Checklist before buying + How successful is a professional OBD scan

Hi everyone,

I’m planning to buy a BMW i3 BEV, and had been reading on about the models and things to look out for in a used car. The manufacturer warranty is not available for 2014 or 2015 BEVs where I live as these models are used vehicles brought down from UK and Japan by individual vehicle importers.

Based on what I have read in this forum and elsewhere, the only things to look out for in a used i3 are

• Condition of Tyres and whether there is an uneven wear
• Condition of battery, and
• general signs of wear and tear in the cabin

I want to know whether there are particular issues/signs of trouble that I should look out for in these models in addition to the above.

I’m thinking of getting a vehicle scan done by a professional who has BMW diagnostic equipment, before purchasing the car. (I have a generic OBD adapter which can read some information and codes of my current non-BMW ride. But I don’t think it has the same capabilities as the stuff that is used by professionals)

I want to know whether there are specific/common diagnostic trouble codes in the BMW i3, that you guys have experiences with, which I have to specifically look out for?

Can a professional OBD scan successfully resurface the complete vehicle history and any faults and provide a true picture of the current condition of the vehicle? (I have read that “drive cycle monitor” in scanner plus any error codes can provide a pretty comprehensive picture)

Is there anything else you would recommend to check before a buying decision?

Thank you all very much!

Depending on how much they charge for a scan, you might consider your own scanner. FWIW, I have a private branded Foxwell 510 (labeled Schwaben, but it's the same thing and made by Foxwell). It is both a generic OBD-II reader and you can buy up to five brand specific add-ons for it. Most of the places sell it with one, and you can add up to four more, if you choose.

If you've got a BMW dealership, they can read the keyfob and see if there are any stored issues. They don't stay in the fob forever. You can also go into the iDrive system and scan for some errors, which, if people haven't cheated, should show major service recommendations (like brake fluid flush) and a few others.

Are you considering a BEV or the REx? There are probably more things to check on the REx than the BEV.

jadnashuanh said:

Depending on how much they charge for a scan, you might consider your own scanner. FWIW, I have a private branded Foxwell 510 (labeled Schwaben, but it's the same thing and made by Foxwell). It is both a generic OBD-II reader and you can buy up to five brand specific add-ons for it. Most of the places sell it with one, and you can add up to four more, if you choose.

If you've got a BMW dealership, they can read the keyfob and see if there are any stored issues. They don't stay in the fob forever. You can also go into the iDrive system and scan for some errors, which, if people haven't cheated, should show major service recommendations (like brake fluid flush) and a few others.

Are you considering a BEV or the REx? There are probably more things to check on the REx than the BEV.

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Thanks! I will consider buying a scanner in future. The scan will not cost a huge amount because there are some reliable independent professionals who attend to BMW work. The authorized BMW dealer/agent only sells the REX in my country due to some issues with the regulations. Therefore all BEVs in the market are sourced from third parties. It is a BEV that I m considering. I have read about a lot of nagging issues in REX. But hardly anything about BEVs and things to be vigilant about when making a buying decision.

Would appreciate it if you can point out anything else that I should look out for/check before buying.

DRK002 said:

I have read about a lot of nagging issues in REX. But hardly anything about BEVs and things to be vigilant about when making a buying decision.

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That's because there have been fewer BEV problems. Our 2014 BEV has never suffered a problem that required a repair. It has had 2 BMW service campaigns to replace a poorly-designed KLE (one of 2 3.7 kW charging modules) and motor mount bolt.

DRK002 said:

Would appreciate it if you can point out anything else that I should look out for/check before buying.

Click to expand...

I would check the Batt. Kapa. max value accessible in the service menu (search this forum for "hidden service menu"). The nominal new usable battery pack capacity is 18.8 kWh. The 30% capacity degradation warranty in many markets would apply when the usable capacity drops below ~13.2 kWh. The Batt. Kapa. max value has varied ~4 kWh on our i3 with no obvious trend (it's 18.5 kWh today), so don't put too much significance on this value. However, if it's below 16 kWh, I would want a BMW dealer to test the battery pack's capacity as a purchase condition if that's possible. Fortunately, the i3's battery management system seems to have done a good job maintaining the battery pack, but there have been a few reported cases of capacity loss that seems excessive (bad battery cell, unequal charge levels among cells??).

Other than the usual things one checks on any used car, I can't think of anything else specific to a used i3 BEV.