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I have had my eye on a used i3. My one big concern, though, is battery pack lifespan (I am not talking about range here). It looks like it is about $16,000 to replace the battery pack, and I am wondering what kind of lifespan the battery packs have. I don't want to have to replace it in a couple of years.
A quick perusal via Google shows BMW official site saying the limited 8 yr warranty on some level of orig battery charge/recharge capabilities is transferable to 2nd owner, though the fine print suggests the used car must be sold through a BMW dealer as a CPO, for that warranty to transfer.
I read/post on a few BMW forums so I nosed around on the lightly posted i3 boards; some owners report battery life to be 'good' after a few years, others report that while the batt will still take a charge after a few years the top speed, (slow) and the range can become severely diminished, fwiw. All anecdotal...
Dunno what year you are looking at, but I would pass on the first year model, of nearly any brand/species.
Have you driven one?
We drove a demo at our local Asheville, NC dlr while buying my CEO's new X1 a couple years ago: some may like the feel and cube like upright styling, and the very minimal handling, but it was not for us and I would not want one if it was nearly free, but everyone has their own bag.
There are other elec and hybrids, out there on the used mkt and even some of the new brands/species are not priced out of reach...
Wow $16K for a battery replacement seems nuts when you can buy a used i3 for as little at $13K. I think it would be wise to do some research on BMW or i3 specific forums. I did that with the Nissan Leaf, Fiat 500e, and Tesla before I dodged the Leaf and bought a used 500e and used Model S 85.
Living in southern California, there are a few independent PHEV/BEV mechanics who can swap battery modules or the entire pack. Leaf batteries are $6K from the dealership, so I'm shocked the BMW would charge so much. We have 160K miles combined across our Fiat and Tesla without a single issue. It's important to note that the 12V batteries do need to be replaced every 2-4 years though...sooner if you don't drive the car very often. This is because electrified cars do not have alternators but uses a DC-DC converter that uses the High Voltage (HV) traction battery pack to recharge the 12V battery, but only when the car is on. Therefore if the car sits for days or weeks at a time, the 12V battery will have an erratic state of charge.
ever price a BMW M3 replacement engine? Get ready for serious sticker shock.
But, you can get good used battery packs out of wrecked i3s for under $7500 now and by the time you'd need a battery replacement on a good i3, it'll be even cheaper.
The warranty on the battery is for 8 years, or 100k miles, but the reality is that people are seeing minimal degradation in that time. Thermally managed Lithium Ion battery packs with 20%/80% discharge/charge cycles are lasting a LOT of miles.
I'm having a hard time finding good experiential data. The used i3s are pretty cheap - and to be honest so far the only electric I care for in that size range. I figure I would be looking at a '17 REX. probably driven mostly daily, though not far. The time is fine, it is the 100k mile warranty that bothers me - I figure I will reach that point in about 3-4 years, and as pointed out that may not even extend to second hand purchases. My other factor is I live in central New England, so I have the problem of cold as well (and no garage).
I'm having a hard time finding good experiential data. The used i3s are pretty cheap - and to be honest so far the only electric I care for in that size range. I figure I would be looking at a '17 REX. probably driven mostly daily, though not far. The time is fine, it is the 100k mile warranty that bothers me - I figure I will reach that point in about 3-4 years, and as pointed out that may not even extend to second hand purchases. My other factor is I live in central New England, so I have the problem of cold as well (and no garage).
Why are you looking at electric? You don't really fit the demographic for it. I understand the allure because they are "cheap" compared to gas cars relatively speaking on a % off basis, but there is a reason for that. I drove the i3 as well as the Leaf and Volt. They are nice and the quiet, electric acceleration is intoxicating but look at the bigger picture. Give it a few more years (or a decade) until the battery tech is perfected and you don't have to worry as much. Living in a cold environment, with no garage, driving a lot? You are not the ideal candidate for an electric car!
I do know several people who have electrics. Most of my driving is local - I would say on average under 15-20 miles per trip, a few times per day. Rarely with more than one other person, and I don't need a ton of cargo space. That is one of the reasons why I am not looking at something larger. I want the small nimbleness of something like a i3 or Bolt. I would be looking at a second hand model.
What would you consider the "demographic" for electric to be?
Actually you're about the perfect demographic for a used EV. The i3 non-Rex and even a Spark EV would work for you in that scenario even in the dead of winter and have more than enough range left. Install a L2 charger on the outside of the house at the edge of the driveway and you'll have a "full tank" every morning AND you can preheat the car in the winter before unplugging it. If you needed to go the occasional road trip, I'd suggest a used Volt, as it's all EV range would cover your daily routine, and the gas generator would make long trips a breeze. The i3 Rex version really isn't designed for long trips, just to generate enough power to get you home slowly.
I do know several people who have electrics. Most of my driving is local - I would say on average under 15-20 miles per trip, a few times per day. Rarely with more than one other person, and I don't need a ton of cargo space. That is one of the reasons why I am not looking at something larger. I want the small nimbleness of something like a i3 or Bolt. I would be looking at a second hand model.
What would you consider the "demographic" for electric to be?
Warm/moderate climate, 40-50 miles one way drive, area with higher than normal gas and lower or average electricity prices, employer provided charger on one end, definitely a homeowner with a garage where they park their car to recharge it easily.
Otherwise just buy an inexpensive used smaller car or hybrid (even that is debatable) like a Prius.
The amount of money you're going to spend on a used electric with questionable battery lifespan (and appropriate battery cost depreciation) will far outweigh the cost of a equivalent gas car plus gas. There is a reason why the i3 was $50k three years ago and it's $20k now. It will be $10k in another three years and probably $5k in another three. If the batteries are even still good.
Warm/moderate climate, 40-50 miles one way drive, area with higher than normal gas and lower or average electricity prices, employer provided charger on one end, definitely a homeowner with a garage where they park their car to recharge it easily.
I don't park my Volt in a garage to recharge it, it sits in the driveway plugged in, even in snow. I know a number of EV owners that are in the same boat. And I know a number of EV owners in Michigan that deal with harsh winters, too, without too much problem.
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Otherwise just buy an inexpensive used smaller car or hybrid (even that is debatable) like a Prius.
The amount of money you're going to spend on a used electric with questionable battery lifespan (and appropriate battery cost depreciation) will far outweigh the cost of a equivalent gas car plus gas. There is a reason why the i3 was $50k three years ago and it's $20k now. It will be $10k in another three years and probably $5k in another three. If the batteries are even still good.
The used EV market is heating up as people find that even the older tech cars will work for their daily use, and they find that the driving dynamics (luxurious quiet acceleration and low CG handling) make it drive like a higher end luxury car rather than a wheezy old econobox. And of course, as used EVs are getting snatched up to get sent out of the US to Europe and China, prices have stopped falling on older ones, and in some cases have gone up. For example, a year or two ago you could buy off lease Focus EVs and Fiat 500EVs for $7500. Now, ones with similar or more miles are over $10k in most markets. i3s had been dropping to about $16k off lease, but have been hovering about that for a couple years, and are starting to go up again.
Now that I've driven electric, I'd MUCH rather own and drive one than any cheap econobox with a buzzy 4 cyl gas engine running all the time. In fact, I hate it when I have to use the gas generator in the Volt as, even though it's pretty smooth for a 4 cyl, it's way rough and buzzy compared to pure electric power. I've been thinking of getting an off lease i3 or Spark EV or even a Fiat 500e as a commuter and errand runner and leave the Volt for my wife to commute in and use for road trips.
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