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[Viral_Jim]

One of our storage engineers had a hybrid Golf that developed a battery issue that caused problems driving even in non hybrid modes.

So at 5 years old, he was presented with a £17k bill to supply and fit a new battery pack and controller.

Yep.  That confirms my fear.  Who privately, apart from the likes of Elon Musk, can afford that?!

If one example confirms your fear. Then I guarantee you would be afraid to buy any car premium on the road today, you can find singular/rare examples of massive bills with every premium car out there.

The problem with EVs is that when they go wrong people take them back to the manufacturer,.who's stock answer is to change the whole battery pack for a brand new one. Which is very rarely required.

To give you a similar example, look at Porsche 996/997s and their bore scoring issues. Porsche's answer is to sell you a new crate engine for well north of £20k. A good specialist can make a better-than-new repair for a fraction of that. So is it true to say that no one other than Oliver Blume can afford to run a 997? Obviously not. But it is true to say that if you take a complicated used car back to the main dealer for a major repair, you will end up with a massive bill.

[Sir Tigger KC]

Probably one reason why it was disposed of through BCA where the CarShop 365 bought it from...... be interesting to know if the battery fault was actually declared by the seller or whether it was sold with no appraisal report and therefore no redress....

Every car I've ever bought from auction has given me a little surprise on the way home.    Some have been easy fixes, some have been expensive disasters. 

I think you'd have to be extremely brave to buy an EV at auction.   

[Doctor Gollum]

One of our storage engineers had a hybrid Golf that developed a battery issue that caused problems driving even in non hybrid modes.

So at 5 years old, he was presented with a £17k bill to supply and fit a new battery pack and controller.

Yep.  That confirms my fear.  Who privately, apart from the likes of Elon Musk, can afford that?!

If one example confirms your fear. Then I guarantee you would be afraid to buy any car premium on the road today, you can find singular/rare examples of massive bills with every premium car out there.

The problem with EVs is that when they go wrong people take them back to the manufacturer,.who's stock answer is to change the whole battery pack for a brand new one. Which is very rarely required.

To give you a similar example, look at Porsche 996/997s and their bore scoring issues. Porsche's answer is to sell you a new crate engine for well north of £20k. A good specialist can make a better-than-new repair for a fraction of that. So is it true to say that no one other than Oliver Blume can afford to run a 997? Obviously not. But it is true to say that if you take a complicated used car back to the main dealer for a major repair, you will end up with a massive bill.

True enough... The Proper car was knocking on the door of £80k new,  18 years later, the bills are still £80k car sized rather than the £6k it cost me. That's not a complaint btw I knew that when I bought it but it's an easy trap to walk into if you're not prepared.

That Jag is well overpriced considering the mileage and issues, but if someone is prepared to swallow the cost of repair*, then it will be a decent car for what it is and for significantly less than a comparable new car.

* Assuming of course that parts are actually available.

[Viral_Jim]

Yes, I suspect it is the price it is because that's basically what the dealer paid at auction (£6500 plus auction extras) and they don't want to swallow a loss. Given its age and mileage (and fault) I'd estimate its value to be parts plus not a lot. Unless they can find a youTuber wanting to do a series on it of course! 

[Doctor Gollum]

Trouble is, they over paid... The battery is the only thing of real value and it's dead... Which is much the same as worthless.

[STEMO]

This is all keeping me grounded. When browsing through auto trader, looking for a possible astra dog kennel replacement, I often wander into the mercs, bmws and jags. Silly, I know, but I can't help myself.
At my age, the insurance would probably be ridiculous as well.

[Lizzie Zoom]

I have just been reading up on the regulations for working on electric vehicles and found two interesting entries:

1.  Electric vehicles need servicing and maintenance just like petrol and diesel cars. But not every mechanic can work on EVs. In fact, they need specialist qualifications and training from the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) - the Professional Body for people working in the automotive sector.24 Jan 2023

and 2.
https://www.hse.gov.uk/mvr/topics/electric-hybrid.htm

Blimey!  Our electricians skills are insufficient for working on these potential killers!

[Kevin Wood]

I have just been reading up on the regulations for working on electric vehicles and found two interesting entries:

1.  Electric vehicles need servicing and maintenance just like petrol and diesel cars. But not every mechanic can work on EVs. In fact, they need specialist qualifications and training from the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) - the Professional Body for people working in the automotive sector.24 Jan 2023

and 2.
https://www.hse.gov.uk/mvr/topics/electric-hybrid.htm

Blimey!  Our electricians skills are insufficient for working on these potential killers!

.. alternatively, some common sense. Oh, wait! It's been phased out. So, back to some self-appointed "jobs for the boys" outfit.

[Marks DTM Calib]

We have to receive MV training at work, I think for the basic course its an online job that takes about 30 mins to do, that allows me to work on cars with HV but, not on the HV system (I did an 11kV live wiring course in 1996 and have been working on HV a lot during my career, it was not a tricky course!).

[countrywoman]

Only training I had was stay away from the Orange wires and pull the main fuse before doing any work!!