Customer experience with Carvago: Milan, Slovakia

In my first week with the Enyaq, I kept checking how much battery was left. I drove to the office, then to the shops, then home, and every time I checked the percentage. Yet I covered about sixty kilometres the whole day and could charge at home. These days I don't watch it so much. But at first I had to get used to it.

I'm fifty-eight, I live near Trenčín and we have a smaller company that does building services. I used to drive much more for work. Now a colleague has taken over some of it and I use the car differently. I just needed to get that clear before choosing the next one.

At first I automatically looked for another diesel estate. Then an acquaintance lent me his electric car so I could try it. I liked how quiet it is and how it drives around town. So I started looking at used electric cars too.

My first concern was range. I kept thinking about the long drive to our holiday, which we do a few times a year. Then I read discussion forums and joined the Facebook group Majitelé a příznivci elektromobilů CZSK. People there often advised looking mainly at how much you drive in a normal week and where you'll charge.

So I went through my recent journeys. Mostly I drive locally, and we have our own parking at the house. I agreed with an electrician where a home charger could go and what it would need.

That's how I got to the Enyaq and the Volkswagen ID.4. My budget was around thirty-three thousand euros, with a small reserve. I looked at both cars in person too, so I'd know how they felt to sit in and whether they suited us. Then I searched for a specific car online.

On Carvago I compared several offers. From the discussions I already knew that with the battery it's not enough to look only at the car's age and mileage. So I looked for a car with a certificate. The Enyaq I chose had an AVILOO certificate showing an SoH of 94 per cent. I'd expected some loss of capacity in a used car, so that result reassured me.

Then I ordered CarAudit. I wanted the rest of the car checked too. I'd read plenty about batteries, but I wouldn't have been able to judge the condition of the chassis or any accident repairs myself. I went through the report and photos, the car passed the inspection and I decided to buy it.

I got the contract documents, paid and provided the paperwork for registration. Carvago bought the car from the original seller and I bought it from Carvago in Slovakia. They took care of the import and registration.

Before the car arrived, I had a charger installed at home. So when the Enyaq was delivered, I could start using it normally straight away.

For our first longer trip, we picked a stop with charging in advance. With the diesel I never had to think about that, so it was a change for me. A normal week, though, is simple for me, because I charge at home.

Now I mainly drive to the office, around the area and at weekends. I'm still curious about winter, as I haven't been through one with it yet. For the way I drive today, it suits me so far.