First BMW i3 owner report

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jmueller065

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Feb 12, 2013
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This is an interesting read:
http://insideevs.com/bmw-i3-bev-owner-review/

Especially his 145 mile trip on a single charge--impressive! (Granted he charged at the destination and in England which would probably be 80% of 13A @ 220V).
 
I was totally committed to the idea of getting an I3 with range extender as the next EV in my fleet, on the hope that leases would be in the 450-500$ range. Information coming from BMW places the lease rates much much higher. BMW apparently doesn't even plan to apply the full $7500 of tax rebate to the lease, keeping 35% for itself.

In addition, many BMW dealers have said they would charge a premium above MSRP.

According to insideeevs.com

BMW does not breakout any lease examples, but assuming the same $45,800 vehicle on a 36 month lease (39% residual) with $5,000 down, it looks like a lease will run the consumer about $550/month on a 3 year term. The base, all electric BMW i3 starts at $41,350, which would make those leases come in at just under $500/month (with the $5,000 down).


Dividing the $5K down by 36 months adds approximately $140 to the estimated $550 for an I3 Rex, almost $700. Plus whatever the dealer markup adds...

To me, these are deal-killers. I have turned my attention to a Volt as my next EV and currently shopping for one. Looks like you can get a 15000 mile, $900 driveaway for around $300 plus tax a month on a three year lease, fully loaded. Less than half of what a BMW would cost.
 
michael said:
I was totally committed to the idea of getting an I3 with range extender as the next EV in my fleet, on the hope that leases would be in the 450-500$ range. Information coming from BMW places the lease rates much much higher. BMW apparently doesn't even plan to apply the full $7500 of tax rebate to the lease, keeping 35% for itself.

In addition, many BMW dealers have said they would charge a premium above MSRP.

According to insideeevs.com

BMW does not breakout any lease examples, but assuming the same $45,800 vehicle on a 36 month lease (39% residual) with $5,000 down, it looks like a lease will run the consumer about $550/month on a 3 year term. The base, all electric BMW i3 starts at $41,350, which would make those leases come in at just under $500/month (with the $5,000 down).


Dividing the $5K down by 36 months adds approximately $140 to the estimated $550 for an I3 Rex, almost $700. Plus whatever the dealer markup adds...

To me, these are deal-killers. I have turned my attention to a Volt as my next EV and currently shopping for one. Looks like you can get a 15000 mile, $900 driveaway for around $300 plus tax a month on a three year lease, fully loaded. Less than half of what a BMW would cost.

Honestly if it starts to get around the 800 bucks a month, i'm not sure you wouldn't just get a Tesla at that point. It's one thing to stick around 300 bucks a month and jump to $1100 or something. It's another to look at the BMW i3, look at the Model S and look at it's $1100 vs $800 and it's really no contest at that point.
 
I thought about a Model S, but realistically it's a $90K car if you get it equipped in the way you would reasonably expect for a car costing $70K base price. The Tesla site says it starts at $63K, but that's after the $7500, so really $70K. And that is basic....small battery, single charger, cloth seats, no supercharger, no parking cameras, etc. And don't you really want (at least) 85kWh battery, supercharger, and leather interior? At the very least? That's $87K before tax credit.

And I don't know if you actually can find someone to write a lease...anyone know a way to lease one and what it costs?

A Volt plus an FFE....way cheaper and more versatile.
 
Oh I agree, it's really a $100K car after all is said and done. There 'base' model is pretty much a rip off and I don't know anybody who has bought a Tesla who bought the cheap model. It really would be a bad choice. You'd be getting an electric car and not much else at $70K. And you wouldn't even have the better battery.

I dont think you can lease the Tesla, not that I know of. I agree that an FFE is far more affordable and makes more sense for 99 percent of people out there. But if you compare the Tesla to the BMW i3 and they are charging a hell of a lot of for it, I'd go with Tesla in that case.
 
I finally went to a BMW dealer to take a look at an I3. They had three in stock, so I guess they're not selling as well as some have suggested.

While I didn't drive it, I wasn't all that impressed. MSRP $48K still had cloth seats. The dash and side panels are made of some strange looking recycled material, looks something like the boxes they use for buried sprinkler valves, Access to the back seat was difficult with the suicide doors.

My impression was that I was very happy to get back into my FFE. When I have more time, I'll take a test drive, but can't see myself ending up with one given the price.
 
I waited for the i3 to come before buying an electric car I did not like it or the price. I then bought My Focus a week later. is it better than the FFE? In Some ways, it has more power and is lighter and goes farther on a smaller battery. $700-800 a month compared to $300-400, not worth it to me.
 
Tim Jodice said:
goes farther on a smaller battery.

This is the part that scares me. I wonder what sort of hit the i3 will take in the winter, when heat is required? You can't get around battery capacity completely and the i3 costs so much and really has a limited battery.
 
michael said:
The dash and side panels are made of some strange looking recycled material, looks something like the boxes they use for buried sprinkler valves,
The 'recycled material' is exactly that - they reused the waste from the Carbon fiber process used to create the life module for those panels.

ElSupreme said:
Tim Jodice said:
goes farther on a smaller battery.

This is the part that scares me. I wonder what sort of hit the i3 will take in the winter, when heat is required? You can't get around battery capacity completely and the i3 costs so much and really has a limited battery.
On zero degree days our ActiveE was typically doing mid to high 50 miles per charge. Based on the heat pump that the BEV has, I would expect that the i3 yields a similar range while keeping the driver more comfortable even though it only has 18.8 kWh of useable battery capacity.
 
twscrap said:
michael said:
The dash and side panels are made of some strange looking recycled material, looks something like the boxes they use for buried sprinkler valves,
The 'recycled material' is exactly that - they reused the waste from the Carbon fiber process used to create the life module for those panels.

ElSupreme said:
Tim Jodice said:
goes farther on a smaller battery.

This is the part that scares me. I wonder what sort of hit the i3 will take in the winter, when heat is required? You can't get around battery capacity completely and the i3 costs so much and really has a limited battery.
On zero degree days our ActiveE was typically doing mid to high 50 miles per charge. Based on the heat pump that the BEV has, I would expect that the i3 yields a similar range while keeping the driver more comfortable even though it only has 18.8 kWh of useable battery capacity.
So compared to your FFE how is the I3?
 
They are both very different cars and each has things about it that I prefer. I prefer the lower seating position of the FFE, and having actual gauges rather than a digital display.

Most of the things that I don't like about the i3 span all BMW models, e.g., iDrive, climate control always on when you start the vehicle, etc. The i3 handles like a BMW and the acceleration borders on insane. The fact is, this car is a blast to drive. Interior and exterior aesthetics are unique, and while I'm not a huge fan of the way this car looks, it attracts attention in a way that the FFE can't. I get almost zero attention in the FFE, even with a 100% Electric sticker in the rear window. The i3, on the other hand draws people in. I've had conversations with people in other cars at stoplights because people are so interested in it.

At the NDEW event we attended last weekend, people flocked to the i3. It drew so much attention that I was asked to put the motor cover back on and close up my vehicle so that folks would go inside for the presentations that were scheduled. Ultimately this was one of the reasons that we got the i3 - it is a great ambassador for starting a drive electric conversation without me having to be an over the top EVangelist. It causes people to come to me to discuss the car at a level that the FFE just doesn't have the capability to do.
 
twscrap said:
They are both very different cars and each has things about it that I prefer. I prefer the lower seating position of the FFE, and having actual gauges rather than a digital display.

Most of the things that I don't like about the i3 span all BMW models, e.g., iDrive, climate control always on when you start the vehicle, etc. The i3 handles like a BMW and the acceleration borders on insane. The fact is, this car is a blast to drive. Interior and exterior aesthetics are unique, and while I'm not a huge fan of the way this car looks, it attracts attention in a way that the FFE can't. I get almost zero attention in the FFE, even with a 100% Electric sticker in the rear window. The i3, on the other hand draws people in. I've had conversations with people in other cars at stoplights because people are so interested in it.

At the NDEW event we attended last weekend, people flocked to the i3. It drew so much attention that I was asked to put the motor cover back on and close up my vehicle so that folks would go inside for the presentations that were scheduled. Ultimately this was one of the reasons that we got the i3 - it is a great ambassador for starting a drive electric conversation without me having to be an over the top EVangelist. It causes people to come to me to discuss the car at a level that the FFE just doesn't have the capability to do.
Any update after a few more months with the i3?
 
michael said:
I was totally committed to the idea of getting an I3 with range extender as the next EV in my fleet, on the hope that leases would be in the 450-500$ range. Information coming from BMW places the lease rates much much higher. BMW apparently doesn't even plan to apply the full $7500 of tax rebate to the lease, keeping 35% for itself.

In addition, many BMW dealers have said they would charge a premium above MSRP.

According to insideeevs.com

BMW does not breakout any lease examples, but assuming the same $45,800 vehicle on a 36 month lease (39% residual) with $5,000 down, it looks like a lease will run the consumer about $550/month on a 3 year term. The base, all electric BMW i3 starts at $41,350, which would make those leases come in at just under $500/month (with the $5,000 down).


Dividing the $5K down by 36 months adds approximately $140 to the estimated $550 for an I3 Rex, almost $700. Plus whatever the dealer markup adds...

To me, these are deal-killers. I have turned my attention to a Volt as my next EV and currently shopping for one. Looks like you can get a 15000 mile, $900 driveaway for around $300 plus tax a month on a three year lease, fully loaded. Less than half of what a BMW would cost.
Have lease prices come down at all for the i3?
 
This past Saturday at the Twin Cities Auto Show I got the chance to drive the i3. BMW had 6 of them, all REx models, available for test drives. I quite liked it. It will be on the list as a potential FFE replacement when our lease expires next summer. Our basic requirements are: no more expensive than the FFE ($250/month lease at 12k miles/year with only TTL down), no less features than the FFE.
 
Why I would NEVER buy an i3. Not as safe as an FFE

https://transportevolved.com/2013/11/27/bad-news-as-bmw-i3-gets-only-4-star-crash-test-rating-poor-drive-report/

The FFE being a 5 star car could really help push it to folks considering the 4 star LEAF. I don't know why this safety difference is not touted more.
 
Olagon said:
Why I would NEVER buy an i3. Not as safe as an FFE

https://transportevolved.com/2013/11/27/bad-news-as-bmw-i3-gets-only-4-star-crash-test-rating-poor-drive-report/

The FFE being a 5 star car could really help push it to folks considering the 4 star LEAF. I don't know why this safety difference is not touted more.
Thank you for sharing that link. I agree that the FFE should be promoted for it's high crash test scores way more than it is.
 
hybridbear said:
This past Saturday at the Twin Cities Auto Show I got the chance to drive the i3. BMW had 6 of them, all REx models, available for test drives. I quite liked it. It will be on the list as a potential FFE replacement when our lease expires next summer. Our basic requirements are: no more expensive than the FFE ($250/month lease at 12k miles/year with only TTL down), no less features than the FFE.
You can take it off your list then because it will cost you more than 2X your FFE. Our payments are $187 and $639/month for the FFE and i3 respectively.
 
twscrap said:
hybridbear said:
This past Saturday at the Twin Cities Auto Show I got the chance to drive the i3. BMW had 6 of them, all REx models, available for test drives. I quite liked it. It will be on the list as a potential FFE replacement when our lease expires next summer. Our basic requirements are: no more expensive than the FFE ($250/month lease at 12k miles/year with only TTL down), no less features than the FFE.
You can take it off your list then because it will cost you more than 2X your FFE. Our payments are $187 and $639/month for the FFE and i3 respectively.
BMW is not discounting the i3? I hope that by next summer they will be discounting them.
 
Olagon said:
Why I would NEVER buy an i3. Not as safe as an FFE

https://transportevolved.com/2013/11/27/bad-news-as-bmw-i3-gets-only-4-star-crash-test-rating-poor-drive-report/

The FFE being a 5 star car could really help push it to folks considering the 4 star LEAF. I don't know why this safety difference is not touted more.
Pedestrian safety is the reason it didn't get 5 stars, not the safety of occupants.

hybridbear said:
BMW is not discounting the i3? I hope that by next summer they will be discounting them.
They are discounting them, but not like other EVs. Expect $3-4k off MSRP. Which is about double the discount you will get on any other new BMW. Add to that the fact that the 2015 will have more standard features, which will eat some of that $3-4k.
 
twscrap said:
Olagon said:
Why I would NEVER buy an i3. Not as safe as an FFE

https://transportevolved.com/2013/11/27/bad-news-as-bmw-i3-gets-only-4-star-crash-test-rating-poor-drive-report/

The FFE being a 5 star car could really help push it to folks considering the 4 star LEAF. I don't know why this safety difference is not touted more.

Pedestrian safety is the reason it didn't get 5 stars, not the safety of occupants.

Thanks for the clarification. I re-read and you are right.
 
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