Another electric car thread

[b0redom]

Hi folks,
Chez B0redom we have 2 cars, a big MPV and an old polo. The polo's engine has just seized up so we need a new car. We're in W. London just outside the ULEZ zone, but it's likely to extend to where we live in the next couple of years. I've just spotted that you can get a MG Z4 Trophy (fully electric) for around £32k new.

Getting one of these would allow me to completely avoid the ULEZ/congestion charge when I need to head into London, and for trips over 200 miles I could just use the MPV.

As I understand it as a fully electric vehicle I'd end up incurring ~ 2% of the gross value as BIK, raising to ~ 5% over the next few years, and pay ~40% of that as I'm a higher rate tax payer.

I would pay no VAT on the vehicle and the purchase, all maintenance, insurance etc would be paid from pretax income from the company.
It also looks like I can claim 5p / mile for 'fuel' from my home electricity bill.

This seems too good to be true. What am I missing?

PS Yes. I realise the MG isn't a Tesla, but tbh I don't really care.

[malvolio]

I wouldn't bet on the financials holding up for much longer. There's already talk of EVs having to pay road tax, you can bet the Chancellor will be looking at other costly benefits (costly to HMG that is!) at the next budget.

Other thing to remember is that the Chinese MG is a bit of a nail for £32k, albeit quite a plush one. There are better options out there, especially for something that will primarily be a city car.

[b0redom]

Other thing to remember is that the Chinese MG is a bit of a nail for £32k, albeit quite a plush one. There are better options out there, especially for something that will primarily be a city car.

Such as? It needs to be able to fit 5 people in reasonable comfort. All the reviews I’ve seen say there’s nothing even close for the same budget.

[malvolio]

Such as? It needs to be able to fit 5 people in reasonable comfort. All the reviews I’ve seen say there’s nothing even close for the same budget.

Skoda Enyaq for one. Kia EV6 for another. Yes the MG is cheap, but it's cheap for a reason.

And surely you will lease it rather than buy it outright?

[WTFH]

I’ve been in the MG (so I’m not just repeating someone else’s opinion) and I thought it was a very capable car.
I’d not rule it out unless your criteria is to buy a car made in the EU, then the Skoda is a good choice, or maybe the VW iD4 if it’s big enough.

[b0redom]

Both the Skoda and this Kia base models are around 10k more expensive than the top
end MG.

A Tesla is only 10k or so more than that. Can I afford it? Sure. Is it worth it? Reviews seem to suggest that the MG can at least trade blows with the Kia and VW.

I’d probably buy it outright as I have three kids, and the smallest is autistic, so the inside and outside of the car are likely to get scuffed/scratched/dented. I can do without some jobsworth deducting thousands of the residual at the end of the lease.

[eek]

Skoda Enyaq for one. Kia EV6 for another. Yes the MG is cheap, but it's cheap for a reason.

And surely you will lease it rather than buy it outright?

Taken you’ve not actually been in one.

[malvolio]

Taken you’ve not actually been in one.

Yes. It's got comfy seats, reasonable space, lots of toys. Rubbish handling (agreed, not necessarily a problem in primarily city driving), so-so ride comfort, well below the comparable VW family variants. Personally I'd look at the second hand or ex-demo market rather than buy new if the car is going to get rough treatment and limited long-haul use.

[b0redom]

But even if I bought it 2nd hand, as I understand it I'd end up paying BIK on the full retail value of the car new as I understand it?

There are virtually no cheaper 2nd hand cars at the moment, presumably down to COVID.

Presumably I wouldn't be able to claim back the full VAT value of a 2nd hand car either, as they'll be on the 2nd hand margin scheme, so even if I found something it could end up being more expensive?

[malvolio]

But even if I bought it 2nd hand, as I understand it I'd end up paying BIK on the full retail value of the car new as I understand it?

There are virtually no cheaper 2nd hand cars at the moment, presumably down to COVID.

Presumably I wouldn't be able to claim back the full VAT value of a 2nd hand car either, as they'll be on the 2nd hand margin scheme, so even if I found something it could end up being more expensive?

Can't really comment since I've always bought my own cars and charged MyCo for business use, rather than the other way round. Obviously, I am well out of touch with the company car sourcing marketplace and rules, other to think that the BIK relief is unlikely to survive the next budget and any mechanism for EV road tax is likely to be flat rate, given you can't use emissions as the criterion. I wouldn't even take a bet on the ULEZ exemptions surviving much longer.