BMW i8 owner interviewed. BAD and GOOD experiences that you want to hear.

[@carstenweiland7896]

Even If you can afford a car, start checking the running costs first, that makes you able to estimate a budget for that vehicle. Do not calculate too low, always leave some room for unexpected repairs. Good advice from a Citroen C6 driver.

[@Czechbound]

"If you're just entering into buying one of these cars .. " AKA "You're entering into a world of pain ... " .... 18 months = 78 weeks, 11 weeks off the road .. so 13% of ownership you're paying for it, and not getting the value of it. Shout out to the dealership for giving the 2-series for the 6 weeks. That's pretty great

[@thomasbeshaw855]

My Issues: Rear transmission mount broke, caused major issue engine/trans dropped ripped out cv axle, mounts on both sides, and misc. wiring and connectors. Overall about 5 months at dealer getting repaired. Second issue went in for HV battery replacement and battery safety module. While it was there in the shop they found the transmission housing was cracked from the issue when the mounts were broken. So it was again in the shop another 6 months. Now I also have both rear shocks that have failed as in came apart. That happened all pre 40k miles... I have a 3rd party service contract which covered NOTHING of these repairs as its all even the engine mount considered "wearable" Components. And a failure of a aluminum part of the mount still is considered wearable.

[@zeddieb5150]

Yet another Amazing video. I'm going on over and subscribing to the channel Eric has also. I didn't even know a BMW i8 existed till tonight. Now here I am. Because of the Bmw i8 and all of its glory and solutions. I've found 3 amazing channels. The cars are beautiful. I searched on Google also. There is some amazing colors on some of these cars. I heard an old guy talking about his 60s Corvette one time. He was talking about different things. He refused to say the car had any problems. He would just say it just takes some good solutions. I believe that's what your channel offers as one really good solutions.

[@SilverScarletSpider]

Thank you pat for shattering my dreams 😔

[@stephenhodges6999]

Welp…”HAD” my eyes on a 2015 i8…guess I’ll just stick to the F90 M5 Competition!!!

[@kiddeucewardsnowden_bd]

Awesome video! Could you make a video about “what NOT to do when owning a bmw i8”? It’s important cause it really gives a better perspective to not only owning, but property maintaining the bmw i8 so that you don’t end up making mistakes! I’d appreciate it!

[@PatsGarageOnline]

Thank you. What NOT to do would make for a long series of videos based on my assumptions about what someone might do with an i8 and then say "Don't do that." It's hard to conceptualize, because the i8 is a capable vehicle that compares to any other potential daily driver out there. The simplest thing I can do is to advise folks to read and adhere to the user manual, and then go through my videos for things that you might want to do, and follow the recommendations in my videos, if you're comfortable. Sometimes, I rely on the i8 community to learn about common things that folks are experience in order to create videos. But, it's hard for me to think of any posts in the i8 groups where I would immediately reply "Don't do that!" so nothing immediately comes to mind for content for a video.

[@tomhanhart5921]

The only „don‘t“ I see is: don‘t let the car too often in longer idle periods with very low battery state of charge. Since the usable capacity is 80% of total capacity, fully loaded (100% net.) is in the optimal idle range (70-80%) for the battery. I have mine always plugged in in idle and my six year old battery has still original capacity (no degeneration).

[@davepaturno4290]

I rented an i8 for one day. The HUD was rapidly fading and the gas cap actuator or switch was not functioning. That tells me to stay away.

[@Good4you5]

The best video/interview I ever seen

[@tomgt4tom]

Great perspective Pat and very informative, having the warranty is so important. My R8 spent considerably more time than that in 2 years and although I loved it. It’s no good if it’s in the dealership. I’ve owned 911’s, R8, FType, Merc, and always loved the look of the i8. I bought my Roadster 2 months ago with 40 miles on the clock and I absolutely love it.

[@dallabill1]

This is crazy I’m planning to purchase an i8 but if I can’t get the Warranty that covered the AC Compressor I won’t purchase, it’s my dream car.

[@duderu4real94]

This video does concern me as I want buy a i8. I’m looking to get for a good price which could be a 2014 model. But the repair cost are scary and don’t have that kind funds to throw away.

[@PatsGarageOnline]

I would definitely hold off until you could get one that is under warranty. You may get a great car that doesn't need work, but if it does need work, it can be insanely expensive to fix.

[@duderu4real94]

@@PatsGarageOnline I hear you but I guess I need to work out what would be cheaper. Buying with warranty or buying a older car without warranty. If I buy from a dealership, it will give me about 6 month warranty. Unless there is away of buying a used car no matter the age and still put warranty on it. I'm based in the UK so things maybe a little different here. But thanks for the reply.

[@maniekohn795]

Instructive and very timely video...thank you.

[@robmccall5017]

Good Content Pat! Nothing and Nobody could even get me to sell my i8 Roadster! 😊

[@Steve-gn4hk]

My used e46 M3 has cost me about 2500 a year to maintain. I still want an i8 regardless.

[@温哥华小乖秀]

i hope you csn interview me tbh, had my warranty expires. vehicle involved in an accident. been in garage for for 6 months waiting for parts from germany during pandemic. the winter after repair was done car brake doen on road. showed hybrid malfunction. Dealer chrcked said replace reme for 7000. later chcked was wire plugged in the wrong location, wire harness costs me 5000, ac brake down costs me another 4500. afterwards car overheating for more than 6 months. dealer said it was okay, bought extended warranty 4 year 60000km with 12000 cad. this summer fone my reaearch, overheating issue enhanced while i notify dealer it could be thermostat. replaced my self doesnt solve the problem. warranty involved replaced again at dealer. car finally running normal. 1 months afterwards. tire flat on road, replaced michlin pilot sport 4s 2 paris costs 2200 at costco. today replaced break fluid and rear breakinh pads. 2200dollars. finally i love my car again. driving like the feeling when i just owned, relaxed, excited, and enjoyable. watched all your vedio during the repairing period, finally commented something. now i felt like no one knows this car more than i do. 😢😢😂😂. thanks for your vedio.

[@mannienicholas3693]

@evapors u might wanna go to another bmw dealership(if they are not willing to work with you) & get Bmw USA/North America to reimburse for some of the repairs u did so far if it falls under warranty(I think most of your repairs do). Thank god I bought both of my 2017 i3 & 2017 i8 through bmw CPO program/deal. 2017 i3s & 2017 i8s are more reliable btw.

[@PatsGarageOnline]

Sadly, all his repairs were after his factory warranty expired, so he's either got to eat the costs or consider a 3rd party warranty company (most of which won't warrant a BMW i8). Most of the problems we're experiencing on 2014/2015 models appear to be time related and no mileage related. Owners of newer model years need to be prepared and have a solid extended warranty or CPO wrap to prevent a burdensome repair bill.

[@mannienicholas3693]

@@PatsGarageOnline that's very unfortunate then. I would just go to another shop that specializes in them after the warranty runs out. Like Pat's Garage😁.....I just remembered the Electrified garage shop from rich rebuild. I believe he just opened another shop in FL now.

[@PatsGarageOnline]

@@mannienicholas3693 Yep, Rich opened a new shop in FL. Independent Euro mechanics would do a great job with the i8. Eric doesn't have any that he's familiar with, however. He might be able to save some money on labor, but when he runs into issues like he currently has with the SME module failing, they needed to get BMW Germany involved to help troubleshoot and they still haven't got it fixed.

[@mannienicholas3693]

@@PatsGarageOnline woooooooooow kinda like my fisker. Hmmmm no wonder y they stopped making them.

[@ianrichardson3228]

"...it's like driving no other car at all.... ". As it's off the road so often, that should be rephrased as "...it's like driving no car at all.... " :-S

[@Czechbound]

Electronic Parking Brake : Pandering to the few drivers that can't use a normal, manual, cable parking brake. With so much of BMW's output sold in Asia, is this a thing that isn't taught to drivers well in Asia ?

[@PatsGarageOnline]

Sadly, the electronic parking brake is very common in modern cars. Even a very cheap VW Jetta has the same thing.

[@rebeccajordan4765]

These horror stories are what keeps me from buying one

[@PatsGarageOnline]

Eric is still waiting on his car, 19 weeks later. I hope to do a follow up interview with him soon.

[@rebeccajordan4765]

@@PatsGarageOnline thats horrible. Praying for good news for him or at least the best outcome possible

[@andya2665]

Yup, it seems their quality control is lacking considering the expense of the car.

[@hswing11]

Hay it's a BMW just what were you expecting??????????????????

[@davepaturno4290]

Lexus LC500 - no scissor doors but 1000X more reliable

[@andya2665]

If these I8s are such great cars why do they suck so bad?

[@PatsGarageOnline]

Bleeding edge technology for it's day means that a lot of experiments were tried on the i8. They couldn't see the problems that developed. We are only seeing them with age. Any man made product will develop problems. Sadly, the i8 often develops expensive problems

[@andya2665]

@@PatsGarageOnline That's valid. So the affluent buyers are indeed the testers?

[@PatsGarageOnline]

We all are. As the car ages, BMW gets to see all the data from the service centers. That data helps them make decisions about the technology. Is the public excited to see the technology? Should it be used on other platforms? Can it be made cheaper, faster, quicker and result in profitability? Only they will know. The i8 cost more to produce than the MSRP. But, it was a great advertising tool to get people excited in the brand and get prospects in the door. It helped BMW sell less costly models to buyers.

[@taijikimura247]

He dreams about the next time he will drive the i8 but it’s in the shop lol 😂 a save yO money and buy a LC500

[@Djpaul-lo1px]

There’s a difference between “ My windshield cracked” and “My windshield *got* cracked” Glass doesn’t crack itself so isn’t really the fault of the car. And tyres? Wear items don’t count on any car whether it’s an I8 or not. Just comes across as blame shifting and seems like the type of guy that puts in 5 bucks worth of gas at a time, so the moral of the story is if you can’t afford to maintain a car don’t buy it.

[@PatsGarageOnline]

My glass cracked due to stress imposed on it from the car itself. The dealer could find no impact at all and covered the windshield replacement under warranty with no charge to my insurance. I found 13 other posts on the Internet of stress cracked glass to prove to the dealer that I was not the first to have this issue. The crack appeared to start at the top/center of the glass near the roofline, come down about 1 food and then branch in a Y towards the A pillars where the doors are mounted. I believe the weight of the doors is putting tension on the glass. The BMW i8 OEM tires have very little life. Aftermarket tires are the only way to prevent having to replace tires every 10k miles or so, under normal conditions. The i8 doesn't put down enough power to burn rubber. The compound is soft for a nice ride, and the depth of the tread is less than other tires in order to make them quiet. I replaced my tires with Continental all seasons and expect 4-5x more life out of them for less cost per tire.

[@sandsrealestatewest663]

Sounds like this car is just a LEMON. Let's face it. The i8 is WAY TOO EXPENSIVE ($150K new) for the LOW horsepower the car offers for that kind of money, so most people will lease this vehicle as new. The last owner knew they were going to turn the car in and because its a lease, they didn't care because BMW was going to pay for all the repairs as it is still their car.