BMW electric vehicles

[Kevin]

A few other people here have mentioned having BMW’s. Mine is a 2022 430i. Until today I haven’t had to pay for oil changes. They come with the car for 3 years. Or once per year or every 10,000 miles. My car has 34,000 miles.

But the loaner car! I asked for a 5 Series car for a loaner, because we’ve wanted something bigger. So they loaned me a 530i all Electric EV.

Wow! What an amazing car. I’m so excited because I’ve never driven an electric car before. All in all I drove about 75 miles. It has an assisted driving feature. Set the cruise control, how close you want to be to the car ahead and lightly hold the steering wheel. It does the rest. To change lanes use the turn signal stalk.

Lots and lots of tech and electronics. So it’s probably not for @Johnnu2 sorry my friend.

But the ride quality is superb. Smooth and still somewhat sporty. The 0-60 mph is around 4 seconds. (A Turbo Porsche is 2.7 seconds)

I watched a review on YouTube. The guy pointed out, these electric BMW’s don’t look like “regular” electric cars. Like Tesla or Rivian or Lucid.

The range is just a bit over 300 miles. But charging 10% to 80% only takes 30 minutes.

From what I read the remaining 20% is painfully slow to charge. I’m not sure why. Apparently that’s the case with most EV’s.

I’m not sure about the future, but everyday I see more and more electric vehicles. They are everywhere around Dallas.

Here are some pictures.

 

[Kevin]

They seem to have done away with physical buttons. I don’t there there were any in the car. Well the volume knob was a rotating wheel of sorts. It’s in one of the pictures.

 

[NC FNS]

There are some real nice cars out there nowadays. But I can’t help but think that now they can implement planned obsolescence from afar via software updates!
It will be interesting to see how the EV market fares now that the tax credit is going away. I feel it’s almost good enough to stand on it’s own, but we shall see.

 

[s4s4u]

Nope! There are so many layers as to why. But, nope! Not for me

 

[Kevin]

Nope! There are so many layers as to why. But, nope! Not for me

Unfortunately I can't buy one now. Our garage has my wife's car in it, and I don't think such a nice car should be parked out on the street. Perhaps in a few years when we move.

It was just such a new experience for me. The assisted driving feature took a lot of trust. I had my foot very close to the brake pedal the whole time.

 

[Kevin]

There are some real nice cars out there nowadays. But I can't help but think that now they can implement planned obsolescence from afar via software updates!
It will be interesting to see how the EV market fares now that the tax credit is going away. I feel it's almost good enough to stand on it's own, but we shall see.

I think you're right. That tax credit was a big deal.

I did read somewhere, that last year 15% of BMW car sales were from electric vehicles. They are giving a free home charger and 2 years of a subscription to some charging company. You still pay the electricity, it's just a membership fee that's covered.

 

[GasGuzzler]

I have a Blazer EV in right now for it's 8th warranty visit in its first year. No, I have only worked on it twice for different reasons.

No thanks. Keep your EVs.

GM is offering a lease on Sierra EV that equates to $230 or so a month. That's how hard these things are to get rid of.

 

[t-reg]

I have a Blazer EV in right now for it's 8th warranty visit in its first year. No, I have only worked on it twice for different reasons.

No thanks. Keep your EVs.

GM is offering a lease on Sierra EV that equates to $230 or so a month. That's how hard these things are to get rid of.

User name is bad karma with EV

 

[XUSNORDIE]

I'm curious as to who the target market is for these EV's? I used to think just city commuters worried about the ozone and opposed to the consumption of meat....but now you see EV trucks/SUV types with off road packages.

I don't know. I just need to hear my vehicle and smell gas. It's comforting to me in a way. All this new tech is mind boggling. I'm way too simple for it all. Heck I'm looking at retirement very soon. Can't wait to get rid of my 2022 Malibu Sport and find an older truck. My 2019 truck had too much gizmo. It died at 108K. I have my eye on a 2014 Chevy Silverado 2500 with LS trim. Heck even LS is fancy to me. LS is between WT and LT. I'd be fine with just WT. It's a truck after all.

 

[Johnny-Baseball]

Owned many BMWs over the years. First was a new 1992 750iL. Incredibly fast, and very luxurious. And its resale value dropped like a rock. Same MO for all of the other BMWs I owned/own - 1994 M3, 1996 740iL, 1997 740i, 2004 540i, 2008 550i and a 2011 328i.

One thing that BMW ownership taught me - the selling BMW dealership ties a rubber band to the rear bumper of their new BMWs. Every three or four months that rubber band pulls the car back into the dealership's service bay.

Kevin, you probably service your car at Sewell BMW in Plano (previously known as Classic BMW, and owned by Kevin Maas until 2021). Sewell's service is outstanding - beyond belief, in fact - but the price they charge for that service is likewise beyond belief. The brake job my son and I did on my bride's 3 series in our garage ($550 for rotors and pads on all 4 corners) would have cost $1,300 per Sewell's quoted estimate. NFW.

My bride drives a 2011 328i. It's been driven 34,000. Not a dent or ding on it. [For you who say, "At 34,000 miles you shouldn't need a brake job", I respond, "You've never ridden with my wife."

 

[Kevin]

Interesting comments,

I don’t know who the target market is for EV’s either. Probably people who have somewhat short commutes and doesn’t take long trips.

If I had the garage space I would have an EV.

And yes it was Sewell. This is my third car from them. (One Lexus and one GMC)

By comparison we test drove a Ford Bronco from 5 Star Ford. My wife nor I cannot stand to deal with car dealerships who might not lie, but avoid the truth and will stretch facts and try to cheat. That was the dealer at 5 Star Ford.

I want to go in, be recognized, and treated like a decent person. Not some Joe Schmoe customer.

And to be fair, in the 3 1/2 years we’ve had this car, I’ve bought one set of tires and one oil change. Pretty good I think.

 

[Mobuck]

A couple of basic thoughts:
A 'loner car' for an oil change???????????????
A vehicle with a 300 mile range followed by a 30+ minute waiting period????????????????????

 

[txramfan]

My brother in law use to have an electric BMW , not sure of the model. He really liked it.

I found it odd for a guy who retired from Chevron to prefer to keep his utility in business and not the company or the industry he chose for a career.

 

[Kevin]

A couple of basic thoughts:
A 'loner car' for an oil change???????????????
A vehicle with a 300 mile range followed by a 30+ minute waiting period????????????????????

Loaner for an oil change?

I know, I know. This is Dallas though. Lots and lots of people. They actually had the car overnight.

That is the norm…sad but true.

 

[Hertervillian]

If I wanted a new second car I’d probably consider electric. As the tax incentive go away I’m pretty sure the market will follow.

They aren’t gonna disappear if they prove their worth in a level playing field. How the government goes about taxing them will prove to be interesting. Gas taxes are simple.

 

[turd]

^^^South Dakota annual registration is based on vehicle weight, which should work I would think. Batteries are heavy.

I've lived in several different states, and different states tax vehicles differently. Some are based on value, some on age, etc. Basing taxation on vehicle weight is pretty fair - those that weigh more do more damage to roads over time. Unless, of course, your vehicle sits in the garage most of the time (like mine).

 

[blume357]

good friend's son who is a tech geek* has one and he loves it.... I think I rode in it once and could not see it any different than a regular nice high end car ... but he did not let me drive it. whether we like it or not, electric cars are here to stay and the electro software thing is here also....;..

*This son interned here at BMW a couple summers ago while in college working with their self driving development department. We have an area here ... open to public traffic.... that has warning signs that self driving cars are being used there.

By the way, here in the up state of S.C. BMW stands for "Bubba Makes Wheels"

 

[s4s4u]

If I wanted a new second car I'd probably consider electric. As the tax incentive go away I'm pretty sure the market will follow.

They aren't gonna disappear if they prove their worth in a level playing field. How the government goes about taxing them will prove to be interesting. Gas taxes are simple.

Had some friends drive up to Moorhead from Minneapolis for Christmas a few years ago in an EV. It is typically a 3'ish hour drive. It took them all day, primarily because they had to stop and charge twice. Those batteries have to heat the car as well as propel it. This country is not made for electric cars. Imagine getting stuck in a ditch during a blizzard and your battery dies trying to keep you from becoming an icicle. There is no level playing field. For summer in the north or mild climes elsewhere I am sure they are fine, as long as you don't have far to go.

Having a "kill switch" incorporated that can be remotely controlled is an absolute deal killer for me.

 

[Hertervillian]

Had some friends drive up to Moorhead from Minneapolis for Christmas a few years ago in an EV. It is typically a 3'ish hour drive. It took them all day, primarily because they had to stop and charge twice. Those batteries have to heat the car as well as propel it. This country is not made for electric cars. Imagine getting stuck in a ditch during a blizzard and your battery dies trying to keep you from becoming an icicle. There is no level playing field. For summer in the north or mild climes elsewhere I am sure they are fine, as long as you don't have far to go.

Having a "kill switch" incorporated that can be remotely controlled is an absolute deal killer for me.

100% and the reason for my second car proviso. 80 mile round trip to work twice a week, most could handle that on a single charge. I put something like 24,000 on a car every year since 2000, lots of commuting sure, but plenty of long trips done marathon style. The Midwest dictates electric vehicles as secondary transportation in my opinion.

 

[Yaworski]

A couple of basic thoughts:
A 'loner car' for an oil change???????????????

Lots of fancy car people get loaners at the dealership. I had three BMWs but never got a loaner because they weren't that fancy back then.

 

[Yaworski]

I want to go in, be recognized, and treated like a decent person. Not some Joe Schmoe customer.

I used get service at a shop where if you were at closing time, you got a beer with your bill. We'd often hang around until 10 or 11 at night, drinking beer and BSing.

 

[RC44Mag]

I sure did like the I8 when it came out and when I brought my 1 series in for warranty stuff they tried to hook me into buying one, I wasn’t biting

 

[blume357]

I'm sort of pushing for my wife to go total electric, she has a hybrid now, but you know the power drain for both the heat as well as AC or the issue. Both of us are at the point we can't tolerate the heat these days.... but I'm still wondering why they can't incorporate a gas generator in the total electric cars... I know it sounds counter productive but I'm wondering how long it would take for say for one of those small 1800 watt Honda generators to charge a total electric car battery? I need to do some research......

 

[GasGuzzler]

I worked for Carl Sewell for three years involuntarily when he bought out Rodger Meier. I read his book. He, his management, and the way his company is run is polar opposite in every way to live. But the service rendered is top notch. And it's far from free. When they refused to make a proper relocation plan because they had not yet finished the Grapevine store, I left to go back to a family owned store instead of a corporation. Never moved again. That was September 10, 2001.

Did I mention I have a stupid EV to work on right now...

but I'm still wondering why they can't incorporate a gas generator in the total electric cars...

That would make it a hybrid. What is the definition of a Chevy Volt? It's engine never powered the wheels, only the generator.

 

[vito]

As an aside about BMW's.... I have a 2022 Mini Cooper S convertible (not an electric) that I bought new in the summer of 2021. Mini is owned and made by BMW, and shares some of the electronic systems. They are about the worst that I have seen in terms of being intuitive. In my Dodge Durango, the screen uses what they call the U-Connect system, which took no time at all to learn to navigate. It was super intuitive. But the comparable system in my Mini seemed totally confusing and anything but intuitive, and I owned this car for a few years before I reached the point of being able to easily navigate through the menus on the screen. I was told that the newer BMW's use the same system, which is enough for me to never buy a BMW.

Several of my grown kids have electric vehicles. Mostly Teslas and a few Toyotas. All of them love the electrics. And as these car's driving range increases and re-charge time decreases, they are becoming more and more practical. I don't see myself buying an electric, but I won't rule it out completely.

 

[The Norseman]

I'd like a Pickup, but get a hold of me when batteries go
1000 miles on a charge in -30° weather, head wind 25mph
in the dead of winter pulling a horse trailer.
Then be able to recharge the battery in 15 minutes after
checking on the cattle or driving across the State.
Then the three worn out Batteries is no cost exchange to
me because on the Company's inept ability to produce
a dependable battery. The disposal cost is to the Company.

Plus I don't think our economy is doing to bad if people
can pluck down $70,000+ for an Electric Vehicle.

 

[redhawker]

Sometimes I look at these new cars and long for my '54 GMC pickup. Two radiator hoses, two heater hoses, six plug wires, a coil wire, and enough room in the engine compartment that you almost could stand inside the fender and work on the engine. These new cars have so much crap on them that something is bound to go wrong on a regular basis.

 

[s4s4u]

Looking under the hood of my son-in-law's new Silverado there is no way I am going to DIY anything.

My '98 Dodge Ram ain't the prettiest thing anymore, but I can fix most things myself. When it comes time to replace it I'd like to find an older vehicle with a little better body rather than something new that I would have to pay someone to work on.

 

[blume357]

The son of a friend I mentioned who is a computer geek and likes his electric Beemer... does not like the hybrids, he says they are way too complicated.... Was talking with the father last night and he mentioned that BMW a few years ago came up with an Electric car that was all electric but had a 3 cylinder BMW Motorcycle engine installed to a generator just to keep the battery charged if needed... not hooked to the drive train... now I kind of like that idea.

 

[Iguanason]

I have a 2021 BMW X3 hybrid. It has enough battery to drive about 15 miles on battery power. Regenerative breaking provides additional electricity as you drive. But since you still have a gas tank, you have a lot of range. This was a great model, but unfortunately, they stopped making it. I think that was a big mistake. I would never have a hybrid unless I had a regular commute within the range of the car. Public charging is a nightmare unless you have a Tesla.