# clive.help

> Independent advice for UK drivers about switching to an electric car: is it right for me, and what would it really cost?

Clive is a friendly older mechanic who isn't selling you a car. Every answer comes with its reasons and its working, in plain words, with British spelling, pounds and miles. Clive says "not yet" when that's the truth. Nothing on the site is paid for today. If a partner ever pays a fee, rankings stay by total cost to the reader, never by fee, and the paid link says what we earn.

## Tools
- [Am I ready for an EV? Clive's two-minute check](https://clive.help/ready): Six questions about where you park, how far you drive and what your car has to carry. A verdict, the reasons, and the working.
- [No driveway?](https://clive.help/no-driveway): Yes for many UK drivers, if chargers are a short walk from home or at work. What a mile costs against a driveway, the weekly routine, and when to wait.
- [What would it cost me?](https://clive.help/running-costs): Charged at home at night, an EV costs about £200 a year less than a petrol car once tax, insurance, servicing and lost value are in. On rapids it's dearer.
- [What would it cost me?](https://clive.help/home-tariffs): EDF, Octopus and E.ON have the cheapest EV tariffs at 6.99p to 8.5p a kWh off-peak. The rates, the hours, the day-rate catch, and which to pick for you.
- [What would an EV really cost me?](https://clive.help/costs): Your car against three EVs over three or five years: value lost or payments, fuel, road tax, insurance and servicing, with local prices and every sum shown.

## Guides
- [Public vs home EV charging cost per mile, UK 2026](https://clive.help/no-driveway/public-vs-home-charging-cost): Home off-peak charging costs about 2p a mile, a lamppost charger 11p to 19p, a rapid 23p. The price per kWh for each, the sums, and how to cut the bill.
- [EV charging routine for a terraced house, no driveway](https://clive.help/no-driveway/terraced-house-weekly-routine): A week of EV charging from a terraced street: one overnight lamppost charge, a top-up at the shop, a rapid when it runs long. What it costs and takes.
- [How to ask your employer for EV charging at work](https://clive.help/no-driveway/charging-at-work-how-to-ask): Employers get 75% of the cost of workplace chargers back, up to £500 a socket, until March 2027. What to ask for, what it costs them, and an email to copy.
- [Cross-pavement EV charging channels: rules and cost](https://clive.help/no-driveway/cross-pavement-cable-channels): A channel cut in the pavement lets you charge at home rates without a driveway. Council permission, the £500 grant, £1,300 to £2,300 fitted, and who can't.
- [Lamppost and on-street EV chargers by council](https://clive.help/no-driveway/lamppost-and-on-street-chargers-by-council): Only 39% of UK councils have on-street chargers, and most of those are in London. The ones with the most, the 39p to 66p a kWh they cost, and how to ask.
- [Cheapest public EV charging networks in the UK](https://clive.help/no-driveway/cheapest-public-charging-networks): MFG at 59p and Tesla at 63p a kWh are the cheapest rapid networks by card, and InstaVolt is 55p after 8pm on its app. Every big name ranked per mile.
- [Can you charge an EV at a supermarket for free?](https://clive.help/no-driveway/free-supermarket-charging): Free supermarket charging is nearly gone: a few Aldi, Asda and Sainsbury's posts. The rest cost 40p to 90p a kWh, and what a weekly shop adds in miles.
- [Is weekly rapid charging bad for an EV battery?](https://clive.help/no-driveway/rapid-charging-once-a-week-battery): Weekly rapid charging costs about half to one percent of battery a year, not the range people fear. The fleet data, the 80% rule, heat and the warranty.
- [How much does it cost to charge an EV at home? UK 2026](https://clive.help/running-costs/how-much-to-charge-an-ev-at-home): A full charge at home costs £3 to £7 on an EV tariff and £10 to £21 on the price cap, by battery size. The cost per mile, a year's charging, and solar.
- [EV road tax 2026/27: what electric cars pay in VED](https://clive.help/running-costs/ev-road-tax): Electric cars pay road tax: £10 in the first year, then £200 a year, plus £440 a year for five years if the list price is over £50,000. The five-year sums.
- [Vauxhall Corsa Electric vs petrol Corsa running costs](https://clive.help/running-costs/corsa-electric-vs-corsa-running-costs): The electric Corsa saves £1,000 a year on fuel, then loses more than that in value at list price. Each line at 8,000 miles, and the discount that flips it.
- [MG4 vs Ford Focus running costs compared, UK 2026](https://clive.help/running-costs/mg4-vs-ford-focus-running-costs): The MG4 against a petrol Focus, line by line at 8,000 miles a year: electricity or fuel, tax, insurance, servicing and what each loses in value.
- [Renault 5 E-Tech vs Clio running costs compared, UK 2026](https://clive.help/running-costs/renault-5-vs-clio-running-costs): A Renault 5 charged at home costs £4,980 a year against £5,910 for a petrol Clio at 8,000 miles. Fuel, tax, insurance, servicing and lost value.
- [Tesla Model 3 vs BMW 3 Series running costs, UK 2026](https://clive.help/running-costs/tesla-model-3-vs-bmw-3-series-running-costs): A Model 3 against a petrol 320i at 8,000 miles a year, line by line: electricity or fuel, tax and the £50,000 supplement, insurance, servicing, lost value.
- [Peugeot e-208 vs petrol 208 running costs, UK 2026](https://clive.help/running-costs/peugeot-e-208-vs-208-running-costs): The e-208 saves £940 a year on fuel and loses £3,200 a year more in value at list price, so the petrol 208 wins by £2,300 unless you buy at the discount.
- [VW ID.3 vs Golf running costs compared, UK 2026](https://clive.help/running-costs/vw-id3-vs-golf-running-costs): The ID.3 against a petrol Golf, line by line at 8,000 miles a year: electricity or fuel, tax, insurance, servicing and what each loses in value.
- [Hyundai Kona Electric vs petrol Kona running costs, 2026](https://clive.help/running-costs/hyundai-kona-electric-vs-kona-running-costs): The Kona Electric costs about £600 a year less to run than the petrol Kona at 8,000 miles, if it charges at home overnight. Every line, and where it flips.
- [EV servicing costs explained: what you pay and why, UK 2026](https://clive.help/running-costs/ev-servicing-costs): An EV service is £70 to £130 a year against £170 to £250 for petrol, on published plans. What the garage does, the intervals, tyres, brakes and the traps.
- [Is an electric car more expensive to insure? UK 2026](https://clive.help/running-costs/ev-insurance-cost): Not on average: 2026 quotes put an EV at £607 a year against £733 for petrol. Why repairs cost more, the cheapest EVs to cover, and how to cut the premium.
- [EV depreciation: how much value electric cars lose](https://clive.help/running-costs/ev-depreciation): EVs lose 38 to 42% in three years against 35 to 40% for petrol, and used prices are rising after a 40-month fall. Which hold up, and how to limit it.
- [Second-hand EV vs new petrol car: total cost over 5 years](https://clive.help/running-costs/second-hand-ev-vs-new-petrol-five-years): A three-year-old MG4 at £13,149 against a new Kia Ceed at £23,795 over five years: about £13,700 against £27,700 all in, and the used EV wins from day one.
- [Home EV charger installation cost, UK 2026](https://clive.help/running-costs/home-charger-installation-cost): A 7kW home charger is £950 to £1,150 fitted in 2026, more with a long cable run or an old fuse box. The prices, the £500 grants, and whether you need one.
- [Do you need a smart meter for an EV tariff? UK 2026](https://clive.help/home-tariffs/do-you-need-a-smart-meter-for-an-ev-tariff): Every EV tariff needs a smart meter sending half-hourly readings. Which meters count, how to get one free, how long it takes, and what to do meanwhile.
- [Octopus Intelligent Go vs Agile vs Go for EV charging](https://clive.help/home-tariffs/octopus-intelligent-go-vs-agile-vs-go): Intelligent Go at 8p overnight suits most EV drivers, Go is the fallback without a compatible car, and Agile only wins if you can chase half-hourly prices.
- [How to schedule off-peak EV charging at home, step by step](https://clive.help/home-tariffs/how-to-schedule-off-peak-charging): Set the car or the charger to start off-peak, tell a smart tariff when you need the car, and check the app once. Steps for the main cars and chargers.
- [Solar panels and EV charging: is it worth it? UK 2026](https://clive.help/home-tariffs/solar-panels-and-ev-charging): Panels pay through the house, not the car: export at 12p and charge at 8p overnight beats charging off the roof. When solar charging wins, and the kit.
- [Heat pump and EV on the same tariff: which one to pick](https://clive.help/home-tariffs/heat-pump-and-ev-on-one-tariff): A house with both wants a cheap window the heat pump can use too. Octopus Go and Cosy, British Gas and E.ON compared, with the sums for car and heating.

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