Thinking of Buying an i3 this week

[babbles]

Thinking of buying a 2014 i3 CPO from the Lexus dealer. Haven't driven it yet, which I will but what is the leg room in the back seat like? Also, does BMW financial offer attractive rates for customers with excellent credit? Thanks for any iinfo!

 

[alohart]

The tall i3's seating position is quite upright, so one's legs don't have to stretch forward as much as in a lower vehicle with more a more reclined seating position. That plus the very thin front seat backs makes the back seat leg room decent but not luxurious. As in all vehicles, it really depends on how far back the front seats are adjusted, how much their seat backs are reclined, and how large the back seat passenger is.

 

[babbles]

Thanks for the quick reply. Are all the I3s plug in or certain models?

 

[Schnort]

All i3s are primarily plug in cars, thought the REX (Range EXtender) model does take gasoline to extend its operational range by ~50% (with caveats, especially in the US).

 

[babbles]

Oh so I have to make sure there is charging station somewhere in my area?

 

[alohart]

Hmm, think of buying a CPO i3 from a Lexus dealer with BMW financing yet you don't seem to know much about an i3?! Maybe you could recommend a good leasing company instead of buying it.

 

[theothertom]

Oh so I have to make sure there is charging station somewhere in my area?

You can charge at home with a 110V outlet IF the car comes with the charger that was originally supplied. If it's really a CPO car from a BMW dealer, you should make sure it's there. The dealer should provide one if it's not there.
Or, you can install a level 2 220Volt charger in your home, which will charge your car faster.

 

[babbles]

Once I actually see And drive the vehicle, I will see at that point.

 

[brastic]

I am not sure how a Lexus dealership can CPO* a BMW. I usually do not buy from dealerships, but I am an exception on my 2014 i3. The CPO package from BMW carries the extended warranty on the batteries. Right now the 2014 i3s are coming off of lease with very little demand. This means that they are stacking up at dealerships and driving the price down. I do not know where you are located, but out here in San Jose area, I am seeing 0.9% financing with good credit. Just know that because of the lack of demand, you can get these cars below the asking price. I am hearing of $15-18k all day long. It is going to get worst in the fall when BMW really started leasing the 2014s. I am hoping to get another i3 in December in the $10-13k range.

*In my opinion the CPO really is kind of a sham. It just means that the dealership has looked over the car (what ever that means) and they usually extend the dealer warranty. Getting a CPO from a different brand is a double sham as they cannot off a BMW warranty. If they use a 3rd party warranty company, that would be a third sham. If they offer you a 3rd party warranty, then Google the 3rd party company name and the word, "sucks" to see if they are any good.

 

[babbles]

I will test drive one this weekend to see if I even like the car. Was in fact researching a 2014.

 

[brastic]

I have to admit that I really like my 2014 BEV. I sure do miss my E46 M3, but the i3 is so much cheaper to drive, does not eat $1,300 a year in tires and I cut over 20 minutes off of my commute by going in the carpool lane.

 

[babbles]

test drove the leaf and i3 yesterday for the first time ever. The i3 was much too small and I didn't realize the cars loose so much value after only 1 yr! I will not be buying either at this point!

 

[theothertom]

test drove the leaf and i3 yesterday for the first time ever. The i3 was much too small and I didn't realize the cars loose so much value after only 1 yr! I will not be buying either at this point!

....and the size of the leaf was ??

Regarding loosing value, that's why a lot of people lease if they want a new one. BTW, BMW subsidizes their i3 leases by using a high residual value. Nissan doesn't do this for the Leaf, so if you decide to revisit this, compare the payments

Or you could let someone else take the depreciation and buy a 2-3 year old one.

 

[brastic]

There is no good reason to buy a new i3. My 2014 was $48k new and in 3 years was worth $17k. If you want a new i3, then get the lease. For 3 years it is around $12-15k and the car looses $30k in value. So if you want to own, then get a used one.

I am also confused by what you mean the i3 was smaller than the Leaf. I find that the i3 has a bigger interior and smaller trunk space compared to the Leaf.

 

[jadnashuanh]

If you decide to keep the car for say 8-10 years, depreciation doesn't really matter. Something a BEV is likely to do easily. The REx version, maybe, but there's more to go wrong. I don't see the allure of perpetual lease payments...if the 'old' car suits your needs, desires for new features shouldn't be the big motivating feature. Personally, I don't have to keep up with the Jones, or wear them out that fast. Mine's three years old now, and does not yet have 9K miles on it, but gets driven regularly. So, bigger range is not an issue. If we had better public transport, I could live with my ICE for longer trips, but we don't.