The idea
To get it straight - my mother has had a tremendous influence on me in regards to my current car. She had been studying the CO2 emissions of various cars for quite some time and was given the opportunity to take over an eGolf as a company car in 2014. This was the first battery-powered car in my entire circle of family and acquaintances. She was a real pioneer. At that time, electric cars were rarely seen on German roads. So I saw how such a car performed in daily life and together with my steadily growing "green" awareness, I soon knew that my next car would no longer be a combustion engine. At that time I had my first car - a 2008 Opel Astra - just a few months. Holly did me a great service for 7 years. So I had enough time to think about how to finance an e-car. "Time will tell" was my credo. But at least I had a goal.
I started to inform myself, followed the e-car market, tested various models, had leasing offers calculated, went to the IAA. My parents even gave me a day with a Tesla for my 30th birthday.
But then it slowly became clear to me what goes into the huge batteries and how lithium is extracted and mined. I had a real shock moment during a report about the lithium deposits in the Atacama Desert and what the lithium boom means for the region there. If everyone is really going to drive around with a battery car at some point, then you need vast amounts of lithium and the environmental damage in the mining regions is unbearable.
So what now, I thought. The combustion engine is out, the battery car is out. What alternatives are there? Natural gas? That's still kind of fossil. So it's not what I really wanted. Finally, I came across fuel cell cars that run on hydrogen and produce nothing but water vapor....
First research
I was immediately fascinated. Okay, yes, there is still a battery in a fuel cell car, but it is very small and is there to constantly supply the electric motor with electricity, which is produced on board with the help of the fuel cell and hydrogen. A mobile power plant, so to speak.
I started to research and found out pretty quickly that the market was extremly small. In the summer of 2019, there were just 8 (!!!) offers on mobile.de in all of Europe!!! 2 different models were on the market at the time: Hyundai ix35fuelcell and Toyota Mirai. From these offers were just 2 used cars and even those were unaffordable. I quickly learned that hydrogen cars are extremely expensive compared to combustion cars, but also compared to BEV (battery electric vehicles).
First test drive in a Mirai
In July 2019, we visited the Toyota Mobility Loft in Mainz. The information tent was all about alternative drives and of course the Toyota Mirai was also presented there. But even better was that we were allowed to test drive the Mirai and so I sat in a fuel cell car for the first time. Basically it does not differ much from a battery car, the driving experience - no engine noise, no exhaust smell and recuperation instead of braking - is exactly the same. Of course, at the end of the day, a hydrogen car is a pure e-car.
Unfortunately we couldn't test the refueling that day because so many other people were interested in the Mirai, but I was happy and already floating on the H2 cloud.
What I already noticed at that time, however, is that the car's looks will not play a major role for me. The Mirai is really not a beauty. But with so little choice on the market, I'm happy to compromise.
Setback in Rüsselsheim
Almost exactly 1 year later, my automatic search query from mobile.de suddenly alerts and tells me that a new hydrogen car in my price category has gone online. It is an ix35fuelcell from Hyundai and the price is really good. Plus, the car is located in Rüsselsheim, which is kind of just around the corner. So I'm completely blown away and immediately call the dealer. He's quite surprised that I'm already contacting him so soon after the ad. We arrange an appointment for the following day - a Saturday.
The dealer tells me that it is his first hydrogen car and that he has no experience with this type of car. All he knows is that it was a pool car before and that it doesn't have many miles on it yet. I am totally enthusiastic about the car and we do a little test drive. During the whole hour and a half we were at the dealer, at least 3 people called who were also interested in the car. I reiterate my interest and we agreed that I should call on Monday and let them know. Then I could buy the car already on Tuesday.
Back home I could not believe my luck. I still wanted to sleep at least one night and digest my decision which should not ne rushed. Then, on Sunday, I informed the dealer by mail that I wanted to buy the car and would contact him directly on Monday. On the same day, I applied for the H2Mobility fuel card, which allows refueling at all hydrogen stations throughout Germany.
On Monday, I called the dealer at 8am and confirmed my wilingness to purchase. I was told I could sign the contract the next day. All's well that ends well? Not in my life! Shortly after that, I went back to mobile.de - I don't know why. Perhaps inspiration. In any case I discover "my car" for 5000€ more. The same advertisement with a changed price. So my boyfriend calls the dealer again to make sure that we have viewed the car for a different price and also assume accordingly this for the purchase. This was clearly denied on the phone. Shortly thereafter, I received an email in which only briefly and succinctly said that the car was already sold to another interested party.
My disappointment was infinite. I was angry about this impudence and shamelessness, hurt about the greed for money and sad about my loss.
The icing on the cake came 6 days later. Mobile.de informed me again about a new ad and tadaaaa there he was again. The SAME car with the same data and the SAME pictures, only this time not in Rüsselsheim, but somewhere in the Ruhr area and 14,000€ more expensive. I felt pure anger.
Pretty much the same day I got mail from H2Mobility with my new fuel card. Great - now I had a fuel card, but no car.
Fraud attempt
A short time later, I again became aware of an offer at mobile.de. This time a Toyota Mirai for 15,000€ which in itself sounds too good to be true. I almost fell into a fraud trap, but was able to avert it in the last minute. The plot was as follows: A Swede who has worked professionally in Germany and had an apartment and car here, wants to go back to Sweden and now sell his car. The car was already packed on a car truck somewhere near Berlin and could be brought to the desired location at any time. The purchase would be handled via ebay buyer protection, so I as a buyer would be fully secured. I could even look at the car for a few days and test it and only with my final decision the money would be finally released by ebay to the seller. In retrospect, this all sounds very strange. I identified the scam shortly after before anything worse could happen. For your information: ebay does not offer buyer protection for cars or motorcycles. As it turned out afterwards, the story with the Swede was a fraud that I could read word by word in the internet, reported by other affected people. Fascinating, but dangerous.
Déjà Vu Rüsselsheim
Shortly after the scam, I got an email from a guy from the Ruhr area (wait a minute...), who wants to sell me one of his 2 (!!!) ix35fuelcell. The first thing I ask myself is of course why someone owns 2 fuel cell cars as a private person. But even more suprising was that one of the two cars was "my" car from Rüsselsheim. It was very clear and recognizable. Again the same pictures and the same vehicle data. I really thought I was crazy! In the meantime the price had dropped from 34,500€ to 29,000€, but I would never have bought this car in my life. It must have been karma that this car was still available in mobile.de when I got mine already for months. They should choke on the greed.
Spoilt for choices
After the Mirai story and the impudent dealer in Rüsselsheim, I had enough and also felt insecure. I did not want to be pushed anymore and potentially make a wrong decision head over heels. So I let the search rest for the time being and wanted to start a new attempt after the 2-week vacation.
Shortly before the departure to Greece, however, mobile.de alerted again, this time a blue ix35fuelcell in Baden-Württemberg - private sale. I contacted the seller and we talked for quite a while. I knew right away that this man didn't want to rip me off. A real fan who wanted to sell his car. However, the price was too high for me, which I told him right away. Nevertheless, we agreed that I could take a live look at the car after the vacation and enjoy a little chit chat. I saw it more as an opportunity to talk to a like-minded person, to learn more about the car.
Just as we return from Greece, mobile.de informs me again about a new offer. Again an ix35fuelcell, in Wiesbaden - again private. The price was really good and for me for the first time really affordable without having to go to my extreme financial limits. The seller agreed to meet me the following day (a Tuesday) and show me the car. I was thrilled from the start. The car drove better than the same model from Rüsselsheim and that was no imagination. The salesman made a very uncomplicated impression and was rather surprised that an interested party got in touch so quickly for such an unusual car. We agreed that I should contact him on the weekend to see if I wanted to buy the car.
So on Saturday we went to Neckarsulm. I informed the seller that I had another offer which was much more attractive. He responded to my desired price with the words: "A hydrogen car fan is more important to me than just the pure price."
So now I was spoiled for choice. 2 offers with the same car model, similar mileage and the exact same price. The only difference was the color of the car. Blue or white. I would never have thought that ultimately the decision would depend on the color.
A done deal
I decided on the white ix35fuelcell from Wiesbaden. Since I wanted to sticker the car anyway from the beginning to draw attention to the alternative drive of my car, white was the better choice in the end and I have regretted it since then only when I drove 1000km through rain and snow and my car looked like a mess.
On October 12, 2020, the time had finally come! We drove to Wiesbaden, signed the contracts, I transferred the purchase amount directly to the buyer's account and took over the car. For that, the long wait and the setbacks had been worth it. I had fulfilled my dream. Samy and I were ready to take off together.
Oct
2020
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