r/evs_ireland

Hi folks, Just looking for some EV experienced advice here. Looking to buy my first EV in the next month or 2 and the options out there right now are pretty overwhelming!

For context, my partner and I do about 300-350km a week between commutes and daily driving etc, have our own home so home charging installation is not an issue, and would ideally like a family SUV or enough room & boot space for a (somewhat easy) life with a dog and 2 kids. We’re stuck between the Tesla model Y & the BYD Sea-lion 7.. I test drove both and must say, I loved the model Y but the BYD Sea-lion 7 is absolutely breathtaking inside & out, but is it worth 15k extra over a brand new model Y? I’m not sure.

Just interested to hear anyone’s experiences with either car or even if you now own a different car brand and think it’s better than the 2 mentioned, how so?

Any help at all is greatly appreciated! Can’t wait to never have to worry about Petrol/Diesel again!!

Hi all, just bought a used 2021 Nissan e-nv200 that's come with no granny charger. Looks like type 1 chargers are thin on the ground & €100 pricier than the rest of the options. Am I safe enough to just get a type 2 with adapter? or look out for a second hand leaf charger? Or something else entirely?

As a secondary, I've an external 16amp socket & I've seen a few chargers advertised using this as a quicker option, I've also read that all are limited to 10amps, so is the 16amp not an option? TIA

Hoping to order an ID polo trend and it seems that it comes with vehicle to load as standard, rated at 3.6 kW! That’s pretty decent, enough to boil a kettle 😂. What are the most interesting uses you’ve heard of for V2L?

My current supplier contract (Electric Ireland) is running out this month. We are getting solar and a battery (9kW) as well as the car charger put in in about 10-12 weeks time.

Based off the analysis done in Enerygpal.ie I think that Pinergy look like the best, but never heard of anyone actually going with them. My understanding is that my battery should cover most of my daily usage and so really a very low night rate and good "Fit" (i.e. buy back) is really what I should be going for.

Anyone have any additional insight into what they did, and if my understanding is correct.

(As an aside, am I able to just continue with EI for the few months and then change to the cheapest once we get the panels and battery? Don't really want to be paying a high day rate when we do not have the battery yet)

https://preview.redd.it/hg1qu9wtu52h1.jpg?width=3358&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e2388ecea363e6454a664e9125f3f987b4db2fc

I've been thinking about making the switch to a modest 2nd hand EV lately.

Currently driving a 2015 1.2L petrol car. Runs fine but just tired of the petrol costs. Reckon I could get €5k to €6k private sale or €4k to €4.5k as a trade in. I have approximately €1k in cash to add to that, maybe €1.5knat a stretch.

Looking at 2014 Leafs, 24kw battery at 10 or 11 bars.

My commute is 38km each way, 5 days, rural roads. I could charge in work or at home. We have a second petrol car for longer journeys.

Am I deluded? Missing some important detail?

Any and all advice would be appreciated.

Hi All,

Looking to buy my first fully electric car in the coming weeks, In relation to what I should be looking out for, which matters more: mileage or battery health?

For example one ad I have looked at is a 2023 ID4, it has 143000km and the ad specifies a battery health of 97.43%?

Once the battery health is good is the amount of km’s irrelevant?

And is there anything else overall I should be looking out for?

Thanks All.

About 2 weeks ago I bit the bullet and bought a used 2022 Skoda Enyaq iV 60, and I’ve been absolutely loving it so far.

At the moment I don’t have a home charger. Getting one installed is the plan over the next few weeks/months, but it’ll likely need some electrical work first.

In the short term, I’m considering using a granny charger with a properly checked/upgraded outdoor socket.

For context:
- I WFH
- Typical driving is only 10–20km/day
- Mostly shop/toddler entertainment runs around town 😅
- Longer trips would use public charging when needed

Given that usage, slower charging seems like it’d be perfectly workable for me short term.

For those who’ve used granny chargers:
- How did you find them in real-world use?
- Any issues with overheating/sockets/etc?
- Fine as a temporary solution, or not worth the hassle?

And for permanent installs:
- What 7kW home chargers would people recommend in Ireland?
- Any installer recommendations / brands to avoid?

Cheers!

I live in a terraced house with parking in front and I'm looking to get a solar system installed with battery. I know there are many different battery brands, and only certain EVs will allow for v2h but was wondering if anybody has such a system.

Our battery would likely have to be installed to the rear of the house. Is it possible to have a charger system at the front that will allow v2h without having to be directly attached to the battery unit?

Hi Reddit,

I can see a grand car from Pat Kirk Approved.

The car is cheaper than in ROI. It’s a English car but they have this service they handover the car to me on ROI plate with nothing to do or pay for 350£

Does any of you did this before with them ? What should I be looking for ?

Will I still need v5c, purchase invoice, custom declarations?

350£ for hassle free is great IMO

Very happy (and surprised) to already see reference to the ID. Polo GTI on the official VW site. With orders anticipated to only start from early 2027 (last I read), this seems well ahead and hopefully a sign that we'll see this in 2026 already.

Also, it looks the business! I'm waiting for this to become available so I can test drive it before committing to the Trend (which looks absolute class, too) to see if it'll be worth the premium in price and the bump in insurance.

I've had my EV for 2 years, it's a 2023. I've had no issues and I love it and doubt I'll ever go back to ICE. Currently doing some casual research on a new EV to replace my wife's car over the next year or so. Prior to buying an EV I drove 10+ year old ICEs, age wasn't a major factor because even the most expensive repairs/maintenance on an petrol were basically the same regardless of whether the car was 5 or 20 years old (provided the car had been well looked after).

I had been toying with importing an Merc EQB from up north - but learning how bad the Merc battery warranty is I am second guessing. But it's made me wonder in general about whether we'll actually have a confident used EV market for 10-20y/o cars in the future. Nissan appeared to be leading the pack 5 years ago, loads of plans to support battery swaps etc. and yet the 2019 Leaf is practically a lemon now (my mother had one, sold it to a friend and then a cell failed and it had to be written off, appears to be common).

Will we get to a stage where battery issues are actually serviceable, repairable, replaceable in a way that's economical? We lean on manufacturer warranties, but at the end of the day Nissan have weaseled out of their warranties for lots of their customers. Kia/Hyundai have their ICCU issues and are apparently still selling affected cars.

I have no doubt EV batteries will in general last way longer than people expected a few years ago, but for the few that do have failures - will they be shit out of luck. It leaves me in the position where buying a cheaper EV is the better choice - because you won't end up as much in the hole if it's a write off.

Just wanted to have a discussion, not a naysayer by any means.

Looking for advice on a second EV for a small family.

Already have a work EV as the main car, so this would mainly be for school runs, shopping, local trips etc.

Budget is roughly €15–25k. I like the look of the new MG4 Urban given the price and warranty, but wondering if the original MG4s will drop in value once the Urban hits the market properly.

I also see a lot of people in here recommending ID3s/ID4s or importing something from the North instead.

So, bear with me. All advice and experience welcome.

25k budget, might be 23k depending what I get for current car. 500km range +, as I will have 250km a day twice a week.

At that level, it's Model 3 long range, ID4, with a few kia EV6, and a polestar.

In all cases, I'm concerned with resale in 2-3 years, as most will be coming off battery warranty. Risk all fuel savings lost in depreciation.

Model 3 - probably 2020-23. So pre-china manufacturing. It looks small, but think I could do holidays with roof box and tow bar bike rack. Thoughts, any major issues with these early ones?

iD4 - 2021-23 : looks a more usable family car shape, but infotainment issues w seems common. Thoughts/ issues

Any thing else?

Thanks for the help, new to this

I’ve seen this mentioned in other threads but nothing definitive.

I’m close to purchasing an EV up north and the dealer has said the car was sourced in UK and not used in NI.

However he said I’ll get a SAD certificate which will ensure I’ll not be charged any VAT when brining south.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation and got on OK?