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      09-22-2020, 04:51 AM   #14
patsgarageonline
patsgarageonline.com
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Drives: BMW i8
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Eldersburg, MD

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Thanks for sharing the video.

I wish I had more data points. The folks who post about their i8's are a small subset of people who own i8's. Of those, there are a small subset who talk about the issues they've been experiencing. The compressor failure may not be common, but expensive, and that's why I felt I needed to post something.

Many people approach me at events saying the i8 is their dream car. I'd hate to see someone buy the car because they can afford the payments, but then not be able to drive it or even sell it, because of an AC compressor failure.

Regarding costs, someone in my comment thread mentioned they were in Puerto Rico and the AC just failed when he was driving it, shortly after he bought it. No noise or no indication of failure. He was quoted $8k at first, then a few days later said it would be $18k. That's the cost of a new low-option VW.

For a sports car, which is what BMW labels the i8, it will have high maintenance costs if you consider compressor replacement maintenance. If you compare it to a supercar, then it's justified. But, as a sports car, I can't say it's OK. And, considering Porsche has campaigns for defective items, why can't BMW do the same.

Consider the Porsche Cayman GT4 in a manual. People were losing 3rd gear due to a bad weld in the gear box. Porsche made good on it and you could bring your car in for a new transmission, even if you didn't have the problem, and that included cars out of warranty. If we get that kind of response from BMW, regarding a defective part that costs way more to replace on the i8 than any other sports car, I'd be happy.
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