BMW using technology to answer a question nobody asked.

Ha, speaking of PITA japanese cars, I own an '86 Celica GTS. I had to remove the solenoid from my starter with it mounted in order to remove the whole thing without messing with taking the exhaust apart (to take the manifold off I have to remove the alternator and it's bracket). There's alot of little stuff like that that makes it a pain to work on. God forbid I ever have to mess with anything between the engine and firewall, my little sister might have hands small enough to get in there...

In my roaming around junkyards i've noticed new cars look harder and harder to work on, and some don't look to have any tow hooks. And the idea of an electronic dipstick, like so many other "great" new technologies is completely retarded. God, I can't even wrap my mind around that. Talk about engineering for engineerings sake. I can understand BMWs engineers thinking it would be cool, I'm a mechanical engineer major myself and some conversations take some pretty stupid turns, it's hard for some guys to stay rooted in whats really necessary sometimes.

It's stuff like this that makes me wish I had my old truck again. No a/c, power nothing, manual trans, carb with no emmisions bullshit etc etc (lol no tow hooks either, but thats what the steel bumper is for). You could fix just about anything on it with hand tools, in a reasonable amount of time. Me and my dad replaced the clutch in like 3 hours, no power tools, never done it before. For manufacturers to just assume that everyone will take their car to the dealership for every little thing it ever needs is just asinine.
 
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For manufacturers to just assume that everyone will take their car to the dealership for every little thing it ever needs is just asinine.
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Sadly it's largely where they and the dealers make their money. Ever wonder why BMW/Merc parts are so damn expensive? I've mentioned in other threads about the K-cars repair bills being one of the major reasons Chrysler was able to stay afloat in the late 80's.
 
thedguy said:
I've mentioned in other threads about the K-cars repair bills being one of the major reasons Chrysler was able to stay afloat in the late 80's.
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Ha I believe it too. God I wonder how many more of those there are in junkyards now than on the road :lol: ? Personally i'm used to old GM stuff, for which parts are practically free. I'm sure German parts are insane, but an engine rebuild kit for my Celica is $580. I payed $700 for the car!??! My passenger side axle was $90, so was the starter (luckily found one in a junkyard). One decent brake rotor is $30, I could have probably found 4 of them for my '85 Camaro for $30 lol.
 
tigger said:
Ha I believe it too. God I wonder how many more of those there are in junkyards now than on the road :lol: ? Personally i'm used to old GM stuff, for which parts are practically free. I'm sure German parts are insane, but an engine rebuild kit for my Celica is $580. I payed $700 for the car!??! My passenger side axle was $90, so was the starter (luckily found one in a junkyard). One decent brake rotor is $30, I could have probably found 4 of them for my '85 Camaro for $30 lol.
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To rebuild the new big Merc engines is going to cost between 20,000 and 40,000 USD. The 20,000 number represents the smaller and older V8s. The 40,000 is for the top of the line big AMG and supercharged engines.
 
Nein! Ve must make un accurate and complex vay to check for ze oil!
 
wasya152 said:
these type of post just piss me off. it's not overly engineered. it's actually very convinient. i have a bmw with an electronic dipstick. all you have to fuck*** do is read the damn manual to figure out how to use. it's so damn simple. you press a button and just wait like 2-3 minutes and you get a correct reading. the reason people have been overfilling the oil is because they don't reset the level afterwards. it's so intuitive. what's the difference between a traditional and an electric one. after you fill the oil, you still have to check the level. with an electronic one, you just press a button and don't need to get out and fiddle under the hood. it just tech challenged people who don't put in the time to learn how to use the tech that always have a problem. progress is always forward.....
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HAHA!!
You want to change the oil without opening the hood/bonnet? Good for you.

Checking oil is one of the most simplest thing ever, or atleast should be. With a stick you can check it in less than a minute, so it is faster, more reliable and, if you are normal and are used to wiping your hands from time to time, you don't get that dirty.
BTW. Are you absolutely sure you are getting a correct reading? 100% sure?
 
Actually there is a lot of write-offs because people forget to check the oil, thats why most modern cars have oil level sensors built in. (It used to be only oil pressure sensors, and when the oil pressure is gone once you can basically throw away the engine)
 
un-dee said:
Actually there is a lot of write-offs because people forget to check the oil, thats why most modern cars have oil level sensors built in. (It used to be only oil pressure sensors, and when the oil pressure is gone once you can basically throw away the engine)
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My mom did exactly that to a 1987 Dodge Caravan. Blew the motor. It's one of many cars my family has abandoned on the side of a freeway... Ironically enough all of them were '87's... hmmm.
 
This is why Old BMW>New BMW. E46 and before and you are ok.
 
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