[kriskross]

Hello, need your opinion here pls.

I've got a F30 330e M-Sport hybrid, very happy - until a year ago.

Had a few warnings on electric drivetrain issues, drivability deteriorated - went to dealership, took ages to diagnose, result: one cell needed replacing. Issues started within warranty period, but went to dealer just outside warrant period. BMW did not honour the warranty, and it took weeks of pushing until they covered parts as goodwill. I had to fork out nearly 2000GBP on labour.

5 months later, same symptoms, same electric drivetrain warnings - went to dealership, took ages to diagnose, result: the remaining 4 cells need replacing. Cost: around 7500GBP. Took weeks of pushing, but BMW refused to show ANY goodwill.

The only "goodwill" they offered was to dispose of the car. Not joking!

Now I'm faced with a repair of 7500GBP where market value is not much more than that --> this is effectively a write-off - after 7 years! I'm not buying BMW to write it off after 7 years. And what is even worse, they don't seem to care. At all! Even though I've grown up with BMW over the past 50 years, and driving BMW for 30+ years. Time to say goodbye?


Any (constructive) advice appreciated.

[pbonsalb]

A gas engine BMW could suffer a transmission or other drivetrain failure at 7 years that costs about the same to fix. Some people buy extended warranties to hedge their risk of owning an expensive car out of warranty. Sucks when it happens to you, though. Some EV owners are not buying another EV. Depreciation is worse on EVs than on gas engine cars. Stuff for everyone to think about.

Some car companies offer 10 year power train warranties. Kia and Hyundai in the USA, at least. Not sure about EV makers and batteries.

[DanG]

All EVs eventually need new batteries. 7 years sounds like a reasonable time for the battery to fail. Hidden costs of owning a car with a lithium ion battery.

[BlkGS]

It's called being an early adopter. It sucks. Don't do it.

[thebmw]

@kriskross My rod bearing blew on my S63TU and it was almost $50k to repair, not to mention months without the car and 50-100 hours of my time just coordinating everything. So what you have is not so bad. That's why these cars depreciate because of the cost of repair, EV or ICE. Look at it this way, you can spend 7500 and you'll have a car that will go for another 7 years. Way cheaper than getting a new car.

[Neusser]

Originally Posted by kriskross

Hello, need your opinion here pls.

I've got a F30 330e M-Sport hybrid, very happy - until a year ago.

Had a few warnings on electric drivetrain issues, drivability deteriorated - went to dealership, took ages to diagnose, result: one cell needed replacing. Issues started within warranty period, but went to dealer just outside warrant period. BMW did not honour the warranty, and it took weeks of pushing until they covered parts as goodwill. I had to fork out nearly 2000GBP on labour.

5 months later, same symptoms, same electric drivetrain warnings - went to dealership, took ages to diagnose, result: the remaining 4 cells need replacing. Cost: around 7500GBP. Took weeks of pushing, but BMW refused to show ANY goodwill.

The only "goodwill" they offered was to dispose of the car. Not joking!

Now I'm faced with a repair of 7500GBP where market value is not much more than that --> this is effectively a write-off - after 7 years! I'm not buying BMW to write it off after 7 years. And what is even worse, they don't seem to care. At all! Even though I've grown up with BMW over the past 50 years, and driving BMW for 30+ years. Time to say goodbye?


Any (constructive) advice appreciated.

The fate that awaits all purchasers of battery-powered vehicles.

Accept the loss, hard as it may be, and buy a proper petrol car.

[kriskross]

Originally Posted by Neusser

The fate that awaits all purchasers of battery-powered vehicles.

Accept the loss, hard as it may be, and buy a proper petrol car.

Yes next car will be petrol again for sure! Expensive lesson learned!

[kriskross]

Originally Posted by thebmw

@kriskross My rod bearing blew on my S63TU and it was almost $50k to repair, not to mention months without the car and 50-100 hours of my time just coordinating everything. So what you have is not so bad. That's why these cars depreciate because of the cost of repair, EV or ICE. Look at it this way, you can spend 7500 and you'll have a car that will go for another 7 years. Way cheaper than getting a new car.

50k? That sucks! Thanks for putting it in perspective.

And yes, that’s the question, is the 7k a good investment? For how long will it last? It would come with 2 years warranty which is not a lot given that it’s 6 years in a new F30 and nowadays 10 years with the newer battery generations.

[kriskross]

Originally Posted by DanG

All EVs eventually need new batteries. 7 years sounds like a reasonable time for the battery to fail. Hidden costs of owning a car with a lithium ion battery.

Unfortunately not the sort of vibe you hear in general media; just read an article last week that supposedly EVs last as long as ICEs, not sure what data they looked at…

The F30 also still has the old generation batteries hence the short warranty. They obviously knew how poor the batteries are.

Next car will certainly be petrol again, my old runner (E90) on 125k miles still first engine… lesson learned!

[kriskross]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

A gas engine BMW could suffer a transmission or other drivetrain failure at 7 years that costs about the same to fix. Some people buy extended warranties to hedge their risk of owning an expensive car out of warranty. Sucks when it happens to you, though. Some EV owners are not buying another EV. Depreciation is worse on EVs than on gas engine cars. Stuff for everyone to think about.

Some car companies offer 10 year power train warranties. Kia and Hyundai in the USA, at least. Not sure about EV makers and batteries.

The F30 still has old generation batteries and only 6 years warranty. The newer models come with 10 years and 100k miles I believe. But despite that, yeah I’d buy a petrol car next as well.

[kriskross]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

It's called being an early adopter. It sucks. Don't do it.

Don’t wanna be a laggard either

Part of the brand is being innovative and leading edge. Didn’t expect to be bleeding edge though as BMW already had experience with the i3 I thought. But you’re right, I think the industry wasn’t (and isn’t?) ready yet.

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by kriskross

Don’t wanna be a laggard either

Part of the brand is being innovative and leading edge. Didn’t expect to be bleeding edge though as BMW already had experience with the i3 I thought. But you’re right, I think the industry wasn’t (and isn’t?) ready yet.

The cars ARE INTENDED to be disposable. From all the brands. They want people on a cell phone upgrade type cycle.

[M-technik-3]

Do they have the batteries still? Seems that BMW parts bin is quickly going NLA these days and if they don't will the newer style battery fit?

[kriskross]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

The cars ARE INTENDED to be disposable. From all the brands. They want people on a cell phone upgrade type cycle.

You’re probably right, so much for EVs being environmentally friendly and more sustainable… but that’s a discussion for another day, right now I need to get mobile again…

[kriskross]

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

Do they have the batteries still? Seems that BMW parts bin is quickly going NLA these days and if they don't will the newer style battery fit?

The dealership can definitely order new batteries, and alternative places also seem to be able to source them, but it’s a valid question for how long they will stock spares…

[2heeldrive]

Welcome to the Green Revolution.

Now that BMW is making almost every vehicle a "mild" hybrid, I wonder if the same fate will befall us all at some point? I guess time will tell.

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by kriskross

Hello, need your opinion here pls. I've got a F30 330e M-Sport hybrid.

First of all, sorry to hear about your troubles.
You did buy a hybrid car, the one with maximum complexity (ICE + EV). Sadly, that complexity has come to haunt you 7 years into the ownership experience.

Originally Posted by kriskross

Had a few warnings on electric drivetrain issues, drivability deteriorated [...] within warranty period [...] BMW covered parts as goodwill.
[...]5 months later, same symptoms [...] remaining 4 cells need replacing. Cost: around 7500GBP. Took weeks of pushing, but BMW refused to show ANY goodwill.

You got lucky once, getting out of warranty parts covered.
It was unlikely to succeed twice, especially since the second issue popped up way out of warranty.

Originally Posted by kriskross

I'm not buying BMW to write it off after 7 years. And what is even worse, they don't seem to care.

BMW might care if you suggest that you would be willing to trade your old clunker for a new car, and generate another sale with them.
New sales are about the only thing BMW cares about.
Consider playing that card!

Originally Posted by DanG

All EVs eventually need new batteries. 7 years sounds like a reasonable time for the battery to fail. Hidden costs of owning a car with a lithium ion battery.

That is NOT accurate at all.
Most EVs have batteries covered by warranty for 8-10 years guaranteeing 70+% of the original capacity. Instances of early claims on that warranty are very few.

To OP - you benefited for 7 years from cheaper gasoline prices from Hybrid drivetrain. Now, unfortunately, it's time to pay up. Sh*t happens.

Many owners face the decision of repairing vs. junking old cars after major repairs or accidents. Don't over-react!

a

[BMWCCA1]

In 50-years of selling BMWs I always told my customers to only buy a V8, hybrid, or EV BMW if they were NOT planning on keeping it past the warranty period. Furthermore, I've always said "Friends don't let friends buy BMW V8s". It is sad how often my advice was not followed and disaster ensued. And why I still drive a 2013 128i M-sport stick!

BMW is apparently constantly proving that they don't know how to make a V8 engine that holds up any more than they know how to make a durable window-regulator.

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by BMWCCA1

In 50-years of selling BMWs I always told my customers to only buy a V8, hybrid, or EV BMW if they were NOT planning on keeping it past the warranty period. Furthermore, I've always said "Friends don't let friends buy BMW V8s". It is sad how often my advice was not followed and disaster ensued. And why I still drive a 2013 128i M-sport stick!

BMW is apparently constantly proving that they don't know how to make a V8 engine that holds up any more than they know how to make a durable window-regulator.

Funny because the V8 BMWs are the only ones worth owning...

At least they figured it out with the N63TU3 vehicles.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by kriskross

Unfortunately not the sort of vibe you hear in general media; just read an article last week that supposedly EVs last as long as ICEs, not sure what data they looked at…

The F30 also still has the old generation batteries hence the short warranty. They obviously knew how poor the batteries are.

Next car will certainly be petrol again, my old runner (E90) on 125k miles still first engine… lesson learned!

Not to be a ass about this, but at just 125,000 miles, why are you not just still driving the E90? The E90 has proven to be a tank.

[M5Rick]

Simples, don't buy them to keep happy , I've read Bm 330e hybrids over here are being got rid of quick and are worth very little.

[Dozer324]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

Funny because the V8 BMWs are the only ones worth owning...

At least they figured it out with the N63TU3 vehicles.

Funny because I’ve never once considered owning a V8 BMW. Wonder what I’m missing out on.