BMW i3 with 95,000..............bad idea?

[mike150]

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...…………...

[mike150]

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

Edited by mike150 on Thursday 9th January 12:36

[mike150]

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.

[mike150]

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!!!

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]

Plenty of good advice here.

So today I went and drove a 2019 i3 in a BMW dealer, nice car in blue with HK stereo, privacy glass and 429 style wheels, 3000 miles and it's on for £29950 but......

They had my perfect spec NEW i3 in the showroom, white S with the HK and privacy glass. It's getting pushed hard to me!!!!!! 33 grand!

The 19 120Ah one I drove today does not feel any different to the one with 91k on it. I thought it might feel better but it's just more money and like new obviously.

I'll keep looking and thinking ...... that's most of the fun isn't it?

[mike150]

Depthhoar said:

For reference, I bought a new i3 120ah at the end of October 2019 for £28,000 (drive away price). That included all the Govt discount etc..

Keep looking. There are good deals to be had if you're prepared to travel.

Have a look here for what's on sale in the UK. (Some dealer stock new cars there, too. Also shows the historical price trend for each car for sale): https://tesla-info.com/BMW/bmwi-forsale-uk.html

Thanks, good info. My ideal car is a 42kw S but they aren't out very long and are alot of money for a car that's sole purpose is to be efficient and cheap!

I'm wondering what my BMW dealer will be prepared to go to on their new S. They are at £32k now........ Still wayyy too much depreciation ahead imo!

I didn't mention.......... I'm in Northern Ireland and EV cars do not have the demand that they have in South East England as their are very few charging points and no penalties for Ice vehicles so there are not very many EVs to chose from. When I tell anyone I'm thinking of an electric car there face seems to screw up a bit 😂