I’m not angry with Renault over the battery rental. I’ve got a reasonably good rental deal. Others are not so fortunate. What’s not very clear is where we stand once the cars get to 6 years old and the lease comes to the end. It’s also not very clear how private sales of the cars will happen with a rented battery and it must affect values. I think for me it’s an anti rental thing, apart from my boat mooring where I rent a bit of the river bed from the Crown estates I don’t rent anything. I’ve always thought that rental costs you more in the long run, it allows someone to make a profit and there are the administration costs to pay. Renting the battery takes away the risk of early failure, but there are risks in everything that we do. I would be happy to take on a bit more of that risk and pay a bit less in return.

I can’t imagine they will end up with a “lot” of batteries. Few people will go to the effort of putting third party batteries in their car.

But in any case, I don’t think Renault will be upset by it. The battery is 95% recyclable and will still have some value even if not a great car battery anymore. Taking back those batteries and reusing them for other purposes (or in newer, better batteries) wouldn’t be a bad thing for them.

I’m not really sure why some people seem to be angry against Renault because of battery rental – it works out well, and we knew what we were getting (and those of us ordering recently had the option of buying).

Not very serious but it shows that the economics are not far off being able to second source a battery. It also shows that the battery tech is just about there to double the battery capacity in the same size and weight pack. It also makes the point that if it’s feasible for a second source supply of a higher capacity battery then it’s also a battery upgrade that Renault could offer us in the future. When Renualt UK have said that a car with a rented battery will always be a rented battery car, it says that as the owners of the cars a second sourced battery could allow us to give the Renault battery back at the end of the hire period.

I don’t know if this thread is just a bit of fun, but surely you guys can’t be serious? 🙂

You can’t really compare a bunch of batteries off the Internet with the real thing from the manufacturer. It’s just not feasible, surely, and not a like for like comparison.

How about comparing the cost of the battery with 60 miles of extension cable? Just drive along with the cable on a big roll behind you, laid out on the road as you drive. When you come home again, just gather up the cable – no need for batteries! Now, a 30foot cable from B&Q costs about a tenner, so how many cables would you need to avoid needing a battery?…

😉

I will enquire with my contact at sheffield to see if they know when its coming.

Side note – enjoyed at lot of 43KW charging over this week dafmeuk. 14mins, 18mins, 23mins are my charging up times to around 90%+ from lower end of battery like 2 bars etc.

After much deliberation and looking into it all. I have decided now to stick with the Older Zoe and the 43kw charging unit. – its just time for me its almost nothing to boost up and your on your way again.

All the best.

I worked it out as

10 x 4.5Ah = 45ah
10 x 44v = 440

so 440v x 45ah = 19800w

So, not only a lot lighter, only 900 quid, and as its capable of a burst of 130C, 4.5×130 = 585, be able to deliver 234kw to the engine, will be quite snappy away from the lights….

🙂

(I think the error in my calcs is that it wouldn’t be 45ah, but 4.5ah regardless of them being tied together and the above would actually be the equiv of 1 of the battery modules, your’d need 10 of those, so the cost would work out more than the standard battery, although the performance would be up, at the cost of the battery life being a lot shorter)

drlear: Renault can switch your Zoe off if they feel like it.

mgjackson: Maybe the software in the ‘batteries included’ car has the code to disable the battery removed.

Renault have said that communications with the car are not used for this purpose.

OFFICIAL: #Renault EV batteries DO NOT come w/ #DRM restrictions.They're equipped w/ a TelCo Unit for maintenance & management purposes ONLY

— Renault (@Renault_Live) November 15, 2013

I believe them. I suspect they’ll deal with non-payment of battery rental the same way they do with finance, and go via the normal repo route. What good does stopping you driving it do; they’re still down a £6k battery.

I pay £70pcm for around 7K miles – you mention £63pcm for 10K miles – seems a much better deal than mine. Maybe the lease terms will get better as batteries become cheaper?

The prices came down recently (Jan?) and are lower in the latest brochure.

I don’t think there’s huge value in buying the battery from a leased battery; it’ll be old after your 4 years; and you’re not going to save it’s value by not paying battery rental; the battery will be screwed before you’ve paid £6k in rental (at £57/mo, that’s gonna be close to 10 years). I don’t think the option for buying was designed to be good value; I think it was really just a gesture for people who were against the idea of renting (both consumers, and leasing companies).

Given what happens when people put third party batteries in mobile phones; do you really want to put a battery in that wasn’t designed for the car? :/