u/nashipear007

Taking a car for a test drive tomorrow and wondering where would be good to take it to give it a good spin. It's a 4WD car from a dealership so I'd like to test it on some gravel or less even roads but can't think of where is good within 20-30mins of Nelson. My current thought is out towards cable bay. Also good spots for 0-100 test. Any ideas?

Received 3 quotes from mix of national and local installers, keen to hear your thoughts.

Our info/requests:

- panels and inverter only, no battery

- be 'battery ready' for the future

- we used 6300kWh in last year

- work during the day, highest power demand is in the evenings

- include hot water timer and all install costs in quotes

Quote 1:

- x12 450W panels, 5.4kW total size.

- estimated annual generation 7500kWh

- sigenergy 6kW hybrid inverter

- $12.5k GST incl

- virtual consult

Quote 2:

- x16 450W panels, 7.2kW total.

- estimated annual generation 8900kWh

- sigenergy 6kW hybrid inverter

- $15.9k GST incl

- virtual consult

Quote 3:

- x16 455W panels, 7.28kW total.

- estimated annual generation 9100kWh

- sigenergy 6kW hybrid inverter

- $16.8k GST incl.

- only company who came around and actually climbed on the roof and measured it out in person.

Quotes 2 and 3 both went for more panels because I asked for future proofing extra power use with growing family and EV on the horizon.

Quote 1 went for a bit above what we currently use.

I'm leaning towards Quote 1 because I can't see us needing all the extra generation from 2 & 3 at this stage. However Quote 1 said more panels can be added in the future but install costs might be higher than just doing more upfront.

Curious on people's thoughts on the cost and size of the system vs our current power use.

Quote 1 estimated a 6 year payback based on power bills we provided.

I did like the fact that Quote 3 came around in person and doesn't use subcontractors. I could go back and ask for a smaller system and see what price they can do.

There's generally lots of discussion about new EVs and their warranty periods - and for the new brands if they will still exist when the warranty ends.

I'm interested to hear your thoughts on the market for used EVs that are a few years old and either near the end of their warranty or without warranty.

Which brands and models would you trust for a used EV purchase? Where is the best overall value for a used EV?

Hey!

My wife and I are planning our first trip to Japan for next month - yes I know relatively last minute planners but we're well traveled and don't have too many 'must-do' expectations so happy to go with the flow.

Our ideal day is walking the streets, vibe soaking, finding tucked away foodie spots and taking it relatively chill.

We really like the look of the less frequented areas towards the North around the Miyagi, Yamagata, Akita and Iwate regions. We will be travelling up from Tokyo to Sendai to start.

We're thinking about hiring a car in Sendai and going west to Tsuruoka (Day 1 - 2), north to Akira (Day 3), East to Morioka (Day 4-5), then South-east around Tōno and then back south to Sendai to finish (Day 6-8).

On the map it looks like a nice northern loop with max 3 hours driving on our travel days. Plan to do the loop over the span of a week, with a couple of nights in each area.

How does this sound logistically for someone who has never been to, or traveled in Japan? Are we crazy and should just go for the trains + bus combo? I'm leaning towards a car because the more rural transport connections could be harder to find and less reliable. Having a car makes exploring so much easier.

Keen to hear you thoughts, thanks!

Was recommended lightforce by a friend who used them locally here in Nelson 1 year ago with the install and hasn't had any issues. Now I've come on here and seen lots of people have had issues with them with aftercare support and it's making me question going with them.

Any suggestions of companies who have been good to deal with for post-sale support? Located in top of the south/Nelson area.

I'm really keen to buy my first EV and very close to pulling the trigger on one.

We qualify for westpac 0% interest green loan for up to $50k.

My top choice is Tesla, I just think they're ahead of the rest of brands from what I've seen and read in terms of what you get for the price. I also test drove one and loved it. There's a reasonable number of Model 3s available sub-40k around the 2020-2022 age. That would mean I could get a Tesla AND do solar for our house with green loan.

Alternatively, I could save-up and wait another 6-12 months and use the green loan + top-up of ~$20k cash to buy a new facelifted Model Y juniper.

If I went new, I'd go for the Y because I prefer the new Y over the new 3. But at the mid-30 price point a second hand 3 seems like great value if I purchased now.

Thoughts?

I work in private healthcare and own a small-medium size business in the space. The business is scaling and getting larger and I would like more business knowledge to help me grow as a leader and in the business space.

My Bachelor's was clinical and didn't cover any side of business at all so I'm currently relying on what I can read from books and find online, and have a couple of older mentors but I'd like more formal education.

I'd like to hear from anyone else who is a business owner, who came from a non-business background and did further study or up-skilling, what did you do?

I'm considering an MBA from Otago since I studied there, can get a student loan, and it's the top ranked MBA in NZ. For me it's purely for the knowledge and learning rather than using it to try and get hired.

Also interested to hear from anyone who has done an NZ MBA. Thanks!