Trade in value after 3 years

[35mphgolf]

For those who have/had an i3 for a few years, what are you seeing for a trade-in value? I'm trying to figure out if it makes more sense to lease for a few years, or buy and trade-in later.

 

[TheNickGuy]

I was just offered $17.5 for a 2014 i3 REx with Tera interior, Tech and Parking Packages and 32k miles.

I actually laughed out loud, and left.

 

[johnnylingo]

You're always gonna get screwed on trade-in. They're hoping you'll take what the give, so they can turn around and put it on the lot with a 50% price mark-up.

Better question might be what the going rate is on the used market. I've been seeing mid-20s for the BEV and high-20s for the REx, but prices are ever-falling at roughly $400/month.

 

[ted99]

I bought, and I really wish I had leased and then bought a used one at the end of the lease (certainly not the buy-out price of the lease). I figure I'm stuck for the duration with the car. Good thing I really love it for the city car it is, because to sell/trade would mean taking a lot less than it's "worth" to me. Get a dirt-cheap lease on a 2016 with the small battery and when the lease is over, purchase a used 2017 with the big battery.

 

[35mphgolf]

Ya with such a limited range and technology developing so rapidly I was afraid this would be the case. I went to autotrader and search for used 2014s. There are still a lot of new ones out there!!

The used ones were low-mid 20s, even for loaded/fairly low miles. Guess I'll be leasing! Thanks for all the input!

 

[Tirpitz]

I have been closely watching the used prices because we are considering buying a used one later in the year. We are putting solar on the house (install this week) so it starts to make lots of sense for us. I'm watching the California market, basically searching for anything within 500 miles of southern California. So all of this is particular to my market. What is happening elsewhere....?

Someone on a forum- probably this one but I forget- was predicting months ago that by the end of 2016 a used i3 would be going for under $20K. I have already seen that here. The best deals have been in San Francisco with BMW of San Francisco offering at least two BEVs for under $20K. I have also seen a scattering of other cars under or just above $20K all at non-BMW dealers in places like Sacramento and Phoenix.

The only car I've seen cheap in southern California was a BEV that had been in an accident according to the Carfax. Cars in southern California are running several thousand higher than in the Bay Area. Perhaps there were more early adopters up north so the market there has more cars which is driving the prices down?

From all this I'm thinking the following:

--If you hunt around prices are already below $20K for a 2014 BEV.
--The prices are in most cases asking prices and represent the starting point for negotiations. I think that right now it is entirely possible to buy a 2014 BEV for $19K or less for a lightly optioned car.
--Prices are going to continue to drop as the 2017s hit the lots and the dealers are having a hard time moving their new 2016 stock. You might be able to negotiate a base 2014 BEV down to under $17K by year end.

Unfortunately that means as far as trades-ins go the offers from dealers are going to be horrible. I would think the $17.5K offer posted earlier is low for a well optioned car but if that had been a $45K MSRP BEV it starts to get closer to the ballpark.

Assuming I pull the trigger on a used one my plan is to keep it and drive it into the ground. My daily driving is just around a sub-urban town and no more than 10-15 miles most days. 70-80 miles of range is plenty for me and even if that degrades over 10 years to 50 miles it is still a usable vehicle in my situation. About the only way I'd lease is if the lease offers on a leftover 2016 with $0 down get way, way down at end of year. Even then I'd be leaning toward buying the used one with the massive depreciation we are seeing.

 

[gt1]

BMW sold just over 1000 i3s in May-July of 2014. In August- October they sold over 1000 in each month.A lot of cars will be coming out of the 2 year leases soon. At the same time the 94AH 2017 model will hit the streets, making the older cars less desirable. The oil is in the $40-$50 range- and the price usually peaks in the summer. These factors should seriously reshape the EV market. I understand that most Californians go for the 30 month lease, you may not see many used i3s until January.

 

[Boatguy]

I got the 36 month lease in August 2014. I think the resale value will be very low by next August, when the new longer range i3, the Bolt and maybe a few Tesla 3's are on the market, plus assorted used Leaf's, Kia's, etc.

I think BMW is dreaming that they will sell any 2017 shorter range i3's, that is strictly bait to get people in the door.

I'm going to be very curious to see what kind of deals BMW will be making to unload all the i3's coming off lease. My car will be low mileage and like Tirpitz the 80mi range is not an issue.

 

[fdl1409]

Just traded in my May 14 REx for a new 94 Ah BEV, delivery expected September, here in Germany. My trade in price is 27.000 € / 30.000$. I only have to pay 7.000 € for the new BEV. Think I made a good deal here.

First when I asked my dealer they felt unable to make an offer for trade in. Rather surprised me. I would have tried to sell the REx privately, but at least I need a starting price.
Well, I said, in that case unfortunately I am unable to buy a new car. A few weeks later one of the dealers came back to me telling that they had found a customer interested to buy a second hand REx. In the meantime my car had an accident, was hit in the back when breaking for a child. Fortunately I could still sell the car. The insurance of the other driver causing the accident paid me 400 € for loss of value, and I passed that on to the new owner, so the accident meant no loss for me.

Ordered Tesla Model 3 on April 1st. The BEV now is to sweeten the waiting time. Thought it was a good time for trading in. Prices here have been reduced by three factors. First the new state subsidy of 4.800 $. I passed a lot of that on to the new owner of my REx. Before that subsidy prices for second hand REx were above 33.000$ throughout. Secondly, the dealer told me that they are awaiting a lot of used cars from leases and have no idea what the market price will be then. That was the reason why they would not give me an offer in the first place. Third the new 94 Ah battery which comes at a price only 1.200 € higher than the 60 Ah clearly depreciates the older models significantly.

Frank