Hubby wants a electric car for the last three years. Decide to get him this toy. I couldn't find any cheap electric car in Sydney.
Any thoughts?
Update:
Bought a 2016 corrola as temporate car for hubby before getting an electronic car. It seems to hold value and easy to sell once we got an electronic car.
Aren’t these discontinued?
Get a HSV or a new hubby.
Yes, want a second hand car. I think I will keep my current hubby until he lost his six packs.
Just kidding.
Just get a Tesla.
Can not afford…
Carsales?
There is one in Vic: https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/mitsubishi/imiev/?area=Stoc…
You can't get them brand new any more - Looks like your husband has unique taste different to the rest of us. That is why the car didn't sell and had to be discontinued. He is a keeper!
Yes,that was the one I was looking at, but I am in Sydney.
Why does it have to be a cheap electric car ? Did he say he wants a i-meiv? I mean they were discontinued for a reason. They were crap. Same with the Nissan Leaf. Way to expensive for what it is.
What’s your budget ?
Maybe get on the waiting list for the new Nissan Leaf or keep an eye out for a used i3 or something.
There are bmw i3 demos for ~$60K fully optioned with range extender etc
Tesla model 3 will be out next year probably ~$80K ish on the road.
Haha, range extender, you mean the petrol engine?
Yes I do. However I think it’s a worthwhile option until the infrastructure for electric cars is much better. Eg Chargers in Public parking etc.
Once we have better infrastructure it’s fine to go all electric but if you only have street parking then the reality is you might have to use said range extender to get to a charging station.
Yeah, lets make an electric car, but cause the range is crap, we’ll put a petrol engine in there too, brilliant idea!
@Test Tickles: A petrol engine run at a constant speed, such as for a generator, can be significantly more fuel efficient than a petrol engine that is required to run over a range of RPM. So, you run on batteries, and when they are depleted you turn on the generator to top them up. It's not ideal, but it is more efficient than a petrol only car.
@Test Tickles: but if you can run the car on battery only most of the time and then run the drivetrain more efficiently than a regular car it’s a benefit, not a problem.
@Euphemistic: It will lose efficiency at each energy change. Ie. mechanical>electrical>battery. Plus it's extra weight to carry around.
@JIMB0:
Exactly, there’s a problem with range, so rather than add more battery capacity, we’ll just stick a petrol engine in there to recharge (idiocy). Might as well put a monkey on a treadmill, oops, they’ve already done that ;) .
@Test Tickles: yes, but still using less fuel than the equivalent petrol car, especially when you take into account the efficiency difference of an electric drivetrain compared to a petrol one. Hybrid cars use less fuel.
The beauty of petrol engines is that they can be refueled in minutes unlike batteries. when you are using less than half your petrol engines power most of the time it makes sense that it is disconnected from the drive train and used to top up batteries at peak efficiency.
@Euphemistic:
So just add more batteries to extend the range, point is you’re still burning fuel and acting like you’re saving the planet. Add more batteries instead and boom, you’ve extended your range.
Also, it’s inly a very small tank, so really how far can it extend range? Better to have a monkey.
So just add more batteries to extend the range,
No amount of batteries can replace the convenience and range of a fossil fuel powered vehicle. Fossil fuel vehicle technology has taken more than 100 years to develop. Battery powered vehicles is only in its infancy.
acting like you’re saving the planet.
Consumers that thinks that battery powered vehicles are environmentally friendly is confused.
According to Wikipedia:
"[In Australia] During 2011 a total of 30 i MiEVs were sold, and cumulative sales reached 252 units through December 2013. As of March 2014, Mitsubishi is no longer selling the i-MiEV due to slow sales."
…
We have not got a garage, therefore wouldn't buy something too expensive.
My budget is 15,000.
Was about to get a corrola for 15,000, but feel sorry for him that I could not buy the car he wants.
There’s no way you can buy something that cheap. I suggest saving up.
If you want an electric car I highly recommend waiting for the Hyundai Ioniq launching later this year, or the Renault Zoe. The Miev is an electric car launched almost a decade ago. Its real world range is about 100km with new batteries, so you're going to find that range curtailed even further. It's an old technology car.
But on the bright side some people paid $60k for their MIEVs, so you can find used cars out there with the shocking depreciation of $1 per kilometre.
Hopefully, they will be cheaper.
Wait a few more months to 1 more year. Hyundai Kona or Nissan leaf releasing
If you want cheap, you'll just have to keep searching and be patient until the right vehicle comes up. Electric vehicles just aren't common yet. They also tend to be bought by people who are passionate about them and either keep them for a long time, or get rid of them when the batteries start to fade away.
Wait for the new Hyundai. Don't get a Tesla, they are still trying to learn how to build cars.
Put a watch on CarSales and Gumtree, a mate purchased one in Sydney for $9k about a year ago, you just have to be patient. I also know of an iMiEV that was driven from Sydney to Brisbane, took about 5 days caravan park to caravan park, but not something I'd do.
I purchased a 2nd hand iMiEV in 2014 when there were 20 ex-fleet selling at Ryde NSW from the Ausgrid trial. Mine was $14k with 20,000 km. We've since driven it about 40,000km ourselves, and its going well.
Biggest advantage is that it's so narrow it fits in any shopping centre parking spot. Disadvantage is that its one of the ugliest cars, however you only need to see it for about 10 seconds when you get in & out, its other road users that suffer having to stare at it all the time, he he he. And once you're in, its a really fun drive, I often floor it at the lights as it will get off the line faster than any ICE.
We are saving about $2000 a year (electricity vs petrol) so the car cost us nothing if it lasts 7 years. And servicing, well, we just get the pinkslip guy to look at the brakes etc as there is really nothing to service until 80,000km when the brake fluid needs replacing. No oil changes, spark plugs, muffler and lower brake wear so its just new tyres and windscreen wipers which you can do yourself. Very happy with the car and having a "full tank of fuel" every morning, it just plugs into a normal powerpoint in your garage. No range anxiety if used in the intended way - as a local runabout as it only has 100km range.
Other sources of info - www.aeva.asn.au www.myimiev.com
What is your electricity bill look like?
The iMiEV takes about $1.20 of offpeak electricity to go about 100km, so its the equivalent of a 1 litre/100km ICE vehicle.
I'm not sure even a motorbike is that frugal, however we replaced a vehicle doing city cycle of about 10 litre/100km.
Thanks very much for sharing your experience. We had a test drive at ryde too, but I did allow my husband to buy it due to the look. He have not stopped talking about it since. I have applied to joint the Facebook page now. Hopefully someone is selling one is Sydney soon.
Remember there are only about 252 iMiEV in Australia, however fortunately they are not in high demand. You need to be patient, I see one come up for sale about every 3 months. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_i-MiEV#Australia
Thanks very much we will wait. I just bought a used 2016 corrola for 14,800 yesterday as a temporate car before finding an electronic car.
finding an electronic car
Electric, not electronic.
You could buy a Mitsubishi Minicab Miev import for about $14k. Of course you can't carry passengers (cargo only) but its one of the cheapest ways to get into an electric vehicle.
I will wait for something local. Thanks.
Last three years of what?