My experience with the BMW i3:
I was very excited to get this car. Got it at New Century BMW in Alhambra. Paid a premium because was told it was a hot item.
The engine light went the very day I took it home (June 13, 2014.) Took it into the shop the next day and it was in the shop for four days for a software readjustment. Got an X3 loaner so no complaints.
Drove the car for 10 days putting it through its paces and was very pleased with it in every way.
Then decided to take a trip from LA to Palm Springs (Have the extender). Got to the Redlands hill and the car lost power. The generator did not kick in at 3% of battery life as was told it would do so that batteries would continue to be charged. Climbing the hill, the car started to lose power but the generator kicked in at 0%. After barely making it to the top of the hill at 30 miles an hour and big wheelers whizzing around us, we picked up power and zoomed into Palm Springs. Charged it. Engine light came on. Took it to the Palm Springs Dealer and they took the car. They couldn't give us a loaner because we were from out of town. Told us to use trip interruption insurance and get back to LA on that.
We didn't get a rental car with trip interruption insurance as I also drive a Porsche Panamera and decided to continue driving that instead of selling it. Good thing. The BMW i3 is still in the Palm Springs shop. They had to fly in parts from Germany and a mechanic from there or somewhere else. Still couldn't be fixed. The California lemon law kicked in and BMW is now in the process of buying back the BMW i3. I talked to head of service at PS BMW and my impression is the car can't be fixed. They don't know what to do with it. Also, he said batteries on all i3 vehicles tend to overheat if the car sits in the sun for a lengthy period of time. This should be the ideal car for Palm Springs, but not with the i3's current battery pack.
I've long been a BMW customer, but my buy out doesn't cover all of my driving costs since the car was in the shop. BMW won't pay for my insurance on the i3 even though it's been in the shop for close to 50/60 days. BMW won't reimburse any other driving costs beyond the trip interruption insurance which is $1000. Porsche's trip interruption insurance maxes out at $2500.
I will never buy another BMW. EVER. I strongly suggest everyone think twice about getting this car. If you do, make sure it breaks down where the dealer will give you another BMW loner to give them added pressure to fix the car in a timely way. If you are traveling and are within 150 miles of your home dealership, get it trucked back there so you can get the BMW loaner. AAA offers 100 mile towing. Get that as opposed to having it towed to the nearest BMW dealership.
I have just placed an order for a Porsche Macan. The base price of that car is $49,500 and building it out so it looks great and feels comfortable took andother $8,000. This is only a few thousand more than the cost of the i3. Having driven a Porsche Panamera, I have experienced few problems. When it broke down in Las Vegas, I was well taken care of compared to my experience with the i3 breakdown in Palm springs.
Did I say that I will never buy another BMW (even though I liked my 328i and had few problems with it. (Well I had a rubber seal problem around the doors) and BMW North America wouldn't cover that replacement under their warranty until I pulled some strings with a dealership in Montreal, of all places. My best friend there has owned 10 BMWs and he got the Montreal dealership to fix the problem at no cost under the warranty. Since then I've been a VIP at my BMW dealership.
BMW, and probably all dealerships, do target certain individuals for VIP treatment.
Did I say that I'm done with BMW. Go Porsche. Porsche gets more respect. And you can get a Porsche that fits your needs in the same price range as the BMW 5 series and above.
As for going green with an electric vehicle. I want to. Maybe a TESLA.
