Here's How BMW Recycles Its Cars

[mPlasticDesign]

How many of us imagined a person in one of those cars?

[technik330]

Originally Posted by mPlasticDesign

How many of us imagined a person in one of those cars?

I think you might be alone in that thought, but hey, it's okay.

[Zeroblade]

I just think all those cars just can't be sold. Lemons, recalled, salvaged, prototypes, whatever.

Think of it this way: The materials used from those cars are used to make the new cars today

Now if only I can obtain one myself...

[runz12s]

Wonder if this is how my Audi tdi is going to end up!

[08njSTEP]

Prior to 2008 BMW used virgin metal in manufacturing their cars. MB had already started recycling the metals used in their cars prior to '08. BMW saw the trend developing and followed along. Considering the engineering of the alloys used by both MB & BMW it is reasonable to recycle and save on natural resources. There are around 10 different alloys in the E90 platform. Different alloys are used in various locations. Trip Steel, High Strength Low Alloy(hsla), High Strength Steel w/Boron, and High Strength High Alloy are all examples.

[tc328]

Not work safe!!!!

[MrMotorwerk]

Only BMW can shoot a video this meticulous and boring. The Elvis BMW 507 restoration is no different.

[lpshikhar]

This should be rated PG 13

[AntonySMith]

More videos about Pre-production car cars recycling.

BMW Waste Management

Aluminium Recycling

BMW i3 Recycling

[The Automotive Enthusiast]

BMW takes sustainability quite seriously. The automaker's official Recycling and Dismantling Center was opened in 1994, and thanks to a partnership a few years later, BMW's old-car drop off points now accept Renaults, Fiats and MG Rovers as well.

In this 50-minute supercut, you can see multiple pre-production (?) cars getting their airbags popped, fluids drained (including from the shock absorbers), bodies stripped and exhausts cut out, with the remains getting crushed and compressed soon after. It's not a BMW takes sustainability quite seriously. The automaker's official Recycling and Dismantling Center was opened in 1994, and thanks to a partnership a few years later, BMW's old-car drop off points now accept Renaults, Fiats and MG Rovers as well.

In this 50-minute supercut, you can see multiple pre-production (?) cars getting their airbags popped, fluids drained (including from the shock absorbers), bodies stripped and exhausts cut out, with the remains getting crushed and compressed soon after. It's not a comedy.


Of course what really sets BMW's end-of-life effort apart is that after melting the steel and aluminum familiar to most automakers, the Bavarians also have to deal with large quantities of used carbon fiber from the i3 and i8. The disassembly of these hybrid cars starts out the same as for traditional vehicles, but after the battery pack is removed from the chassis, the carbon body gets cut into small pieces and heated up. After the treatment, BMW ends up with a sheet of raw material it then reinforces with fibers, turning the plastic waste into a strong synthetic fabric that can be used again in new cars.

While the industry average for the recyclability is at 80 percent today (with over 25 million tons of materials getting recovered from old vehicles), BMW says as much as 95 percent of its city car can be recycled. In other words, don't expect to see any i3s languishing in your local scrap yard in the coming decades.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars...cles-its-cars/

[SMOKE EM IF U GOT EM!!]

I think I wee'd a little when the claw ripped the engine and trans out like that. Be gentle when you slide in. Nope...!

[Zeroblade]

The early videos feels medieval compared to more recent recycling methods. I wondered cars like the i3 would be getting the same crushed treatment but I'm instead impressed. A good majority of the cars feel they're mostly recycled into new parts. Way to go BMW.

[Germanauto]

They should scrap all turd a$$ i3s.

#NotMyBMW

[Deluxx3]

Neat to see how this process happens. Makes me think of when will this happen to my car and if the same steps will be taken.

A few things that I am curious about; do they recycle the leather from the interior and what happens to cars in the USA? Is there a BMW recycling facility here?

[MFNATIK]

those all look like perfectly good cars...why would someone just recycle them and not resell and resuse them? I'm assume these are some sort of lemon cars?

[MRV99]

These are not perfectly good cars. These are cars that if somebody on the forum was asking advise to buy 90% of the responses would be RUN!!! Do you want to buy a used test mule? A prototype that has been shown to have a parts failure. If it makes you feel better your new BMW may have a bit of the recycled cars in this video.

[raysspl]

Many of those cars would still serve well in other parts of the world...

[ManualWagon]

[Rhd-jon]

WOW, who knew this is what they did.

[TopEnd]

Damn.. i used to dream about owning some of those cars. i'm either getting old.. or this is straight cruelty