We only have a couple of plug-in hybrids on our fleet, as electric vehicles so far has had zero take up with our drivers – call them old fashioned, dinosaurs or whatever, but none of them are over-keen on the idea of going fully electric. With them being plug-ins our drivers do occasionally use public charge points to put a few miles in them. They have noticed on a few occasions that some over enthusiastic car park wardens have noticed their cars in ‘Electric Vehicles Only’ bays, and despite a wire sticking out of the car, and connected to a charger, have decided it’s not actually an EV, and shouldn’t be parked in a EV-only bay, and tried putting a ticket on the windscreen. 

The argument the EV bay police use is the fact that the plug-ins don’t have a green strip on the number plate, so consequently it can’t possibly be an electric vehicle, and can’t park in an EV bay. I sort of understand their rationale here, despite it being completely wrong. So is it time for plug-ins to get a ‘half-green-strip’ and save some confusion?

One of our drivers recently picked up his new pride and joy from his local garage. It was parked outside the showroom, nice and clean and shiny. He got into the driver’s side ready to take it away, but noticed the fuse cover on the front seat, and the panel where it should go, missing. The salesman asked our man to open the passenger door with the key, but it didn’t work, so he opened it manually, the salesperson very quickly put the covers back on, and off he went.

Later that day he parked it up, tried locking it using the ‘plip’ but nothing was achieved with either key. He tried and tried, and finally it did lock. Ten minutes later, he tried opening it again, and again nothing, so he had to unlock it on the passenger side using the good old-fashioned key. He called the garage immediately and they asked him to take it back in the morning for a technician to look at it. During the evening he tried to lock and unlock it but nothing so opened it again with the key. He sat on his drive to familiarise himself with the controls, but struggled as everything on the screens was in French. The windscreen washers didn’t work – a good reason for this, no water in the washer tank, this car was supposed to have had a full PDI (pre-delivery inspection).

The next morning he duly went to the garage, He was asked to wait in reception, help himself to tea or coffee and it would be attended to as soon as possible, After only about thirty minutes (this is extremely good for a main dealer), a technician took the car into the workshop and after another hour, he was brought the keys. The technician explained that the keys and the car had not been synchronised, and that’s why the central locking didn’t work. He couldn’t however explain why there was no water in the washer container, and it only spoke in French; he did though quickly make it talk in English, and apologised about the problems. He said he thought it had not had a full PDI before delivery. Garages eh… you do wonder…

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