This will probably be the most important post on here so please take a moment to read if you're considering buying an i3 or you're having problems with yours. I have no desire to scare anyone but felt it necessary for THE TRUTH to be out there so people can make an educated decision if the i3 is the car for them or not. I won't embellish and will only give the facts about my situation.
After having my i3 for just a week it has broken down on me TWICE. I live in San Diego, Ca but purchased my car in Los Angeles. GPS told me that the dealership was exactly 155 miles away. After calling the dealership, making a deal over the phone, I picked it up in person and drove it home without issue. When I got home I parked it for the night to charge. I drove the car the very next morning for less than a mile to run an errand. When I came back to the car, it wouldn't start and I got this message... DRIVETRAIN: STOP CAREFULLY. The "check engine" light was on as well. I waited for a tow truck for over an hour and after I got sick of waiting I tried to start the car again. It started but the warning indicators were still on. I called BMW and asked if I was allowed to drive the car in it's current condition straight to the dealership (closest one to my house in San Diego) because I got sick of waiting for the tow truck. They said that would be fine. I made it to the dealership where it spent the next two days. Upon getting the car back, the dealership said it was a "software glitch" and they reset everything. 3 days later the "check engine" light came on again but this time the car was still running.
(At this point I'd like to mention that during this entire experience, I never got the same mileage I got driving it from Los Angeles to San Diego. My mileage dropped drastically and I wasn't getting anywhere near what I supposed to be)
Another 2 days later, I got a call from BMW that my car is ready to be picked up again. BMW said that the only "fault" it could find is that I used a charging station the car didn't like and made it "sick" for lack of a better word. Being that this is my first EV, I had no idea such a thing could exist. That this car is so temperamental, it will malfunction if it doesn't like a charger I use. How in the world am I supposed to regulate that a charging station(s) I use is delivering the proper electrical current to the car??? That's impossible. I have other friends who are EV owners (non i3) and they have no such issues.
I emailed the dealership I purchased it from and said "I'm done and want a refund". I explained the entire situation and how I wasn't willing to be a Guinea Pig on technology that obviously wasn't ready to be brought to market.
So far I have a received an email from the dealership that they will do a "buy back" but no other information on how to proceed with that. I'll keep everyone posted if the "buy back" goes smoothly or if they're just telling me what I want to hear so they can keep stalling.
After having my i3 for just a week it has broken down on me TWICE. I live in San Diego, Ca but purchased my car in Los Angeles. GPS told me that the dealership was exactly 155 miles away. After calling the dealership, making a deal over the phone, I picked it up in person and drove it home without issue. When I got home I parked it for the night to charge. I drove the car the very next morning for less than a mile to run an errand. When I came back to the car, it wouldn't start and I got this message... DRIVETRAIN: STOP CAREFULLY. The "check engine" light was on as well. I waited for a tow truck for over an hour and after I got sick of waiting I tried to start the car again. It started but the warning indicators were still on. I called BMW and asked if I was allowed to drive the car in it's current condition straight to the dealership (closest one to my house in San Diego) because I got sick of waiting for the tow truck. They said that would be fine. I made it to the dealership where it spent the next two days. Upon getting the car back, the dealership said it was a "software glitch" and they reset everything. 3 days later the "check engine" light came on again but this time the car was still running.
(At this point I'd like to mention that during this entire experience, I never got the same mileage I got driving it from Los Angeles to San Diego. My mileage dropped drastically and I wasn't getting anywhere near what I supposed to be)
Another 2 days later, I got a call from BMW that my car is ready to be picked up again. BMW said that the only "fault" it could find is that I used a charging station the car didn't like and made it "sick" for lack of a better word. Being that this is my first EV, I had no idea such a thing could exist. That this car is so temperamental, it will malfunction if it doesn't like a charger I use. How in the world am I supposed to regulate that a charging station(s) I use is delivering the proper electrical current to the car??? That's impossible. I have other friends who are EV owners (non i3) and they have no such issues.
I emailed the dealership I purchased it from and said "I'm done and want a refund". I explained the entire situation and how I wasn't willing to be a Guinea Pig on technology that obviously wasn't ready to be brought to market.
So far I have a received an email from the dealership that they will do a "buy back" but no other information on how to proceed with that. I'll keep everyone posted if the "buy back" goes smoothly or if they're just telling me what I want to hear so they can keep stalling.