“It’s only been positives” – Laura’s move to electric driving with Tusker

Laura Dunsmoir, Central Buildings Housekeeping Manager, was already considering making the switch to an electric car when she first heard about Center Parcs’ salary sacrifice car scheme with Tusker. 

Having previously driven a petrol car before moving to a hybrid, Laura wasn’t quite ready to go fully electric at first. But when the opportunity came along through Tusker, the timing felt right.

“Before the car I got through Tusker I went from a petrol car to a hybrid, thinking I wasn’t quite ready to take that step to full electric.”

The car Laura had her eye on was the BYD SEAL, a model she’d already researched and considered before joining the scheme.

“It was a car I’d already looked at in the past.”

Alongside the appeal of driving an electric car, Laura felt the move aligned closely with Center Parcs’ environmental ambitions.

“With it being fully electric, it runs in line with the ethos of our company as well. We’re all trying to do as much for the environment as we can.”

Why Laura chose Tusker’s salary sacrifice electric car scheme

While the electric car itself was a major factor, Laura says it was the all-inclusive nature of the scheme that really stood out.

With insurance, servicing, maintenance, MOTs and tyres included, she felt there was far less to think about compared to arranging everything separately.

“There’s not a lot you need to worry about. The insurance is sorted out, MOTs, servicing, tyres – so much of it’s included.”

“It takes that weight off your mind and having to sort that all out yourself when you get a new car.”

For Laura, knowing that most of the key motoring essentials were already taken care of made the decision much easier.

“Basically, all you’re doing is putting fluids in it really and the energy that it needs.”

Using an electric car for a daily commute

Laura uses her BYD SEAL for work and faces a substantial daily commute; two hours in total. She also shares her commute with a colleague who has joined the salary sacrifice scheme too, helping reduce the number of cars travelling to work.

“Funnily enough, the person I car share with has also got a car through the salary sacrifice scheme. They went for the Suzuki Vitara.”

Together, they’ve been able to plan their annual mileage around sharing journeys.

“We were able to do our mileage based on the fact that we were going to take it in turns to travel in.”

For Laura, it’s another way to reduce environmental impact while still making the most of her electric car.

Easy charging and support with home charger installation

One of the benefits that attracted Laura to the scheme was the option to have a home charger installed for free, which saved her thousands of pounds in comparison to getting this done herself.

“We had the option of getting the free charger installed at home, which is a massive thing.”

Although her charger installation is still being arranged, Laura says charging has been straightforward from day one.

Laura has lots of fast charging points available at a good value and receives all kinds of deals on the different supplier apps. In the meantime, she’s been making use of these public charging points and plugging in at home through a standard outdoor socket.

“If I give it a full charge, then every time I’m coming back from work, I just need to plug it in.”

She says this has been more than enough to keep her topped up for her daily journeys.

Finding and ordering the perfect car through Tusker

Laura found the ordering process simple from start to finish.

“Really, really easy. Almost too easy.”, she jokes. 

She particularly appreciated the regular communication and updates throughout the journey.

“The updates have been really great. Not only could you go on the website to see the most recent updates, but the marketing team would also ping you an email to let you know when that’d happened.”

The experience became even easier when she discovered that her dream EV was already available on the stock page. 

“It just so happened the exact car I was looking for was in stock, it’s what I would’ve chosen anyway!”

Having already test-drove the car at her local dealership and researched the model, specification and colour she wanted, the decision was straightforward.

“It was a no-brainer to go for that stock car.”

Life in the BYD SEAL

Having already experienced hybrid driving, Laura found the move to a fully electric surprisingly seamless.

“It’s probably the same kind of feel as my previous hybrid, if not smoother.”

While she’s still relatively new to the car, her experience so far has been overwhelmingly positive.

“At the moment, I know I haven’t had it that long, but I’ve found no negatives about it at all. It’s only been positives!” she expressed.

Why Laura would recommend Tusker to others

Laura says she would happily recommend Tusker to friends, family and colleagues.

For her, the combination of a straightforward process, regular communication, a wide choice of makes and models and an all-inclusive package creates a really positive experience.

“Absolutely, for all the reasons I’ve said. It was a really easy process from start to finish; I loved getting the regular updates and the variety on there’s really good.”

Laura also believes the scheme offers excellent value when you consider everything that’s included.

“The monthly amount taken from your salary for all the cars available are really great considering all the benefits that you get with it.”

As an employee benefit, she feels the scheme is a fantastic addition to Center Parcs’ already strong benefits package.

“It’s been a really good opportunity to have, and we’re really excited about having the Tusker scheme at Center Parcs.”

“We have a lot of benefits here, but this is another brilliant one to have.”

Are you on the look out for your dream EV? Looking to add a salary sacrifice car scheme to your benefits package? Learn more about Tusker’s salary sacrifice scheme.