Thinking of selling....

[jpascale]

Don't post much but I check in here now and then. We have a 2014 51,000 Gigiworld we purchased here in Phoenix 02/17 with 14,000 miles on it for $20,000. We got it so wife could use for commuting to work and alleviate some rush hour traffic stress. Unfortunately replaced that stress with range anxiety, especially now with range showing in the low 50's miles. She tried to keep the speed to around 65 in the commute lane but was frequently tail gated as the commute lane seems to be the fast lane for many. She tried to use the air conditioning as little as possible even in the PHX heat. We do love most everything about it except for only getting about 20,000 miles out of the tires, high cost to replace the 12 V battery when it went out without warning, and the excessive battery degradation. Also a little worried about the slight possibility of the cooling system failure I read about in other post on this sight. I don't want to waste with BMW and their battery test again that will miraculously show the battery is in their acceptable level again.... :roll:

So I did a little price checking the last couple of days and got some offers. I am not looking to sell to an individual and deal with people at this time. Here are the offers we received:
Carvana offer is best at 10,120. Will most likely go with this one.
Vroom offered 8506
Chapman BMW offered 5500 to 8400.
Kia dealer offered 8100 to 9100.
Kelly Blue Book Instant cash offer 7338, then a bunch of dealers start contacting you wanting to buy at this lowball offer...ugggg. I told them all I had a 10,000 offer and they all dropped out. Interesting thing is their mid-range trade in value is 10, 041 almost same as Carvana offer.

Just thought I would post this for anyone else wondering about ditching their I3. Please feel free to post your thoughts on above.

 

[alohart]

Assuming that your wife averages 4 mi/kWh with highway driving and A/C, 52 miles of range would take 13 kWh of energy. That's more than the 30% degradation that the battery pack warranty covers, so it's very disappointing that your BMW dealer claims that your battery pack is OK and apparently won't tell you the capacity that they have measured so that you would know how close you are to having the battery pack replaced under warranty. I can't believe that BMW's battery pack capacity measurement returns only a pass or fail, so your dealer must know the capacity.

Phoenix' heat causes excessive battery cell degradation when an i3 is parked in hot conditions. Automatic battery pack cooling doesn't occur when an i3 is off, not charging, and not preconditioning. I'm confident that your battery pack will degrade enough before the warranty expires in 2022 to be replaced. However, your i3 isn't working for your wife's commute, so if your can't persuade your dealer to replace the battery pack, selling it seems like your only option.

 

[MassDeduction]

Interesting point that the automatic pack cooling occurs when it's charging. That could be a reason to get the slowest charge cable you can get (120v/8A maybe?), and setting the i3 to charge on Low, just so that it would be in charging mode for a longer period of time during the hot weather. Something to consider for when it might be relevant!

 

[jpascale]

Thank s for above reply. Yes as much as we love driving the I3 I don't feel electric does well in this PHX heat. The older it gets them more worried I would be about the AC condenser failure I have read about on this site. I know its a slim chance and based on low value of the car now it would not be worth anything.
Seems like its time to say g-bye.....

 

[pfanning]

I see you have a very early i3 (2014), have you considered trading for a newer model? There have been many updates over time and I'm certain BMW has learned as they've updated the batteries and systems. 2017+ has ~120 mile range and anecdotally (I don't have proof) has fewer battery degradation issues.

 

[MassDeduction]

I see you have a very early i3 (2014), have you considered trading for a newer model? There have been many updates over time and I'm certain BMW has learned as they've updated the batteries and systems. 2017+ has ~120 mile range and anecdotally (I don't have proof) has fewer battery degradation issues.

BMW has a good battery chemistry for most applications, and the larger the battery the fewer battery degradation issues you're likely to have (you're less likely to run the battery low, you can more conveniently not fully charge the battery every time, you can fast charge more safely, the battery has to degrade much further before degradation renders it useless, etc.). The 2019 has much higher capacity than the 2017, if that's what matters most to you.

Perhaps a carport to make sure the car is always in the shade, or a garage with climate control? You're making me thankful that I live in a mild part of the world (rarely hot in the summer, rarely cold in the winter).

 

[alohart]

That seems like a good strategy when charging at home. However, if one's work parking is in an open parking lot over hot asphalt, the battery cells could become warm enough to increase their degradation rate.

 

[jpascale]

We have considered a 2017 or newer model I3 but I think the price would be around the same as a 2017 Chevy Bolt with twice the range. If it were not for the uncomfortable seats in the Bolt I think we would try one.
We only ever charge the I3 in our garage with the standard 110 plug provided. Unfortunately the garage is not well insulated and gets pretty hot during the very long summers.

 

[Anonymous]

Have you tried talking to a different BMW dealer? They are all independent - some are better than others. In my area there are three - one that is excellent, one just so-so, and the last I wouldn't let near any car I owned. Who did you take it to? From other i3 owners who have posted here the very last place in the Phoenix you want wrenching on your i3 is Chapman BMW - avoids honoring expensive warranty repairs if at all possible, and a reputation for total incompetence, at least when it comes to the i3.

 

[jpascale]

Yes I called Scottsdale BMW who has replaced a battery from what I have been told and they would need to do the same test....and probably get the same is with in limits from BMW corp... :roll:

 

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately there is no way around that. For the battery to be replaced under warranty, it has to go through the full discharge/recharge cycle test, to see if the end capacity is below 70%, and you pay the labor charge to do the test. I'm sure that the 'you pay unless it fails' policy is there to limit everyone who's range drops even a little from coming in and asking for a free battery test, which ties up a service bay for a day, and a mechanic for at least an hour-plus in total to set up and run the test.