Who says the i-miev is cheap to operate?

[iwatson]

Just had my largest maintenance expense to date on the i-miev!

Had to replace the wiper blades! I noticed the rubber on the passenger side one was separating. Upon closer inspection the one on the back was in bad shape as well (Maybe that's why it was making that screeching sound).

Did you guys know the i-miev has three different size blades? 24" on the driver's blade, 20" on the passenger side and 12" on the rear.

Decided to suck it up and pony up for all three!

$38.38......I almost croaked! :lol:

 

[PV1]

I had to pay $45 for the front passenger and rear wiper. I can't remember what the driver's blade was. I tell ya, just a money hole, :lol: :roll: . Of course, that was over a year ago. Trico blades may streak and hop like mad, but they do last. The set of Trico blades I put on the Cavalier lasted two years at least, then we traded it in.

 

[Don]

Just had my largest maintenance expense to date on the i-miev!

Had to replace the wiper blades! I noticed the rubber on the passenger side one was separating. Upon closer inspection the one on the back was in bad shape as well (Maybe that's why it was making that screeching sound)

If you keep it garaged out of the sun, those wiper blades last nearly forever . . . . really lowers your operating expenses! :lol:

In 16 years, my Miata has had the wipers replaced twice and neither time were they coming apart as you describe - I change them when they start to streak the windshield

Don

 

[iwatson]

If you keep it garaged out of the sun, those wiper blades last nearly forever . . . . really lowers your operating expenses!

Thanks for the tip! I didn't know that made a difference but yes, we do keep it garaged unless we're using it.....and we really like to use it! However, we bought it used and it had sat on a dealer lot for at least 8 months. Before that "Who knows?".

My post was a stab at humor. I might laugh my a** off when I write something and yet it doesn't translate over the internet. Also I have an odd, quirky sense of humor. I guess that's why I dig this odd, quirky little car! :lol:

 

[Don]

My post was a stab at humor. I might laugh my a** off when I write something and yet it doesn't translate over the internet.

Yes, I was pretty sure you were making fun of everyone else who must pay for oil changes, tune ups, timing belt changes and transmission overhauls - My 'humor' was . . . . if you think a $45 set of wipers every 3 or 4 years is 'acceptable', let's cut that at least in half! :mrgreen:

The back of my cars face southwest when parked in the garage and I've noticed if I leave the garage doors open in the afternoon, the rear wiper blades don't last nearly as long as they ought to - Of course, I'm probably wasting enough electricity closing and reopening the garage doors to buy a new rear wiper every few years! :lol:

Don

 

[acensor]

My electrical usage/cost is so low that if you studied our home energy bills before and after we got the MiEV you could not detect the mont or year we purchased.
I calculated that for what it costs to buy a gallon of gas i drove about 330 miles. That's 330mpg practical equivalent out of pocket.
Then to be fair I tried to amortize in the cost of eventual battery replacement. Tough, because we can't know for sure how many miles or the replacement costs. But made middle assumptions and came up with about 90mpg practical equivalent.
(Since gas prices are down from when i did that calculation, today not quite that impressive.)

I've not spent a penny on maintenance.
Oh, wait....I did spend $5 on a can of fix-a-flat to keep in back, so in case if a flat my wife wouldn't have to dig under the seat for the OEM one.
......

BUT, I hate to admit it, but in ONE sense at least it has proven rather expensive to operate:
As a buyer rather than leaser, I like other buyers , have taken a huge hit on depreciation.
If i were to sell today, or if someone rear ended me (in which case if the battery pack got damaged the insurance company would declare it "totalled" and write me a check for about $9000) my per mile and per year ownership cost would be painfully high compared to, say, having purchased a Honda Fit ICE car.

I'll probably post more on this under a separate topic maybe titled "what would you buy TODAY."

Perhaps this depreciatin "hit" is moot in that we will likely keep this car for a long long time .......to the point where any car would have depreciated to almost nothing anyway.

 

[pbui19]

I just have to chime in, my i is leaning toward higher cost than my other junkies; but hopefully it's just a brief spell of bad luck.

1. I had an unexpected side wall rip of the right front tire when i drove over a poorly cut-off parking post.

2. My deer strike may require an arm suspension replacement, may be more rear suspension work, and a couple of alignments.

3. And i had a stupid rock strike just 1/4" from the edge, and now the crack is slow creeping across, since i don't have comprehensive coverage, it'll cost around $400

still, the EV grind is priceless !

 

[elekTrond]

How to service an electric car + unlocking hidden iMiEV options! (unlocking B+C aka B+Eco in a C-Zero or Ion) - Kiwi EV adventures :arrow: :idea: :shock: :? :lol:

 

[CLEiMiev]

Lol. I found the rear blade on Walmart.com for 3.68. There was no shipping charge when you do an in store pick-up... so I drove into the pickup zone and they brought it out to me... but they did not install it :lol:

 

[Luddite]

Lol. I found the rear blade on Walmart.com for 3.68. There was no shipping charge when you do an in store pick-up... so I drove into the pickup zone and they brought it out to me... but they did not install it :lol:

Welcome to the forum, CLEiMiev,

$3.68 is good.
I paid 10 GBP for my front wiper blade.
Yes, it only has one front wiper blade. There is a large patch that it doesn't cover though...

http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2564

Is it only the US models with the two front wiper blades?
All the clones and EU models seem to have only one... another win for keeping costs down

 

[phb10186]

Is it only the US models with the two front wiper blades?
All the clones and EU models seem to have only one... another win for keeping costs down

Yup, only the North American wider variant ones have 2 wipers.

 

[Antaris]

I am relieved that I will only have to pay about $850 cdn plus tax, of the $5600 bill tomorrow to replace the onboard charger. Car is off warranty and Mitsubishi is footing the rest. The other I-Miev at the dealership with the identical problem is still on warranty. I hope the rest of your Imiev's don't come down with this affliction.

 

[JoeS]

Antaris, glad to see that Mitsubishi picked up the bulk of the tab. Sure hope they correctly identified the culprit.

This thread is more about median operating cost and maintenance, and is somewhat tongue-in-cheek.

Overall, the i-MiEV failure rate still seems quite low; unfortunately, just about any subassembly failure results in a heart-stopping pocket-emptying i-MiEV-abandoning prospect - we've talked about this here: Major EV Drive Components Replacement & Costs

 

[Aerowhatt]

First scheduled maintenance completed on one car.

Transmission service - fluid change $118.00 plus tax at the dealer.

In my garage - $12.88 for the real McCoy Mitsu fluid. Took 1/2 hour including pics and a PDF for the records (just in case).

Super easy for anyone who can turn a wrench IMO. Didn't need a lift - easy to reach.

So $118.00 + $8.26 (tax) = $126.26 at the dealer

at 1/2 hour for the job (including documentation) that’s a savings of $113.38 or 226.76 per hour. But wait, I didn’t have to make money that I don’t spend so . . . no income tax either! So $314.94 per hour before income taxes.

The down side is that I had to wash my hands three times. :roll:

The up side is that the other car gets the same service next weekend

it takes longer to drive to and from the dealer than to do the service myself. Not to mention the hour waiting there!

Aerowhatt