My boring 1st year lease report

[justanotherdrunk]

~8800 of 10K lease miles driven

a year ago i went to lease a mercedes cla250 and 3 hours later drove home the i3 - another boring story

problems:

intermittent side rear door open indicator
temperature dependent (cold) rattle somewhere behind the dash
temperature dependent (hot) steering wheel plastic rubbing turning noise
she's a wanderer on the freeway - not tire pressure or road surface dependent
brake regen shuts off too easily on any less than perfectly smooth roads

all minor


likes:

jackrabbit starts off the line - she's quick!
regen braking/ one pedal driving - a superior way to drive period
ridiculously cheap electricity recharging costs
free (included) unlimited dc fast charging with the lease
great styling and attention getter
always fun to drive!
phone app and remote controlability
superb city car manners - tight turning radius
seats, steering, handling, stereo all great



dislikes:

the rex is worthless - never come close to actually needing it - feel like I'm needlessly hauling around a 300 lb. linebacker in the backseat - my fault not bmw's
night time auto dimming inside rearview mirror is worthless - but the car is only used for short trips
the whole bmw flexible mobility lie
can lease one now MUCH cheaper



I am generally very happy with the car

notes:

I use L1 (115V) reduced ~8amp charging exclusively in the garage - except an occasional dc fast or L2 at a customer work location.
I never liked the black hood so I wrapped it
My bmw sales/ lease and service experiences have been excellent - previously a 2012 128i and a 2004 r1150gs motorcycle


a few cactus pics - and theres a car there too!

 

[uberdzl]

I appreciate the insight. I am expecting shipment of mine in 2 days.

What is the BMW flexible mobility lie?

 

[jadnashuanh]

A couple of the things can easily be fixed...there's a service bulletin about the squeaky steering wheel...easily resolved.

The door indicator really is working...the latch needs to be fully engaged, and that takes a firm hand...not a slam, but quite firm. Because there is no B pillar, there are latches on both the top and the bottom, and they both must be latched and that takes a bit more force than the more common, center lock point of normal doors.

 

[tiburonh]

I appreciate the insight. I am expecting shipment of mine in 2 days.

What is the BMW flexible mobility lie?

The "flexible mobility lie" was BMW's frequent statements that all i3 owners would be able to get a free loaner of an ICE powered BMW for a week or two very year for when they needed to make a longer trip than the i3 could handle. Turns out this is a program that BMW NA suggested to dealers but did not fund, so only a very, very few dealers seem to have actually provided it.

 

[Schnort]

And if they do, it's generally only provided to customers who purchased from that dealership.

 

[uberdzl]

That would have been a very nice perk!

Have any of you tried the DriveNow program with Sixt?

 

[jadnashuanh]

Well, BMW did fund it, but the conditions required to enable payment were too dear for most dealers to accept:
- models exclusively for i3 owners
- a certain percentage of use/month
otherwise, the dealers would have to pay for the vehicles.

 

[DocRush]

For FWIW,
this is a disappointment ALSO here in Turkey.

:evil:

Our unique country-wide distributer repetedly had already ignored my numerous efforts regarding this issue, unfortunately...

 

[cmj912]

I saw that advertised as well. I thought I'd read something that happened after that said instead you might get super-low rental rates or discounts if you rented from the dealer (if they DO rentals). I know that my dealer has a very, very large fleet of 'unmarked' loaners so I wonder if this might be the case. Usually, dealers around here have their cars marked "Blah Blah Dealer Service Loaner" in huge white lettering...but my dealer has a fleet of both cars marked that way as well as what seem like long-termers, marked no more than a regular car.
I was thinking of a trip to Washington DC in the Spring.

 

[xxiicenturyval]

I was thinking of a trip to Washington DC in the Spring.

I recently heard about a new and fancy invention called THE TRAIN

 

[sako]

Great 1 year summary

I'm nearing my 1 month "experience"

The one thing I disagree with is the rex being worthless. I wanted a BEV initially but there were plenty of 2015 Rexs to get a steal on so I got REx and don't regret it a bit. I rarely have to dip into the gas, but with the guess-o-meter range Ive had a couple times its kicked in to get me home the last couple of blocks. Maybe as I get used to electric Ill be more prepared and have a better feeling of what range Ill get that day, but for now glad I got it.

One thing I also notice is the speakers. I got HK, never personally heard the regular stock speakers. Glad I got the HK if that is the upgraded speaker because its pretty weak compared to other car systems. Don't get me wrong, gets the job done for my short work commute but you definitely don't "feel" the music when you want to really let it go.

Love the i3 so far
No regrets (turned in my M5)

 

[i3Alan]

I rarely have to dip into the gas, but with the guess-o-meter range Ive had a couple times its kicked in to get me home the last couple of blocks.

The REX kicks in at a minimum of 6% charge remaining. The BEV keeps going until 0%. (Both cases ignoring the actual 0% as some charge is always reserved to protect the life of the batteries.) That is, if you were within 5 miles of your destination when the REX kicks in, a BEV at the same charge level would get you there. However, with all else the same, the exact same drive from the same starting charge would leave you with more than 6% charge in the BEV when the REX hits 6% since the lighter weight BEV is more charge efficient.

You should love your REX, but don't use your experience as a reason to talk someone else out of getting a BEV!

 

[sako]

I don't think my comments suggested that at all. Perhaps to someone like you that is super sensitive to comments by others. I guess I could say the same to you and say don't talk others out of getting a REx? It is nice to have the REx as back up when the range meter goes from 12 miles to 6 in 1 block - a BEV would have been great to get too, my point was REx isn't useless as your comments state.

 

[psquare]

Guys

Don't let this get out of hand. For your reference, we've all moved on from REx v BEV debates, which basically are as shabby as Mac vs PC fights.

It's horses for courses and that's all there is to it.