John Laidlaw
Senior Member
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2013
- Messages
- 26,373
- Reaction score
- 9,163
- Location
- Wirral
- Your Mercedes
- Land Rover Discovery 4
Most of you will know I ‘defected’ over to the dark side 27th. December 2018.
Luckily (so far) I’m still tolerated on here, I love the banter and there are some great folks on here, I also still haven’t forgotten everything I’ve learned on Mercs so I can still sometimes be of minor use hopefully!
A lot of you have asked various questions regarding the change and how the i8 is, so thought it might be fun to start this kind of ‘diary’...
Ok, so why did I change over from a perfectly lovely E63 AMG to what is affectionately described as a “Duracell” Tupperware tub?
The 63 (or Panzer as I named it), I had owned for close on 2 years, I normally get itchy feet on 2 years anyway- however the Panzer was the best car I have owned, bar none, and I had thought maybe keep for another 1-2-3 years...
Few things changed that..
The 213 which replaced my 212 is so well kitted out and bolted together I kept looking over the fence
Over the fence is way too expensive for my budget to finance and more importantly run (3 young kids and a wife to provide for)
Because of this, the Panzer was feeling less special in some ways
Lot of 212s are now slipping into the highly modified brigade, not my scene (sorry)
I did toy with the AMG GT, but again the financial side crept in...
So I wanted something ‘special’
By accident I looked at an i8 in a private dealership when I went to look at an AMG GT
Seemed this was a ‘supercar’ which can be run reasonably economically....
So the hunt began, having set out what I wanted (there are very few options on these as they are well specked anyway), found ‘the one’ at BMW Shrewsbury, bought it...
Picked it up 27th. December
Thoughts so far....
The car
Pluses
Lovely drive
Very smooth
Very economical
Beautifully built, not a squeak or rattle anywhere
Everyone stares at it
Loads of folks stop you to ask questions
It’s a ‘supercar’ of sorts/Dihedral (scissor) doors
Picked the optimum colour (Protonic blue)
Wife hates it
Quite powerful despite the small 3 cylinder engine backed up by electric
Negatives
Everyone stares at it
Loads of folks stop to ask you questions
Wife hates it
Not enough cylinders
Beggar to get in and out of
There is no boot whatsoever
Haven’t yet got the seating position just right (easy in the Merc or Volvo)
The running
Not smooth sailing unfortunately, I discovered on the first ‘cold’ day after I picked up the car (just last week as I’ve not driven it that much due to being away), that I had no cabin heat
it’s BMW approved used so warrantied
So into Halliwell Jones Chester, my nearest
4 days to diagnose
4 days carless , as the policy of BMW is only to give you a replacement when they have diagnosed and are awaiting parts!
Now in a 68 plate 530d, as they await auxiliary heater unit
Service is...well less than perfect!
BMW Generally
Showrooms excellent/Forums hopeless/Workshops clueless ?
To be continued.....
Luckily (so far) I’m still tolerated on here, I love the banter and there are some great folks on here, I also still haven’t forgotten everything I’ve learned on Mercs so I can still sometimes be of minor use hopefully!
A lot of you have asked various questions regarding the change and how the i8 is, so thought it might be fun to start this kind of ‘diary’...
Ok, so why did I change over from a perfectly lovely E63 AMG to what is affectionately described as a “Duracell” Tupperware tub?
The 63 (or Panzer as I named it), I had owned for close on 2 years, I normally get itchy feet on 2 years anyway- however the Panzer was the best car I have owned, bar none, and I had thought maybe keep for another 1-2-3 years...
Few things changed that..
The 213 which replaced my 212 is so well kitted out and bolted together I kept looking over the fence
Over the fence is way too expensive for my budget to finance and more importantly run (3 young kids and a wife to provide for)
Because of this, the Panzer was feeling less special in some ways
Lot of 212s are now slipping into the highly modified brigade, not my scene (sorry)
I did toy with the AMG GT, but again the financial side crept in...
So I wanted something ‘special’
By accident I looked at an i8 in a private dealership when I went to look at an AMG GT
Seemed this was a ‘supercar’ which can be run reasonably economically....
So the hunt began, having set out what I wanted (there are very few options on these as they are well specked anyway), found ‘the one’ at BMW Shrewsbury, bought it...
Picked it up 27th. December
Thoughts so far....
The car
Pluses
Lovely drive
Very smooth
Very economical
Beautifully built, not a squeak or rattle anywhere
Everyone stares at it
Loads of folks stop you to ask questions
It’s a ‘supercar’ of sorts/Dihedral (scissor) doors
Picked the optimum colour (Protonic blue)
Wife hates it
Quite powerful despite the small 3 cylinder engine backed up by electric
Negatives
Everyone stares at it
Loads of folks stop to ask you questions
Wife hates it
Not enough cylinders
Beggar to get in and out of
There is no boot whatsoever
Haven’t yet got the seating position just right (easy in the Merc or Volvo)
The running
Not smooth sailing unfortunately, I discovered on the first ‘cold’ day after I picked up the car (just last week as I’ve not driven it that much due to being away), that I had no cabin heat
it’s BMW approved used so warrantied
So into Halliwell Jones Chester, my nearest
4 days to diagnose
4 days carless , as the policy of BMW is only to give you a replacement when they have diagnosed and are awaiting parts!
Now in a 68 plate 530d, as they await auxiliary heater unit
Service is...well less than perfect!
BMW Generally
Showrooms excellent/Forums hopeless/Workshops clueless ?
To be continued.....