Car Hire Lottery

[Jobbo]

Merc are also the company that make you pay a large yearly subscription to have the full power motors (that are already installed and working at a lower output) - so a hobbled sound system doesn't sound particularly far fetched.

Just like the E90 BMW 325i with the same 3.0 6-cyl engine as the 330i but artificially restricted in the ECU - some people seem to think it's just coded such that it only ever gives 70% throttle.

[Rich B]

Merc are also the company that make you pay a large yearly subscription to have the full power motors (that are already installed and working at a lower output) - so a hobbled sound system doesn't sound particularly far fetched.

Just like the E90 BMW 325i with the same 3.0 6-cyl engine as the 330i but artificially restricted in the ECU - some people seem to think it's just coded such that it only ever gives 70% throttle.

kind of, but you have to pay Merc £2k to make it a "330i", then they reset it back to a "325i" at the end of the year if you don't pay again!

[Mito Man]

Remember when Tesla charged £20k or was it £40k for the ludicrous over the air update
There was also an option to pay a few grand for the Model 3 long range acceleration boost.
They’re all at it for years. BMW with the subscription models and engines. All cars having heated seats but not the switches for it.
VW have a shit nav system in their ID cars on purpose so you go give up and then pay for a package to unlock Apple CarPlay and improved navigation
https://www.volkswagen.co.uk/en/connec ... rades.html

[Rich B]

Remember when Tesla charged £20k or was it £40k for the ludicrous over the air update
There was also an option to pay a few grand for the Model 3 long range acceleration boost.
They’re all at it for years. BMW with the subscription models and engines. All cars having heated seats but not the switches for it.
VW have a shit nav system in their ID cars on purpose so you go give up and then pay for a package to unlock Apple CarPlay and improved navigation
https://www.volkswagen.co.uk/en/connec ... rades.html

yeah, one lump of profit at the beginning when you sell your product (with all the hassle and factories and dealer networks and haggling and finance) is rubbish compared to 10+ years of regular monthly/yearly subscriptions with nothing more than a bit of software tweaking (until you can't be arsed m, and just stop).

[Jobbo]

Merc are also the company that make you pay a large yearly subscription to have the full power motors (that are already installed and working at a lower output) - so a hobbled sound system doesn't sound particularly far fetched.

Just like the E90 BMW 325i with the same 3.0 6-cyl engine as the 330i but artificially restricted in the ECU - some people seem to think it's just coded such that it only ever gives 70% throttle.

kind of, but you have to pay Merc £2k to make it a "330i", then they reset it back to a "325i" at the end of the year if you don't pay again!

Reminds me of the first iPhone - you could buy it for £279 outright (or £179 when Carphone Warehouse dropped the price, which is when I got one) but you had to sign up to a contract when you first booted it up. Or you could jailbreak it and put any SIM in it. Merc can't sensibly think that their software will be unhackable

[dinny_g]

Merc can't sensibly think that their software will be unhackable

But presumably hacking the software would invalidate the warranty ??

Also, so may cars are financed now, it's a mahoosive risk to the customer

[Beany]

I mean, I don't care about the new car situation, I'm more interested in when it's ten years old and you can crack the software locks with a smartwatch to get the free heated seats

[Mito Man]

Litchfield cracked the BMW code pretty quickly
https://www.slashgear.com/942651/bmw-ow ... eats-back/
Does say it voids the warranty. Imagine having the gearbox or a turbo let go and the dealer comes back "ah sorry mate, that heated seat killed it"

Then again, Porsche will do that if you use aftermarket floor mats

[Gavster]

Sixt have made the car hire lottery official. Love how they make it look like an R8 it's a great bit of marketing.

It is also genuinely a good idea. Hire companies have stretched their fleets wafer thin, so this is a great way for them to understand which customers are flexible, while providing a bit of fun for us. I'd definitely try it for rentals between 2 to 7 days because that's the best chance of getting a strong upgrade. Less than 2 days and you're rental scum, and for longer than 7 days they won't want to lose out on revenue by giving you an upgraded vehcile.


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[scotta]

Litchfield cracked the BMW code pretty quickly
https://www.slashgear.com/942651/bmw-ow ... eats-back/
Does say it voids the warranty. Imagine having the gearbox or a turbo let go and the dealer comes back "ah sorry mate, that heated seat killed it"

Then again, Porsche will do that if you use aftermarket floor mats

I did a lot of stuff with bimmercode on our F31. enabled bluetooth streaming and turned off a lot of the annoying stuff that BMW nanny's do like having to hold the button to open the electric boot instead of just pressing it once. I also used it it to code the LED headlights in. added speed displays to the dash LCD, lock beeps, disabled the horn beep when the engine is running and you lock the car.

Exhaust valves permanently open on the M240i is something that you might like as well @Beany

[Nathan]

Merc are also the company that make you pay a large yearly subscription to have the full power motors (that are already installed and working at a lower output) - so a hobbled sound system doesn't sound particularly far fetched.

Just like the E90 BMW 325i with the same 3.0 6-cyl engine as the 330i but artificially restricted in the ECU - some people seem to think it's just coded such that it only ever gives 70% throttle.

E81 125i was a gem in that respect. Same as the R50 Mini One

[Beany]

Litchfield cracked the BMW code pretty quickly
https://www.slashgear.com/942651/bmw-ow ... eats-back/
Does say it voids the warranty. Imagine having the gearbox or a turbo let go and the dealer comes back "ah sorry mate, that heated seat killed it"

Then again, Porsche will do that if you use aftermarket floor mats

I did a lot of stuff with bimmercode on our F31. enabled bluetooth streaming and turned off a lot of the annoying stuff that BMW nanny's do like having to hold the button to open the electric boot instead of just pressing it once. I also used it it to code the LED headlights in. added speed displays to the dash LCD, lock beeps, disabled the horn beep when the engine is running and you lock the car.

Exhaust valves permanently open on the M240i is something that you might like as well @Beany

Yeah I've been looking at stuff like that, but not pulled the metaphoric trigger on it as yet.

[scotta]

Merc are also the company that make you pay a large yearly subscription to have the full power motors (that are already installed and working at a lower output) - so a hobbled sound system doesn't sound particularly far fetched.

Just like the E90 BMW 325i with the same 3.0 6-cyl engine as the 330i but artificially restricted in the ECU - some people seem to think it's just coded such that it only ever gives 70% throttle.

E81 125i was a gem in that respect. Same as the R50 Mini One

IIRC the rover 214i was the same. Pegged back to 75 bhp from the 105 in the ZR by a throttle body mod.

981 Boxster GTS in the same boat. Who's got one of those?

[Simon]

Just like the E90 BMW 325i with the same 3.0 6-cyl engine as the 330i but artificially restricted in the ECU - some people seem to think it's just coded such that it only ever gives 70% throttle.

E81 125i was a gem in that respect. Same as the R50 Mini One

IIRC the rover 214i was the same. Pegged back to 75 bhp from the 105 in the ZR by a throttle body mod.

981 Boxster GTS in the same boat. Who's got one of those?

The 75BHP was an 8V job IIRC, 94 and 103/105 engines were 16V. The ZR throttlebody was 52mm and helped raise the VVC engine (145bhp with 48mm in the 25GTi and coupe) another few bhp and was an easy swap out.

[scotta]

E81 125i was a gem in that respect. Same as the R50 Mini One

IIRC the rover 214i was the same. Pegged back to 75 bhp from the 105 in the ZR by a throttle body mod.

981 Boxster GTS in the same boat. Who's got one of those?

The 75BHP was an 8V job IIRC, 94 and 103/105 engines were 16V. The ZR throttlebody was 52mm and helped raise the VVC engine (145bhp with 48mm in the 25GTi and coupe) another few bhp and was an easy swap out.

No it was definitely pegged back in the rover vs the ZR. Throttle body change gave you about 20 bhp.

[Simon]

Ah that may have been a 42mm one then?

[IanF]

Hired a Golf.. it’s a 21 plate, has done 62000 miles and I’ve used half a tank (ish) driving it around 250-300 miles over the last 10 days.. it’s great to get in a car that doesn’t need charging every few minutes. Hopefully this new-fangled tech will catch on!..

It’s a very nice cabin tbh, apart from the frankly useless touch screen which includes temperature controls.. wireless Apple CarPlay is very good. Quick enough, but not going to win a tlgp against much, especially anything electric. Much more nuance and adjustment when driving it though, especially as it’s a manuel. Probably all the car anyone needs, especially in R form, but shows how far elec cars need to improve..