Buy BMW i8 now or wait a few months?

[kryten22uk]

johnnyreggae said:

Heard of some cars available built to order via 3rd party lease for six grand down plus about a grand a month all plus vat

Most lease brokers have that deal at the moment (6+23). You can get it closer to £900pcm if you want 6+36.

[erics]

It is a stonking car at £100k and even more so the day when it gets to £60k.

I paid full whack for mine and for some strange reason, i don't regret it. I just think it's the best car at this price point. Way more versatile than a 991 and much less ubiquitous.

Cost 0 to run. Bar a bit of petrol everynow and then.

nbetts said:

In my opinion I think that is a good fiscal move, there will be a few being returned after 24 months - and they will be hitting the market at the tail-end of the car buying season (if you believe such a thing exists)so the chances of the price getting a bit soft are good I hope. I say I hope as I have much love for the i8 and at around 60k~ ish - I think it would be a stonking car that really at that price point is just incredible.

Also, I am not certain they will actually go much lower than that - but it only takes a huge leap in tech and you could also be holding the iPhone 1...

All that being said, when I had a drive I was hugely impressed with it and I long for the days when it comes down to the sorts of prices I hope they will.

Of course, the moment I buy one I will convince myself that the price will not drop another penny. lol

Edited by erics on Tuesday 17th May 23:24

[mrv12]

erics said:

It is a stonking car are £100k and even more so for the day when it gets to £60k.

I paid full whack for mine and for some strange reason, i don't regret it. I just think it's the best car at this price point. Way more versatile than a 991 and much less ubiquitous.

Cost 0 to run. Bar a bit of petrol everynow and then.

In essence the huge depreciation could be considered the real running cost, if you decide to sell it of course.

[purpleperil]

mrv12 said:

In essence the huge depreciation could be considered the real running cost, if you decide to sell it of course.

Isn't the 'Huge' depreciation the 'Real' running cost on any new, ordinary supercar? Don't expect it to be any better or worse than a Porsche or Lamborghini

[INWB]

Facelift is due at the end of 2017. Combined with leases etc that will suppress values even more I would think.

However if you can stomach the depreciation why wait? It is a superb car that looks as though it has come off a movie set.

[mrv12]

purpleperil said:

Isn't the 'Huge' depreciation the 'Real' running cost on any new, ordinary supercar? Don't expect it to be any better or worse than a Porsche or Lamborghini

Is an i8 a "supercar" though? But regardless of that it seems the i8 is depreciating faster than other supercars. Within a year or two, the technology being used in the i8 will be considered old. It's a hybrid that can only do ~22 miles on electric, meanwhile Tesla can do over 200 miles. If I could stomach the depreciation of the i8 I would buy one now, but I think it's just a smarter choice to wait it out a little longer.

Edited by mrv12 on Wednesday 18th May 14:45

[ajprice]

The i8 facelift next year could make it an EV, not a hybrid as it is now  http://www.autoblog.com/2016/06/23/bmw-i8-ev-facel...

[johnnyreggae]

Autoblog's extract from Autocar's story says nothing of the sort - facelift next year with possibly full EV thereafter - maybe with the facelift they will undelete memory seats !!

Edited by johnnyreggae on Friday 24th June 05:50

[JiggyJaggy]

These seem to be settling slightly around the £68k mark...just wondering what everyones thoughts are? I sold mine early on but always said I would resist one of these once the prices flattened out slightly.

Thoughts?

[JonV8V]

JiggyJaggy said:

These seem to be settling slightly around the £68k mark...just wondering what everyones thoughts are? I sold mine early on but always said I would resist one of these once the prices flattened out slightly.

Thoughts?

Its still summer - give it till Nov and they'll drop again is my hunch.

[JiggyJaggy]

You feel its that much of a summer car?

[JonV8V]

JiggyJaggy said:

You feel its that much of a summer car?

I suspect it's more of a second car, and winter is less fun to drive them so people want them less. I imagine some of the early PCP and lease deals will be coming up in the not so distant future. It's a hunch, no more.

[LordFlathead]

I hope I'm wrong but my take on the i8 is that it will become a giant paperweight. It's not really Tesla fast, it still uses petrol and the economy when pushed is around 35mpg which isn't great. Also noted is the wildly fluctuating second hand values which are partly propped up by the dealer network, and the fact it is a generation one vehicle.

I think it is a fashion statement from BMW and it will either become a museum piece in 20 years time or all future residuals will plummet drastically.

All of the above assumptions are based on how fast the EV technology is moving on. BMW are behind in the EV game when compared to Tesla but I am not a Tesla fan boy by any means. As I said; hope I'm wrong!

[jason61c]

I think it shows a lot that the drivetrain is used on the bmw 225xe, a granny type car.

[ajprice]

jason61c said:

I think it shows a lot that the drivetrain is used on the bmw 225xe, a granny type car.

Umm. Yes, it shows that BMW can make a range of cars for different markets that use similar parts so saves on costs. The 1.5 turbo 3 cylinder is also used in the Mini Cooper.

In other news, VAG use the Seat Cupra and Golf R engine in the Skoda Superb, so that must show something too. That the Cupra is a barge, or the Superb is a hot hatch, or whatever.

[LordFlathead]

ajprice said:

jason61c said:

I think it shows a lot that the drivetrain is used on the bmw 225xe, a granny type car.

Umm. Yes, it shows that BMW can make a range of cars for different markets that use similar parts so saves on costs. The 1.5 turbo 3 cylinder is also used in the Mini Cooper.

In other news, VAG use the Seat Cupra and Golf R engine in the Skoda Superb, so that must show something too. That the Cupra is a barge, or the Superb is a hot hatch, or whatever.

Yes but this is a £100k car. Why spend that on a parts bin car? There are better alternatives that won't plummet like a lead weight with a 3 cylinder engine out of a Mini Cooper

[jason61c]

that's my point. what are you really getting for the extra money apart from a better looking car?

[nbetts]

jason61c said:

that's my point. what are you really getting for the extra money apart from a better looking car?

Well, the i8 does drive really, really nicely. It is very fast and it is very comfortable for 2 people. It handles very well, is an absolute delight to drive and feels more special than say a M3/M4/M5/RS4/RS6 - and is a viable alternative to the glorious 911.

If you were to break cars down into the their parts list most of them fail to make rational sense.

The BMW i8 is much more special than the sum of its 'parts bin'.

Oh, it is made from a Carbon composite, it has the majority of its weight running along the cars longitudinal axis about 6 inches off the floor so the CofG is incredibly good. It is also 4WD and with a set of Winters on will cope with the Winter and Snow, it can also turn on a sixpence and you don't need to spend £100's a week on juice.

None of the more superficial aspects I mention above really matter if you just strap your arse in one and drive it and think like I did - WOW, this is really, really good - in my case I would not give a jot if it had the engine from a Lada Riva, the end result is superb.

Just my 2p worth.

Edited by nbetts on Tuesday 30th August 10:09

[comrie]

nbetts said:

Well, the i8 does drive really, really nicely. It is very fast and it is very comfortable for 2 people. It handles very well, is an absolute delight to drive and feels more special than say a M3/M4/M5/RS4/RS6 - and is a viable alternative to the glorious 911.

If you were to break cars down into the their parts list most of them fail to make rational sense.

The BMW i8 is much more special than the sum of its 'parts bin'.

Oh, it is made from a Carbon composite, it has the majority of its weight running along the cars longitudinal axis about 6 inches off the floor so the CofG is incredibly good. It is also 4WD and with a set of Winters on will cope with the Winter and Snow, it can also turn on a sixpence and you don't need to spend £100's a week on juice.

None of the more superficial aspects I mention above really matter if you just strap your arse in one and drive it and think like I did - WOW, this is really, really good - in my case I would not give a jot if it had the engine from a Lada Riva, the end result is superb.

Just my 2p worth.

Edited by nbetts on Tuesday 30th August 10:09

Totally agree with everything you say.........the i8 is a special car.....a car that i found took time to grow on me but after a few weeks the car is brilliant......so much so im on my second i8 and will probably get another as it does everything i need flawlessly....ive been in the fortunate position to own some very nice cars but nothing gets the comments or looks that the i8 commands

[JonV8V]

comrie said:

Totally agree with everything you say.........the i8 is a special car.....a car that i found took time to grow on me but after a few weeks the car is brilliant......so much so im on my second i8 and will probably get another as it does everything i need flawlessly....ive been in the fortunate position to own some very nice cars but nothing gets the comments or looks that the i8 commands

Your second? Any reason for the change as there don't seem to be many options other than cosmetic (genuinely curious)