Possible new rider with questions

[Buggs1a]

Hi all.
I’m having some issues with my car. Now I’m looking to replace it. But I have questions. So I did a search and found this place.

After reading some stuff I get nervous when I hear bad things. But all cars have good and bad.

I need better mpg and good sound and good tech. But under $10k. I’m not working. On gov ssi and ssdi.

My cousin in law is helping a bit. We found a local place that has or had , I dunno, the 2015 BMW i3. Decent price I guess. No clue.

So I’ve been watching a few YouTube vids. I love what I see. So far. But I have questions.

So I’m introducing myself here as requested. .

I live in Burien Wa. In an apartment.
I’d like to ask a few questions here. Please forgive me if this isn’t the place.

1: Could I use a maybe 100 foot extension cable for charging? Has to go from my apartment to where I can park my car for a few hrs.

2: What about if it’s raining?

3: Does the 2014-2015 i3 have good sound?

4: What trims/models are there? I know of base and range extender. Then I know of stuff for the fabric or something?

5: I’m interested in the 20-4-2015 i3 range extender. Navigation. Good sound. Other stuff like ACC seems cool.

6: I’ve read online of free chargers. Is that true? Charging station.

7: How can I find where charging stations are? Is there an app like Tesla has that will show this on gps map like Tesla?

8: Is there a nice BMW app to manage the car/charging like Tesla has?

9: Can you get charging cost info? I think the Tesla app shows how much per mile or something. My cousin charges his at home and it seems to know cost per mile or something. But how I wonder. Based on his power company and the app knows or his location.

10: How do you enter in addresses in the nav. Do you just use the dial in the center console area or write out an address?

11: Can you talk to the car and get directions? Say an address or business and nav does the rest?

12: What’s the difference between 2014 range extender and 2015 range extender?

Sorry. I just have questions haha. And thank you.

 

[Mondomensch]

Hi all.
I’m having some issues with my car. Now I’m looking to replace it. But I have questions. So I did a search and found this place.

After reading some stuff I get nervous when I hear bad things. But all cars have good and bad.

I need better mpg and good sound and good tech. But under $10k. I’m not working. On gov ssi and ssdi.

My cousin in law is helping a bit. We found a local place that has or had , I dunno, the 2015 BMW i3. Decent price I guess. No clue.

So I’ve been watching a few YouTube vids. I love what I see. So far. But I have questions.

So I’m introducing myself here as requested. .

I live in Burien Wa. In an apartment.
I’d like to ask a few questions here. Please forgive me if this isn’t the place.

1: Could I use a maybe 100 foot extension cable for charging? Has to go from my apartment to where I can park my car for a few hrs.

2: What about if it’s raining?

3: Does the 2014-2015 i3 have good sound?

4: What trims/models are there? I know of base and range extender. Then I know of stuff for the fabric or something?

5: I’m interested in the 20-4-2015 i3 range extender. Navigation. Good sound. Other stuff like ACC seems cool.

6: I’ve read online of free chargers. Is that true? Charging station.

7: How can I find where charging stations are? Is there an app like Tesla has that will show this on gps map like Tesla?

8: Is there a nice BMW app to manage the car/charging like Tesla has?

9: Can you get charging cost info? I think the Tesla app shows how much per mile or something. My cousin charges his at home and it seems to know cost per mile or something. But how I wonder. Based on his power company and the app knows or his location.

10: How do you enter in addresses in the nav. Do you just use the dial in the center console area or write out an address?

11: Can you talk to the car and get directions? Say an address or business and nav does the rest?

12: What’s the difference between 2014 range extender and 2015 range extender?

Sorry. I just have questions haha. And thank you.

PlugShare is a good umbrella app that covers chargers on the different charging networks. By looking at individual charger details you can find out the price. Most newer ones charge by kWhr (typical to get 4 miles per kWhr), but some usually slower chargers charge by the time you are charging, with a different price for staying parked there once you are done charging.

For good sound, Harmon Kardon option probably necessary.

For an older model like you are thinking about, it may not have the DC fast charging option installed, and due to the shutdown of the 3G cellphone network a few years ago will not have connected services/telematics.

Recent model years have 4G telematics, DC fast charging capability standard and improved base sound system (still may not be up to your standards). Plus of course the bigger 120Ah battery, twice the capacity of the early models.

 

[robthebold]

Well, home charging is gonna be the biggest challenge in your situation, IMO. If you're dealing with a distance from the outlet to the EVSE of 100 feet, you'll want to check the rated current capacity carefully ahead of time, and expect it to be considerably (physically) heavier and more expensive than extension cords most people have on hand. With outdoor usage in mind, you may need to look at the kind they sell for RV hookups and figure that price as well as a rainproof "charger" into your costs --potentially 100s of dollars. And then worry about theft, too.

I don't want to tell you not to get an EV, but you'll want to look carefully at nearby charging options. If there's someplace you regularly spend several hours at a time anyway that has a reasonably priced charging station, it'd make all the difference.

 

[alohart]

After reading some stuff I get nervous when I hear bad things. But all cars have good and bad.

Correct. Few vehicle owners post to vehicle fora about how trouble-free their vehicles have been, so problems seem more common than they really are. We bought a 2014 i3 BEV new, replaced it with a used 2019 i3 BEV, and replaced that with a 2021 i3 BEV just so we could own the final U.S. year model. Over almost exactly 10 years of i3 ownership, we have not experienced a single problem that would require a repair.

I need better mpg and good sound and good tech. But under $10k. I’m not working. On gov ssi and ssdi.

My cousin in law is helping a bit. We found a local place that has or had , I dunno, the 2015 BMW i3. Decent price I guess. No clue.

Given a choice, I would avoid a 2016 or earlier i3 because some of their battery packs degraded more rapidly than expected reducing an already low range. However, by now any such rapid degradation would be noticeable if one knew what to expect.

If you could find a suitable 2017 or later i3, its battery pack would have ~50% greater usable capacity than earlier models. It would also have a 4G telematics module so could be controlled and monitored remotely using the My BMW smartphone app which earlier models with their 3G telematics modules could not do.

1: Could I use a maybe 100 foot extension cable for charging? Has to go from my apartment to where I can park my car for a few hrs.

This extension cord would need to be heavy-duty to avoid too much voltage loss over 100' and overheating of its plug and/or receptacle. The receptacle into which this extension cord would be plugged would need to be in excellent condition to avoid overheating because charging would likely need to be 10A with most residential receptacles rated at 15A. No other loads should be on the same circuit as this outlet to avoid tripping its circuit breaker. This extension cord should not pose a tripping hazard to anyone who would walk across it.

If you have an assigned parking space, having a charging circuit installed would be a far better solution.

2: What about if it’s raining?

The charging circuit between the charging station and the EV has protections against electrocution including during rainy conditions. However, the segment between your apartment receptacle and your charging station would not have these protections and could short-circuit if rainwater entered the extension cord's receptacle.

3: Does the 2014-2015 i3 have good sound?

An i3 would need to have the optional Harman/Kardon entertainment system to have the best sound. The base entertainment system has only 4 speakers, all of them in the front.

4: What trims/models are there? I know of base and range extender. Then I know of stuff for the fabric or something?

Deka World (not in earlier U.S. i3's): dark cloth upholstery, might be missing some features like universal garage door opener, some interior LED's
Mega World: gray cloth and synthetic leather upholstery, has some additional features
Giga World: wool and tan or light brown leather upholstery, wood dashboard trim, has even more features
Tera World: all dark brown leather interior, wood dashboard trim, has the most features.

5: I’m interested in the 20-4-2015 i3 range extender. Navigation. Good sound. Other stuff like ACC seems cool.

ACC is included in the Technology & Driving Assistant package which also includes a wider navigation screen and other nice features.

6: I’ve read online of free chargers. Is that true? Charging station.

Some public AC Level 2 (208V-240V) charging stations are available at no cost, usually to promote a shopping center or business that installed and maintain them. An AC Level 2 charging station can add ~25 miles of range per hour of charging.

7: How can I find where charging stations are? Is there an app like Tesla has that will show this on gps map like Tesla?

8: Is there a nice BMW app to manage the car/charging like Tesla has?

The My BMW app can show public charging stations and manage an i3, but this app works only with 2017 and later i3's. The PlugShare app shows even more charging stations.

9: Can you get charging cost info? I think the Tesla app shows how much per mile or something. My cousin charges his at home and it seems to know cost per mile or something. But how I wonder. Based on his power company and the app knows or his location.

The My BMW app allows one to enter his electricity rate and records a charging history including cost. The i3's technology is basically a decade old so doesn't have the features of a Tesla.

10: How do you enter in addresses in the nav. Do you just use the dial in the center console area or write out an address?

The iDrive controller can enter an address tediously, i3's with the Tech & Driving Assist package include a touch-sensitive top surface on the iDrive controller allowing an address to be entered by drawing the characters with one's finger (slightly less tedious). I usually send navigation addresses to our i3 from the My BMW app.

11: Can you talk to the car and get directions? Say an address or business and nav does the rest?

Theoretically, but I haven't had much luck entering addresses with voice commands. The navigation system doesn't understand Hawaiian words very well

12: What’s the difference between 2014 range extender and 2015 range extender?

In the U.S., the 2015 i3 included features that were options on 2014 i3's like DC fast charging, seat and battery pack heaters, and alloy wheels that were the same side-to-side rather than having right and left wheels. There aren't major differences.

 

[Buggs1a]

Thanks a lot.
I think I just want the nav. Good sound. And the acc feature set. A 2014 for $7k or so I found has this. 94k miles I think. Has everything.

A 2015 I found seems to have the nav and hi speakers but don’t say much else. It’s $8k or $9k. 68k miles I think. The i3 I’ve seen have fast charging I think.

I live in Burien wa. Trying to find a good for me i3 because I’m on disability gov money and don’t have any money really for stuff so I’m trying to get best mpg possible to save on gas.

I don’t go anywhere more than 45 minute one way. That’s on freeway. I have two places. My sisters/parents. 30 minutes. They live together. And cousin 45 minutes. Every where else is within 10 miles one way basically. I don’t drive daily either.

I can charge where I go. Moms and cousins. But that still may be an issue considering that’s losing the charge on my way home. I should be able to charge from my apartment with a long cable.

I couldn’t afford a charge station thing in my parking spot. They’d have to dig up the ground cement etc right? Thousands of dollars I’d guess. This is subsidized housing.

So in this case my issue with charging means get a Prius right? lol. No bmw i3 for me. Unless there was a close charging station I could use but sitting there 30 plus minutes not gonna happen. My charging has to be at my cousins or parents and maybe I can do it here.

My budget is as far under $10k as possible.

I have now a 2013 Ford cmax sel. Its leg room sucks. But other than that it’s ok except I’m trying to improve mpg and leg room by replacing it. And the i3 has better leg room. I’m kinda claustrophobic in my car. It’s been doable tho but I always wanted better room. I need to have my knees open a bit more.

I’m looking BMW i3 2014 with everything for maybe like I said above. Or 2015 as said above. Or 2010 Prius model I guess 4 maybe. Not sure about 3.