YouTuber Has Financing on BMW M4 Cancelled After Bragging About Heavy Mods
It turns out doing internal engine work to a car you don’t technically own is frowned upon.
A British YouTuber had the financing on his BMW M4 canceled by the company after it caught wind of extensive, warranty-voiding modifications he made to the car. How’d the folks in Bavaria find out? He documented the whole process on his YouTube channel.
YouTuber LivingLifeFast posted a video that explains how he lost the car. However, instead of what many were lead to believe, his financing agreement is, in fact, very similar to what we’d think of as a lease in the United States. Because the M4 is technically still owned by BMW, it gets to dictate what can and can’t be done to it, and we’re pretty sure that warranty-voiding mods fall into the latter category. This guy didn’t just throw a cold air intake and an exhaust on the car, either; he went all out with internal engine work and methanol set up. The build is impressive by most standards, producing over 700 horsepower, but it’s all a waste for the YouTuber at the end of the day.
Reddit had a field day with the video, but there's some interesting insight on how his financing arrangement differs from what we see here in North America. The confusion for those of us here in the United States is how the PCP program works in the U.K. BMW and other brands set up the program to work an awful lot like a normal lease, with the glaring difference being that the buyer is basically renting the car until the end of the term. At that point, the car can be purchased for a lump sum, returned free and clear, or traded toward another car. All of those things rely on the vehicle being in good (see: not heavily modified) condition.
The mods made by LivingLifeFast not only violated the terms of his PCP agreement, but they were also extensively documented on his YouTube channel for all to see. Despite his statement at one point that he “can’t even modify his own car," the truth is that he didn’t actually own the car and the changes he made went above anyone’s definition of “normal” mods. Lesson learned, kids. If you’re going to break the rules, don’t brag about it on the internet—especially not on video.
