Alan's A/C experience is absolutely horrific and it is totally unacceptable that BMW didn't step up in a much bigger way to make things right. I would be angry beyond words and probably never own another BMW vehicle of any kind if that happened to me.
But as to the OP's question, here's my 2 cents worth: In a couple of weeks I will have owned my 2013 i3/REX for a year and have put about 8k miles on it since purchase. It's one of 3 vehicles that we own and while I have taken one 800+ mile road trip (driving it home after purchase) and one 500 mile trip (drove it to my son's place as he wanted to drive it while we were on an extended trip out of the country), most of the driving is running around town, which is pretty much what a 2013 i3 is designed for. So far the only maintenance cost has been the replacement of the 12v battery at a cost of $205. We have extremely cheap electric rates and I calculate that it costs me $1.39 to drive 70+ miles. The car is a hoot to drive and is an instant conversation starter wherever I go. In my opinion, it's a darn near perfect car for what I use it for. These things are so insanely cheap on the used market that to me it's almost a no-brainer purchase for cheap, fun, and economical to drive transportation, as long as your driving needs fit within the meager (in my opinion) range limitations of the car.
That said, there is no way in heck that I'd pay sticker price for one of these things. The window sticker on mine was $53,700. And yes, I know that nobody pays sticker price, but still, that's a crazy price for an around town runabout! But used is another story. I paid $10k for mine with 44k miles on the odometer. If I had a catastrophic failure like Alan, I would either attempt parting it out (and make money on the deal) or sell it to the highest bidder and just walk away from it. But, I fully expect that I will be driving this car, trouble free, for a LONG time. If a person is looking to dip their toe into the electric vehicle pool, I can think of no better way than a nice, used i3. Yeah, you can buy used Nissan Leaf's for less, but then you've got a Nissan Leaf
![Big grin :D :D](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
. The i3 is funky and fun, two things that the Leaf is not.
Ok, I'm rambling now. But for the OP, if you get the right deal on an i3, and if your driving needs fit within the meager range that it offers, I'd say go for it! You'll have a ball! And yeah, catastrophic stuff can happen, but it probably won't.