Should I get one?

[xxiicenturyval]

there is another way to make it a bit more affordable: multiple security deposit. If you have some extra cash in hand you can put down a deposit w/ BMW FS (7 monthly payments) to drop your money factor. It dropped my lease pymt about $25/month. The deposit is refunded at the end of the lease. It is a great ROI if you are dead set on leasing an i3 (or any BMW for that matter)
Warwick dealership is a typical middle man: they try to force you into an expensive lease. If you do your homework online and are prepared to walk out they will call you back. You do have to pay them a visit though. You don't have to accept any car on their lot - they had mine sitting in a port in NJ. When they offered me a preposterous lease I just left and told them I was heading to Newport. They called back the same day

 

[cmj912]

there is another way to make it a bit more affordable: multiple security deposit. If you have some extra cash in hand you can put down a deposit w/ BMW FS (7 monthly payments) to drop your money factor. It dropped my lease pymt about $25/month. The deposit is refunded at the end of the lease. It is a great ROI if you are dead set on leasing an i3 (or any BMW for that matter)
Warwick dealership is a typical middle man: they try to force you into an expensive lease. If you do your homework online and are prepared to walk out they will call you back. You do have to pay them a visit though. You don't have to accept any car on their lot - they had mine sitting in a port in NJ. When they offered me a preposterous lease I just left and told them I was heading to Newport. They called back the same day

The dealer I'm working with has been pretty good with the lease payment. It's the *&#^$$% insurance! Good God. What a debacle.

 

[cmj912]

I got my car today! Impressive vehicle.

 

[i3green]

I got my car today! Impressive vehicle.

nice!! what end you up with?

 

[cmj912]

I got my car today! Impressive vehicle.

nice!! what end you up with?

It is a white 2015 Rex with the Technology/Apps package. Really cool car. Now if I could get it to charge...

 

[jadnashuanh]

The only issue you might have with the supplied OUC EVSE is if it shares any power with something else on that circuit...then, you may have to go into the menu and tell the i3 to not take more power than the maximum. If it's the only thing on that circuit, it should be able to accept the maximum the EVSE can provide.

 

[cmj912]

The only issue you might have with the supplied OUC EVSE is if it shares any power with something else on that circuit...then, you may have to go into the menu and tell the i3 to not take more power than the maximum. If it's the only thing on that circuit, it should be able to accept the maximum the EVSE can provide.

They didn't show me how to do any of that but my suspicion is the outlet is old and crappy. I went to a Chargepoint for an hour to get some range back. It is going to be very annoying until we can get that dealt with.

 

[jadnashuanh]

The manual, both in the car and in the book they give you, plus the app you can get for free for your phone or tablet give you at least three ways to figure out things about the car. If you don't read the manual, you'll miss lots of features of the car's many capabilities. Most people will never need or use them all, but you wont' even know about them unless you look! Once you get the hang of the menu system, it's fairly easy to find things, especially if you start with the on-board interactive manual embedded in the car's hard drive.

Charging with the EVSE gives you three choices other than whether to start now or delayed: max, medium, or low when using the level 1 (120vac) circuit. IF your breaker trips, try to lower the rate (or shut off whatever else is on that circuit). IF the EVSE gives a fault, your receptacle is probably defective, especially if you can charge elsewhere. Even if the EVSE won't reach your car, and it indicates an error, try plugging it into another receptacle...it should not indicate any errors. It's not a great idea to use an extension cord with the thing, but if you choose to try, make sure it is as short as possible and ideally, at least 12g wire and it must be a grounded receptacle and cord.

 

[cmj912]

The manual, both in the car and in the book they give you, plus the app you can get for free for your phone or tablet give you at least three ways to figure out things about the car. If you don't read the manual, you'll miss lots of features of the car's many capabilities. Most people will never need or use them all, but you wont' even know about them unless you look! Once you get the hang of the menu system, it's fairly easy to find things, especially if you start with the on-board interactive manual embedded in the car's hard drive.

Charging with the EVSE gives you three choices other than whether to start now or delayed: max, medium, or low when using the level 1 (120vac) circuit. IF your breaker trips, try to lower the rate (or shut off whatever else is on that circuit). IF the EVSE gives a fault, your receptacle is probably defective, especially if you can charge elsewhere. Even if the EVSE won't reach your car, and it indicates an error, try plugging it into another receptacle...it should not indicate any errors. It's not a great idea to use an extension cord with the thing, but if you choose to try, make sure it is as short as possible and ideally, at least 12g wire and it must be a grounded receptacle and cord.

The Genius explained a lot of the features like the map and navigation, EcoPro, comfort settings, the keys and climate and stuff. There just wasn't a lot about the hows and whats of charging. They seemed to think extension cords were fine.

I have two 14g 25ft 1875 watt outdoor-rated cords. One of the cords was purchased for me by the dealer. I was hoping they'd buy a shorter one that was even heavier rated and not one of those clear-plug things since those have given me trouble with other things.

When you plug in the EVSE (it doesn't reach the car otherwise) it says "power fault". I went the Chargepoint and the car charged fine. Of course you use their cord, not yours.

As I mentioned our driveway outlet is probably from the 70s or early 80s and likely needs to be replaced.

Luckily we have a 2-hours free Chargepoint .75 miles from my house at the AAA headquarters.

And just so you know, I did sit in the car during the hour it was charging and read the charging section of the manual.

 

[jadnashuanh]

BMW does not recommend the use of an extension cord with the EVSE. The longer it is, the more likely you'll have issues, especially if they are not of good quality or actually made properly. They also MUST be grounded AND you cannot use an adapter on the receptacle. IF any of the connections are a little loose, that is very likely the issue. ON a 15A circuit, 14g is the minimum, and if you make longer runs, 12G is better (and they tend to use better plugs and sockets on them). Using the 80% rule, those are just barely capable of the wattage drawn by the i3, and if there is any poor connection, absolutely not. Also, when drawing full current on any wire like that, do NOT leave any portion coiled up...it adds inductance, and can cause the wire to heat up more.

Try plugging the EVSE into the receptacle without the extension cords. Some of the fault detection circuitry will still work even when not connected to the car, see if it reports an error.

Find a place where you can plug your OUC in without an extension cord to verify it does work. If it does, you've isolated it to either the extension cord(s) or the receptacle.

 

[cmj912]

It is the receptacle. The OUC didn't give the power fault error at another outlet in the house...indoors. The electrician says the outlet needs to be rewired outside. So another trip to Chargepoint down the road. At least I figured out how to turn the heat on while I read the manual and drank a coffee. Hopefully we can get this figured out.

 

[jadnashuanh]

It could be as simple as the hot and neutral are reversed, or the ground wire is loose. If you're not comfortable dealing with that sort of thing, it's time for a professional. If he has to rewire things, you may want to consider putting it on its own circuit breaker, and maybe make it a 20A circuit. The 20A circuit isn't a requirement, but it wouldn't hurt, and you may have something else you want to plug in there that might require it. If you think you may want a level 2 unit down the road, and he is going to rewire things, you might consider using even bigger wire so that it could be the source of say a 40A circuit. A 20A, 120vac receptacle won't fit, but he could easily put 12g pigtails on it to attach to the receptacle, and then, it would be easy to change the circuit breaker and later install an EVSE there (40A would let you hardwire up to a 32A EVSE and would require 8g wire, to do a 50A circuit with a plug would require 6g wire and would allow up to a 40A EVSE - more than the current i3 needs, but would allow for future use).

 

[cmj912]

I should have mentioned. The electrician pulled the wire out and temporarily disconnected the outside outlet.
Apparently the receptacle was installed (originally, who knows when) without a ground wire.
The house was built in 1903.
Though the electrical panels are more modern the wiring isn't really all that great I guess.

He is coming back tonight to run brand new wire on a code-compliant outdoor outlet.

 

[cmj912]

cmj, i leased a 2015 i3 BEV in Warwick, RI in Aug for $11.5k off sticker price (including federal tax credit which BMW financial got). With gas being $2/gallon they are not selling too many i3s. The salesman told me in august that my i3 was the third they had sold this year. I think they will call you back. I heard the best deals are to be had just before the end of a quarter (end of DEC).
I am not sure if you thought about property taxes. Johnston, RI is atrocious: 4% of assessed value every year. Dealer gave me a tax estimate for the duration of the lease - 2 years: $3,600. I think Providence has even higher property taxes.
My experience: great city car: fast acceleration 0-30 mph (it is the fastest BMW from 0-30 according to my dealer), very short turning radius (parking is so easy), batteries are not being drained when you are stuck in 5 pm traffic - you just sit there and listen to everybody else's engine noise.
I average 1000 miles per month and only have an OUC to use at home and no work charger. I have had days when I drove 70 miles and plugged the car at 10 pm at home and had another 60-70 miles of range the next morning. OUC takes up to 20 hours if the batteries are deeply discharged. I think you will not need a level 2 EVSE unless you routinely drive 60-70 miles every day.
I am not sure the OUC is an outdoor charger or not.
I think you can easily go to your parents house in a BEV specially if you take the OUC with you.
BEV is also cheaper than rex and much simpler - maintenance every two years with no mileage limit.
BEV is lighter and thus more sporty while being the most fuel efficient mass market car in production currently (I read it online so it must be true).

Hey! I posted in the DC Fast Charge thread about seeing a new one. Since I remembered you are also in RI, maybe you do not know and would like to: the fast charger is in the Garden City Whole Foods parking lot.

 

[xxiicenturyval]

Hey! I posted in the DC Fast Charge thread about seeing a new one. Since I remembered you are also in RI, maybe you do not know and would like to: the fast charger is in the Garden City Whole Foods parking lot.

Thanks! I saw your post and have tried it out a couple of times as wfm is on my way home from work (sort of). I really like it and nobody else seems to use it (I does not work with the nissan leaf). The display on the orange box showed charging speeds varying from 22kw/hr to 10kw/hr. I would be interested in knowing why the variance.

 

[jadnashuanh]

The charging rate drops off if the batteries get (or start) hot, and as it gets closer to being full. If you leave it on long enough, it tapers to almost zero.

 

[FrancisJeffries]

Sorry to be pedantic , but:

...showed charging speeds varying from 22kw/hr to 10kw/hr.

Nope! It should have shown charging rates varying from 22kW to 10kW. In other words, 22kW-hours/hour, etc.!

 

[xxiicenturyval]

Nope! It should have shown charging rates varying from 22kW to 10kW. In other words, 22kW-hours/hour, etc.!

There is no mercy on this forum. None.

I appreciate the explanation about the varying charging speed. (Thanks Jim)

 

[cmj912]

Nope! It should have shown charging rates varying from 22kW to 10kW. In other words, 22kW-hours/hour, etc.!

There is no mercy on this forum. None.

I appreciate the explanation about the varying charging speed. (Thanks Jim)

There really isn't.

I don't think it is getting a lot of use because it doesn't work with the Leaf , yes. Pretty much the only cars that I think can use it are the i3 and the VW e-Golf, right?

Also, it seems to show up ONLY on the car's station menu, not on the Chargepoint app and not on Plugshare. I am trying to figure out how to add it.