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Living with a non-Tesla Electric Car (EV) in HK

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  1. #41

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    Quote Originally Posted by emx:
    My 2nd hand e-Golf just clocked 60,000km since I purchased it in Dec 2016. It is a well made little car and if your daily journeys are less than 100km, it is fine.

    Official VW service was torturous at the best of times, but hopefully this will change with the new VW franchise owner this year.

    I am looking at either a Kia e-Niro or Hyundai Kona EV to replace my e-Golf later this year, as the insurance is almost on par with its petrol equivalent.

    Tesla have great tech, but their build quality is still sub par when compared to the Germans, Japanese or Korean manufactures and the insurance for a Teslas in HK is insane.

    I might be interested in the ID 3 if the price is comparable to what is quoted in Europe, but VW has a lot of software issues with the ID 3 at the moment, which may delay the Europe delivery time estimates.

    https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-mode...utionary-tale/
    what issues do you have with VW servicing apart from the price, I used to go to Tsuen Wan service centre and they were fine, even gave away free large umbrellas on rainy days, the fact that Tsuen Wan service centre opens at 8am and once you drop off the car, they offer shuttle bus to/from tsing yi, means that you can get to work at central/wan chai/cwb by 9.10am which is excellent service, by comparsion.

    any servicing issues with your e-golf, my 2013 vw golf has done around 90k km, no issues so far in recent times, i presume i will keep it another 3 years.

  2. #42

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    Quote Originally Posted by imparanoic:
    what issues do you have with VW servicing apart from the price, I used to go to Tsuen Wan service centre and they were fine, even gave away free large umbrellas on rainy days, the fact that Tsuen Wan service centre opens at 8am and once you drop off the car, they offer shuttle bus to/from tsing yi, means that you can get to work at central/wan chai/cwb by 9.10am which is excellent service, by comparsion.

    any servicing issues with your e-golf, my 2013 vw golf has done around 90k km, no issues so far in recent times, i presume i will keep it another 3 years.
    The service issues came from the staff not understanding what an electric car is, they would still force you to pay for an official service every 5,000km to maintain the warranty, when nothing needed servicing!

    I had 2 issues that caused me some grief, none of which were linked to the EV part of the Golf.

    The 1st issue electronic handbrake was stuck on after I came back from a long period away and I could not move the car, service wanted to charge me for replacing parts "I had damaged by using the handbrake"! I said it was a new German car under warranty and it designed to be parked outside in any weather with the handbrake on! After a huge verbal outburst from me (crazy white guy play), they agreed to fix the handbrake issue under warranty.

    The 2nd issue was the fuel filler door (which is used to house the EV charge socket) would not open, I drove it into service and was made to wait 4 hours while "they were working on it", the problem is I was sitting right next to my car the whole time, and they did not even touch it, let alone fix the problem, then it was another week of lost time while they waited for parts. They could have just said leave the car here for a week instead of wasting my afternoon.

    After these 2 tedious experiences I did not bother even taking it back to VW again, anything else that needed fixing I sourced the parts myself and had my regular mechanic in Tai Po fit the parts for me.

    I truly hope the new VW franchisee has a better understanding of what an electric car is and what it doesn't need. At least Hyundai and Kia seem to understand this better, their service intervals are set at 15,000km or 12 months to maintain the warranty.
    shri, imparanoic, jack55 and 1 others like this.

  3. #43

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    Quote Originally Posted by emx:
    The service issues came from the staff not understanding what an electric car is, they would still force you to pay for an official service every 5,000km to maintain the warranty, when nothing needed servicing!

    I had 2 issues that caused me some grief, none of which were linked to the EV part of the Golf.

    The 1st issue electronic handbrake was stuck on after I came back from a long period away and I could not move the car, service wanted to charge me for replacing parts "I had damaged by using the handbrake"! I said it was a new German car under warranty and it designed to be parked outside in any weather with the handbrake on! After a huge verbal outburst from me (crazy white guy play), they agreed to fix the handbrake issue under warranty.

    The 2nd issue was the fuel filler door (which is used to house the EV charge socket) would not open, I drove it into service and was made to wait 4 hours while "they were working on it", the problem is I was sitting right next to my car the whole time, and they did not even touch it, let alone to fix the problem, that was another week of lost time while they waited for parts. They could have just said leave the car here for a week instead of wasting my afternoon.

    After these 2 tedious experiences I did not bother even taking it back to VW again, anything else that needed fixing I sourced the parts myself and had my regular mechanic in Tai Po fit the parts for me.

    I truly hope the new VW franchisee has a better understanding of what an electric car is and what it doesn't need. At least Hyundai and Kia seem to understand this better, their service intervals are set at 15,000km or 12 months to maintain the warranty.
    the fuel door sensor is common problem on all vw, but you don't need vw service centre to repair it, my local third party garage (who sources himself, but he can't speak english, however he is super honest and trustworthy, me and my wife owned 3 cars since 2007, he has serviced them yearly, toyota yaris, ford focus mk2 and now vw golf) in sheung shui has repaired it for HK$1100 inclusive with original new vw parts, apparently the sensor gets damaged over time and it get stuck, now replaced last year no issues.
    emx likes this.

  4. #44

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    Quote Originally Posted by emx:
    At least Hyundai and Kia seem to understand this better, their service intervals are set at 15,000km or 12 months to maintain the warranty.
    Good to know - thanks for that. Their "under warranty" servicing requirements are horrible for their regular cars (back in 2010 ...).
    emx and imparanoic like this.

  5. #45

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    Bit off topic but I'm really curious as to who determines the 5000km/6 month service interval.

    I mean it is clearly either a deliberate rip-off which also has environmental consequences through excessive oil, fluid and parts changes (in which case head office really should intervene and set the terms of the franchise agreement), or it is an admission that the Germans can't build a car that can cope with heat, humidity and hills (seems unlikely to be true within the warranty period, although long term it clearly does kill components).

    However not understanding different drivetrains is an issue I also had in London with a hybrid 5 series. I literally had to print out the service schedule and some key safety recalls sourced from a BMW tech who was posting on a US forum as it was unavailable to the dealer who sold me the car, or they simply had no idea how to find it despite BS about "checking with Germany".

    emx likes this.

  6. #46

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    Jan 2013
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peaky:
    Bit off topic but I'm really curious as to who determines the 5000km/6 month service interval.

    I mean it is clearly either a deliberate rip-off which also has environmental consequences through excessive oil, fluid and parts changes (in which case head office really should intervene and set the terms of the franchise agreement), or it is an admission that the Germans can't build a car that can cope with heat, humidity and hills (seems unlikely to be true within the warranty period, although long term it clearly does kill components).

    However not understanding different drivetrains is an issue I also had in London with a hybrid 5 series. I literally had to print out the service schedule and some key safety recalls sourced from a BMW tech who was posting on a US forum as it was unavailable to the dealer who sold me the car, or they simply had no idea how to find it despite BS about "checking with Germany".
    Yes, in the US they used to say 3000 miles (though not enforced by warranty, just service shops willing to rip you off.). Then I think they bumped it to 5000 miles. Just think about it, all these years of technological advancements in cars, and the service interval is always the same. Also, if you use synthetic oils like european cars (at least the ones that I had), it should be every year, although it costs more. It's total BS and an easy way to generate revenue for dealers.

  7. #47

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    Overview of virtually every EV in the market.

    https://youtu.be/Sq8oa_6uhBk

    emx and imparanoic like this.

  8. #48

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    Half way through watching this interview with a Chinese EV manufacturer... About their new car Xpeng P7


    https://youtu.be/JT6Nc1t_whA


  9. #49

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    Quote Originally Posted by Skyhook:
    @emx is your man, as he has a E Golf and can tell you all about what it's like to live with one.

    My next car will be electric, I am waiting to see what these new VW's EV range is like, before I pull the trigger and just get a TESLA Model 3, as I don't need or want a LARGE car.

    I think for HK, the Golf/Model 3 size is sensible for most peoples needs IMHO.
    I'm seriously considering getting a new Model 3.
    The great thing is that you can completely waive your tax for the one-for-one scheme. But you'd have to find an agent that helps you find an old car owner to scrap the old car, then you pay for the new Model 3 and transfer names on the same day at Tesla. I think the agent charges like 15k. So if your model 3 is $330k, your total would be under $350k. You'd be driving a new car but considered as a 2nd car owner after the old car owner transfers his name to you. But still you're saving around $100k in tax.

  10. #50

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    Quote Originally Posted by greentealatte:
    I'm seriously considering getting a new Model 3.
    The great thing is that you can completely waive your tax for the one-for-one scheme. But you'd have to find an agent that helps you find an old car owner to scrap the old car, then you pay for the new Model 3 and transfer names on the same day at Tesla. I think the agent charges like 15k. So if your model 3 is $330k, your total would be under $350k. You'd be driving a new car but considered as a 2nd car owner after the old car owner transfers his name to you. But still you're saving around $100k in tax.
    Where do you plan to charge the car?

    Supercharging is not free for the Model 3.

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