My Happy New Year is off to a rough start... but it's only a car, right? Three years ago this March, I bought my 2017 i3 with a range extender and it's been a journey in fine German engineering gone wrong. I mean whoever heard of a $55,000 car that doesn't have an automatic hatch? The seatbelts get stuck, regularly. Backseat passengers can't get out without front seat folks undoing their belts and opening the door. My claustrophobic friends say no way to my ride. I would love to take it on a road trip but that can't happen with any certainty. Petty nuisances but they're constant. I really love my city car; it's so fun to drive and not pumping gas anymore is one of my joys.
I purchased an extended warranty for $4,000 and my first problem wasn't covered because it was related to the gas engine. Hmmmm. OK, what do I know. It was only a problem because I couldn't pass the required emissions test with the engine light son even though everything ran just fine. A part was replaced... three times since it kept breaking and it had something to do with the gas cap! So $1900 for that round. The engine light returned several months ago and I had a local European car mechanic disconnect it after their diagnostics showed (again) that there was no problem. Yesterday, when I unplugged and started the car. The dashboard lit up with an exclamation point over a steering wheel icon, BRAKE was lit up in red, lights were on and nothing started. I had to just leave it. It is 19 degrees but that's not been a problem before. I returned to a black brick. I can't even pop open the trunk. My battery must be kaputz.
I sure hope my warranty covers this and am wondering if repairs have to be done by the dealer. If you made it to the end, thanks for listening to my rant and I look forward to reading your wise comments.
I purchased an extended warranty for $4,000 and my first problem wasn't covered because it was related to the gas engine. Hmmmm. OK, what do I know. It was only a problem because I couldn't pass the required emissions test with the engine light son even though everything ran just fine. A part was replaced... three times since it kept breaking and it had something to do with the gas cap! So $1900 for that round. The engine light returned several months ago and I had a local European car mechanic disconnect it after their diagnostics showed (again) that there was no problem. Yesterday, when I unplugged and started the car. The dashboard lit up with an exclamation point over a steering wheel icon, BRAKE was lit up in red, lights were on and nothing started. I had to just leave it. It is 19 degrees but that's not been a problem before. I returned to a black brick. I can't even pop open the trunk. My battery must be kaputz.
I sure hope my warranty covers this and am wondering if repairs have to be done by the dealer. If you made it to the end, thanks for listening to my rant and I look forward to reading your wise comments.
