Electric cars.

I am starting to think I may of been better off going with a Electric / hybrid van , I've a Renault trafic 1.6 diesel I'll be doing nothing but multiple short journeys I don't leave the valley while working, some days I may only go down the road and work my way back home doing less than a mile . The short journeys is apparently really bad for diesels and will soon clog the DPF - EGR and some other expensive thing, if it cant be cleaned a new DPF cost more than a £1000 hence why its a lot seem to be getting them map out and the DPF gutted. Feel like getting rid while I can sounds like its will be a money pit but going for electric doesn't appeal to be at the moment deprecation is huge , I'd have a petrol van but they don't make medium size ones

 

Hi,

No John; this picture was taken in 1973 it belonging to a friend. In 1971 I bought my first R75/5 750cc BMW second hand at a year old and traded it in a year later against another same model but brand new; this was scary so long ago; I could have bought a terrace house for what it cost but unlike a mortgage over 25 years I had hire purchase over three years; I was working seven days a week in this huge mill;



At 18 I was riding a 1,000cc Ariel Square Four; this self destructed at 70mph on the M6 motorway near Preston due to rear cylinders overheating; the inside of the engine was a mess so I scrapped it.

The Brough I'm on was an SS80 but many years ago I could have bought a Brough SS100 for £34; yes £34 and I was sitting on it but couldn't afford to buy it. These are worth a little more these days;

WORLD RECORD auction price for a Brough Superior SS100. Reaches £425,500. | MoreBikes

I've owned; ridden and driven many classic bikes & cars;



I owned one of these big 100/4 Austin Healey's for a year exactly as shown; it was a real head turner and with a big bore exhaust it made the hair at the back of my head stand up; it had a thirst for petrol. These are worth around £80,000 now; mine in showroom condition with a set of brand new tyres and lots of spares cost me £150; these prices in those dreamy days were all the bikes and cars were worth; I looked rich but I worked so hard to fund my toys.

The Skoda Yeti we currently own is the best car we've ever owned; it's a keeper and I don't feel guilty to be driving a diesel; climate change has been around for millions of years and our Yeti is cleaner than any EV; wait until all the EV batteries fail.

I don't regret selling all the cars and bikes I've owned; I've enjoyed them all and there's more to life than living for money; years ago I gave a "Sound Sales" vintage radio to a friend; this was nothing to look at just being a metal box and I paid £10 for it to save it being stripped of it's valves (tubes); my friend later sold it for £200 through eBay; a week later another of these sold for over £600; it doesn't bother me in the least.

Sorry for rambling on; Bron and I don't want an EV in fact no one could give us an EV whatever it is worth; we want nothing to do with them.

Our ideal car would be a brand new Yeti but stripped mostly of it's unwanted electronics like Infotainment and the Stop/Start function which is turned off for every journey; keep it simple after all a car is supposed to be transport not mission control.

Kind regards, Col.

Doe's anyone notice EV's these days?

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

Hi,

Howard Bulldog rotavator as bought and delivered to me on a pallet. It's over 60 years old.


After quite a few happy very interesting hours here it is fully rebuilt


Young guys these days aren't interested in getting their hands dirty unlike in the 60's when most were rebuilding motorcycles or playing around with old cars as I did. They are missing so much. I've restored many old machines over the years as I've also restored old cars and motorcycles enjoying every minute with it costing little and something useful at the end to stand back and admire.

I restored the Bulldog a short while ago and have just come down from the garden where I'm replacing the rod controls to cable controls; I've had to call it a day being driven out of the garden by the bitterly cold wind and it's now very dark at 4:04pm with rain.

Many old cars can be restored in this manner but how many EV's will be restored in 60 years time; EV's are disposable items and will only last until their battery fails. I've come indoors at just the right time; there's a storm building up with thunder; lovely Yorkshire weather as usual.

I've never suffered range anxiety on a bike or in a car.

Kind regards, Col.

 

Only after they have run you over, because you didn't hear them coming.

 

Ford GPW. 81 years old, no heater, no doors, no windscreen spray, manual wipers, no seatbelts, no airbags, no ABS, no stop-start, no radio and virtually no instruments, dials or buttons inside to distract you from looking out of the window and avoiding hitting things. Every time I drive it, it makes me smile.

Modern cars are just an expensive tool to move quickly from one place to another, filled with distractions to prevent you from driving safely. Electric cars are even worse.

 

Doubt that will happen though, more likely the renter will pay a higher premium. If the leasing companies know the depreciation of the car is going to be greater on future sale, they will just increase the monthly payments from the off. Leasing companies are already increasing the rental costs to offset the huge depreciation of new BEV.

Rental rises for fleets as leasing losses mount on used EVs.

 

Hi,

WOW I like the Ford GPW; it looks in excellent condition Steve. I used to have an ex army Austin Champ with Rolls Royce engine but it needed a fuel tanker to keep it on the road. I drove as fast backwards as it did forwards.

Years ago a local guy used to restore Willys Jeeps and sell them; side valve engine at I think 2,200cc.

How's your GPW on fuel Steve?

Kind regards, Col.

 

The Jeep will do around 15 to 18mpg. My 1944 Dodge Weapon Carrier will do about 8 to 9mpg!!

 

Deprecation on electric vans and cars is huge, but maybe a good used electric van could be an option.

When VW launched their eTransporter LWB Panel Van, starting prices were around the 42k bracket.

Volkswagen e-Transporter electric van: UK pricing and specification confirmed (parkers.co.uk)

Yet, a 2021 plate will set you back about a third of what it cost new, with just over 15k miles on the clock. Not an ideal van as it has a very low range on a charge, probably explains the low mileage.

2021 Volkswagen Transporter E ABT eTransporter LWB Panel Van - £10,400 +VAT - CarGurus.co.uk

Buying or leasing a brand new Electric car or van does not make sense, unless your happy to loose money in deprecation, however, second hand is worth looking into.

 

I do think it's great that you respect, take care of and enjoy the vehicles you have.
...and it doesn't make sense to replace a vehicle that's running well and has a long but low mileage life ahead of it for an EV.

In terms of EV fires - if you're using YouTube videos as evidence then I think you know you've lost the argument (and of course life is too short to count the number of ICE fire videos you'd find...)

The forklift truck would have had a different battery technology to a modern EV, and certainly a very different process to recharge!

EV have been around for about 200 years, with a lot less to go wrong with them than these new-fangled ICE devices: History of the electric vehicle - Wikipedia

...and here's one which has lasted a little longer than you seem to believe possible:

 

Hi,

Thanks Stephen.

The Latest Car Fire Statistics

I'm well aware YouTube isn't the most reliable source of information and it never surprises me how many add a video where there are already 100 such videos on a subject; above isn't on YouTube but it does go to prove your point electric cars are generally safe and I don't dispute this.

What sets electric car fires different to ICE fires is the type of fire on an EV; any fire is serious but an EV fire is not only difficult to extinguish but still burns under water giving off masses of toxic gasses; I've not browsed for the details but I wonder how many ICE cars self combust. I wouldn't want to be near any car fire and I wouldn't feel safe in an EV if it was involved in an accident. An ICE car fire when put out usually remains out but an EV car fire can reignite at any time even after weeks.

Regarding reliability of YouTube videos; I've seen YouTube videos which are downright dangerous if attempted by a novice; a regular is running a large saw bench without riving knife in place; my riving knife is adjusted allowing it to still be used during cutting rebates.

A friend of mine got caught out when his petrol mower started then died after a few minutes running; he viewed YouTube videos and so many showed carburetor problems so he went through everything; cleaned the carb; fitted new parts and even replaced the carb with a brand new one; it still refused to run and by now he was running out of time so he bought a new mower. I was kindly given his wayward mower to play around with; I trust my friend knowing he would have done a top job regarding carb and fuel supply so I ran the mower until it died then checked for spark; at that time I don't think there was a single YouTube video suggesting check for spark they all focused on carb problems;



Above is the reason his mower died on him and this video is only two years old; it's years since he had the problem. An easy fix but why so many YouTube videos all covering carb problems. There are of course many YouTube videos which are excellent; safe and informative.

Thanks for adding the YouTube video; I've not seen this one although I've seen similar; they do say nothing's new?

I fully accept your point Stephen; EV fires are rare but it's the type of fire on an EV which would worry me. It's highly possible all the electronics on our Yeti are the weak point and eventually put it in the scrap yard in the meantime I'm looking after it like a baby.

Kind regards, Col.

 

Hi,



Kind regards, Colin.

 

I really hope this thread isn't going to descend into endless back and forth of YouTube videos of ICE vehicle fires and EV fires...

My hope is that we'll continue to find more fun and informative ways to continue the discussion...