From the Forums: A couple's failure to plan when buying a BMW i3

"Battery Tender Unnecessary" (carac)
06/18/2014 at 11:16 • Filed to: None

Here is a post to bimmerfest's BMW i forums that reads like a list of "Things to avoid when buying a car, especially an EV"

Picking up our i3 from out of town dealer

1. Chose not to buy from local dealer because we don't want to wait 3 months.
2. Found dealer in another city 150 miles away with exact car we wanted (except giga instead of tera, which was ok with us).
3. Dealer used "True Price", which was about $300 more than our Car buying service. Service would have gotten us the car for, which we were fine with.
4. Called dealer and told them exactly when we would be there (in 6 hours). Confirmed price, explained the "dealer check" from our bank. Offered to fax it just to be safe, but the number they gave us never worked. Called back and just got voicemail of the person we had spoken with. They said they didn't need it anyway, so we moved on.
5. Drove the 3 hours, set to arrive just before closing time.
6. Dealer COMPLETELY surprised that we were there, says they had no idea who we were or that we were coming.
7. Person we spoke to was identified, and found out they a) aren't in sales, b) didn't relay to manager that we were coming and c) didn't understand what we meant by "have the car charged up" and apparently blew off the request.
8. Dealer gives us paperwork, which is the right price - except with a $250 "Phantom Footprint" charge, which was not in the internet ad, sticker, or "True Price". We were told it was not optional because it had already been installed.
9. Dealer apologizes profusely for the whole situation, agrees to remove the Phantom Footprint charge, and takes $500 off the price.
10. Dealership does not have the charging membership card that the website says comes with the car, leaving us to stress even more about what is now going to be a midnight drive across Texas.
11. Dealership staff leave after two hours of finishing up. Finally get on the road, with only 70 miles of range.
12. 50 miles later, we stop at a Blink station. Very easy to use, and all goes well. Sitting to wait 2-3 hours, we find the ChargeNow card in the glove box.
13. After an hour, charger says that it will be another 2 hours. We need EVERY range mile, due to it being 82 miles to the next station. Oh, did I mention that there is an erroneous location on the ChargeNow map, which shows 45 miles? We had planned the trip around that, then found out that the location was really 40 miles further away.
14. It's 11pm, and my wife is starting a new job the next morning, is 120 miles from home, with 2 hours of charge time, an hour of drive time, another 2 hours of charge time, and then another hour of drive time - we are done.
15. We call our insurance roadside assist, and even though we added the vehicle earlier in the day, they say it's not in the system so not covered.
16. We call BMW roadside assist, and they take great care of us. She unplugged from the charging station, and drove another 20 miles to the next town. We leave the car in a Wal Mart parking lot, unlocked, and drive home. BMW agreed to tow it the 100+ miles to our local BMW dealership.
17. We'll see what happens tomorrow!

Lessons learned so far:
ChargeNow has some inaccurate data
On a 160 mile trip without a range extender, the stars have to be aligned to make it work without killing a lot of charge time
BMW dealership staff still coming up to speed on this new product

We did not buy this car for long distance, and did consider towing it from the beginning, behind our SUV with a tow package. However, I was afraid of getting there and ready to go, and find out that it didn't fit properly on the tow dolly from Uhaul (I ripped the bumper off a Porsche years ago on one of those things), so thought it would be safer to drive it. We had planned to be there around 5, get back on the road by 6, a 3 hour drive plus a couple hours of charge time. Seemed reasonable, but clearly was not.

!!! UNKNOWN HEADER TYPE (MULTI-LINE BREAK?) !!!

Read on bimmerfest.com

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Tell me if I miss anything here.

They planned to buy a EV with a 70-90 mile range, from a dealer 150 miles away. A dealer they cold called, who they had never dealt with. They left with the goal of arriving right before the dealer closed a day before the wife starts a new job.

And I'm sure they thought everything would work out perfectly.

Remember kids: "A failure to plan is a plan for failure."

DISCUSSION (19)

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/18/2014 at 11:20

Well, if i'm going to buy a new car i think i'll take a day off instead. I want to enjoy my new car. But maybe that's just me.

macanamera > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/18/2014 at 11:20

All they needed was a pack of D batteries

Soloburrito > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/18/2014 at 11:26

"BMW dealership staff still coming up to speed on this new product"

Reminds of what Elon Musk always says about traditional dealerships not giving two fucks about promoting electric cars.

Brian Silvestro > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/18/2014 at 11:27

Kinja'd!!!

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > macanamera
06/18/2014 at 11:30

would've at least kept his wife entertained during the down time...

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/18/2014 at 11:31

This was a stupid plan to begin with.

They should have bought the car, and had it put on a flat bed to drive home.

These things aren't built for a road trip, unless it has "battery swap" like Tesla wants to do, it's just not functional. I'm not saying they aren't good for in-city usage or putzing around town, but it just doesn't work for a longer ride.

schwartz > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW.
06/18/2014 at 11:34

I traded in my F-150 and picked up my Focus ST on my lunch hour. Did not take any time off. Granted a majority of the talk and neg were done over the phone and I had gotten my F-150 from them so it was a painless 20 min process.

Frank Grimes > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/18/2014 at 11:35

Sounds like a normal BMW owner also I bet that tiny car somehow took up 4 spaces overnight.

Roberto G. > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/18/2014 at 11:37

Lessons learned so far: next time purchase a gasoline car, and forget the EV bullshit.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
06/18/2014 at 11:39

That's what rumble strips are for.

heliochrome85 > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/18/2014 at 11:41

if they are looking for a bridge, I've got one to sell.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Soloburrito
06/18/2014 at 11:43

It's not much better with other manufacturers, either. My dad had a salesperson try to tell him that the Chevy Volt was an electric car with a 400 mile range.

Jagvar > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/18/2014 at 11:47

The most mind-boggling part for me is that they chose to embark on this long-distance adventure the evening before the wife had to start a new job. Really? They really couldn't have timed that any differently?

Jayhawk Jake > Jagvar
06/18/2014 at 11:54

Seriously, and it reads like they are blaming the dealer for that.

Not a single lesson learned takes responsibility, they only place blame.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > schwartz
06/18/2014 at 11:55

Well, i know car buying is not an all day process sometimes, but i love the smell of a brand new car.

jariten1781 > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/18/2014 at 12:14

We had planned to be there around 5, get back on the road by 6,

...

Seemed reasonable, but clearly was not.

Just this piece, regardless of the EV range issue, does not seem reasonable.

You can maybe pull this off if it's a dealer you have history with...Random dealer in another city at closing on a new product they've probably sold none of that requires non-standard prep? That's just hilarious optimism. As is the rest of the story.

Ferrero1911 > jariten1781
06/18/2014 at 14:01

I ordered my car over the phone from a dealer I had never bought from (first new car). The day it arrived I was in and out of the dealership in about 40 minutes. This included a test drive, paperwork, signing the wall, taking pictures, inspecting the car, and waiting for them to wash it.

I was shocked. Even though I had all my financing lined up and everything I still expected to be kept waiting. Even though I had this experience I would still not expect this process to go quickly in the future though.

Burt > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/19/2014 at 09:02

I have a much easier plan!

Step 1: Buy this

Kinja'd!!!

Step 2: Buy lots of this every 300 miles or so:

Kinja'd!!!

Jonathan Harper > Battery Tender Unnecessary
06/19/2014 at 09:13

That just sounds like bad planning/execution on all parts. Who the hell did they talk to on the phone at the dealership who told them this would all work out?! A wash guy? A porter? How on earth did that call not get to a salesman?!?