An electric car offered one UK worker relief from unpredictable diesel repair bills, but with £4,600 in credit card debt and a wedding to save for, the decision was far from simple.
Here's what to know
In Reddit's r/UKPersonalFinance community, the worker reported earning £38,000 a year, with monthly take-home pay of about £2,380.
Back-to-back redundancies had pushed them to borrow again after they cleared the card. They had no savings, and their credit card's 0% interest period ran until May.
Their employer offered an Octopus salary-sacrifice scheme for a new Micra EV. The package would reduce their take-home pay by about £290 a month, including insurance, servicing, tires, and breakdown coverage.
The alternative was to keep a 2013 diesel Mercedes with 132,000 miles and a "patchy history," the worker said. A horn repair alone, for instance, had cost £500. They estimated its running costs at £245 a month, but unexpected repairs made budgeting difficult.
Although the apparent difference was just £45 a month, the worker said they had little room for additional expenses. Taking the EV would leave a monthly cushion of roughly £250 before paying down the card. A home charger would also cost around £600 after a £400 discount. They worked from home but needed to do school runs, so they couldn't stop driving altogether.
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What can be done?
The pros and cons of similar EV schemes vary from household to household. While electric vehicles are typically cheaper to own and operate than gas- and diesel-fueled cars, one commenter cautioned that this scheme might not give the OP the best bang for their buck.
"Shopping around for a good deal and paying it with your take-home is almost always cheaper," they advised. But another countered: "Some of my colleagues on well over £100k have Tusker cars, they say it's worth it for them. When I get quotes for me it doesn't seem very good value, but I'm earning less and paying less tax than them."
Another suggestion was to switch to another used car, but OP said they were wary of switching to petrol. "It's hard to predict the future of fuel prices so I'm a bit worried that petrol will also get expensive like diesel is too," they shared.
For one commenter, the solution to that was clear. "You can buy older electric cars," they said. "That way you get the fuel savings."
Where can I learn more?
This worker isn't the only one doing the math between gas and electric.
• In the UK, a £42 hire-car fuel bill prompted a Tesla owner to compare Model Y costs.
• Soaring UK fuel prices make EVs up to nine times cheaper to drive than petrol or diesel cars.
• Gridserve's 92p charging rate prompted an EV driver to compare the cost with petrol.
• In Europe, EVs are often overpriced in lease deals despite holding value better than claimed.
• Kia's £24,000 EV2 Air promises 270 miles of range in the UK.
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