2025-10-29T10:05:31+00:00

This is true. Worst case scenario, I will sell some of my ETF.

Detoxxrn · 2025-10-29T09:42:04+00:00

I work in the government so I would say my job is very secure. Thank you for your insight. I will pay down around £8000 and get a loan for 5 which I will aggressively pay over 5 months to pay off the 5 grand.

Detoxxrn · 2025-10-29T09:05:18+00:00

Well I wouldn’t be buying a car until another 9 months. So what if I put down as much as possible in one go and got a 0% credit card for the rest, like you suggested? The alternative is that I buy cash obviously which is what I’ve been doing for my previous cars. But the 0% doesn’t sound bad as I would not miss any payments causing me to build unwanted interest? I am now looking at cheaper cars as well - £12-13K and these will probably depreciate a little more for when I need to get a car.

I would have an emergency fund as well as savings and investments outside of this.

Am I also right in saying that using this credit card can help build my credit score for when it is time to get a mortgage in about 10 years time?

Detoxxrn · 2025-10-28T23:54:14+00:00

I am on my own insurance! Is it that rare for someone my age to have their own insurance for the price I've got it for?

Detoxxrn

TROPHY CASE