BMW i3 with 95,000..............bad idea?
Discussion
This car is for sale near me and I have had a desire for my first electric car for a year now.
This is fairly cheap, its a 60Ah with a range extender and a FSH, in my head seems a good first step into electric motoring as I have reservations if I'll like it being used to 300-400hp ICE cars but...…………...are they a maintenance minefield? Will the battery die leaving me with a worthless car?
Please advise...…………...
This is fairly cheap, its a 60Ah with a range extender and a FSH, in my head seems a good first step into electric motoring as I have reservations if I'll like it being used to 300-400hp ICE cars but...…………...are they a maintenance minefield? Will the battery die leaving me with a worthless car?
Please advise...…………...
Have seen some horrifying repair and maintenance story about i3 when out of warranty.
The conclusion I get will be never run an i3 without dealer warranty(which quote me over £1k per year), unless you want to gamble with a possible big bill.
An ICE went wrong, there are still indie garage, an EV went wrong..., not to mention I am yet able to find any 3rd party warranty insurance cover the vital/expensive parts of an EV.
The conclusion I get will be never run an i3 without dealer warranty(which quote me over £1k per year), unless you want to gamble with a possible big bill.
An ICE went wrong, there are still indie garage, an EV went wrong..., not to mention I am yet able to find any 3rd party warranty insurance cover the vital/expensive parts of an EV.
There are some specialists popping up and I'm sure there will be more in time.
http://www.ovs-car.co.uk/evrepair.html
Most of the problems you hear with earlier i3 is the REX unit. 2015 onwards ones seem better. I'd personally be a lot more comfortable buying a non-REX one (just way less to go wrong) but 60ah is pretty limited range.
SpeakEV i3 forum can give you a fair idea of what can go wrong although as ever, people who have cars that work tend not to go on the internet to moan about them.
http://www.ovs-car.co.uk/evrepair.html
Most of the problems you hear with earlier i3 is the REX unit. 2015 onwards ones seem better. I'd personally be a lot more comfortable buying a non-REX one (just way less to go wrong) but 60ah is pretty limited range.
SpeakEV i3 forum can give you a fair idea of what can go wrong although as ever, people who have cars that work tend not to go on the internet to moan about them.
My alternatives are with estimated costs...………………….
Keep my 360hp Audi S3 which costs me in fuel, maintenance and tax - £100 a week (wait and see where the EV market goes, maybe VW iD3 will change it!?!?)
A cheap i3 rex which costs on depreciation, maintenance and energy - £40 a week (and hope nothing expensive comes up!)
An expensive i3 120Ah which costs on energy and depreciation - £100 a week
A 94Ah i3 though I see no nice ones for sale near me, costs - £70 a week
Or a 30Kw Nissan leaf (I detest the look!), energy depreciation & maintenance - £40 a week
Keep my 360hp Audi S3 which costs me in fuel, maintenance and tax - £100 a week (wait and see where the EV market goes, maybe VW iD3 will change it!?!?)
A cheap i3 rex which costs on depreciation, maintenance and energy - £40 a week (and hope nothing expensive comes up!)
An expensive i3 120Ah which costs on energy and depreciation - £100 a week
A 94Ah i3 though I see no nice ones for sale near me, costs - £70 a week
Or a 30Kw Nissan leaf (I detest the look!), energy depreciation & maintenance - £40 a week
Edited by mike150 on Thursday 9th January 12:36
Because depreciation is the only big cost on EV cars so a 30k EV is mad to me as thousands fall off its value every year, still nice to have nice new or newish car.
News.....
I just saw the i3 in question, it needs a service and 4 tyres very soon but otherwise its in good shape for a car of that age and mileage. No obvious issues with it. I'm very tempted to go for it if it was cheap enough.
News.....
I just saw the i3 in question, it needs a service and 4 tyres very soon but otherwise its in good shape for a car of that age and mileage. No obvious issues with it. I'm very tempted to go for it if it was cheap enough.
mike150 said:
Because depreciation is the only big cost on EV cars so a 30k EV is mad to me as thousands fall off its value every year, still nice to have nice new or newish car.
That's why I chose my particular Leaf - second hand it was only £10k, had already depreciated £15k, and only had 8k miles on it. It was to all intents and purposes brand new. It's now barely depreciating at all.No idea why people buy them brand new, but I'm glad there's someone daft enough.
modeller said:
Had a 16 plate i3 REX - no issues in 37kmiles
Have a 18 plate i3S REX - no issues.
Avoid 2014/15 if you can.
Hmmmm the one in question is a 15!!!Have a 18 plate i3S REX - no issues.
Avoid 2014/15 if you can.
But I now find myself looking at i3s 120Ah models. Seem to be available for £27000 up. Where did getting a cheap car go wrong?!?!!
I've been watching Tesla Model 3 videos too......
mike150 said:
modeller said:
Had a 16 plate i3 REX - no issues in 37kmiles
Have a 18 plate i3S REX - no issues.
Avoid 2014/15 if you can.
Hmmmm the one in question is a 15!!!Have a 18 plate i3S REX - no issues.
Avoid 2014/15 if you can.
But I now find myself looking at i3s 120Ah models. Seem to be available for £27000 up. Where did getting a cheap car go wrong?!?!!
I've been watching Tesla Model 3 videos too......
ElectricSoup said:
Leafs don't depreciate much. I bought a 15 reg 24kwh Leaf for £10k in September 2017. Done nearly 30k miles in it since then without a single maintenance issue. WBAC still offers £8k for it.
I charge it for free at work, it's the cheapest motoring I've ever done.
in the last few years the prices for older EVs has been appreciating quite substantially I charge it for free at work, it's the cheapest motoring I've ever done.
Dave Hedgehog said:
ElectricSoup said:
Leafs don't depreciate much. I bought a 15 reg 24kwh Leaf for £10k in September 2017. Done nearly 30k miles in it since then without a single maintenance issue. WBAC still offers £8k for it.
I charge it for free at work, it's the cheapest motoring I've ever done.
in the last few years the prices for older EVs has been appreciating quite substantially I charge it for free at work, it's the cheapest motoring I've ever done.
SWoll said:
I've got an i3 120ah and a Model 3. FFS don't drive the Model 3 unless you want your budget to go up again.
Actually, your pic shows why I picked an i3 over a Tesla - because it's so much smaller! Although it must be said that my i3 is purely a city car, if you don't have another car to do long distances or have to commute on a motorway on a daily basis the Tesla would be a better (and more expensive) option.Gassing Station | EV and Alternative Fuels | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff