Toyota has given up on EVs. Not.

[One Ping Only]

View attachment 37630

We are witnessing a cottage industry forming before our eyes

 

[One Ping Only]

I’d get a used Tesla. I’ve had a bunch of beemers. Parts and maintenance if you need it is in the stratosphere. I bought one then leased the rest. The lease was very liberating. I’d take it in and they would tell me what needed to be done. I’d say… I don’t give a shit. Just do it. Didn’t cost me a nickel. BMWs are always in the shop.

Might be with the new ones. Our 2003 530i was an amazing car, and needed little except normal maintenance….aside from (and this is normal mileage wear and tear as well) the abs crapping out and because of Oblabbo’s cash for clunkers scam, all those vehicles that could have been harvested for remanufactured parts cores all went to the crusher. It horribly impacted the auto parts industry BY DESIGN….and to this day the industry is still suffering from that. They had to source our replacement ABS module out of Canada.
Aside from that, our Bimmer was rock-solid, dependable and just a blessing to drive. To this day I feel privileged that we were able to have it as we did. That majestic straight-6 was an amazing, effortless engine, and the tranny was near bulletproof. When my wife was up here caring for her terminally ill dad, I’d drive up every Friday night after work from the Bay Area to Southern Oregon and then head home Sunday afternoon. I just flew, and racked up many Hwy miles. That car pulled the grade up into Oregon like it had a torquey diesel under the hood…effortless. And fast. Ate up the curves like it was breakfast.

We’d got the car used, and had it for about 4 years with the usual maint items and quirks various makes and models all have.

Water pump, thermostat housing, fuel pump all went as on-schedule as far as the mileage it had when they needed replacement.

I’d been really bringing the car to factory-fresh standards so to speak- the seat adjusters are a notorious item and I hadn’t replaced them yet (but they still worked) and then a medical event happened…so we sold the car in 2022 while it was still an asset and in good shape as I ended my private automotive wrench life (after having 25 years in the auto industry earlier) post-medical event. I do miss that car.

 

[Alex]

I’d get a used Tesla. I’ve had a bunch of beemers. Parts and maintenance if you need it is in the stratosphere.

This I know. It works out for me as you guys (waves hand around in a circle) are who support my shooting habits. I am one of the handful of guys in my shop who bothered to get signed off for HV car repair.

Lemme tell you, there has been a leap in complexity from the antique i3...

... to the i4. You wouldn't think raising the number by 1 digit would make that much difference...

... but it has, both in cost, complexity, range and performance. The i3 has a sufficient cost/benefit ratio for me to be willing to bring one home at the right price.

BMWs are always in the shop.

They certainly are where I work!

 

[Bongo Lewi]

This I know. It works out for me as you guys (waves hand around in a circle) are who support my shooting habits. I am one of the handful of guys in my shop who bothered to get signed off for HV car repair.

Lemme tell you, there has been a leap in complexity from the antique i3...
View attachment 37644

... to the i4. You wouldn't think raising the number by 1 digit would make that much difference...
View attachment 37645
... but it has, both in cost, complexity, range and performance. The i3 has a sufficient cost/benefit ratio for me to be willing to bring one home at the right price.

They certainly are where I work!

I did not know you worked in a BMW shop. I had an M3, X5, X3, Z3, and a Z4. I loved driving all of them but like the trophy wife they are high maintenance. If you can do the work yourself that’s a big advantage. I haven’t lifted the hood on a car in 20 years. I have some talents but working on cars isn’t one of them.

You know what you are getting into so I’ll say no more. I applaud your EV spirit!

 

[Bobster]

I do miss that car.

This I know. It works out for me as you guys (waves hand around in a circle) are who support my shooting habits. I am one of the handful of guys in my shop who bothered to get signed off for HV car repair.

A few years ago my son bought an E46 '99 328i 4-dr 5-speed "behind my back" so to speak. About the only good thing about the car (besides working A/C) was it was a two-owner with only a little over 90k miles on it so it books on the high side. I think he paid around $2800 from a friend of a friend who makes a living selling BMW parts and working on them (not a dealer). Car came with coilovers/strut plates, aftermarket wheels, fart can, several dings, faded silver paint and mostly missing interior. The second owner, a 20yo kid, was going to make it into a drift car or some shit. I guess he needed money for school and sold it to the freindfriend. I don't have many pics of the car (nor do I want any) so here are a couple from when it got towed to the house after an axle came unbolted. More on that later. It still looks the same...



When I first saw the car there in the driveway my first verbal comment was "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS PIECE OF SHIT DOING HERE!!!" Knowing my son potentially lacks motivation to work on cars, I called his friend, who is sort of a "family" friend and read him the riot act. "WHO THE FUCK IS GOING TO WORK ON THIS PIECE OF SHIT!" "I'm going to help him" says his friend. "WELL YOU FUCKING BETTER!!!" My son didn't tell me before he bought it because he knows I would have vehemently stated "NO! DO NOT BUY THIS CAR!"

Once I cooled down and since the "damage" was already done, I looked the car over and took it for a ride, both of which confirmed my initial impression--the car was a piece of shit and was going to need a good amount of work to be "acceptable" to me. It was extra loud inside mainly due to the exhaust rubbing underneath. The internal shifter was (is still) in need of springs and bushings so it would take a trick to get it into 3-4.

In the first month his friend got him a nice black leather interior and helped him install it. It is still missing some trim pieces. I helped him replace an exhaust mount and tweak an exhaust bracket on the fart can with a pipe wrench so it wasn't rubbing the bumper cover and vibing the interior as much. I made a support bracket for the air filter so it wasn't rubbing against the radiator and replaced the intake boot while I was at it. The P/S cap was leaking and got replaced.



A year and a half ago my son was involved in a major car accident as a passenger (long story) and was semi-bedridden for 6 months. He let his sister drive the BMW since she was actively involved in his care (as were we) and her AC was broken. She took care of the car as best she could until the axle fell out, fortunately while she was pulling into her friend's house. The bolts had loosened up and the axle came unbolted and there was no way I was going to be able to climb under it and fix it so AAA brought it home. (pics above)

Since he couldn't work on it, I became the guy and slithered under and made a list of what it would need. The axle was still good but had crushed the end cap and was missing a couple bolts. The sway bar was held in with wire ties and needed saddles for the bushings. The differential mounts were loose and were to be replaced while the car was apart. With the pumpkin out, I had to utilize longer bushing mount bolts with nuts as most of the threads in the mount were stripped. It was impossible to find a new end cap especially since BMW used a number of different axles on these models. He bought a Chinee axle but was advised by his friend that they were junk so we found a good used OEM unit on debay for around $60 delivered. His old axle would have needed new boots anyway.



Since the axle issue the car has had issues with the idle air system (I forget what they call it) so the friendfriend threw a bunch of parts at it then did a system "delete" and "tuned" it so it would run without it.

The radiator also went (tank cracked) and the friendfriend GAVE him a good used unit. The radiator I insisted my son install which he did. As he was doing it I told him to expect the O-rings at the rad. hoses to leak when he put it back together because they were 25yo which of course they did. He was frustrated but I had prepared him for it. He had to get new hoses because the O-rings aren't readily available but I don't think the price was that bad--like $25 each. I don't have any pics but the hose ends are plastic and slide over the radiator, are sealed with O-rings and clip in place.

Lately he is wanting out of the car because it is still a piece of shit. He dailys it but it is what it is, a loud, stiff, clunky car that still needs a good amount of work that he is too lazy/motivated to do...

 

[One Ping Only]

One huge difference in comparison between that car you gave as an example, and our particular Bimmer, was that ours was not a POS. It hadn't been abused, modified, drifted; and was well-maintained.

Many of them are not maintained properly BC the owner or lessee barely can afford the payments and are upside down, so the car's care gets neglected, so they drive it into the ground without a thought. Probably what happened with that E46 before your son got it....and was frankenstiened & abused by the previous owner.

And that can happen to any brand of any car.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

I bought/leased all but one of those I mentioned from the same place. The dealer kissed my ass like I was the King of Siam. When I got the M3, the general manager came into the sales guys office and offered to take me to lunch.

I can't complain about being treated like a king. I got to know the guy that ran the service dept. Also very accommodating. He confided this in me....

"Never buy a BMW outright. Lease them and let BMW pay the maintenance. You will go broke maintaining them, especially after the warranty runs out".

Why I refuse to work on cars:

In high school I worked on my own cars because I had no alternative. Along the way I had an MG and an Austin America. Also a couple of beetles, one of which I did the Crown conversion on (Corvair engine). So it's not like I have never turned a wrench.

I sold those before I went to college because freshmen who lived on campus were prohibited from owning a vehicle and there was no where to park it anyway.

The summer before my third year I moved and bought a car so I could get a part time job. It was a '65 Chevy BelAir. Total beater. Rusted out, rotten seats. It was a piece of shit and it would refuse to start when it was cold. I was constantly under the hood of that car just keeping it running and I had no money to buy parts to fix it. It finally snapped a motor mount. A local junk yard gave me 50 bucks for it. I replaced it with another piece of shit that wasnt much better. A '63 Chrysler Newport. Piece of junk but it was all I could afford. Heater didnt work. Lights and other electrical would inexplicably stop working. It smelled like cat piss and I was never sure why. I swore to myself I would never again drive a piece of shit or get under the hood of another car or live someplace with freezing ass weather for the rest of my life.

With a few exceptions, I've pretty much held to that pledge for almost 40 years.

 

[Racer88]

I remember back when German cars like BMW and Mercedes had reputations for bullet-proof reliability. It was COMMON for them to run 200k - 300k miles.

Now??? The opposite is true. A friend of mine dumped his Mercedes SUV (don't know the model) because, "Every time it needs something to be fixed, it's $5000."

The only German marque I'd remotely consider is Porsche, and I'm just not much of a fan of them anyway, with the exception of the 911 GT3 RS. Oh, baby... I'd love one of those! But I wouldn't take a BMW or Mercedes for free. Seriously.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

My wife had a Mercedes C type when I met her. She bought it off-lease with 35k miles on it. At 75,000 miles it needed work on the transmission, which was estimated to be around $5000. She was flabbergasted anything on a car could cost that much.

We told the dealer to eat our shorts. We went to the BMW dealer and traded it in for a leased X3. The X3 was a nice SUV. Drove like a sports car vs SUV. With no advance warning, it totally died one day on the freeway. Just shut down and nothing was working. Completely dead. Less than 10k miles. The dealer sent a tow truck and they fixed it, no charge. I can't remember what it was that failed. Some electronic component. They took care of it no charge and a loaner was provided free, no questions asked.

 

[Racer88]

BP to take hit of up to $5bn on green energy as it refocuses on fossil fuels

Energy company also under pressure from worse oil trading performance and weaker oil prices

www.theguardian.com

 

[Bongo Lewi]

Weaker oil prices and the fact that in 2025, 20.7 million EVs were sold. That's 3.6 million more EVs than in the previous year, showing that EVs sales keep growing despite unprecedented attacks against them by governments, media and even by automakers themselves.

A good portion of oil companies business is gasoline. It's also not that profitable margin-wise but in terms of volume it's a lot. EVs are going to continue to sell in greater numbers. Oil companies will have to adjust their business model to focusing on more profitable oil products than gasoline. Especially when crude prices keep decreasing due to oversupply and decreasing demand for gasoline.

 

[Bobster]

One huge difference in comparison between that car you gave as an example, and our particular Bimmer, was that ours was not a POS. It hadn't been abused, modified, drifted; and was well-maintained.

This is semi-related to my BMW story. My son's friend who coaxed him into buying the '99, had an '06 325i automatic that was cherry when he got it. Nice interior/exterior/low miles, all stock. He was working at a "boutique" soda store and the owner gave him a deal on it ($4000?) and allowed him to make payments out of his paycheck. First thing he did was take a video of him doing donuts with it... After eliminating the mufflers, lowering it and stancing it and overall ruining it, he bottomed the trans, busting the case. He then parted it and junked it. And this wasn't the first car he's destroyed...

The summer before my third year I moved and bought a car so I could get a part time job. It was a '65 Chevy BelAir. Total beater. Rusted out, rotten seats. It was a piece of shit and it would refuse to start when it was cold. I was constantly under the hood of that car just keeping it running and I had no money to buy parts to fix it. It finally snapped a motor mount. A local junk yard gave me 50 bucks for it.

I had a couple '65 SS Impalas, first was sort of a rusty shitbox: 283/Powerglide/vac guage where the clock went. The second SS was nicer and more interesting: 327/4-speed/12-bolt/tach where the clock went.
I also had a '64 Biscayne 250/PG that was a POS but it ran and had heat. One late night I hit a mailbox and smashed the windshield so off to the junkyard it went...

I remember back when German cars like BMW and Mercedes had reputations for bullet-proof reliability. It was COMMON for them to run 200k - 300k miles.

My dot's '04 1.8t Jetta is at 345k miles with original engine/turbo, 2nd clutch. We just put in a steering rack and other parts in it to keep it on the road. The spare '02 2.slo Jetta has about 250k on it. My '06 GLI has 245k on it.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

First sign of trouble with a car I get rid of it. Not always the best decision financially but I dont give a shit. I dont want to spend one second dealing with or thinking about a car with a problem. I've come really close with the Jeeps.

 

[Racer88]

Well, you'll never guess what happened today! I was at a meeting, and a colleague wanted to go to lunch. He has a brand new Tesla X (I think). So... I rode with him to lunch! My first ride in a Tesla (or any EV). Total Self-Driving! It was freaky! And then he let me "not-drive-it" back to our meeting. I didn't touch the controls. Really weird! And like I said... freaky. It even parks itself, backing into a space.

Was I impressed? Sure. How can you not be? Would I want one? Still a no. And this one cost $100k! Yowza. He said, "I didn't buy a car. I bought a chaffeur."

By the way, at least in the new cars... the mechanical "emergency" door latch is in plain view and in a naturally reached location. He said his wife uses that routinely out of habit.

 

[NavyVette]

I thought I felt a disturbance in the force this morning

 

[no4mk1t]

 

[Racer88]

I thought I felt a disturbance in the force this morning

LOL! I told the guy he fucked up my whole narrative!

Actually, he didn't. I still don't want one. I wouldn't deal well with the inconveniences that it STILL entails when it comes to road trips.

But sure... it was cool!

 

[no4mk1t]

I was reading today that the self driving feature will be by monthly subscription only starting February 14th.
So, as with BMW and their heated seats, you presumably paid for the feature when you bought the car, but can't access it without paying the blackmail. Unleash the hackers!!

MSN

 

[One Ping Only]

The Passat we had was “the Passat from Hell” and in spite of only 41k on the clock when we got it (and it certainly LOOKED the Garage Queen part) was THE biggest POS I’ve ever had the displeasure of owning if you wanted to drive it somewhere, there was a greater than 60/40 chance it would break down. Even worse than the 1988 Honda Accord LXi I had years ago…and that Honda, as in understand it, was in the very low percentiles of bad Hondas.

I think our 2003 BMW was made at the end of the “Good BMW’s” era, and I don’t mean that with bias. The next generation (Bangle era) started a steep decline in quality and dependability. HOWEVER, my wife’s late aunt had a nice little late 80’s 3 series cabriolet and it was kept in flawless condition…but it would intermittently just quit on her. Like somebody shutting off the key. It had left her stranded a number of times and the local BMW stealership’s shop could never find or fix the problem. So she sold it. I question the shop’s competency but I can’t say for sure that it wasn’t a lemon.

 

[NavyVette]

Luckily I was out playing with the paddle shifters in my Sierra bringing balance to the force while Racer was in an EV.
It's pretty fun driving the newer GM trucks in manual mode with the paddle shifters.

It's exactly like how my Corvette transmission works.