Day 41 - £540 Plus VAT?!

Well, I decided I would find out if it was possible to purchase a granny cord (see Day 38). The prompt for this is my cello lesson. See, the only regular extended journey I make is my fortnightly visit to my cello teacher in Blackwater, Wexford. However, recently I decided to up the ante and change from a fortnightly lesson to a weekly one (my cello practises have already started to improve). Anyway, each time I head down to Wexford I have to swap cars with my boyfriend. This is because the Arklow FCP has not been installed yet. And without it I was under the impression I could not make it down to my lesson.

I should clarify this. I certainly could make the journey down to Blackwater. It's the return journey that is the problem. Unfortunately, unlike petrol stations, FCPs are not yet ubiquitous in Ireland. Once they are, journeys such as this will be no more of an issue than journeys to the local supermarket. But, as early adopters we must endure a certain amount of pain in order to help promote the use of EVs. Anyway, I digress. I spoke with a fellow EV owner who lives in Wexford. He explained to me that he had done the journey from the Wexford town FCP to Blanchardstown on a single charge, and he went through Blackwater to do it! Perfect. The route that enables me to do a return trip goes through the very village my cello lesson is in! The catch is that I have to travel a little further than I need to, I have to go to Wexford town. Now, this is not ideal. But it isn't a huge way out. It would require me leaving my house a little earlier each Wednesday, but I could certainly do that. But my friend warned me that this would run the battery down to the very last bar on the battery gauge. This made me a little nervous.

This is where the granny cord comes into it. Now, I know I can't just walk up to anyone's house and ask to plug in my car. But, if I really had to charge up in an emergency, the granny cord would certainly give me that option. So I decided that it was time to purchase this safety net. So I called up a Nissan Parts shop in Belfast (as Irish Parts shops would not be allowed to seek this) and asked them if they could order me in the granny cord. I had heard from some friends that it could easily take four weeks for them to order one in. But sure enough they had one there. So I told them to hold for it for me and that I would come up this Saturday to pick it up? They only remain question was how much. Answer: £540 + VAT! I thought about it for five seconds and said "I'll take it!"

Now I am sure there are a few of you out there that think I have more money than sense. Well, you're right! But in this case I think the spend is justified. This is a minimum five year investment and this cable has just extended the range and thus use of my car. Even though I don't believe the material cost of this ca el is anywhere near €700, it is invaluable to me and thus I am willing to pay for it. I can only hope that in time these peripheral extras will come down in price!