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Original poster

7 year old BMW is a right-off due to normal wear and tear?!

29 replies

momo2 · 07/02/2025 19:44

I wonder what your thoughts are on this. Our 7 year old BMW hybrid started having problems about a year ago. We paid £1800 to replace one of the battery cells. A few months later more problems started and now after extensive diagnosis we are told ALL the cells need replacing. The dealer wants £6700 to fix it and BMW is not willing to offer any good will to reduce the cost. That is about the market value of the car if it was in working order. The mileage is around 90K.

I think it's unreasonable for a BMW to be a written-off due to wear and tear at this age. The full price when new was around £45K and it is a well kept car with all the services done on time. What on earth do you think we should do? Having been BMW fans and owners we feel really let down. What do you think we should do?

OP posts:
NewForestMum123 · 07/02/2025 19:53

Does the battery have a warranty?

Does “replacing all the cells” = “replacing the battery”? Can you get a cheaper, refurbished battery?

It’s mental to me that a £45k car can drop to £7k after 7 years. Especially with full service history. I do believe you. But it’s mental.

Dearg · 07/02/2025 19:57

Did you buy it new? With a warranty? Or from a BMW dealer? I think that would/ should make a difference

Has it been regularly serviced ? Again, by a dealer?

90k sounds a lot to me - average for 7 years is probably nearer 56k - 70k
That said, if it has been maintained regularly, by BMW service agents, I would push harder for a contribution. I have not had a hybrid but have had them do out of warranty work on previous cars if I could show the car was cared for.

Sorry, that’s a hard pill to swallow, a 7 year old car being written off for mechanics. I have happily driven much older cars.

mum11970 · 07/02/2025 19:59

Electric cars are pretty much worthless once the battery goes. I would expect to get a lot more than 90k out of the battery though

Badbadbunny · 07/02/2025 20:02

mum11970 · 07/02/2025 19:59

Electric cars are pretty much worthless once the battery goes. I would expect to get a lot more than 90k out of the battery though

Maybe today's new registrations would be expected to last more than 90k miles, but seven years ago, the batteries were nowhere near so advanced and reliable, so it's not beyond the realms of probability that the batteries of that age are life expired at that kind of mileage. This is the trouble with new unproven technology. It seldom pays to be an early adopter.

Original poster
momo2 · 07/02/2025 23:27

NewForestMum123 · 07/02/2025 19:53

Does the battery have a warranty?

Does “replacing all the cells” = “replacing the battery”? Can you get a cheaper, refurbished battery?

It’s mental to me that a £45k car can drop to £7k after 7 years. Especially with full service history. I do believe you. But it’s mental.

The warranty of the battery cells was 6 years. So no warranty. The authorized BMW dealer (Syntner) tried to get a good will gesture from BMW but they are not budging, We even wrote to their complaints department. It just seems unbelievable at this point that BMW doesn't care much about its customer satisfaction levels. Yes the drop in price is mental too.

OP posts:
Original poster
momo2 · 07/02/2025 23:36

And I just realised my absent minded spelling ... write-off not right-off. 😂

OP posts:
spikefaithbuffy · 07/02/2025 23:42

I mean at the end of the day, they're a business and they can't do it for everyone
You could have taken out an extended warranty that might have covered it

It's the same with anything really, fridge, TV, car is just a bigger thing and sometimes you're unlucky with stuff

That's not meaning to sound harsh but I speak to people every single day where the car is out of warranty and they want the fault covering

Gloriainextremis · 07/02/2025 23:46

That is an eye-watering bill. Have you done any research to find out whether this is a common issue with that particular model and age of car, with similar mileage?

Original poster
momo2 · 07/02/2025 23:48

spikefaithbuffy · 07/02/2025 23:42

I mean at the end of the day, they're a business and they can't do it for everyone
You could have taken out an extended warranty that might have covered it

It's the same with anything really, fridge, TV, car is just a bigger thing and sometimes you're unlucky with stuff

That's not meaning to sound harsh but I speak to people every single day where the car is out of warranty and they want the fault covering

I've owned a few cars but none have been a write-off at 6-7 years. And that from a decent badge. No, I do think they should at least give a decent reduction on the price of repair or they will lose customers. At this rate we wont be buying BMW again.

OP posts:
Ferrazzuoli · 07/02/2025 23:49

The thing is, you may think it's unreasonable, but if it's outside the warranty there's not a lot you can do unfortunately.

CrotchetyQuaver · 08/02/2025 00:02

I think if you're getting no joy through the standard avenues I'd get slagging them off on social media. I presume you won't be buying another one after this so nothing to lose? I think it's shocking that after 7 years a £45k car is on the scrap heap due to uneconomic repair. I'm still running older diesel and petrol engine vehicles though (and very glad I am when I read of problems like yours). Good luck but not sure that helps you at all.

MissRachelismycoparent · 08/02/2025 00:08

Unfortunately I think this is the case with electric cars. The technology (especially 7 years ago as it was so new) advances quickly making the cars depreciate faster. I'm fairly sure they are stopping making hybrids altogether now. Once s battery goes they are fairly worthless

ErrolTheDragon · 08/02/2025 00:51

I'm fairly sure they are stopping making hybrids altogether now

Toyota is making them but they do it properly and give a long warranty - 10 years, and 15 for the battery so long as they do the servicing.

The once almighty German car industry hasn't kept up well with newer technologies.

Original poster
momo2 · 08/02/2025 14:55

Thanks everyone. Spoke to a Britannia Rescue man today. He said that nowadays they are dealing with more new car failures than old. He told me that an electric Range Rover outside the warranty had a bill of 35k to replace all the battery cells, He says a lot of good cars are going to the heap and it's the government's push for EVs that driving it . So much for being environmental.

At this point it seems that we will have to walk away from the vehicle, but we certainly shan't keep it a secret.

If any other ideas occurs to anyone please share.

OP posts:
newtb · 08/02/2025 16:56

Is it worth giving honest john a try? His Telegraph column has readers lettres and hé may give you an idea.

PheasantPluckers · 08/02/2025 17:02

The warranty is an indicator of the expected lifespan, really.

Bobbybobbins · 08/02/2025 17:08

Our 5 year old petrol car was not worth repairing according to the garage but we did have 80k miles on it which definitely had an impact. I was a bit surprised though we got a reasonable amount part ex.

SiobhanSharpe · 08/02/2025 17:15

newtb · 08/02/2025 16:56

Is it worth giving honest john a try? His Telegraph column has readers lettres and hé may give you an idea.

I'd try several of the 'consumer champions' or experts who have columns in the national dailies.
They will investigate and name and shame without compunction. Friends have had a good result using the Sunday Times consumer expert.
Even if BMW is partly or wholly in the right on this, they will be concerned about the bad publicity.

Tryingtokeepgoing · 08/02/2025 17:27

If you had a 7 year old BMW that needed a replacement engine it’d be unlikely to be covered by warranty anyway, and few people would take such a car to the dealer for a replacement. Main dealers are well known for charging like wounded bulls. It’s poor that it failed - I know our old Audi hybrid came with an 8 year warranty, and I thought (though haven’t checked) that my completely electric BMW also had 8 years. I should check!

But a quick google shows that, unsurprisingly, there are companies that do refurbish EV batteries for less than you’ve been quoted. Caveat, I have not used them!

https://www.bmwevhybridbatteries.co.uk

BMW EV Hybrid Batteries - Replacement and Repair Service

Welcome to BMW EV Hybrid Batteries, your trusted partner for top-quality BMW EV battery replacement and repair services.

https://www.bmwevhybridbatteries.co.uk

allthemiddlechildrenoftheworld · 08/02/2025 17:31

@momo2 confused here. if it is hybrid can you not just use the fuel instead of the battery power??

ZimbleFox · 08/02/2025 17:34

Hybrid is hardly new technology, my Dad got his first Prius 20 years ago, and was up to 150k mileage wise when someone drove into it and wrote it off.

Londonmummy66 · 08/02/2025 17:37

@momo2 - there is a column in the Sunday TImes magazine next to the car review each week. The author is a senior fixer guy from AA so you could write and see if he would cover it in his column. Chances are that coming from the AA he would know if this was normal after 7 years or not as well.

Mrburnshound · 08/02/2025 17:39

We were in a simialr situation and just had to sell it for scrap.

Im never buying a bmw again,

Whatevershallidowithmylife · 08/02/2025 17:42

And that's why we won't be buying anything with a battery for as long as we can. Not helpful but something to consider when buying again?

BourbonsAreOverated · 08/02/2025 17:43

ZimbleFox · 08/02/2025 17:34

Hybrid is hardly new technology, my Dad got his first Prius 20 years ago, and was up to 150k mileage wise when someone drove into it and wrote it off.

And they’d been out for at least 10 years in Japan before that.

this is a bmw issue, I’ve heard of this multiple times with them. I wonder if this is part of the reason they are now sharing tech with Toyota. To get the longevity