Seething and downright angry

[sapphireblack]

So yesterday was finally the day for replacement of the damaged trim from the airbag recall. In fairness, Arden BMW never argued or disputed my claim. Its probably cost them a few bob too. It's also taken an age to happen as the centre console trim was a special/back order. The console side trims with the knee pads are a definte matched pair, unlike the originals. The car now looks as it should again, though its begging for a full attention valet (by me) but it's too cold for that.

I'm pleased i didnt undertake the gearstick trim replacement myself. Apparently its an SoB to do, requires the battery disconnected and coding to the car upon completion .

[X5Sport]

Glad it’s sorted. Replacing anything near the electrics is a mare! On one of the i4 forums, someone wanted to replace the shifter, got the power down sequence slightly wrong snd bricked the car. Cost several thousand dollars to resolve - not covered by warranty!

[sapphireblack]

Talking of electric, it was hard to ignore the very shiny black i5 in the showroom,. Just £111, 455, but on the road though !

Bonkers with only a 256 miles range

[X5Sport]

It’s going to be a little while before the range comes up to where it matches ICE power. My M50 is showing 250 in this cold weather, down from 306 in the summer. If I was ordering the i4 today then I couldn’t afford it any longer. The marketing also hides that this range is at 100% charge. But, and it’s a big but, you should operate the battery between 20% and 80% of max charge. That’s effectively reducing your real world range by 40%. Funny no one seems to mention that in the sales blurb. Those figures are the same for all EVs.

On the other hand, going electric has now saved me well over £2,500 in fuel costs, including what it costs to charge.

[sapphireblack]

I remain sceptical about viability. It simply wouldnt work for me. A vehicle i can't just jump in and drive to the Midlands or futher is not for me.

And, as i have noted previously, getting the charger hooked into my home would be a major hassle, if even possible.

How would residents of the many Victorian terraces deal with this?

[Greydog]

If the National Grid is under pressure when we all plug in the kettle at half time for big sporting events what will happen when half the population plug their cars in after work ??
Just about the whole of the national grid will need upgrading plus how do you increase output from a wind farm to meet demand spikes

At my age the X5's will see out my driving years, it's our children and grand children that will sadly bear the brunt/cost for all the upgrades. I still smile when I drive past our local train station and see an EV's plugged in at the charging points? Have the owners plugged it in and jumped on a train to work

[sapphireblack]

I have said here previously. My X6 is the last car in my lifetime aside from some sort of mobility transport, if i were to need it. So EVs don't interest me.

I dont know what VED is on the i5 i saw but at well over 2 tonnes, it should be what my X6 is but doubt it is. I wonder at the logic of EVs paying litte but as heavier cars they will wear road surfaces more quickly? I traversed some once familiar roads only yesterday and a mini roundabout is lost in a sea of holes, surface degradation, and no longer visible as a roundabout. Plenty of that sort of thing countrywide i know. The UK seems destined for the abyss.

We give millions in aid to deserving causes like Ukraine but out homeland is not excctly in good shape. NHS in rapid decline, more strikes from various quarters doesnt inspire or induce a smile. I too fear for the following generations.

[X5Sport]

VED is currently £0 until 2025. Then it’s going to be £10 for the first year and then £165 from 2026, rising with inflation. That means mine will be taxed from then, as will all EVs registered between 2017 & 2025 when the new changes come into force. New ones will also attract the premium for cars costing over £40k new. EVs get charged £520/yr for the first 5 years after registration from 2025 (£0 again for EVs at present).

Current battery technology is heavy, with my M50 weighing about 120kgs more than my X6. The battery weighs almost 500kgs, but the car is still significantly faster off the blocks - about 3.2 seconds quicker to 62mph - well it is an M car (ish). I think we’ll see 500+ mile ranges within ten years once solid-state batteries come on line.

[sapphireblack]

Interesting reading. Nil VED must be a nice experience but forgive me, i think that is grossly unfair on others obliged to run a fossil fuel car/van. The same road usage should demand the same fee. VED is spectacularly unfair anyway, of course.. Why should a sub 5k miles motorist pay the same as a 10-15k high mileage owner. I am aware you have that scenario too.

I am on the downward slope of life now, given my familty history i'm pretty sure i wont be here (or anywhere else) in ten years time. Hence why EVs are of no interest. I said here very recently the X6 is my last car, aside from the recent flirtation with the Mini/Fiat 500 thoughts

There could be more flirtations in the future but the X6 will doubtless prevail, barring unforeseen and weird circumstaces. For sure EVs wont becomec a part of my life for numerous reasons.

[sapphireblack]

An addendum on the damaged interior trim

So yesterday was finally the day for replacement of the damaged trim from the airbag recall. In fairness, Arden BMW never argued or disputed my claim. Its probably cost them a few bob too. It's also taken an age to happen as the centre console trim was a special/back order. The console side trims with the knee pads are a definte matched pair, unlike the originals. The car now looks as it should again, though its begging for a full attention valet (by me) but it's too cold for that.

I'm pleased i didnt undertake the gearstick trim replacement myself. Apparently its an SoB to do, requires the battery disconnected and coding to the car upon completiont.

As a final footnote, i had a lunchtime meet with the once service manager at this dealership a few fays ago. He told me that if the car needed any coding after the trim replacement, then they almost certainly didn't replace just the plastic trim on the gear selector. He suggested that for ease they will have replaced the complete module. Hence coding was needed

So, with the side trim decor strips on the console and this module, I'd love to know the costs incurred, all because of some carelessness that could have been avoided. The modules pre-owned seem to be £2-300.00! What a rather expensive and costly repair this must have been, even at trade prices.

[X5Sport]

That’ll teach them.

Someone on the i4 forum tried to replace their shifter (looked the same as the E71 until March ‘23) with the newer version like this in mine:

IMG_1438.jpeg (172.58 KiB) Viewed 2061 times

and bricked the car. It was only a couple of plugs that needed moving as the shift switch works the same, but there’s a very specific procedure that powers down both the 470V and 12V systems. They didn’t do it correctly. The bill was $thousands and no warranty cover either.

[sapphireblack]

Ouch. Even more restricted access to would be tinkerers.