This will not end well for BMW

[Quamera]

Awesome so everyone in the US is going to take their Teslas to Gruber to have work done on a moth long waiting list. Meanwhile, BMW has a dealer in every geomarket with just as many independent shops to work on them as well. You people aren't helping Teslas case here. And to make matters worse, Gruber is still restricted on parts they have to go through the same channels as a customer and they oftentimes have to rely on used/salvaged parts.

LCR1,what you obviously don't understand or haven't realised is that
A) Teslas just don't need nearly as much servicing as ICE vehicles (especially BMWs),
B) a large proportion of what they do need is just OTA updates,
C) if they do need actual manual work done, Tesla will send a service van to you
D) if its a serious problem requiring time off the road they will lend you another Tesla
E) Tesla is a young company, as its registrations grow exponentially specialist shops will open anywhere there is a demand, soon they will be everywhere.

 

[frankvb]

Not sure if you ever drove a (2018 or later) X3 with adaptive suspension, but it felt very planted even when throwing it around corners. I didn't have a previous gen X3 so can't compare, I did have a 435 GC before that. But yes, considering the Y will have a very low centre of gravity, I expect it to handle as good or better as the X3.

You Y will drive like it is on rails compared to your X 3/5. They are both tippy when cornering at speed. EVs have all their weight low and are very planted in the corners. My X handles better in many corners than my 335 did.

 

[Georgia_Y]

Not sure if you ever drove a (2018 or later) X3 with adaptive suspension, but it felt very planted even when throwing it around corners. I didn't have a previous gen X3 so can't compare, I did have a 435 GC before that. But yes, considering the Y will have a very low centre of gravity, I expect it to handle as good or better as the X3.

And with autopilot engaged, the car won't be taking sharp turns or push it. So in reality a commuter car like the Y may handle well, but with the push towards self driving, will it really matter? I just sat in traffic for 45 minutes and I doubt the Y will feel any different from a driving dynamic than my X3 M40i. The biggest issue is the poor dynamic cruise and lane keep. BMW needs a lot of work there.

 

[frankvb]

The biggest issue is the poor dynamic cruise and lane keep. BMW needs a lot of work there.

Dynamic cruise control worked very well in my experience, lane keep was so bad that it only feels safe without any traffic around you... It got marginally better after a firmware update (reflash of just about every MCU).

 

[TLLMRRJ]

LCR1,what you obviously don't understand or haven't realised is that
A) Teslas just don't need nearly as much servicing as ICE vehicles (especially BMWs),
B) a large proportion of what they do need is just OTA updates,
C) if they do need actual manual work done, Tesla will send a service van to you
D) if its a serious problem requiring time off the road they will lend you another Tesla
E) Tesla is a young company, as its registrations grow exponentially specialist shops will open anywhere there is a demand, soon they will be everywhere.

That's a pretty accurate picture of what Tesla ownership looks like when you first buy one. But hang around the forums enough and experience the SC's for yourself, you'll find out soon enough that there's so many caveats to what you listed, that many will wish they were back in their BMW's.

 

[LCR1]

LCR1,what you obviously don't understand or haven't realised is that
A) Teslas just don't need nearly as much servicing as ICE vehicles (especially BMWs),
B) a large proportion of what they do need is just OTA updates,
C) if they do need actual manual work done, Tesla will send a service van to you
D) if its a serious problem requiring time off the road they will lend you another Tesla
E) Tesla is a young company, as its registrations grow exponentially specialist shops will open anywhere there is a demand, soon they will be everywhere.

In two years I've been through two AP cameras, two parking brakes, two door handles, control arm bushing failure, trunk latch failure, MCU issues, window motor failure, steering bolts, brake recall, etc. I wouldn't call that being mostly OTA updates. I think you fail to realize that Tesla is missing a large presence across most of the country. And not they won't always lend you another Tesla, they'll sometime give you a gas loaner and more often Uber credits, Uber doesn't service where I live so they may get me home from Houston but there's no getting back into Houston. And how are specialist shops going to open everywhere when Telsa won't sell parts to anyone outside of Tesla and they restrict even the parts they'll sell to owners?

 

[polyphonic54]

It doesn't matter what the product is, being at the mercy of one source for parts and repair is never a good thing.

 

[gigawatt1010]

I wish I new someone that had a Tesla so that I could take one for a test drive. They are very rare around here. A test drive may be what I need to push me over the edge and just buy the Y.

There are several superchargers around you - perhaps hangout there and yap it up with charging people. Maybe you'll find nice ones and they'll let you test drive. Or if you happen to be in Westchester county, Mt Kisco has a sales center where you can test drive.

As far as BMW, I don't think it will be as grim as OP painted it out to be, but I do think they will be in trouble if they stick to ICE vehicles and keep coming up with lame EVs like the i3 or worst, the i8. The incoming i4 looks promising but it's all vaporware right now - and personally, I hate the bugs bunny look .

I think the e38 7 series and other BMWs from that era are the last Ultimate Driving Machines. Not a big fan of the Bangle Butts.

 

[Quamera]

In two years I've been through two AP cameras, two parking brakes, two door handles, control arm bushing failure, trunk latch failure, MCU issues, window motor failure, steering bolts, brake recall, etc. I wouldn't call that being mostly OTA updates. I think you fail to realize that Tesla is missing a large presence across most of the country. And not they won't always lend you another Tesla, they'll sometime give you a gas loaner and more often Uber credits, Uber doesn't service where I live so they may get me home from Houston but there's no getting back into Houston. And how are specialist shops going to open everywhere when Telsa won't sell parts to anyone outside of Tesla and they restrict even the parts they'll sell to owners?

Of course they are missing a large presence across the country, they are only 10 years old and have really only hit volume sales in the last couple. It will be interesting to see whether Elon changes his tune and licences some reputable service centres (maybe even some forward looking ICE dealerships) to look after Teslas. In Australia most dealers in smaller centres handle several different brands, sometimes on the same lot, other times next door but go out the back and they are all serviced under on roof by the same techs.

That's a bit unfortunate to have repeated failures on the same part, I hope they were under warranty. Unless it is a wearing part many dealers over here give a lifetime warranty on factory parts, if anything that shouldn't, breaks for the 2nd time it is replaced for no cost.

 

[smcginnis]

Yesterday BMW announced they were not going to sell the iX3 in the US. It seems that it’s 74kw battery cannot approach 300 miles of range and their dealers don’t want to carry the auto since it will only be sold to people who don’t know about Tesla.

 

[MassPlay]

<snip>

BMW has been killed by the Model 3 on the sedan side. I expect the same in the CUV space. Their car sales were down 14% last year, with the light trucks (X1-6) up 35% and accounting for all of the growth last year. How is BMW going to survive this?
What is their plan? Plug in hybrids? There are only so many people that will pay 8K more to get less performance and features.

I think BMW will be the first OEM to go bankrupt. Probably in 2022. They have about 12 billion in cash. Almost all of their assets are ICE (stranded). They have already committed to spend at least 17 billion for batteries and EV conversion. Where does that money come from once their CUV sales tank?

Unfortunately for Tesla they've entered a phase where EV is becoming commodity and people are shopping form factor, usability, quality and cost. These are areas where they don't have great stories.

• Model S sales tanked by 50% year over year from 2018 to 2019. That's largely because no one perceives the Model S as a better car than the Model 3 in technology/usability and the quality doesn't justify the huge gap in price. Without a refresh the Model S is down to a few thousand units/year by 2022.
• Model 3 sales will be following suit shortly. People wanted a small EV SUV but took a Model 3 as a compromise. By 2021/22 the Model 3 will be 20% or less of what the Model Y

So Tesla is heading towards being a one product manufacturer. And that isn't an accident, that's Elon's strategy, make 'em all the same, make 'em cheap, make a lot, then flip it all over to a "pay per transaction" model with self driving. Same model he used with Paypal where he was very successful. That leaves lots of room for others like BMW, Mercedes, Audi, etc. to jump in, and do it at a more profitable spot in the market.

 

[AhwatukeeDad]

That's a pretty accurate picture of what Tesla ownership looks like when you first buy one. But hang around the forums enough and experience the SC's for yourself, you'll find out soon enough that there's so many caveats to what you listed, that many will wish they were back in their BMW's.

Hang around any forum long enough and you will wonder if anyone likes the subject of the forum...

 

[AhwatukeeDad]

Unfortunately for Tesla they've entered a phase where EV is becoming commodity and people are shopping form factor, usability, quality and cost. These are areas where they don't have great stories.

• Model S sales tanked by 50% year over year from 2018 to 2019. That's largely because no one perceives the Model S as a better car than the Model 3 in technology/usability and the quality doesn't justify the huge gap in price. Without a refresh the Model S is down to a few thousand units/year by 2022.
• Model 3 sales will be following suit shortly. People wanted a small EV SUV but took a Model 3 as a compromise. By 2021/22 the Model 3 will be 20% or less of what the Model Y

So Tesla is heading towards being a one product manufacturer. And that isn't an accident, that's Elon's strategy, make 'em all the same, make 'em cheap, make a lot, then flip it all over to a "pay per transaction" model with self driving. Same model he used with Paypal where he was very successful. That leaves lots of room for others like BMW, Mercedes, Audi, etc. to jump in, and do it at a more profitable spot in the market.

ever heard of the Cybertruck?

 

[ThomasD]

Don't some competitive races require a full cage Is anyone running a full cage in their car I've thought about getting a wrecked m 3 and building a Dirt Track car out of it. As long as I could get parts who cares if it's not under warranty It will never be street legal Tow it to the track and have fun

 

[azjohn]

CarPlay and the 3D parking system will be missed.

I have Carplay in my Tundra and comparing it to the Tesla you wont miss the Carplay

 

[Monkey]

I have CarPlay in two of my current vehicles. Don’t use it. I like CarPlay when I travel and rent a car since most newer vehicles have it. Gives me quick access to music and navigation through my phone and circumvents the car rental companies’ desire to charge extra if you want to add their navigation option.

Even with its slow and clunky MCU1, our 2016 X is still way superior to CarPlay.

 

[vpatel787]

For me CarPlay let’s me run my home automation which I will miss when I get the Y. Hopefully Tesla provides some sort of integration for that other than automatically opening the garage.

 

[z168]

Having several aging vehicles is hard work. The biggest expense I had to do for an X5 was an engine out service. And even then I still had to deal with other ancillary systems along the way

Was in the market recently for an X5M but after test driving the MX, well, we know how that ended

 

[MassPlay]

ever heard of the Cybertruck?

Sure! Cybertruck and the semi will be there, but are targeted at a very different market segment. No one is cross shopping what BMW/Audi/Mercedes makes with a Cybertruck; the cross-shop for a Cybertruck is a Ford/RAM/Chev/Toyota.

 

[MassPlay]

The things I miss out of CarPlay are mostly non-Apple

• Waze
• Overcast (podcast handling way better than fumbling around with TuneIn)
• Audible
• Good txt handling (the only Apple thing)
• Home automation

And I'm sure the list will continue to grow. With everyone else in the industry supporting extensibility via your phone, its a shame Tesla is being so stubborn on this and taking the "if we decide its needed we'll write it ourselves" attitude. A real missed opportunity for them...