[Bruce Tanner]

...hope to be soon! I haven't yet driven one but pretty much made my mindup anyway.

I work from home so the Ampera would be mostly for local journeys and one 50-mile journey a week. I also have a Landrover pickup which has been my rather uneconomical runaround up till now and a VW campervan which only comes out in summer for weekends away.

I'm about equidistant from dealers in Birmingham, Cardif, Swindon and Oxford. My first question is...can I expect to be able to negotiate a discount, or do people just pay the stated price as the car is new/unusual?

Thanks for any thoughts!

Bruce

 

[GMG31]

There is talk of a £3k price drop on new cars to clear the old stock. Don't ignore the value of second hand I saved £10k buying a car that was barely 12 months old. Your local dealer is allowed to bid on Network Q cars which are mainly Luton Managers cars and very well looked after.

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

If I were buying an Ampera now I wouldn't buy new.

 

[proddick]

I agree that a 2012 car is probably a better purchase than a new one unless you can get a great deal. I think a forum member found a better deal on a new Volt rather than Ampera.

 

[ALC]

Hi Bruce, you should find the new price has just come down around 3k, so should start from £33750 less the 5k plug in grant. There used to be an ownership package available, but this has been eliminated to pay for the price cut. On top of this, you may be able to negotiate up to £1000 or so from your dealer, depending on how keen he is to 'deal'.

I think new is best with a car like this, especially with the peace of kind you get with the 100k /8year warranty and the Vauxhall lifetime guarantee. And if you run your own business too and can buy it that way, you can write it down 100% against profits in year 1. All in all, it makes a compelling case....

Good luck

 

[Bruce Tanner]

Thank you for all your advice!

Regarding new vs. used, there are always very logical arguments for buying a used car, but it's not quite the same is it?! The 8 year/100000 warranty is very appealing. And if you keep a car for that long or longer (as I hope to) then residual values are not that much of a concern - no car that old is worth much. I know technology will improve quite quickly but a 40-50 mile electric range with an overnight charge should suit my lifestyle just fine for the next 8-10 years.

Paul is there an Ampera-specific reason you suggest buying used?

ALC what is the ownership package that has been dropped? Is it the pick up & drop off service? I'd find that quite useful being a couple of hours away from any dealer.

Thanks again!

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

Regarding new vs. used, there are always very logical arguments for buying a used car, but it's not quite the same is it?!

...

Paul is there an Ampera-specific reason you suggest buying used?

In the past I have always justified buying a new car on the grounds that there is something special knowing that no one else has driven it. If I could afford it then I always thought that new was best... and still do to some degree. But I think that with EVs the fianncials start to outweigh that argument.

I spent £25,000 on a new Nissan Leaf 2.5 yrs ago... I would have trouble getting £12,000 for it now. That is about 50% but not the worst residual on the market by any means and yet its performance regarding range is not much down and running costs are the same, condition is nearly as new. When new I calculated that the Leaf would pay for the difference it cost me over buying an equivalent diesel Ford Focus Titanium in under 4 years and that is on 8000 miles a year. Do 16,000 miles a year and that pay back is down to 2 years from new. However, buy my car at about £12,000, about the same as the equivalent aged Focus, and the savings start right from day 1.

If it is for a business then the financials may well be very different but as a private purchase secondhand EVs are going to be a great value purchase IMO and whilst EV residuals may be steeper than ICE cars at first I do believe that the cheap running costs will mean that the secondhand values will flatten and eventually older EVs will command better prices than their equivalent ICE cousins.

 

[ALC]

Hi Bruce

From memory, the ownership package was free serviving for 3 years plus £1K of fuel on a pre-charged Visa card (effectively making it 'free' running costs for 3 years ignoring the cost of charging) and £350 towards the cost of installing a home charge unit. But now the charging is completely free anyway (see other posts ref: Polar / BG etc) I think Vauxhall rolled the cost of the package into a price reduction.

Tim

 

[PRO-AMPERA]

It was £2000 on a pre-paid Visa Card that you can use on anything, not just fuel.
You also got the Public Charging Cable as well as the other things ALC has already mentioned

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

I am pretty cheesed off that we were too early for that package. It is typical... the early adopters pay more than anyone else, have to put up with all the early teething issues and miss out on promotions... all to get the car a few months before others.

OK... Be calm! Be calm!

That's better...

 

[CliveS]

Hi Paul, sorry to wind you back up but regarding your Leaf's current value, did you see my post in the Nissan Forum for a new Leaf for under £11,000 ?

Clive

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

I didn't Clive but I am not surprised. I still think that my logic is basically sound. I still strongly believe that EV residuals will start to look better for older models. May be 3 years is too soon and may be that EV popularity is not yet at the stage where even cheap 2nd hand ones are attractive. It might take a few years... by which time my Leaf will be ready for recycling no doubt!!!

Thx for the heads up anyway

 

[Bruce Tanner]

Ironically used prices of EVs might well turn out to be connected with oil prices - if (when?) there is another oil crisis the prices of used EVs should go up!

 

[proddick]

Bear in mind that new cheapo leaf required a battery lease - Paul C bought his with batteries.

IMO - based on battery warranty and recent reports on life, I think the leases are a bad idea. Selling a 4 or 5 year old car with batteries included is going to be far far easier than trying to sell a used car AND a battery lease.

 

[proddick]

Maybe battery leases are good for company drivers? Perhaps the cost of rental is not a BIK? Any accountants out there to advise?