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Yes that seems strange about not being allowed to add options/packs. Maybe he made a mistake , maybe that particular dealer doesn’t do that incase someone cancels and they’ve got a car sitting there with some added options. as far as the privacy glass I would worry as it’s never dark enough and go to your local window tint company and it shouldn’t be more than £200 allnmy cars including my current JCW came with privacy glass but I’ve always paid a firm to add a dark tint congratulations on the new order
what sort of time scale they give you for delivery?We ordered on Jan 6th and they said we should have it by Feb 13th when our lease ends. The dealer emailed me yesterday saying that the car was on the ship on its way and it was on track for the 13th…
We have ordered the Mini E Countryman Monochrome at £0 AP. We were previously looking at the petrol ones in the Q4 2025 list and we were told by the dealer that you couldn’t add or upgrade the packs. So the one we were interested in only came as a Level 1 offering and we could not pay more to have it as a Level 2 to get privacy glass etc.
This did seem strange as you’ve always been able to pay for options etc. in fact at one point BMW used to offer discount off the optional extras because of the residual value they added.
Is 8m the longest?
Our situation is that the driveway is at the end of the rear garden (about 17m) and when I had a survey done for a charge point for my works vehicle they said they have to dig a trench through the garden. Everything else was okay, but the landlord wasn’t keen on this.
I know you can get cables up to 20m, but the need fitting by a spark. Is there any easier way of extending or getting MB to fit a longer cable?
If I come off the scheme I will buy a used EV, if I stay on the scheme my next vehicle will be a EV, to date I have had 2 PHEV on the scheme, would have happily gone for another PHEV but the AP’s are far to high.
A 3 year old EV is a compelling second hand buy. The bulk of the depreciation is done, in all likelihood it has been a lease car, so well maintained and the ongoing maintenance and tyres etc is lower that ICE vehicles. Battery may be a worry but some manufacturers offer long battery warranties.
Seems a bit hypocritical that you’re going on about ’evangelists’ while forcing home your own viewpoint on combustion as if it was the only correct one.
It’s okay not to like EVs, but it’s not okay to force that opinion on others with misinformation.
I have both currently, they both have positives and negatives, but it’s fair to say that neither is technically good for the environment. We just have to choose whatever option suits us best, and nobody is forcing you to choose either way. Chill out.
I have an EV through work but wouldn’t consider myself an enthusiast. I’m realistic about their limitations but also about their benefits.
You have to decide for yourself, but advice from someone who has never owned one is also not particularly helpful. As much as there are EV ’enthusiasts’ out there, there are those who are unnecessarily negative about them without having owned one. There are YouTube channels dedicated to trashing EV’s would you believe!
That said, given your situation, from my experience of EV ownership, I’d say they’re probably not right for you for the following reasons:
My EV through work has a 100kw battery. At 80% charge today with it being -1°, it says I have a range of 150. In summer this would be close to 280.
The public charging network is not brilliant. It’s very expensive, and quite unreliable. If a unit stops working it seems to take an age for it to get fixed. They are often blocked by both combustion vehicles and EVs that aren’t charging (usually Tesla divers), so if your only charging option is blocked you either have to wait it out or go somewhere else which is not your first option either due to cost or ease of access.
It may be my imagination, but whenever I have fast charged my car, it never seems to last as long. DC charge seems to get used up quicker. If you’re going to do 125 miles per week on one of the EVs on here (around 60-70kw battery), then you’ll definitely be charging once a week.
The Apps or processes used to start charges are fiddly. Sometimes you have to have the app to get the cheap rate, so you’re forced to use it. If you’re not good with tech then this can be a problem. It’s not like putting some petrol in and paying at the kiosk.
In summary, if I couldn’t charge at home, I wouldn’t consider it. My wife’s car is on the scheme and she has ordered an EV, but she doesn’t do many miles and she can charge overnight at home. I will be ordering my next work vehicle soon and am seriously considering a PHEV despite the increased BIK implications. EVs are okay to a point, but do have some serious drawbacks. A self charging hybrid may be a good option for you? PHEVs are very expensive on here and you wouldn’t see that benefit back if you’re doing low miles and can’t charge at home, also, some can’t DC charge which limits your public charging options.
Ultimately it’s up to you, but I hope I’ve given you some reasoned food for thought.
Also, it’s an easy way to flood the market with a new model so that people see them on the roads etc. probably cheaper than TV advertising.
You see it with lease deals on new models sometimes – they offer crazy prices that don’t even cover the depreciation, but they will have built a load and want to get them into public view.
trawling through the mini and mg specs i noticed that the countryman has hud on all models and electric tailgates on all. the mg hs hybrid+trophy has a nice tan leather option but at a cost £500 and wireless charging not on the zs.
Been today and ordered the Monochrome. Told we can collect on 13th Feb when current lease has ended so no wait with delivery times. The sport one does look better, but to get the spec that the monochrome has you have to spend £4,199 because the SE Sport is the only Sport with the level 1 pack that has heated seats and hud etc.
Its not ideal the climate controls etc being through screen, but its not a deal breaker and the majority of manufacturers are cutting costs by doing this also. The days of twisty nobs are numbered I feel, as much as they are the best solution.
Fingers crossed for you as i love mine.Im guessing the ones on there will be stock orders only though with the facelift one coming soon?
Not sure having electric is the right thing for you to do, when you have no way of charging at home and in the event of feeling unwell having to go out to charge, especially if you need to makr gp or hospital appoinment, but that decision is yours to decide.
Normally I’d agree, especially where health could make it difficult to charge. However, from what I’ve seen of @mitch’s use, it would be very easy to charge twice a month in small doses, meaning the car would rarely be below 40% charge, which would mean the hospital could be 40 miles away and the return trip would still be feasible. I’ve found having an electric car both easier to drive and more relaxing, which could help if the situation includes driving whilst less than perfectly healthy. I know there’s been a few times I’ve driven to hospital appointments and been grateful that the journey was as simple as point and steer with just pressing the go pedal to worry about. As you say, though, it’s no for us to decide.
As someone who had Nissan Leaf 2nd generation for 7-8 months without wall charging, I can guarantee the battery will be flat exactly when you need it most.
You do have to be a bit more organised/prepared with an EV, but I have had two now and found that their ease of use and benefits of being able to defrost/set climate remotely far outweighs the drawbacks regarding charging. We can only charge at 2kw because our drive is at the back and when they came to survey for the install they said they would have to dig up the rear garden, so we just had a proper outdoor socket fitted and top up overnight and have never had any problems. It only costs us 5p/kw between 0000-0500hrs which helps offset when the cost goes up to 25p.
EV’s are something of a different mindset than combustion vehicles in that you don’t let them go below 20% really, and you don’t charge to 100% unless you’re going on a run. Once you get used to this they’re very easy to live with!
ok been through the usul serch now , auto,petrol/hybrid small and medium suv, wpms etc and a couple of newbies. honda enter the fray honda zr-v 2.0 elegance £327 and the honda hrv advance £0 ap £84.83 weekly. need to check the specs but a bit of a suprise. so the list is now: c3 max hybrid £0 ap c3 aircross max hybrid £627 increase. juke tekna hybrid £597 increase quashquai epower nconnecta £347 honda zr-v 2.0 elegance £327 honda hrv advance £0ap £84.83 weekly. mg zs hybrid+trophy £97 reduction mg hs hybrid+ trophy £47 reduction omg. left field option mini countryman electric monochrome £0 ap £81.46 weekly or the mini countryman classic the same cost and the mini countryman 150kw e sport 66kwh £397. i need to check the specs of the hondas and the countrymans but for me an interesting quarter i can order on 28 feb so i am quite pleased which makes a change lol.
We were going to order the petrol Countryman in December but couldn’t make 8t too the showroom. Anyway, to get the heated seats and a few other options that we need it was something like £2700. Looking now, the Monochrome electric one comes with all those options and is £0 AP, so is a winner for us!
BYD MANSFIELD IS HERE We have officially opened the door at BYD Mansfield from December the 1st 2025. Until the end of the year, BYD are supporting £1500 off advance payments on orders up until 2025. We currently have on site the Atto3 & SealU which are part of the scheme. Message me, Alex Holmes, direct to book a viewing/test drive and we will be happy to accommodate. Evans Halshaw byd Mansfield, oak tree lane, NG184LF 01623 676390 https://www.evanshalshaw.com/dealers/byd-mansfield/
I’ve just phoned about this and been told it’s only £1,000 off the AP of the Seal U and they have to be plated and off the forecourt before Jan 1st, which is frustrating as our contract doesn’t end until Feb 12th. Not sure whether to wait and see what offers come up or order in case AP’s go up!
The OP is asking about the dealer placing the order on the Motability system though, which can’t be done in advance!
Was pertinent in a way though as the OP asked for any help/suggestions and the fact that he can get most of the background stuff done online in advance of the visit to the dealer will definitely help. I’ve just done all that, but was unaware until I started looking at my online account and it made the dealer visit a lot smoother.
I got this email the other day. I’ve had four tyres now on a 25,000 mile car three months away from end of lease. However, I’ve only had four because KwikFit near me are a bunch of drips.
I took the car to them because I kept getting the tyre pressure warning come on, and when I looked I had a screw in the tyre. I told them which tyre it was and left them to it. An hour later they called me to say it was done and I returned to my amazement to find the tyre in question well and truly still on the vehicle. When I queried this with them, there was some consternation and they returned a short while later and apologised and said “yeah but the other tyre needed replacing” I know this isn’t true because I keep an eye on my tyres. So they clearly lied to motability to get retrospective authority to replace the tyre they took off in error due to their incompetence. I also later noticed they had replaced the valves but not put dust caps on either of them.
I also think they say the tyres aren’t repairable because they get more for supplying a new tyre. I’ve had many a screw in the tyre in a similar place in my own vehicle that I have had successfully repaired.
