stephenh Posted June 26, 2022 Share Posted June 26, 2022 I'm contemplating replacing my Skoda Octavia estate which is on a 15 plate, and has done about 71000 miles. I fancy another Skoda, they are reliable and good value for money. The one I fancy is the latest version of the Karoq, with the 4x4 and auto transmission. I am thinking that I would want the 2.0 litre turbo diesel version. Is that a bit foolish? My reasoning is that if I go for electric, or plug-in hybrid, what is it going to cost in 10 years or so time to replace the batteries and dispose of the old batteries? In fact, I'm not convinced that electric will be the future in the medium term. To charge them you are still at the mercy of fuel cost rises. I actually think hydrogen power is a possibility in the not so distant future. Only time will tell, but in the meantime I'm looking at the possibility of buying a car which will more or less meet my requirements for as long as I am still allowed to drive, as I'm 75 years old now. Just wondering what the view of the "collective" might be?😀 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim RS Posted June 26, 2022 Share Posted June 26, 2022 I agree with you that batteries are only a short term plug and the whole life cost in terms of money and ecology are not as good as the motor trade like to make out. Obviously it depends on you requirements, stuff, people, pets etc. or just out and out fun. I do get the feeling that diesel will be only the mainstay of vehicle use that needs the low down urge or can reclaim the tax, it has been looked upon as the saviour but in reality just another marketing ploy by the car manufacturers. I think that emf will be the way for transport but the storage of electricity has got to be sorted, whether this will happen in our driving life is debatable. Personally I would stick with petrol and the options are immense for choice, I am thinking about changing main car but feel I should do the proper green thing and buy older not new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted June 26, 2022 Share Posted June 26, 2022 I have a similar dilemma. At the moment I have - apart from a Westfield that hasn't turned a wheel for along time and wouldn't be driven on the roads anymore anyway - a twenty year old BMW Z3 2.2i Sport with c.45k miles on the clock, a fifteen year old diesel Jaguar X-Type estate (with no DPF) which is the longer trip car now, and an eight year old 50k miles Nissan Leaf 24kWh Tekna strictly for local use. I'd like to get rid of the Nissan and the Jaguar and replace them with just one car. Diesel is no use because most trips are about five miles or less each way and diesels do not like short runs. The sort of car that would fit the bill is one that is economical, medium to large carrying capacity for family reasons, and happy with short local journeys. A plug-in hybrid with a petrol engine would suit best but some do not self charge as well as others, and the best one I have found is from a manufacturer that was selling its PHEV SUV faster than it could supply. They pulled out of the UK market. I don't know why, but that leaves a dilemma. The car is a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV post 2019. Without detailing all of its virtues for my purposes, suffice it to say that it would hardly ever need petrol and would run on home supplied electricity, so I shall be on the lookout for one later in the year or early next year when, as is inevitable, my X-Type starts failing its MoT, and the Leaf battery drops another bar on its battery health display. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamperMan Posted June 26, 2022 Share Posted June 26, 2022 Buy something with a massive V8 while you still can :)…. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephenh Posted June 26, 2022 Author Share Posted June 26, 2022 39 minutes ago, DamperMan said: Buy something with a massive V8 while you still can :)…. Unfortunately, I already have one, and it's supercharged! I'm trying to sell it as on my pension I'm beginning to doubt I can afford to fill it's 75 litre tank anymore. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a buyer yet, so it might be going in an auction soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff oakley Posted June 26, 2022 Share Posted June 26, 2022 It is a problem at the moment trying to second guess what the hell is going to happen. I retire soon so after over 30 years of company cars fully funded for private use as well, now I have to buy something that I will run. My thoughts are similar to yours about the challengers that are coming and electric is good but at the moment long journeys, unless you have lots of time means waiting to charge if you can find an empty charger. On the M42 on Thursday every charge point was full for example and the messing with differrent charge providers makes them even less attractive. I would say realistically at your age, get what you want. The Skoda is a great car and will give years of use and have a decent resale as many still see electric as not suitable for longer journeys, or towing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pco Posted June 26, 2022 Share Posted June 26, 2022 1 hour ago, jeff oakley said: It is a problem at the moment trying to second guess what the hell is going to happen. I retire soon so after over 30 years of company cars fully funded for private use as well, now I have to buy something that I will run. My thoughts are similar to yours about the challengers that are coming and electric is good but at the moment long journeys, unless you have lots of time means waiting to charge if you can find an empty charger. On the M42 on Thursday every charge point was full for example and the messing with differrent charge providers makes them even less attractive. I would say realistically at your age, get what you want. The Skoda is a great car and will give years of use and have a decent resale as many still see electric as not suitable for longer journeys, or towing. I'm going completely looney and about to buy a transit van. Good for towing too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onliest Smeg David Posted June 26, 2022 Share Posted June 26, 2022 Thought long and hard, but we’re all 'drivers' here so..... I've just gone BMW 335d Touring, 3l of Jekle and Hyde awesomeness! Doing high ish mileage, and 45-50mpg for work use and long journeys.😊 Then it's a beast when I want some fun or need to overtake 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onliest Smeg David Posted June 27, 2022 Share Posted June 27, 2022 19 hours ago, stephenh said: Just wondering what the view of the "collective" might be?😀 So... what I meant was - just go for what you'll enjoy while you can enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted June 27, 2022 Share Posted June 27, 2022 If you plan to stay out of city centres then diesel would be my choice. There are several UK city's already looking to ban diesels in their central areas (Google it) so for those of us who do drive "in town" it could be a factor. I'm not jumping to electric 'cos I too believe hydrogen will be the future so in the interim my new daily, replacing my beloved 55 plate diesel Focus is a more modern petrol turbo. Economical, good power and torque characteristics and I save £12.50 on every trip to the kebab shop which is now the "wrong side" of the north circular thanks to Sidiq Khan... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Everall Posted June 27, 2022 Share Posted June 27, 2022 Its hard to find any decent second hand cars atm and new is almost impossible. I am tempted to go for petrol hybrid ( not plug in ) but my 2.0 litre diesel Hyundai Tucson has low mileage(33,000) and is only 6 years old with all the nice extras you would want so I might just hang onto it for a few years until this stupid electric fad dies a death and is replaced by something more practical and "green" which generating electric is NOT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhett Turner - Black Country AO Posted June 27, 2022 Share Posted June 27, 2022 Really difficult choice, when my car (2019 turbo diesel) was in for a service recently the sales team asked if they could see if they could do a deal on a new one as they like mine to sell second hand. Told me they could do something to not cost me any more, I said I'd give it a go, but was very skeptical, correctly. One thing I did talk about with the finance guy was hybrid and plug in hybrids, his off the record recommendation was as a private buyer unless you've the exactly the correct usage profile don't bother, they are aimed at company car drivers and to bring the fleet average down. You end up with a compromised car, that's expensive to start with often has a smaller boot and fuel tank and on long journeys you largely end up running on an engine that's a bit small and needs to lug around excess batteries and electric motors. Personally I'm glad I suck to the turbo diesel for the type of car I've got and so far as it's the latest emissions I've not had any issues, that said when we swapped my wife's car last summer we went took the ev plunge. My car now gets used mainly for long distance journeys, when the extra space is needed or when we need to use both cars. For local trips the EV gets used. Depending upon the type of car I'd still consider diesel over petrol, especially mid and large SUVs where petrol fuel economy takes a big hit. I'm not ready for the electric switch for both cars as though I know it's possible longer journeys just look to be harder work at the moment. There's no right answer, there are far to many unknowns at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dombanks Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 know this pain my 18yr old z4 is, well, 18 yrs old. prob need new suspension, prob shouldn't have put 19s with rubber band tyres on it but fundamentally i really like driving it and i dont know what to swap it for that i can either afford or like. have to ask the question if it isn't broke why change it? acceptable answers are cos i can and i want to for me I think it is broken or worn and at £2 a litre its irking to think that I am paying £10 per day just to go to work. (should be noted i get free charging at work at the mo) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff oakley Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 If you like the car then my advice is spend a few quid on doing what it needs and run it longer. The reality is what ever you buy newer will depreciate and that is the real killer economy wise. £2.00 a litre hurts but it will drop eventually. Electric on the other hand, I read HMRC were looking a work place charging as a benefit in kind, but they are struggling to work out how to do it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephenh Posted June 28, 2022 Author Share Posted June 28, 2022 Workplace charging isn't much use to someone whose been retired for the last 8 or 9 years!😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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