ScooterCT said:
I really never even gave much thought to the I3 until recently - it always seemed to me like an overpriced green cred toy for wealthy Europeans.
Well, I'm not a European but I do live in Europe half of each year, so maybe I sort of qualify.
I don't consider our 2014 U.S. i3 BEV significantly overpriced for what it is, but I wish it had been made by Honda rather than BMW because it would likely have been more reliable, and parts and repairs would likely have been less expensive. I had hoped that Honda would produce a small lightweight innovative EV to replace our 2000 Honda Insight, a small lightweight innovative gasoline-electric hybrid. But BMW rose to the occasion, and Honda seems to have seriously dropped the ball, so we bought an i3 in 2014 because there really wasn't a light, compact yet spacious hatchback EV alternative (the Leaf is larger than we wanted and has front wheel drive which we didn't want).
The i3 is relatively expensive because relatively inexpensive steel has been replaced by thermoplastic (exterior panels), more expensive aluminum (frame, suspension parts), and much more expensive carbon fiber reinforced plastic (passenger cabin). Unlike steel, none of these will corrode assuming that BMW has been careful to electrically isolate the aluminum from steel so that no galvanic corrosion can occur. Living in a humid, salty climate, we were willing to pay a premium for this as we did for our all-aluminum Insight. Of course, the i3 was designed and built by well-compensated Germans which adds to its price (fortunately, much of the construction was performed by robots).
The only repairs our i3 has had to date were the warranty replacement of the electronic module involved in charging (we knew that this module was defective in all early 2014 i3's when we bought our i3) and a motor mount bolt that was prone to breakage due to a poorly-designed motor mount. But the i3, especially the REx version, seems to be less reliable than most cars which worries me after its warranty expires. We normally keep cars for at least 15 years, but if our i3 becomes expensive to keep due to repairs, it would have proven to be a very expensive purchase because selling it early would be very expensive as well due to its high depreciation rate.
So buying an i3 with plans to keep it for many years is a real gamble.
ScooterCT said:
Anyway, I almost bought one on the spot - sans range extender. But I stepped back to think a while. I hear rumors of a bigger battery for 2018. And I can pick up a used 2014 with 9,000 miles for $18,000 (before bargaining). That's really tempting, even with the lower range.
A couple of years ago, the i3's battery cell manufacturer, Samsung SDI, published a future road map of its Li-ion battery cells. The cell that would be the next upgrade in capacity density wasn't expected before 2019. With its 94 Ah cell just released in the 2017 i3, it seems very unlikely that its 120-125 Ah cell would be available only a year later. I will be very surprised if the 2018 i3 has a battery pack with more capacity that the 2017 model, but anything's possible, I guess. The 2018 model will have a mild mid-cycle refresh in its design and features, but buying or leasing a 2018 model would be much more expensive than buying a used 2014 model if the range of the 2014 model is sufficient for you as it is for us.
