Honestly instead of leasing a brand new EV I would put the payments instead towards buying a 2nd hand one.
I see a Citroën C3 being mentioned at a cost of 16,000€ after 4 years’ of payments. Whereas I’ve just seen on Auto Scout that you can buy one that’s a year old that has done approx 6,000KMs for 17,000€
When it first came out, lorry drivers stole its name as shorthand for Renault’s latest lorry, the Premium, because it was anything but as good as the wonderful Magnum that I had here when working which it eventually replaced.
I was told that a second hand EV will cost more because of the upkeep of the battery. I am not sure if that is true? As corona said “the sales person is a lying toad”.
Not true! Batteries are lasting far longer than expected, only exception is the Leaf or others without active battery management but even the Leaf has done well.
The Nissan leaf, possibly one if not the earliest affordable EV doesn’t have cooling or heating for the battery packs. This means they occasionally get too hot and that can cause some degradation of the battery shortening it’s life. Owners discovered this when trying to rapid charge as the sensors noted it getting a bit too hot and slowed down the rate of charging meaning a longer wait. Not a problem charging from home and the old leaf was very successful.
A high depreciation for me could be an advantage if the lease allows me to buy the car at the end of the contract. I wonder how the value the car at the end of the contract is determined? The c3 EV contract does not allow you to buy the car at the end of the contract.
I wonder how easy it would be to find a second hand Twingo EV in your own locality?
Paying just €110 euros a month would be a good option for me as that’s less than the cost of repairs on my current second hand car
There are two types of contract, one where you can purchase the car and one where you can’t. In my experience the payments on the former are higher than the latter and one has no way of knowing what the residual value will be anyhow.
That’s incorrect. There is no upkeep to a battery. If it was the salesman/woman that told you then it is a lie. They know there is no battery maintenance.
Edit: I should add that my experience of the leasing contracts was with Renault. I chose the contract without the option to buy as we already own an EV and I decicided being exposed to the unpredictable depreciation on one is enough.
I did not know that you could choose the option of not buying the EV. But I can still lease the EV. Good to know. Thank you for the information. I am faced with a lying toad of a salesman.
If you possibly could I would take someone else with you in any dealings with car people. It sounds like they’ve seen you coming, and might try stuff again. Tbe presence of a second person just might limit this.
Ideally tbey’d be a French speaker but anyone would be better than no one. I,’d even consider recording on my mobile phone if I could do it discreetly…. Though that mignt be taking it a bit far.
Thanks John for the information on the lease as I didn’t know that one was more expensive than the other. So I shall stick to the lease only contract. I think the Twingo will suit me quite well
To my surprise I have found a second hand electric Twingo for sale. It’s 4 years old done nearly 8000 km and priced at €8700. Better still it’s being sold at the same dealership I’m going to enquire about a new Twingo. Hope to see it on Monday!
I know some people prefer to buy new cars for peace of mind, warranty etc., and I totally get that, but (assuming it’s in good nick) there’s no doubt that a second-hand car is better value given that it has already suffered the major part of its depreciation.
