May take the plunge and try an e-car this time

[KGV]

My BMW 2007 Z4 coupe is at 228,000km and the TUV is due in September. It may need brakes and rotors this time around, so I am seriously considering switching it this summer. The company were I work added six electric car charging stations this year, and the charge rate is currently free. Not sure how long the free will last, but it is a bonus for now. I live in a 500 year old building, so no underground parking The parking garage I use has several charge stations as well. The rate is 26.9 cents per kWh, and unfortunately no off hours reduced rate.

I have been looking at either a Mini SD, or an electric. I have a bit of range anxiety, so the main contender has been an 94aH i3 Rex. I would not buy a new one, but the prices of used ones have certainly been doing the limbo. I can get one from 2017 with nice options, BMW 24 month warranty, and 10,000 to 15,000km for around 28,000 Euros. I could save a few thousand by buying from a non-BMW dealer, but the warranty tends to be only six months. The Rex just adds a bit of a safety net and could allow an occasional inter-city trip. Used Tesla cars are over 30,000 Euros and have well over 100,000 km on them.

The current must have i3 options for me are:

-> DC fast charger (does using the DC charger reduce battery life?) Type 2 chargers at work
-> 94 Ah + Rex
-> professional satnav (I just like the look of the larger screen)
-> backup camera (just had one on a SUV rental in Canada, and it was helpful, but an i3 is much smaller than a Tahoe)

Any other desirable options?

Panorama glass is nice, but I would think it would add to the heat in the cabin in the summer months. Colour will most likely be white since they seem more prevalent here in Germany. I like black as well, but I have heard black cars look dirty fast, and dark colours may be hotter in the summer.

I drive approximately 90km each work day. The Z4 is averaging 8.4 l/100 of premium, so around 11 Euros to commute to work. A diesel Mini SD could cut that to 6 Euros. I have seen ratings for the i3 of between 12 and 16 kWh/100, so 2.90 to 3.90 a day at 26.9 cents per kWh or free if I just charge at work.

I did consider a cheaper car like a little VW Fox/Polo, but I did not want a 75HP car that was just a utility device. The i3 is quirky, so I am leaning that way (vive la difference). The new VM ID3 is still away off, and I want to switch this year.

Hopefully the i3 is reliable, but the bugs should be worked out by now, and if I go BMW premium selection, than 24 months of additional bug fixes.

I still have my 1991 Corvette ZR-1 for my petrol fix, and hopefully the e-car will save money over my planned 8 year ownership.

Anyway, sorry for the ramble,

Ken

Edited by KGV on Sunday 9th June 13:43

[KGV]

I bought a 2017 94a rex on Friday. It was built in August 2017, and has 26,000km on it. Seems to have most of the options. The challenge now will be to drive it back from the dealer in several weeks time. We wanted leather interior, so we had to search further that I would have liked, so almost a 700km drive to get it home. I have bought four cars in the last 18 years, all of them quite some distance away: Lexus SC 400, Berlin; Corvette ZR-1, Charleroi; BMW Z4 coupe, Muenster Osnabrück; i3, Düsseldorf. I blame the Internet, in the olden days I would have just bought from the local classified ads

I signed up with NewMotion. They run the chargers where I work and they are part of the Shell group. When we drove home on Friday, it appears that Shell service stations mostly had a sign for the e-charge stations.

Can you operate these chargers without a cell phone? I have a NewMotion card, so I hope that that is all I will need. If need be, I can bring a laptop with Wi-Fi, but not an Internet connection.

Does the Navigation Professional have a good route planner showing the charge spots? Does it get the locations from the map data, or does it get it online via the built-in communication functions? Is there a good online application that you can use online and then feed into the satnav?

Her are the option codes:

L801A National version Germany/Austria
P5DUA Parking Assistant Package
P7KZA BMW i interior design ''Suite''
P7RSA Package Comfort
P9BDA Business Package
S230A Low-slung sports suspension
S249A Multifunction f steering wheel
S2G5A BMW LA wheel, Turbine Styling 428
S2PAA Wheel bolt retainer
S2VBA Tire pressure display
S2VCA Tire repair kit
S322A Rear chrome strip discontinued
S3AGA Reversing camera
S403A Glass roof, electrical
S420A Sun protection glazing
S423A Floor mats, velours
S428A Warning triangle and first aid kit
S430A Interior/outside mirror with auto dip
S442A Cup holder
S473A Armrest front
S493A Storage compartment package
S494A Seat heating driver/passenger
S4EAA Fine wood trim oak dark matte
S4U6A Quick charg.altern.current multi-phase
S4U7A Rapid charging, direct current
S508A Park Distance Control (PDC)
S521A Rain sensor
S534A Automatic air conditioning
S544A Cruise control with brake function
S548A Kilometer-calibrated speedometer
S570A Reinforced power supply
S5AKA LED light elements
S5ARA Traffic congestion assistant
S5ATA Driving Assistant Plus
S5DAA Passenger airbag deactivation
S5DPA Park Assistent
S609A Navigation system Professional
S674A Hi-Fi System Harman Kardon
S6ACA Intelligent emergency SOS call
S6AEA Teleservices
S6AKA Connected Drive Services
S6AMA Real-Time Traffic Information
S6ANA Concierge Services
S6APA Remote Services
S6NSA Convenience phone, expanded Smartphone
S7AQA Battery Certificate
S851A Language version German
S879A On-board vehicle literature German
S8KZA Oil service interval 24 months
S8R9A Refrigerant R1234yf
S9AAA Outer skin protection

Planning to pick it up in just over two weeks time.

Thanks,

Ken

[KGV]

I picked up the car last weekend and we managed to make it home without any issues.

The first leg was from Düsseldorf to Heilbronn, which is 350 KM. It was a Sunday, and traffic was not too bad. I stuck to the right lane and tried to run at 110-115 kph. There were several traffic jams due to the infamous summer highway construction. When the charge was getting low, we stopped for electricity, but I could not activate the charge station. We then proceeded on, and at 220km distance, the car switched to the gas generator. At the next power stop, another i3 just beat us to the sole charging port. We decided to just "rex" it the rest of the way. We had to stop for gas about 110km later. The hotel had free charging in their garage, and I was able to test out my new 3-phase cable. It charged from empty in about 3.5 hours.

Day 2 was on a Monday, and we were going to Ingolstadt, 240km distance. This day presented new challenges since all the trucks were on the road. They take up the right lane and their speed seems to be between 80-90 kph. This section of autobahn was predominately two lanes. When I approached a line of trucks, I had to move left and speed up to 130 to 140kph and pull back in when high speed traffic was approaching. This reduced our electric range, and we managed only 180km on electric. Ingolstadt Village had several chargers, and I was able to verify that the DC fast charging system worked. It filled to100% in 70 or 80 minutes.

All the above travel was with no AC, and just the sunroof open. The temperature was not too high. The last 75km of the journey was with AC on since it was now quite warm.

We travelled 665km and averaged 13.2 km/100 and we burned one full tank, plus another half.

I drove it to work three times last week. It is 90km round trip, 75% of which is at 100kph, and the rest city. So, 273km with a consumption of 12.3 km/100

Things I learned:

-> The cables attached to the charging stations seem to be on the short side. I had to move way forward to get it attached. At some stations, it is not convenient to try to back in due to the amount of car traffic entering the rest stations,
-> The charging stations should just use bank or credit cards in a standard card reader since having multiple companies running the networks means your e-card may not be accepted. I am at a disadvantage since I do not have a cell phone
-> With my Z4, I travelled at 160kph, so when the trip counter showed 50km to go, I was going to get there soon. With the i3 at 100kph, 50km takes a lot longer

So, I am happy with the purchase. We will see how the long term ownership goes. The i3 seems to be a good deal used, but I think you take a big hit in depreciation if you buy one new.

Ken

Edited by KGV on Sunday 21st July 10:08

[KGV]

Max_Torque said:

wait, what?? really?

Indeed. I guess I would be called a Luddite in the UK. I have had to carry a beeper/blackberry for my various jobs since 1991. Last year I transferred to a new position at work, and I did not need to be on-call. It is nice for now to not carry an electronic device with me wherever I go I may eventually get a cell phone, but for now I am freeeeee !!!

Ken

[KGV]

I have driven the road trip to work 18 times, and I am happy with the range.

The computer indicates:

-> 1681 km
-> 12.3 kWh/100
-> 48.x kph average

I used the AC on five or six return trips when it was 35+C. On a few early mornings I turned on the window defroster to get rid of the mist (outside temperature 14C) and the range significantly decreased on the display. The kWh/100 should be interesting in the cold winter months. I guess that is why they say to use the seat heaters and not try to heat the entire cabin.

I have been recharging after each second trip.

I really like the convenience of the comfort access package, and I am using the sunroof more often then I thought I would. The 5M 3-phase charging cable that I bought from BMW is a bit short. I think 6M would have been better. My main charging spot in the parking garage is after the entrance, and is angled for a drive in, so the cable just manages to make it to the charge port. I noticed that the Tesla and Jaguar drivers have cable to spare when they plug in.

I am still slow at parking. I knew my Z4 quite well, so I could zip into spots, but I am still slow with the i3.

Next month I will be picking my sister and her husband up from the airport. I need to test fit two full size suit cases and two carry-ons to see if they will fit. My wife will stay home, so I can flip one of the rear seats down. If I remove the package shelf, I am hoping the two full size cases will fit in the back.

Ken

[KGV]

I decided to pay a bit more and go for the i3 94ah Rex over the 60ah Rex. I debated about waiting since there are a few new models coming out for 2020, but my old car was going to need repairs soon, so it was time to switch. I read about the new VW ID3, but I was not sure about getting a first year car, and the actual style is currently unknown. I really liked the ID3 concept car, but very few concept cars make it to production keeping the "wow" elements. The i3 seemed to keep it quirky concepts, so I went with that. A guy a work has a Renault Zoe, and he likes it, but it was a bit too vanilla for me.

I have not used the Rex engine since my drive back from the dealer. The 94ah range has been great for my daily commute. The Rex will most likely only get used on extended road trips, and those tend to be only once or twice a year. I like having it as a backup, so we can go on trips if we want.

Ken

[KGV]

I have had the i3 for almost four months. As the weather is getting colder, I can see the kWh/100km is increasing due to the occasional cabin heater usage and the outside temperature. I now have a dedicated charger in the garage, and it has a digital meter. I decided to track the actual meter reading that will be used for the quarterly billing and the car display usage of the kWh/100km. I also wanted to compare the cost of the i3 vs the car it replaced, my old Z4. It used around 8.4 l/100km and a guess of 1.40 Euros per litre.



The meter has a green light that is on all the time, so it uses a bit of power even when not in use. Hopefully my math is correct

The car also broke down last week. I went to go to work, and I opened the rear hatch, shut it, and went to open the door, but it did not open. I thought the fob may have died, so I went back home to get the spare fob, but same issue. I then went home once again and read on the Internet how to use the real key. I returned to the car one again, and was able to get inside. I held the fob to the location on the steering wheel, but nothing happened. It was just after 5 AM, so I decided to go back to bed and call ADAC at a decent time.

Once the sun was up, I read on the Internet that if the 12V battery dies, the car is dead. I also read that you need to be careful if you boost the car due to high voltage etc. The charging cable was still connected, so I also found the location of the mechanical release. I gave this a try, and it broke, so now the car is in an underground garage, and tethered to the wall. I called ADAC, and they arrived quickly, but he had never worked on an i3. The downside of being a somewhat early adopter I forgot to read on how to release the hood when the power is gone, so this took a few minutes of searching before I found the little cover under the hood button. We took the front storage out to access the battery and the ADAC guy connected a portable battery. The car then came to life, and I was then able to remove the charge cable and drive the car to a BMW dealer. The check engine light was on, indicating an issue.

They diagnosed the issue as a bad 12V battery, and it was replaced under warranty The 12V battery always showed fully charged on the i3 display, but I guess it just died.

I now need to research on how to put the i3 into neutral and release the electronic parking brake in the event of a future 12V battery failure. I park in a city garage. I back out of my space, then I need to shut the car off because I need to put the parking space post up. If the car were to die in that position, no one could leave the parking garage, and the car would be stuck in park with the e-brake on, I would not be popular

Anyway, overall am still happy with the car, and I have almost nine months of warranty coverage remaining. If it is going to break, better now than after the warranty expires.

Ken