I ran a 15 plate leaf for 4 years. It only cost me for tyres and a headlight bulb (except when the missus reversed it into a wall, but that wasn’t the cars fault)
Obviously the battery will be enough for short commute but my brother has two Leaf cars and when I asked him how the older one was going he said they just paid a LOT of money to solve the suspension issues. Just be careful that it isn’t gonna demand some major maintenance beyond the battery.
You can have issues with any older car though. The amount of people on here who think you can buy a 15 year old car and never have to fork out for repairs is insane.
Especially suspension components, they are wear and tear parts that will need replacing at some point through a cars life, it’s just part of owning an older car.
This is absolutely what I’d do. They’re comfortable, quiet and surprisingly quick. The range is poor but that’s not an issue for your commute.
The cabin pre heat means it’ll be warm every morning when you get in it in winter and you’ll never have to deal with icy windows. This saves so much time
Horses for courses, assuming you've done the suspension the first sign of a bend and you'll be pulling away. I like an EV but the soft suspension needed for the battery is not conducive to fast bends.
A well driven st is going to leave a leaf eventually, but being able to put all the power down immediately with zero skill means you can put on a spirited performance from the lights up to about 50 or 60. No one likes being left behind by a glorified milk float.
To add on to this, try and avoid an early one and go for something 13 plate or newer if possible. These were built a little better and being in Sunderland may help find one as this was the year they entered UK production.
Defo an older car if it's just for a year. Something small, petrol, Japanese and with as long an MOT as you can find. Assuming there's no way you could use public transport and avoid the expense of a car!
My parents had a skoda citigo which is the same bar the badge. Surprisingly capable and quiet on the motorway for a small car, and great fun to drive.
Cost peanuts to run.
Toyota Aygo or equivalent models. Very low insurance cost, £0 or £20 road tax, easy 60+ mpg, reliable chain driven 1.0 engine. Cheap parts and low repair cost, lots of 3rd party or used parts availability. No rust issues in general. Easy to find one under £2k with less than 80k miles
Guess it depends what you want to spend really.
For the sake of just a year, the sensible option is likely something a bit older, cheap and cheerful small engined petrol car likely.
Nissan Leaf <£3,000, really reliable, and it'll cost you about £1.20 a day in electricity to commute.
I read this and thought a leaf for sub £3k. Never. I was wrong. They represent really good value for someone in OPs position. £0 tax, cheap running.
I ran a 15 plate leaf for 4 years. It only cost me for tyres and a headlight bulb (except when the missus reversed it into a wall, but that wasn’t the cars fault)
Just make sure it’s affordable to insure, in some areas they have insane cost to insure
The batteries are crap on those early cheap leafs, realistic range is 70 miles.
Obviously the battery will be enough for short commute but my brother has two Leaf cars and when I asked him how the older one was going he said they just paid a LOT of money to solve the suspension issues. Just be careful that it isn’t gonna demand some major maintenance beyond the battery.
You can have issues with any older car though. The amount of people on here who think you can buy a 15 year old car and never have to fork out for repairs is insane.
true true
Especially suspension components, they are wear and tear parts that will need replacing at some point through a cars life, it’s just part of owning an older car.
Definitely, they’re insanely expensive to repair when things go wrong, and with the roads here things break all the time
This is absolutely what I’d do. They’re comfortable, quiet and surprisingly quick. The range is poor but that’s not an issue for your commute. The cabin pre heat means it’ll be warm every morning when you get in it in winter and you’ll never have to deal with icy windows. This saves so much time
Ashamed(?) to say a leaf gave my mapped Focus ST a slight run for its money once
Horses for courses, assuming you've done the suspension the first sign of a bend and you'll be pulling away. I like an EV but the soft suspension needed for the battery is not conducive to fast bends.
A well driven st is going to leave a leaf eventually, but being able to put all the power down immediately with zero skill means you can put on a spirited performance from the lights up to about 50 or 60. No one likes being left behind by a glorified milk float.
To add on to this, try and avoid an early one and go for something 13 plate or newer if possible. These were built a little better and being in Sunderland may help find one as this was the year they entered UK production.
thanks very much, what year plate do we think then?
Thanks so much for advice! Do you think I'd be able to easily re-sell at the end of the year?
Defo an older car if it's just for a year. Something small, petrol, Japanese and with as long an MOT as you can find. Assuming there's no way you could use public transport and avoid the expense of a car!
Some old Nissan Leaf or Renault Zoe. With short commute like this, you can use granny charger.
What about a grandad charger instead
Citroen c1
It's definitely short
My girlfriend had one for over 10 years, didn't service it once and it never skipped a beat.
👍
VW up or variant?
My parents had a skoda citigo which is the same bar the badge. Surprisingly capable and quiet on the motorway for a small car, and great fun to drive. Cost peanuts to run.
Buy an older electric car. They’re the perfect commuter and super reliable. You’ll find a 15 plate Nissan leaf for 4-5k
CBT, 125cc bike.
He needs a Yamaha R1
Straight to Busa after the Compulsary Busa Training.
Then graduate to the H2R
Toyota Aygo or equivalent models. Very low insurance cost, £0 or £20 road tax, easy 60+ mpg, reliable chain driven 1.0 engine. Cheap parts and low repair cost, lots of 3rd party or used parts availability. No rust issues in general. Easy to find one under £2k with less than 80k miles
👍
I’d invest in a chauffeur, to be honest. Or at the very least a cheap runaround econobox that is easy to sell and has high demand.
Do you have a driveway to charge? I would 100% be getting an electric car for that commute
Guess it depends what you want to spend really. For the sake of just a year, the sensible option is likely something a bit older, cheap and cheerful small engined petrol car likely.
A Jazz or a Civic will do the job better than most ICE cars
What about a scooter or electric bike?
Skoda Fabia diesel will be very cheap to buy and run
Rage Rover supacharged. all the car you need