UK switching to electric vehicles discussion

[Peter Sarf]

Report on UK (and Australia) dealers refusing to take many diesel cars in for part exchange and resale values falling up to 30% because, most likely due to fuel prices, very few people want one.

I'm definitely glad I got rid of mine when I did.

Interesting. A friend of mine has just changed his non-ULEZ compliant diesel for a newer compliant diesel. He lives in the leafy suburbs of Guildford but comes to London occasionally. I wonder what he got for his old diesel !.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Interesting. A friend of mine has just changed his non-ULEZ compliant diesel for a newer compliant diesel. He lives in the leafy suburbs of Guildford but comes to London occasionally. I wonder what he got for his old diesel !.

Out of curiosity I put my petrol estate car into WeBuyAnyCar's website about 2 months ago and it offered £8K ish, I thought crikey, that's depreciated.

A couple of days ago I was bored and clicked the link in one of their spam emails about the valuation having updated...now £12K.

I assume this is probably related to diesel being even more out of favour than ever, and so people who like ICE cars are after petrol in their droves, given that WBAC prices are very closely driven by what they'll get for the cars at auction and on Cinch.

 

[LucyP]

WBAC offer low prices. You can always do better on a trade-in or selling privately.

 

[jon0844]

WBAC offer low prices. You can always do better on a trade-in or selling privately.

I took a car to them to see what they'd offer (I wasn't desperate to sell, which I think many people are). They give the usual quote online and then you make an appointment etc. I turned up and without even opening the doors he dropped the price saying it wasn't what they were looking for but they could organise payment quickly if I went inside.

I know they won't always test drive or thoroughly inspect (would the staff member even know how to?) but this was a joke. It wasn't even a few quid off - it was about two grand off.

I said forget it, and he said he'd call the boss to try and negotiate a better deal but I said no thanks - and he started cursing me for wasting his time.

Sadly I don't trust their figures any more, and when I came to sell the car and didn't want any fuss I went through Motorway and got more than they'd estimated. Car picked up shortly after and money in the account within seconds.

Could I have got more private? Possibly, but I was happy and got more than the estimate (which was based on a huge number of photos and questions and answers to give them an idea of the car condition - something WBAC didn't do when when they had the car in front of them!).

 

[Peter Sarf]

I took a car to them to see what they'd offer (I wasn't desperate to sell, which I think many people are). They give the usual quote online and then you make an appointment etc. I turned up and without even opening the doors he dropped the price saying it wasn't what they were looking for but they could organise payment quickly if I went inside.

I know they won't always test drive or thoroughly inspect (would the staff member even know how to?) but this was a joke. It wasn't even a few quid off - it was about two grand off.

I said forget it, and he said he'd call the boss to try and negotiate a better deal but I said no thanks - and he started cursing me for wasting his time.

Sadly I don't trust their figures any more, and when I came to sell the car and didn't want any fuss I went through Motorway and got more than they'd estimated. Car picked up shortly after and money in the account within seconds.

Could I have got more private? Possibly, but I was happy and got more than the estimate (which was based on a huge number of photos and questions and answers to give them an idea of the car condition - something WBAC didn't do when when they had the car in front of them!).

The only use for We Buy Any Car (.con) is if you can offer slightly more to someone who has got a derisory face to face offer from them.
They will always offer enough on the web to get you to trek over to their lair. You are now at risk of being hooked in. They then offer you less but still boast of quick payment, no time wasting and its all done asap. Take it or leave it. Biggest bunch of tyre kickers.

 

[jon0844]

The only use for We Buy Any Car (.con) is if you can offer slightly more to someone who has got a derisory face to face offer from them.
They will always offer enough on the web to get you to trek over to their lair. You are now at risk of being hooked in. They then offer you less but still boast of quick payment, no time wasting and its all done asap. Take it or leave it. Biggest bunch of tyre kickers.

Yup they were exactly as I feared, but if you want a fairer deal then Motorway (there are others now too, although they could be 'white labels' for the same auction companies?) is also pretty quick and they come to you.

They find out everything about your vehicle ahead of time and so won't do the 'hmmmm, well, sorry but this isn't in good enough condition' before they've even fully stepped out of their hut or office.

My advice for any of these options is to not try and sell when you're desperate. Obviously easier said than done because there might be a sudden emergency need for money, but what I mean is if you're considering a sale then don't rush. There are other options than WBAC despite their slick advertising and their more recent strategy of having tiny cabins in car parks up and down the country (rather than previously hiring offices in the likes of Regus).

This means they must get people passing by who are tempted and don't do any research at all.

 

[cactustwirly]

Out of curiosity I put my petrol estate car into WeBuyAnyCar's website about 2 months ago and it offered £8K ish, I thought crikey, that's depreciated.

A couple of days ago I was bored and clicked the link in one of their spam emails about the valuation having updated...now £12K.

I assume this is probably related to diesel being even more out of favour than ever, and so people who like ICE cars are after petrol in their droves, given that WBAC prices are very closely driven by what they'll get for the cars at auction and on Cinch.

We buy any car are the same company as BCA and Cinch.
It is nowhere what the car is worth. It's the auction price minus the BCA cut.
Just like part exchanging a car

 

[Roast Veg]

Is there a technical or economic reason why the faster BYD charging might not be available in normal, affordable cars in the future?

Yes, there are both technical and economic reasons.

 

[jon0844]

I think we're seeing 100kW or thereabouts becoming a sweet spot for smaller cars with 40-50kWh batteries.

I do think we'll see some small battery cars come with faster charging in the future, which would allow a car offering only 150 miles or so a rapid petrol station like top up, but that will probably be more because increased competition forces it to become another selling point that it being demanded by customers.

 

[GusB]

The Everything Electric show has featured the new Citroen 2CV.

Dear Santa...

 

[birchesgreen]

Pity Rover isn't still around, they could have done a retro e-Metro or e-Maestro, i've love something like that! As for the 2EV i like it though i'd still rather have a Renault 5.

 

[JamesT]

Pity Rover isn't still around, they could have done a retro e-Metro or e-Maestro, i've love something like that! As for the 2EV i like it though i'd still rather have a Renault 5.

The Rover brand has ended up with Tata as part of Jaguar Land Rover. So they could launch something under that name if they wanted to.
But I think most people would have a negative association with a Rover car rather than a positive one!

 

[jon0844]

The Everything Electric show has featured the new Citroen 2CV.

Dear Santa...

Also great to see the Smart #2 announced (which goes on sale quite soon). A more premium small car but very likely to sell very well even if it's more expensive than other cars in its class.

 

[Bletchleyite]

But I think most people would have a negative association with a Rover car rather than a positive one!

Indeed. The only Austin/Rover car that people associate strongly positively with is the Mini, and there are a load of modern versions of that, many of which aren't particularly mini!

 

[Mawkie]

Indeed. The only Austin/Rover car that people associate strongly positively with is the Mini, and there are a load of modern versions of that, many of which aren't particularly mini!

I can't see an Austin 'E-leggro' selling well, although square steering wheels seem de rigueur these days.

 

[telstarbox]

The Everything Electric show has featured the new Citroen 2CV.

Dear Santa...

The BBC says Citroen are targeting a £13k sale price - sounds very ambitious to me!

 

[Welly]

I can't see an Austin 'E-leggro' selling well, although square steering wheels seem de rigueur these days.

Imagine the "Vanden Plas" version with the Jaguar radiator front!

 

[johncrossley]

There are now quite a few videos about the new Smart #2 (pronounced "hashtag two" it seems, whereas the petrol Smart that most people know was called the "Fortwo"), for example this one from What Car:

We've seen the new Smart #2! Smart's tiny two-seat city car is back for 2027, with a more modern look, a rear-mounted 80bhp motor and a likely range of around 180 miles. But how does it compare against the likes of the Honda Super N and Renault Twingo? In this first look review, we tell you everything we know so far about the Smart #2.

The range is not officially confirmed but they have a "target" of 180 miles. The video says charging is capped at 65 kWh and will take 20 minutes to charge from 10-80% at that speed. So 20 minutes charge to go 127 miles. Is that good? The video says this is good compared to the Honda Super N and Renault Twingo.