Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) BMW April 1st

Thanks for the insight Will, I think you are demonstrating that a lot of us are way out of date with current (not intended) practices

On a philosophical but related note .... do you think that the 'rent everything, own nothing' route may lead to an endemic disregard for what's being rented? ... bounce off another car while parking? ... "who cares, it's just a temporary disposable item" ... could we end up with a tattered run down general environment where no-one has pride or interest in anything, from our public spaces to their houses (or rented 'living pods' they flit between as they drift around the gig-economy) or anything else they temporarily pay for the use of?

Woe betide anyone who owns or values anything nice!

Bit bleak, but you can see the seeds of it in the disregard for public spaces by the litter-strewing graffiti scrawling socially disenchanted already.

K

Back in the '90s I did some work with Ford Credit to bring their 'half a car' finance scheme to the UK from the USA. & since then pay as you use it financing of new cars has become ever more common. I guess BMW are just taking it to the next logical level by letting an owner turn on & off features - which previous owners might not have ever used.

I think it's the right way to approach a new-ish car, which relies so much on software.
& where the real cost to the first owner is depreciation from new: subscriptions from the manufacturer are a fair way of showing proper maintenance of hard- & software, and maybe the best hedge against depreciation.

That said, I'd love Morgan to offer me a monthly payment option to turn on the heating in my Aero's steering wheel!

My old Z3 (2.8 straight six) had no infotainment but had an excellent CD autochanger in the boot. Bet you can't get one of those any more.

This makes sense when it is a question of software. But heated seats are not software - just a utility which a customer pays for up front to have it installed. This just smacks of a way to make money. If you keep a car for 5 to 10 years how much will you pay for your heated seats at the end of it? Probably more than you would pay when it was just a simple pre-paid option.

Too true, like those run down metro environments of the future as portrayed in The Fifth Element and other future based movies.

When the CX cars were launched I played with the car configurator. Started with bog standard everything. Then the £fun began!
Some astonishing costs for variations. Different colour thread for stitching...£200+ Really? Swop the reel on the machine to a different colour then stitch as normal =£200+! That was repeated for everything else.
No wonder the on the road costs spiralled when the chequebooks opened! Yes, there might be room to negotiate a bit but still, big bucks for adding your own style. Considering how many cars do such low mileage as well, that’s a lot of money in your garage to polish/clean. No wonder the term “ Garage Queen” is used.

Interesting stuff and logical, I have never considered this type of purchase being old school cash and no borrowing but I can now see some short comings with this arrangement. So thanks again for the enlightenment.

You'll have to wrap some waterpipe trace elements to your Aero wheel

Heated wheel in an Aero?

You want another electric item in the cockpit that will not work.......

Warning lights on when key is out
Warning lights on when item is fine
Electric heated side windows
TPS system
Starter button (click click click)
Mileage read out that fades when watts are low
Air Con
Petrol gauge swaying more than a conservative PM candidate

You have to love them. Then you go for a drive and all the messy bits make it worth it.

Are these on the Williams hit list, or just live with long term characterful items ? just like my temperature sensitive odometer .

Now if they had been on subscription as Will's wish