Recent content by Shelburne

According to my insurance agent, as well as a friend's agent, the rule of thumb here in Massachusetts is that it will cost you more in the long run to have insurance cover the repairs if those repairs amount to less than $5000. Of course, that's assuming that you are found to be at fault for the...

I live in the northwestern corner of MA. In the winter, it's almost as cold here as in Chicago. I've had my M3 since September of 2020. I don't have a garage so it is always parked outside and I always charge it outside. There has never been a problem due to cold weather. If the car gets covered...

If you want your machines to talk to you, fine, enjoy the conversation. All I ask for is the option to shut them up.

I hate talking to machines, but when a machine talks to me that's even worse. Shades of "2001: A Space Odyssey".

I suppose I'm dating myself by saying this but is it really that difficult to check your tires for air pressure and tread wear on a regular basis? I've been doing that all of my adult life. I keep a tire pressure gauge and a tread wear gauge in the center console. I'll be driving 260 miles...

What's a paint goober?

I bought my M3 in 2020. At that time I was encouraged to look over the car with a fine toothed comb (so to speak) to see if there were any defects such as yours. I spent nearly a half hour doing just that before finalizing the sale. All I found was what looked like a scratch on the front...

Several people have said "don't". I agree but also add, "Why?" The audio and ambient lighting in the M3 draws very little battery power. Even if you can do it, it's just not worth the cost and effort.

Living in New England, I hand wash my M3 from some time in May till some time in October. The rest of the year, when the car gets its dirtiest from road salt, I take it to a touchless car wash. But here, you're just wasting that money unless you can be sure of several days without rain or snow.

What is a foam cannon?

After two days of using the freee FSD, I was moderately impressed. It worked well on the interstate. As I approached a car ahead of me in my lane, the moment my speed dropped by 1 MPH, it would turn on the car's blinker and move into the left lane to pass. It handled 5 different roundabouts...

I get the best efficiency with the battery preheated, the cabin HVAC system off, an ambient outside temperature of between 50 & 65 degrees, no wind, level ground, a speed of about 50mph, no passengers and no cargo...so not exactly real world conditions. Your car's efficiency is gonna be what...

A few hours ago, I got a notification about a software update. The release notes said it was only minor bug fixes. I updated it anyway. As soon as the update was completed, I got an email from Tesla telling me that I now had FSD for free for 1 month. I live in a small rural village where there...

Over the years, I've learned to never retrofit a car, any car, with devices not made by the original manufacturer. I've never had a problem myself (because I've never done it) but I know quite a few people who have lived to regret it.

From 1990 thru 2008 I bought a total of 5 PC laptops (Sony, Toshiba, IBM) They all sucked, none lasting more than 4 years and all needing repairs during that time. I switched to a MacBook Pro laptop in 2008. I replaced it in 20013 with what was then the latest MacBook Pro only because I wanted...