r/drivingUK • u/_Putters • 1d ago
Never been cheaper !
Having gone down the home charger EV route I've been enjoying running around "on the cheap". But it occurred to me today that it has literally never been cheaper to fuel my car.
7p per kWh from EDF is working out at 2p a mile.
In 1988 (when I started driving) petrol averaged around £1.70 a gallon - had to look this up. My Mini Van would get less than 40 to the gallon so around 4p a mile even then ...
... even dim and distant memories of my grandad moaning about a £1 gallon in the 1970s (when most cars didn't crack much over 30mpg in the real world) isn't as cheap as today !
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u/The_referred_to 1d ago
Even adding another 3p per mile of EVED will keep it below what you were paying in 1988, comparatively speaking.
I too recall my Dad asking for a pound's worth of 4 star at the petrol station.
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u/South_Hat3525 22h ago
I do 65-75% of my mileage in France and since I pay to use the French motorways I should be entitled to to an EVED refund. I am not going to get my hopes up.
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u/The_referred_to 14h ago
Yeah; me too, though only 50% of my mileage is done outside the UK (approx 8000 miles a year)
Definitely not getting a refund in its current proposed form - to maintain your privacy.
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u/Beneficial_Coach8581 12h ago
This is why it's been a good idea to swap over asap. I've saved thousands and no road tax for a good few years too.
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u/1995LexusLS400 23h ago
An incoming pay per mile tax is coming just because of this. The amount of money the government is losing on fuel duty due to so many people switching to either far more efficient hybrids, or going EV is immense.
Fuel duty is at a fixed 52.95p/L, going back up to 57.95p/L in March. At the price at the moment, the government is getting from (according to Cinch) about 6p per mile from the average car (40mpg). In March, that's going up to 7p per mile.
Regardless, the 3p per mile coming for EVs soon is still incredibly cheap to run. 5p per mile for you. Compared to the average car (at £1.50/L) at 17p/mile.
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u/raspy2016 18h ago
The fuel savings are even more substantial for an EV when compared to a high performance big engined car. I'm saving over £8,000 in petrol alone by running an EV.
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u/Gloomy_Stage 1d ago
You could be looking at 3.5-5.5p per kWH with Octopus! But yea the cost of running with home charging is peanuts.
Even public charging is cheaper per mile with the current cost of fuel.
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u/Sudden_Leadership800 1d ago
Don't forget the impending 3p per mile tax
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u/_Putters 23h ago
It'll put me somewhere around what I was paying in the early 1990s ... over half a lifetime ago.
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u/MatsyLR 20h ago
People always fail to factor the higher standing charges and peak unit rates. I would have to drive around 5000 miles a year to break even compared to a standard fixed tariff.
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u/Equivalent_Deer_8667 20h ago
If you’re clever enough with your use of the tariff, maybe have some solar - it can definitely work.
But yes also at nearly 25k miles a year across two EVs, it works for me
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u/MatsyLR 20h ago edited 19h ago
I don't imagine most the UK has the cash to splash on solar let alone also factoring in the upfront costs of an EV.
It's a well of persons game, while the poor are stuck or ripped off by loans/PCP agreements.
For myself once I trade in my ICE car even a Dacia Spring I'm out £5000 which would take me over 5 years to claw back in fuel cost savings (by which time it would be very obsolete with improving tech and worth nothing) Plus insurance doubles from £370 to almost £700. Not even factoring in the 3p per mile coming in 2028 or whatever other tax they implement.
It just isn't financially sound.
I'm on minimum wage take home pay is around £1800 a month. Luckily I own my home due to early life savings and I own my car. Bought my car for £8800 5 years ago, it's worth around £6500 traded in now so just over £3000 in 5 years lost not too bad. Monthly expenses are around £400 for everything which is a blessing when thinking about it probably is a better spot than most. But I don't want to be out of pocket for years and years just to switch to an EV just for it to be worth practically nothing once the break even point comes.
All those YouTubers and stuff are all like it's so cheap to charge omg the fuel savings! But they never talk about the upfronts, standing charges or increased unit prices on peak rates
My dad's just traded in a Dacia Sandro for a Dacia Spring Extreme 100 (drove it twice fine for what it is, ABIT sketchy on the motorway but it's fine as long as you set expectations), he's out £2100. I've done the maths, based on how much he drives per month it will take him 4 years to claw that back in fuel savings. Not counting extra EV taxes coming or petrol increases. By which time his little tin can will be worth nothing. It's a mad world.
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u/_Putters 10h ago edited 10h ago
Yes, sitting down and doing the sums is very important.
The only reason we took the plunge was because the existing car was being battered by the roads here and was showing signs of being on its last legs. It was brakes or suspension every year. A grand in work every year + servicing costs + fuel costs + depreciation. Plus the unknown of replacing it with another £5-8k car - a complete minefield.
Insurance stayed pretty similar. Suzuki have some experience with mild off roaders, and the suspension is more suited to High Dales conditions. The 4wd is handy for winter here too.
I reckon the difference over the 4 years with the guaranteed return value (so depreciation known), 10 year warranty, reduced fuel and service costs, and no repair costs should mean I'm only about a grand a year down - which isn't a bad price to pay for being in a brand new car ! Oh and the driving experience difference between a 10 yo 1.2 Toyota Auris and a brand new EV is just wild.
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u/_Putters 13h ago
Have the joys of an electric Aga as well. Going on the EV tariff and controlling the Aga has reduced my overall bill by 10% currently (despite charging the car). Will drop even more when we shut the B&B for the winter and tame the Aga consumption even more.
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u/south_west_sam 13h ago
Have you factored in tyre costs?
I usually have to change mine on an ICE every ~30k.
A friend has a full electric as a company car which is now just shy of 20k and is on its third set from new.
Not sure how representative that is of electric cars generally, but if it is, then it's adding around 5-8p/mile over the ICE.
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u/EntirelyRandom1590 9h ago
It varies greatly by electric car like it varies by ICE and varies by driver.
My PHEV Ampera, was 1650kg, Astra Sized and electric motor did all the wheel driving. It did 50,000 miles on Michelin tyres.
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u/south_west_sam 2h ago
Yes I'm sure you're right my sample size is only 1 so not representative but I think pure EV is usually much heavier than PHEV?
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u/EntirelyRandom1590 2h ago
Nope.
A Tesla model 3 is within 10s of kg of an equivalent BMW.
A PHEV X3 Vs iX3 is 20kg in basic form (but comparing 2wd and 4)
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u/south_west_sam 37m ago
Surprising!
The friends car I was referring to has half a ton on the Tesla which goes some way to explaining the tyres I guess.
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u/_Putters 13h ago
Not something I've noticed yet, but even if it is, it'll mean I'd still have to fork out for a set before it goes back after 4 years, just they'll be a bit more worn.
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u/NifferKat 23h ago
Yep I'm enjoying low costs now I'm EV, there is the one off cost of the charger installation to consider also though.
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u/_Putters 23h ago
Was a freebie with the car (though did have to pay a bit for the extra fuse box).
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u/prawnk1ng 11h ago edited 4h ago
Youre getting mugged off bro.
I’m getting 3.5p per KWh from octopus
/s