Found my i3!

[BMWCCA#41]

After about a month of searching, and learning a lot by reading your posts, I found a 2017 i3 REx via Carvana. Protonic blue (one of my preferred colors), so I'm naming her Bitsy Blue. She was in Louisiana, while I'm in Florida, so I had to pay a non-refundable shipping fee. One owner, 25,000 miles, all service done at dealers on time, in excellent condition with one exception. My complaint is really about Carvana. As many of you have pointed out, the tires on these cars don't last long. Bitsy's on original rubber, with the back tires pretty bald. In another state, I'd bet the rears would have to be changed to sell her, but Florida's pretty loosey-goosey, with no state inspection to pass. I've ordered four new tires and look forward to a fun driving experience in my latest Bimmer.

 

[TheAirman]

Lucky you !!! But it's all a lie unless you post lots of pictures that I can't wait to see !!!!!

 

[BMWCCA#41]

Yes, I agree, I need photos! A friend took one and texted it to me, but when I saved it, my computer doesn't recognize the format (her Apple World vs my Google World). I'll get on that task soon.

 

[robthebold]

Yes, I agree, I need photos! A friend took one and texted it to me, but when I saved it, my computer doesn't recognize the format (her Apple World vs my Google World). I'll get on that task soon.

My Linux world vs. my wife's Apple world also sometimes butt heads too, especially over that apple HEIC image file format. It works better if she shares the pic to MMS from the gallery instead of from the camera app (or maybe vice-versa) so trying again might actually work despite the old aphorism about the definition of insanity.

 

[alohart]

My Linux world vs. my wife's Apple world also sometimes butt heads too, especially over that apple HEIC image file format.

To clarify, according to Wikipedia, HEIC isn't an Apple-developed format. It was developed in 2015 by MPEG and adopted as a photo format by iOS in 2017 and by Android in 2019. It results in compressed photos that require half the disk space as JPEG, apparently without a noticeably poorer image, so why would some platforms still not adopt it after 9 years?

However, apparently there's still a compatibility wrinkle. Some HEIC images support 8-bit color while others support 10-bit color. The file extension for both is "heic" which can cause confusion or an inability to display the image.

 

[Mustrum Ridcully]

As many of you have pointed out, these cars' tires don't last long. Bitsy's on original rubber, with the back tires pretty bald. In another state, I'd bet the rears would have to be changed to sell her, but Florida's pretty loosey-goosey, with no state inspection to pass. I've ordered four new tires and look forward to a fun driving experience in my latest Bimmer.

Thank you for your Carvana buying experience.

I am in search mode, and I can afford to wait for a month or three or even longer to find something close(close, as I am told, to wait for something to what I want, the chance of finding a 2021 i3s in Blue Ridge Mountain, Blue Green is almost zero). However, I will be extra careful to have photos of each tire if I end up dealing with one of the major multistate operations, such as Carvana.

 

[alohart]

I am in search mode, and I can afford to wait for a month or three or even longer to find something close(close, as I am told, to wait for something to what I want, the chance of finding a 2021 i3s in Blue Ridge Mountain, Blue Green is almost zero).

I've never seen Blue Ridge Mountain listed as a 2021 i3 color choice in the U.S. and have never seen a Blue Ridge Mountain i3 in person. This must be a color that was available in other markets.

 

[TheAirman]

In the Euro market they had that color. But in US they had Imperial Blue with grey accents. There are 20 some listed on carfax.

 

[Mustrum Ridcully]

Thanks, Airman, that is disappointing;
I love green shades in my cars, and that Blue Ridge Mountain sure looked nice in the photos. I guess there was no green shade 13 or i3s sold in North America then.

Is there a page for the USA, such as this one that you provided in the other thread? https://www.bmw.mu/en/all-models/bmw-i/i3/2021/bmw-i3-highlights.html

I guess it shows what was sold in Europe in 2021

I would love to see what was on offer in North America in 2021 or even 2020 I tried the Wayback search engine but my google-fu is week on this topic
I was talking to a very young salesperson at a BMW dealer about 400 miles from where I live about an i3s 2021 model that was coming off of lease that was shown on the BMW sales search engine as "contact dealer for pictures," and he seemed totally clueless about the I3s or even the i3, for example, he did not have the option list on the i3s that was inbound (by the end of the month) so he asked the salesman at the next desk, and he was told and passed on to me that the Sport version had basically all the options available at the time. in any car that does simplify things and I can go back to searching for red or even gold.

 

[alohart]

Is there a page for the USA, such as this one that you provided in the other thread? https://www.bmw.mu/en/all-models/bmw-i/i3/2021/bmw-i3-highlights.html

I would love to see what was on offer in North America in 2021 or even 2020 I tried the Wayback search engine but my google-fu is week on this topic

The Wayback search engine can be quite slow. I, too, was unable to find the page on bmwusa.com that shows 2021 U.S. i3 color options. However, several Websites claim to provide that information such as this one.

I was talking to a very young salesperson at a BMW dealer about 400 miles from where I live about an i3s 2021 model that was coming off of lease that was shown on the BMW sales search engine as "contact dealer for pictures," and he seemed totally clueless about the I3s or even the i3, for example, he did not have the option list on the i3s that was inbound (by the end of the month) so he asked the salesman at the next desk, and he was told and passed on to me that the Sport version had basically all the options available at the time. in any car that does simplify things and I can go back to searching for red or even gold.

If this salesperson would provide the VIN of the in-bound i3s, you could look up the included options at bimmer.work.

Galvanic Gold Metallic and Imperial Blue Metallic are the only non-grayscale colors available on 2021 U.S. i3's. Our 2019 U.S. i3 is Imperial Blue Metallic which is so dark that it appears black in many light conditions. I've been looking for a 2021 i3 BEV for several months but would consider only Galvanic Gold Metallic because I prefer light non-grayscale paint colors.

 

[rostym]

After about a month of searching, and learning a lot by reading your posts, I found a 2017 i3 REx via Carvana. Protonic blue (one of my preferred colors), so I'm naming her Bitsy Blue. She was in Louisiana, while I'm in Florida, so I had to pay a non-refundable shipping fee. One owner, 25,000 miles, all service done at dealers on time, in excellent condition with one exception. My complaint is really about Carvana. As many of you have pointed out, the tires on these cars don't last long. Bitsy's on original rubber, with the back tires pretty bald. In another state, I'd bet the rears would have to be changed to sell her, but Florida's pretty loosey-goosey, with no state inspection to pass. I've ordered four new tires and look forward to a fun driving experience in my latest Bimmer.

That sounds like my old car. I replaced it with a low mileage 2021 i3s. I never has any issues with it. It was a great problem free auto if it is the one I owned. Is the VIN: WBY1Z8C36HV893965. If you have any questions about it feel free to ask.

 

[BMWCCA#41]

Finally got a decent photo of Bitsy's side. Of course, she looks just like every other Protonic Blue i3. More significant is my new ID photo to the left. I bought a decal with her name. Very difficult to get a decent photo of it on that mirrored rear hatch!

 

[robthebold]

Of course, she looks just like every other Protonic Blue i3.

Well, if I ever saw yours, it would be the first Protonic Blue one I saw in person! Looks nice.

 

[BMWCCA#41]

I didn't want a dark color, especially not black, since I wanted the contrast with the black front and back. At first, I thought I wanted white, for a "Panda" look, but when I test drove one in this color, I fell in love. That one didn't work out, but Bitsy is far better, with low miles and clearly garage-kept her entire life.

 

[nullstadt]

If I didn’t have have my gold, I’d love a Protonic Blue, great color!

 

[TheAirman]

Finally got a decent photo of Bitsy's side. Of course, she looks just like every other Protonic Blue i3. More significant is my new ID photo to the left. I bought a decal with her name. Very difficult to get a decent photo of it on that mirrored rear hatch!View attachment 769

What a beauty. More pictures soon !!! Let the modding begin.

 

[rostym]

I'm not sure if you car is my old car, but if it is, here is a picture of it with it's old name (liscense plate), WLDMAUS or Wild Mouse named after a ride at the old NO amusement park called the Wild Maus. The ride was similar to space mountain at Disney and we likened the way the car drives to that ride. The second picture is it's replacement (21 i3s) which we have named Mighty Mouse (MYTMAUS will be the plate) but for now it's using the WLDMAUS plate. Just an FYI, I never waxed the car but have been using Ceramic Coating once or twice a year (Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Coating is the most recent) which is easy to apply and maintains a beautiful shine. Car still looks new to me and it's 7 years old. Hope you enjoy it and that it is as problem free as it was for us.

 

[BMWCCA#41]

Oh, wow! It's so good to hear from you. Yes, I'm pretty sure I have your car. Mine was purchased in Baton Rouge and moved to NO, with the only unusual repair replacement of the rear hatch closure/lock. If it is yours, thank you for taking such great care of it. I promise to do the same.

In case you haven't read my new member post, I've been driving BMWs (with a few exceptions) since 1981, when I bought a 1972 2002tii. For three of them, I bought long distance, flying to California, Colorado and New Hampshire, and driving them back. Not an option this time, unfortunately.

For the last five years, I had an interesting Ford Focus with a 3 cylinder/ turbo engine and manual tranny (both designed in Germany). It got great gas mileage, but I had fears for the engine's viability long-term.

I'd seriously considered an i3 when I got the Ford and was determined to go electric this time. I considered a Hyundai Ioniq 5, but the little i3 was much more tempting. I'm not driving much these days, since my husband has Alzheimer's, so the limited range is not an issue. I wanted a low mileage/great condition car preferably in Protonic Blue. I'm so pleased to have found yours.

And yes, she's not only wearing her new name, but my own vanity plate, T CHI, since I'm a longtime Tai Chi teacher.

 

[rostym]

Hmm, we did purchase it new in Baton Rouge and moved it to Metairie (Greater New Orleans), but I don't think the rear hatch latch was replaced. The only non std work we had done was replacing tires and replacing the 12v battery (recently). Did you check to see if the VIN matched. We've been driving BMW's forever as well. Started with driving my sister's 2002 and a friend's 2800 cs and those hooked me. The first I purchased was a 72 Bavaria, an 80 euro 735, an 87 325is, a 90 750il, a 2000 528i sedan, a 2002 525 iT a 2007 X3 and then the two i3's. All have been great driving cars.

 

[BMWCCA#41]

It's very likely it's the same car - VIN WBY1Z8C36HV893965. CarFax showed purchased 9/18 in Baton Rouge. Only unusual maintenance was tailgate/trunk lock and rear compartment lock replaced 7/19. As you may have noted above, rear tires were very iffy at Carvana delivery, and they refused to do anything. So I just bought a new set all around.

I loved your list of cars. I envy you the Bavaria. I always wanted one.

Are you a CCA member? My first husband, Eddie C. Hardman, joined BMW CCA in 1969 as member #41, the first outside MA. He was autocrossing a 700 sedan and looking for repair advice/parts. When I met him in 1980, he was driving a '73 2002tii, Boomer. He helped me find a matching Sahara Beige '72, Boopsie, and we got engaged the same week. I've since owned an '81 528i (California Girl, my fave), a '95 525i (Rockie from CO), an '04 MINI Cooper, Topknot (lost to a saltwater flood in the FL Keys a long with Rockie), and an '88 528e from NH, Beti. Beti was my daily driver until '19, when I got frustrated by lack of parts. My second husband, Daniel, was driving an '88 535is until last year, when his Alzheimer's got bad enough that he gave up driving. A BMW fiend friend is now hoping to restore it to showroom condition, but is also frustrated by the lack of aftermarket parts for the e28 model compared to the e30.