I8 values in free fall....Why?

I8 values in free fall....Why?

Author
Discussion

GrahamPM

1,057 posts

232 months

Monday 30th January 2017
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Regarding 'best car I've owned' statements ..... I've had my i8 since September 2015, and yes, it is amongst one of the best cars I've owned.
I'm a member of a number of car clubs, and have done a few driving orientated weekends away, and have surprised, if not amazed fellow drivers on how quick and surefooted it is cross-country.
I have had one cracked screen, which put down to an initial stone chip, and then hitting a bloody big pot hole that sent a shock wave through the whole car.
Only downside really is the pathetic sized boot space - I've yet to carry any adults in the back - and for me, the rear should just be designated as luggage space.
I shopped around the dealer's to find the shortest lead time (4 months then) as no discounts were available, and placed the order with them based on that. As it happened, that was a bad decision as the 'salesman' was atrocious - zero handover etc etc.
I've done an 'i Impulse' event, and would go on another great fun and good company.
So impressed with the car that I have placed a deposit for the Roadster, and this time dealing direct with BMW Park Lane, who are owned wholly by BMW not a franchise.
Graham

FeelingLucky

1,084 posts

165 months

Monday 30th January 2017
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Are any of you seasoned i8 owners able to advise how to increase the default infotainment
volume?

I'm getting flashbacks to 1980 when pretty much everybody advised against buying (vs renting) a VCR due to the head replacement costs.

Then there was "I'm sticking with carbs, because when the fuel injection goes wrong, it'll cost more than the car is worth to fix"


JiggyJaggy

1,451 posts

141 months

Monday 30th January 2017
quotequote all
GrahamPM said:
Regarding 'best car I've owned' statements ..... I've had my i8 since September 2015, and yes, it is amongst one of the best cars I've owned.
I'm a member of a number of car clubs, and have done a few driving orientated weekends away, and have surprised, if not amazed fellow drivers on how quick and surefooted it is cross-country.
I have had one cracked screen, which put down to an initial stone chip, and then hitting a bloody big pot hole that sent a shock wave through the whole car.
Only downside really is the pathetic sized boot space - I've yet to carry any adults in the back - and for me, the rear should just be designated as luggage space.
I shopped around the dealer's to find the shortest lead time (4 months then) as no discounts were available, and placed the order with them based on that. As it happened, that was a bad decision as the 'salesman' was atrocious - zero handover etc etc.
I've done an 'i Impulse' event, and would go on another great fun and good company.
So impressed with the car that I have placed a deposit for the Roadster, and this time dealing direct with BMW Park Lane, who are owned wholly by BMW not a franchise.
Graham
Graham in the time I had one I simply used the back seats to hold light weekend luggage with some towels on the seats to prevent wear to the seats. I never really looked at the car as a 4 seater.

otolith

56,204 posts

205 months

Tuesday 31st January 2017
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I was reminded of this thread just now, and the comments about how scary the potential costs of replacing batteries might be, when reading this;

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Frostdog1 said:
I own a 2014 F10 competition from new. Engine failed without any warning, BMW garage informed me 2 cylinders have "welded together" no safety warning lights came on and the on-board safety check showed no issue directly after. Warranty is covering the £33,000 replacement engine (although if this happened after 1st May it would of been at my own expense)

iain123

51 posts

105 months

Wednesday 1st February 2017
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What is the i8 like in winter?

I assume you can get instant electric heat inside the cabin but it reduces the electric only range. Is this a dramatic reduction?

JiggyJaggy

1,451 posts

141 months

Wednesday 1st February 2017
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Not massively imo. You get instant heat. The pre-heating cabin option uses up a little extra.

BFleming

3,611 posts

144 months

Wednesday 1st February 2017
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I did a supercar day last year - Vantage, 360, Gallardo, Atom & the i8. The i8 was the easiest to drive, and I felt sort-of heroic when I got out of it. It's quick, makes the right synthetic noise, and nicely built. But it's quirky, and for R8 (or nice 911) money, I'd have to think long & hard about what to have. I don't think it has aged that well either - they looked so futuristic at launch, but then the future caught up fairly quickly.
I've also driven an i3 and Golf GTE in the last few months, and the Golf was truly impressive. The i3 is nice, but not 'special'. The Golf was a real surprise.

PaulsM3

62 posts

129 months

Wednesday 1st February 2017
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For me, i8 values are in free fall because its the wrong car for its segment. Its marketed as BMW's halo car at supercar money but it has a 3 cylinder engine. They're therefore being sold for what people are willing to pay. Even BMW is selling i8's with delivery miles for £75k now.
BMW's halo car should be a car that looks something like the i8 but has a 5.0 v10.
Electric hybrid thingys make perfect sense as daily drivers- stick that combination in a 3 series, Golf etc and you're on the money.
Put it in a £100k plus halo car that gets driven at weekends and it doesn't offer the full experience you require from a special 2nd or third car.

erics

2,663 posts

212 months

Wednesday 1st February 2017
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MarshPhantom said:
erics said:
People worry about rms failures on Porsches and other bore scoring. They still buy the cars after a generation of chocolate engines.

The i8 has issues like fuel tank sensors or windscreen cracks. Batteries is not one of them. It's all about perceptions. Sometimes solely founded on internet / forum 'truths'.

I am on my 2nd i8 after years of porsches, astons etc. Best car i ever owned by a country mile.

It is an absolutely superb car built around a carbon fibre tube. Extremely useable with tiny running cost and no Tesla-battery anxiety.

People will wake up to it.
The problem with EVs is very few people want them.
I can't wait to pick up a Porsche 918 or a Mclaren P1 for a bag of peanuts then.

erics

2,663 posts

212 months

Wednesday 1st February 2017
quotequote all
PaulsM3 said:
For me, i8 values are in free fall because its the wrong car for its segment. Its marketed as BMW's halo car at supercar money but it has a 3 cylinder engine. They're therefore being sold for what people are willing to pay. Even BMW is selling i8's with delivery miles for £75k now.
BMW's halo car should be a car that looks something like the i8 but has a 5.0 v10.
Electric hybrid thingys make perfect sense as daily drivers- stick that combination in a 3 series, Golf etc and you're on the money.
Put it in a £100k plus halo car that gets driven at weekends and it doesn't offer the full experience you require from a special 2nd or third car.
I could not disagree more, a Tesla has no cylinders at all and it does not prevent people from loving them.
Cost-wise, a loaded model is on par with an i8.

MarshPhantom

9,658 posts

138 months

Wednesday 1st February 2017
quotequote all
erics said:
MarshPhantom said:
erics said:
People worry about rms failures on Porsches and other bore scoring. They still buy the cars after a generation of chocolate engines.

The i8 has issues like fuel tank sensors or windscreen cracks. Batteries is not one of them. It's all about perceptions. Sometimes solely founded on internet / forum 'truths'.

I am on my 2nd i8 after years of porsches, astons etc. Best car i ever owned by a country mile.

It is an absolutely superb car built around a carbon fibre tube. Extremely useable with tiny running cost and no Tesla-battery anxiety.

People will wake up to it.
The problem with EVs is very few people want them.
I can't wait to pick up a Porsche 918 or a Mclaren P1 for a bag of peanuts then.
I was talking about the 15000 worldwide sales for both the i3 and i8 in 2015.

jimmybell

589 posts

118 months

Wednesday 1st February 2017
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PaulsM3 said:
BMW's halo car should be a car that looks something like the i8 but has a 5.0 v10.
I wish someone at BMW knew this - they've gone from the leading German giant with a cult fanbase following (look at the size of BMW owners forums compared to other makes) to the one that makes 2 Series ActiveHybrid GT efficentdynamics people carriers, with the M4 seemingly setting records for 'how fast do once fanboy owners decide to sell'.

daveco

4,130 posts

208 months

Wednesday 1st February 2017
quotequote all
PaulsM3 said:
For me, i8 values are in free fall because its the wrong car for its segment. Its marketed as BMW's halo car at supercar money but it has a 3 cylinder engine. They're therefore being sold for what people are willing to pay. Even BMW is selling i8's with delivery miles for £75k now.
BMW's halo car should be a car that looks something like the i8 but has a 5.0 v10.
Electric hybrid thingys make perfect sense as daily drivers- stick that combination in a 3 series, Golf etc and you're on the money.
Put it in a £100k plus halo car that gets driven at weekends and it doesn't offer the full experience you require from a special 2nd or third car.
It's hard to disagree with this sentiment. Why couldn't BMW make it hybrid with a state of the art V8/V10?

I doubt the car's residuals would be taking such a big hit if this was the case.

erics

2,663 posts

212 months

Wednesday 1st February 2017
quotequote all
MarshPhantom said:
I was talking about the 15000 worldwide sales for both the i3 and i8 in 2015.
They simply mis-calibrated their target audience and force fed a market that did not have the critical size to absorb said product.

Remember when the i8 came out and production was very slow? They were trading at a significant premium to the new price. I know because i bought and sold one at a premium before my own factory order arrived!

It was only when they doubled production that the price collapsed.

They had attracted Porsche, Aston, Ferrari buyers in the early moments by suggesting a very controlled supply process. Dealers were adamant that new cars could absolutely not be discounted for the risk of losing the franchise. When they x2 production, they seriously pi$$ed off the early adopters.

It has nothing to do with EV or not EV, it's got to do with over producing something and supply and demand in a particular segment.

If they had produced 500 i8's worldwide, their price would not be where it is today. EV or not!

Edited by erics on Wednesday 1st February 14:13

chrisgreen88

9 posts

130 months

Wednesday 1st February 2017
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Happens with all expensive BMWs - look at the Z8. Horribly over priced when new, depreciated faster than a laptop - now over £100k for one. The fact it's a hybrid or a 'new generation' sort of car makes no difference


Edited by chrisgreen88 on Wednesday 1st February 14:24

OutOfSync

220 posts

140 months

Wednesday 1st February 2017
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I borrowed one of these for a weekend up to Norfolk and back from London.

First of all, it was the first fast car that my girlfriend actually liked (out of 355, 911 Turbo, NSX, and E39 M5). She said it was "cool" and "comfy", even when pushing on.

I really enjoyed driving it, even when pushing it on the B roads it was surprisingly fun. I don't know if that's because I have only really driven older stuff but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the driving experience.

The noise isn't great but it didn't grate too badly. I think if I were to get one it would just be something in the pros/cons list.

For me, with my notional £100k to spend, I wouldn't get one. It is cool, drives well and I love the looks but ultimately I'd probably stick with the 355 (and have change for an E39 M5 for daily driving) or get the new NSX when prices start falling a bit.

If prices went down to £50/60k then I would seriously consider getting one. In fact I'd have one over a 911.

SevenR

242 posts

165 months

Wednesday 1st February 2017
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In Black, It's the closest thing you can buy that looks like Batmans car. Therefore it is cool.
If you could buy one for £10K, that would be prices in freefall.
To be serious though I think it failed in the MPG claims big time. But I for one would love to own one.

How does the i3 compare price wise for used?

erics

2,663 posts

212 months

Wednesday 1st February 2017
quotequote all
SevenR said:
In Black, It's the closest thing you can buy that looks like Batmans car. Therefore it is cool.
If you could buy one for £10K, that would be prices in free-fall.
To be serious though I think it failed in the MPG claims big time. But I for one would love to own one.

How does the i3 compare price wise for used?
I average 45mpg mixed driving with mine after 2.5k miles of mixed driving (often in sport mode).

My 996 turbo S did 21-22mpg in same conditions, Aston v12v was about 14mpg.

So whatever the claims are, it is exceptionally cheap to run for the performance it offers.
The bonus versus an full EV is that range anxiety is inexistent.


Edited by erics on Wednesday 1st February 15:23


Edited by erics on Wednesday 1st February 15:41

erics

2,663 posts

212 months

Wednesday 1st February 2017
quotequote all
chrisgreen88 said:
Happens with all expensive BMWs - look at the Z8. Horribly over priced when new, depreciated faster than a laptop - now over £100k for one. The fact it's a hybrid or a 'new generation' sort of car makes no difference


Edited by chrisgreen88 on Wednesday 1st February 14:24
Nail on the head.

LasseV

1,754 posts

134 months

Wednesday 1st February 2017
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chrisgreen88 said:
simple... look at the Z8. Horribly over priced when new, depreciated faster than a laptop - now over £100k for one.

Will be the same for the i8. All these reasons due to 'new software, it's like an iPhone etc' i'm afriad i don't buy
Will it be really same as z8? I doubt little bit of that...