riazarbi

Deal with Candice.

I bought my 16 x 280AH + Apex BMS on Friday, Worked out about R35000 for it all. Just waiting for the SWIFT to be cleared then getting it collected, +- R1200 from Courier Guy to get it to Cape Town.

081 794 8465
[email protected]
https://apexium.en.alibaba.com/

They contacted me back after I've sent them a DM on alibaba a couple of months ago.

People try to DIY things for a host of reasons - sometimes cost doesn't come into it, you just DIY something to learn and to see how something works for yourself. Or, maybe you want something that you simply can't get otherwise. 
If you are simply comparing the cost, time, and effort involved in getting a modern vehicle on a par with an EV you can buy off the showroom floor, there is no question that you are better off buying one. You might be able to build one cheaper, but you certainly won't have any of the benefit of a large multinational corporation providing warranty support and replacement parts if something breaks. 
So why would a rational person convert an EV?
Some reasons I have encountered on forums:
1. A technical drive to reverse engineer an OEM system and liberate the components ('hacker ethos') - see openinverter.org
2. A desire to modernise an otherwise irreplaceable vehicle (sentimental or otherwise) - see electricclassiccars on YouTube 
3. To develop for a niche application that the market doesn't serve yet  - electric game viewing vehicles come to mind
 
 

Not documenting anywhere yet, PsyCLown, as I view it as a jinx to create forum threads about EV conversions - so many forums are littered with good intentions and no results. 
 
That said, I am keeping notes, and will happily post them once I actually have something to show for my efforts. For what it's worth, I am going the route of using salvaged EV components from the EU and open sourced controller hardware. I have bought all the components except the BMS and cells, which I must still figure out. 
 
At present my components are sitting in a shippers office in Germany until I get a permit from ITAC (a South African govt agency) to allow me to bring in used goods. Once (if) I get that permit the shippers will ship via sea to Cape Town. 
 
In terms of difficulty, I'd say that I am finding shipping and customs clearance as difficult as actually doing the conversion. It is really, really hard and expensive to get EV parties into SA. In terms of costs, shipping is probably 40% of the total cost thus far - EV bits in other countries are cheap!