Posted: May 27, 2013 8:12 am
I'm With Stupid wrote:Buying something new is rarely going to be more environmentally friendly than keeping something old. Having said that, it's unlikely that your existing car is going to a dump, so it's not like someone won't be using it who might otherwise have bought a new car. The other thing to consider is that electric cars are massively overpriced atm. Not only does that make it expensive now compared to buying an equivalent new car, but I suspect the depreciation on one of these first generation electric cars is going to be huge.
The other option would be to sell your Subaru and replace it with a more economical (second hand) petrol or diesel car, such as a Golf Bluemotion (88mpg for the latest one, 65mpg for the first generation and 74mpg for the second generation). Just did a quick search on Autotrader, and they start at about £5k in the UK for a 2009 model.
Ahh, you bring up some ideas I've also been pondering. Of course I wouldn't be scrapping my Subaru, and it would remain in service with someone else.
I did find the same overpricing situation. This has to be market driven, not technology driven. Electric cars have simpler components than air breathers, and a hell of a lot fewer of them. I think they are charging whatever the market will bear for them now. At least the big name manufacturers seen to be doing so.
This disappoints me greatly.