52000 miles....

The battery capacity hasn't dimished a bit. So long for the perception Li-Ion will degrade after a significant mileage. On my side I still drive up and down canyon, explore the backcountry and drive long distance with the added satisfaction of instant torque, quietness and no vibration.

Sadly a couple of months ago my driver side door was dinged by a city bus. After some research I found out the panel of the door is the easiest thing to change.

In their teutonic wisdom BMW decided on making the i3 a lego car... simple to maintain (like ZERO maintenance) and easy to repair with simple plastic panels.

It has more in common with a Humvee and its replaceable metal panels riveted together than a complex molded metal Lexus where a simple ding costs a fortune to repair.

So far what would be a 2k job on another car is:

- $300 driver side door plastic panel ordered OEM from the dealer.
- 6 cans of primer at $6 bucks each
- 4 cans of body paint matching my cars color ordered from ScratchPaints. Awesome place. $100
- 2 cans of 2k gloss. $40
- A mask and filters: $20

I already took off the panel and replaced it back and it was a 10 minutes operation. Simply amazing...



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