Energy Saving Trust (Scotland) loan

[Ovv]

Hello,

 

I've recently started looking at EV's and although I love the style of the Cupra Born it's just too small for the family.  My local dealer is Seat & Skoda so I had the opportunity to look around an Enyaq as well and really liked it.

 

Given that I typically keep my cars for 5-6 years it makes sense to me to use the Energy Saving Trust Scotland 0% loan to purchase one. I've read through the T&C's for the scheme and know that there is a cap on amount and other stipulations on age/mileage.

 

Just wondering if anyone else had used the EST and how the process went and if it was easy enough to do?

 

Thanks

[Ootohere]

@OvvWelcome.

 

Has the sales executive or senior sales executive at the branch no experience of customers making an application and how long they took dealing with it.

I do not imagine that those dealing with the application are rushed off their feet.

 

Are you in or near Dundee or Perth by chance?

Is it a used / ex demonstrator / pre reg Enyaq up to £30,000 that you are looking at?

http://energysavingtrust.org.uk/grants-and-loans/used-electric-vehicle-loan

http://energysavingtrust.org.uk/travel/financial-support/grants-and-loans

 

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/465690-new-or-improved-hubs-announced-government-ev-loans-in-scotland-and-free-and-no-longer-free-public-charging-places

 

Edited 3 August, 2023 by toot

[Ovv]

Hi,

 

Yes was in Dundee.To be fair to the sales chap, I just went in on a whim and he had someone waiting to see him after he had shown me around the Born so I didn't want to take up his time any further. He didn't go into super detail but did mention the process being quite simple.

 

From what I've read and info from the sales guy, it must be lower than 30k to qualify, no topping it up over that amount. I've a car to sell or px that would roughly reduce the amount by a third.

 

Noticed the white suite at their Aberdeen dealership but haven't contacted them yet.

 

 

[Ovv]

Forgot to mention yes it would be used/demonstrator with the appropriate mileage to meet EST rules for the loan. 

Quite annoying that it has to be more than 1k on mileage as there seems to be a lot of dealers down south selling them with only a couple of hundred miles like your example post rather than buying one with 5/6k on it instead.

[Ootohere]

@OvvIf Steven Rodger is still at Skoda Specialist cars Dundee you will be in pretty good hands if you get a chance to deal with him.

 

'£30,000 or less',

 not 'lower than £30,000 to qualify as in £29,999 & 99 pence or less.'

Edited 3 August, 2023 by toot

[Ovv]

Completed the EST paperwork which was pretty painless once I'd documented financials etc. Said they will be in touch by the 17th to confirm. Noticed that the White Enyaq up in Aberdeen has come down to the threshold limit since the last time I looked, so going to approach them to give me a price for trading in my Passat and see how it goes from there.

[Ovv]

Any recommendations on which packages are good and which should be avoided. I don't think I'm going to find the electric tailgate ( Convenience Package Plus) without a bit of hunting however its not deal breaker. I like a toasty bum and front and rear parking sensors though, and leather is easier cleaned with the kids. Guess just trying to ensure I get the most value for money when purchasing.

[kenfowler3966]

As you live in Scotland, although not essential, if you find a car with the optional heat pump it would be worth considering for the significant increase in cold weather range as for your budget you are likely to be looking at 60’s?

[Ovv]

27 minutes ago, kenfowler3966 said:

As you live in Scotland, although not essential, if you find a car with the optional heat pump it would be worth considering for the significant increase in cold weather range as for your budget you are likely to be looking at 60’s?

Hi, the thought did cross my mind however I didn't think I've come across any descriptions in adverts mentioning the heat pump. Is it a part of a package or a stand alone option?

 

An 80 would be lovely but they have yet to dip near to the £30k mark, although I did find a higher mileage (25,000) 80 last night but I doubt that a dealer would drop £2.5k off the price.

[Ootohere]

@OvvI would not concern yourself about a heat pump if you are charging at home and not doing hundreds of miles regularly away from Dundee in winter.

 

Youtube Vids by a Briskoda member might interest you. Enyaq Gorm

Plenty localish stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 4 August, 2023 by toot

[Ovv]

6 minutes ago, toot said:

@OvvI would not concern yourself about a heat pump if you are charging at home and not doing hundreds of miles regularly away from Dundee in winter.

 

Youtube Vids by a Briskoda member might interest you. Enyaq Gorm

Plenty localish stuff.

 

 

 

 

I've been watching a lot of the Enyaq Gorm videos funnily enough. 😁

 

 

 

 

 

[Ovv]

I wont be doing a lot of long distance, the maximum I would probably do on one return journey would be 130-140 miles, but that would be very occasionally with most journeys being local. 

[Ootohere]

Scotland fastest EV charging hub is getting built near Myrekirk road. / Skoda Dealership.

 

Edinburgh City charging is pathetic & now 55 pence a kWh.  For me a Petrol or Diesel is cheaper than public charging there.

Aberdeenshire 47 pence a kWh on 50 kW rapids, again over priced, Angus not much better @ 42 pence a kWh.

 

Just now it is Perthshire or Stirling i use most still @ 35 pence a kWh or free still in parts of Ayrshire.

[Ovv]

I'm just back having dropped into Skoda to book a test drive for tomorrow but actually ended up being able to take one out there and then. Kudos to Skoda Dundee for that. 

 

Test drove a newer VRS Coupe version with all the bells and whistles however I refraining from playing with any of the extra toys that are probably missing from the Suite version that I'm targeting.

 

Took it for an hour and drove it on a variety of A and B roads and did some dual carriageway driving, some town traffic which was stop start. Really blown away with how it drove and the kids who were in the back loved it also. Very much on par space wise when compared with my current VW Passat. 

 

Completely loved it so have fired in my application form to EST and will start looking around to see who has what. Sadly the white suite that was available in the group stock in Aberdeen was already reserved.

 

Loving the forum and I appreciate you all taking the time to reply to my posts.

 

Chris.

[domhnall]

5 hours ago, Ovv said:

I'm just back having dropped into Skoda to book a test drive for tomorrow but actually ended up being able to take one out there and then. Kudos to Skoda Dundee for that. 

 

Test drove a newer VRS Coupe version with all the bells and whistles however I refraining from playing with any of the extra toys that are probably missing from the Suite version that I'm targeting.

 

Took it for an hour and drove it on a variety of A and B roads and did some dual carriageway driving, some town traffic which was stop start. Really blown away with how it drove and the kids who were in the back loved it also. Very much on par space wise when compared with my current VW Passat. 

 

Completely loved it so have fired in my application form to EST and will start looking around to see who has what. Sadly the white suite that was available in the group stock in Aberdeen was already reserved.

 

Loving the forum and I appreciate you all taking the time to reply to my posts.

 

Chris.

the heat pump is great and makes the car very efficient. If you have leather I'd say the heated seats are a must. I also have the travel assist (auto steer) which is fab for long drives and I have the head up display which was just an extravagance but I love it. Reversing camera is a must I woudl say, they're quite big cars.

@george thank you for your relentless prmotion of my youtube channel 🙂

 

 

[Ovv]

@domhnall - its a very imformative channel and has been my source for goto information throughout last week. 

 

So I've officially started looking, my Passat is up for sale and I see no reason finanically as to why I wouldnt be granted the EST however Im not going to start laying down deposits until I get offical confirmation. In the meantime I've been doing a lot of internet browsing today seeing as the weathers been so poor.  

 

Couple of 80's have caught my eye, although beyone the mark of what I can spend I may stick out my brass neck and try and get them down to the maximum threshold mark- all they can say is "no" and laugh me off the phone. Anyways, from my chat with the sales person in Dundee I understand that whatever I purchase will come with the remainder of the 3 years warranty for the car, and the remainder of 8 year warranty for the battery.  

 

I'm now torn between looking for something newer, say 22 or 72 plate with approximately 5-9k miles or an ex demonstrator which has a lot of the packages included but will possibly have higher miles.

 

You opinions and input are most welcome.

 

 

 

 

 

[domhnall]

On 05/08/2023 at 20:04, Ovv said:

@domhnall - its a very imformative channel and has been my source for goto information throughout last week. 

 

So I've officially started looking, my Passat is up for sale and I see no reason finanically as to why I wouldnt be granted the EST however Im not going to start laying down deposits until I get offical confirmation. In the meantime I've been doing a lot of internet browsing today seeing as the weathers been so poor.  

 

Couple of 80's have caught my eye, although beyone the mark of what I can spend I may stick out my brass neck and try and get them down to the maximum threshold mark- all they can say is "no" and laugh me off the phone. Anyways, from my chat with the sales person in Dundee I understand that whatever I purchase will come with the remainder of the 3 years warranty for the car, and the remainder of 8 year warranty for the battery.  

 

I'm now torn between looking for something newer, say 22 or 72 plate with approximately 5-9k miles or an ex demonstrator which has a lot of the packages included but will possibly have higher miles.

 

You opinions and input are most welcome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

the only thing I wouild say is consider whether a 60 would work for you. Even when driving my diesel VW the longest leg I did on a recent trip between here and Portsmouth was 190 miles (three and a half hours) . 190 miles is easy for a 60.The60 is also more efficient than the 80 it seems (lighter).

 

Lots of good used exampoles out there now

 

 

[Ovv]

1 hour ago, domhnall said:

 

the only thing I wouild say is consider whether a 60 would work for you. Even when driving my diesel VW the longest leg I did on a recent trip between here and Portsmouth was 190 miles (three and a half hours) . 190 miles is easy for a 60.The60 is also more efficient than the 80 it seems (lighter).

 

 

 

I think I needed some real world context so I sat and worked out a recent family trip which typically would have been done by flying but our itinerary meant we really needed to take the car.

Looking at where when we either stopped for comfort breaks or to overnight, we typically stopped after a stint of 2 hours driving, 111 miles, 127 miles, 73 miles, 113 miles with longest leg being 157 miles.  This isn't our typical sort of journey but it does make me think a 60 would be sufficient, however as a long term keeper I have a niggle that says an 80 would be a better purchase, only problem is finding an 80 within the constraints of the EST.

 

Another option would be to explore the 77kwH ID4, seeing as thats essentially an 80. Those seems to be more readily available, would give me the added range and are actually cheaper than the Enyaqs, with a few on Autotrader also showing as having heat pumps, however Im Just not as convinced on the styling.

[domhnall]

2 hours ago, Ovv said:

 

I think I needed some real world context so I sat and worked out a recent family trip which typically would have been done by flying but our itinerary meant we really needed to take the car.

Looking at where when we either stopped for comfort breaks or to overnight, we typically stopped after a stint of 2 hours driving, 111 miles, 127 miles, 73 miles, 113 miles with longest leg being 157 miles.  This isn't our typical sort of journey but it does make me think a 60 would be sufficient, however as a long term keeper I have a niggle that says an 80 would be a better purchase, only problem is finding an 80 within the constraints of the EST.

 

Another option would be to explore the 77kwH ID4, seeing as thats essentially an 80. Those seems to be more readily available, would give me the added range and are actually cheaper than the Enyaqs, with a few on Autotrader also showing as having heat pumps, however Im Just not as convinced on the styling.

80 seems to be a lot less efficient than the 60, I tried an ID4 before the Enyaq, smaller boot and didn't like the interior at all. You can't see the heater controls in the dark for instance. No thanks

 

[Ovv]

Essentially I have two 60s shortlisted, one with Loft and the other with Lounge. Both have quite good specs however the one with the Loft has the convenience pack which was on my wish list. 

 

What's everyones thoughts on the interior design Loft? Does it hold up well with kids? 

 

I originally looked for Suite but these seem quite thin on the ground.

 

 

[Ovv]

According to the EST site I'm all approved but still awaiting my official confirmation.

 

Will probably start dropping some links to get opinions on ones I've added to my shortlist.

[Ovv]

I know it call comes down to personal preference (I've yet to go back to the local dealer to see what they have), but any opinions and thoughts on the following welcome:

Having lived a Black Passat, I don't think I want to go that route again, however it is a good spec with the convience pack.

 

[domhnall]

On 14/08/2023 at 15:09, Ovv said:

I know it call comes down to personal preference (I've yet to go back to the local dealer to see what they have), but any opinions and thoughts on the following welcome:

Having lived a Black Passat, I don't think I want to go that route again, however it is a good spec with the convience pack.

 

 

 

the loft looks really nice in real life, I have a lounge and really like it. Of those you've shown I would go with the grey one, it's a stunning looking colour

 

[Ovv]

50 minutes ago, domhnall said:

 

 

the loft looks really nice in real life, I have a lounge and really like it. Of those you've shown I would go with the grey one, it's a stunning looking colour

 

Maybe it's just the pictures but Im just not convinced that the loft is for me. I'd probably compromise if it had everything else on my wish list though.

 

I've approached a few dealers so far, all down south, just waiting to hear back. 

 

Plenty of paperwork with the EST and it's not all completely online, requiring me to send some documents away today.

Edited 18 August, 2023 by Ovv
Spelling

[Ovv]

After some initial back and forth with some dealers over the weekend, Im pleased to say that I've struck a deal and put down a deposit on a 60 this afternoon.

 

You'll now have to suffer my questions relating to wall boxes....