Swapping 2017 / 2021 Leather Interior / Oak Trim?

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eNate

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Let's say, hypothetically, an i3 owner were to find a replacement i3, but with a less desirable interior.

Any speculation on how involved an interior swap would be? Not just seats and armrests, which ought to be straight forward enough, but the trim bordering the dash.

Edit post swap photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/sZYiZMahN83jaA8E7
 
I have been in this situation recently. If I found a nice 2018 or 2019 Giga BEV, I'd consider replacing our 2014 Giga BEV. However, most newer U.S. i3's seem to have Deka World trim. Deka World differs from Giga and Tera Worlds by not only upholstery and dashboard trim, but also some content like some interior LED lighting, maybe exterior LED lighting on the door handles, maybe buttons in the driver front door jam that open the frunk and hatch, and maybe other features. I don't want to have fewer features than our Giga which probably means considering only Giga and Tera World i3's which have the same content. However, I much prefer the lighter, brighter Giga World compared with the dark Tera World.

If I bought a Tera World, would I be able to swap the trim? I decided that doing so would be more work than I would want to do at my age, partly due to having only our 2 covered, non-adjacent apartment parking garage parking spaces to use during the trim swap which isn't ideal. I'd almost certainly be frustrated by all the trim clips that I would probably break. Paying a huge BMW parts price tax here in Honolulu where few alternative exist doesn't appeal to me.
 
That's kind of the boat I'm in. IF I can score a good deal, I'm willing to give up the Tera interior, but mine is in great shape so it would be nice to be able to swap it in, assuming the colors match. I'm willing to give up the LED interior lights and Park Assist, but have my list of must haves. Assuming this doesn't work out, I'll happily stick with my 2017, which has exactly everything I like as far as options go.
 
I'm willing to give up the LED interior lights and Park Assist, but have my list of must haves.


Park Assist... if you mean the parallel parking assist, that's part of the "Technology + Driving Assistant Package", not necessarily the Giga World trim. Park Distance Control is standard.

I think the only trim that doesn't have the interior Ambience LED lighting is Deka World.

I recently picked up a 2021 i3s BEV which replaced my 2014 BEV. Both are Tera World and I would have gone with the Giga World interior given the choice but all the production slots were spoken for so you take what you can get, right? ;)

If you did the swap, would you do it completely? Change the door cards, armrest, all the brown trim on the dash, etc.? There's quite a lot of bits to change which always makes me cool on the idea every time I contemplate doing it!
 
Yeah, that Park Assist. I thought I came across a few examples with Tech but without it. Maybe the were S's.

But it's not looking too hopeful. My three requirements are Tech, HK, and moonroof, and there just aren't many options out there. Dealers are asking for markups ($5000 in one case), and homie don't play that.

Transportation costs are sky high, I forfit a $1500 rebate if I buy out of state, and unlike CA dealers who are capped at $85 doc fees, I'm seeing $500 to $900 on the east coast, so I've imposed a somewhat restrictive search area.

Comme ci, comme ça. I'm happy with my "loaded" 2017 and don't mind not increasing my indebtednesd to BMW, or having to figure out how to detach leather wrapped plastic trim pieces without breakage.

But I'll still keep looking until the well is dry.
 
Never say never! Let's see if I update my signature on Tuesday.

But now I really to have to decide if I'm going to swap seats and maybe interior trim. Maybe seats and armrests, leaving the dashboard alone.

I've already decided to swap my dark oak pieces in. I think that'll be enough.
 
Agreed on HK being a must-have!

If you're looking at 2021s, sometime in June BMW stopped offering HK sound as a build option due to the chip shortage, not just for i3s but for 5ers and 7ers, too.

My friend picked up a new 2021 BEV S that was built in May 2021 with HK so it was probably one of the last built before the option went away.

If you find one with HK know that you're looking at a unicorn! :D
 
There are a few out there yet. I was homing in on the blue i3s currently in transit to Century West BMW in N Hollywood. Its build date is June 24 and it has the HK, but they know they've got a unicorn and are the ones who quoted me the 5k markup, no shame.

The one I landed is a January build. I don't know how it's sat for so long.

I had an order lined up that I walked away from because of the lack of the audio package.
 
frictioncircle said:
Park Assist... if you mean the parallel parking assist, that's part of the "Technology + Driving Assistant Package", not necessarily the Giga World trim.

Just reviewed the 2021 window sticker, and Park Assist is listed as a $200 line item option separate from the Tech option.

My 2017, on the other hand, lists Parking Assistance Package as a $1000 option.

Maybe BMW broke up this package when backup cameras became standard equipment in the US?

This new car is Mega trim. Think it'll have the LED cabin mood lights?
 
Harmon Kardon (HK) i3 sitting in Las Vegas, no markup to the MSRP.

$11,000 military rebate through TrueCar is available to use when purchasing.

https://www.bmwvegas.com/new/BMW/2021-BMW-i3-662ced510a0e09711abad028e3de503e.htm

They've got a base Giga World and a more loaded one a short distance away in Henderson too. None them have a REX. A plus in my book.
 
Thanks, I'm pretty sure I saw and rejected those. I really wish the car shopping sites would allow the marking of rejected cars the same way they allow cars to be "favorited." I even tried "favoriting" cars that I rejected, so if they didn't have a big red heart next to their picture, they were ones I was either interested in or haven't yet seen.

Anyhow, my must-have list is HK, Tech, and Sunroof, and that's why the Las Vegas cars didn't meet the cut.

I worked out the VA credit, half of the $3k loyalty discount as a dealer discount (apparently it's not offered this month?), and 0.9% though I'm going to push for 0%.
 
Mark ups? I ordered one recently, was given $3000 dealer discount without even asking. I ordered Giga without Park Assist. I remember reading that it doesn't do a good job and may scratch rims. And I see no use for it in the car so compact and maneuverable.
 
gt1 said:
Mark ups?

I'm with you. Crazy, but I get it.

I was notified just today that +5k black one in NoHo was sold. Dealers have their strategies, some markets are more ripe than others for such shenanigans. I'm sure they'll quickly sell the blue one once it arrives end of month.

There's no risk in starting high and seeing who bites in this market. With the combination of the press attention of the closing of the order book, to the scarcity of the HK option, to the available incentives, and crazy trade in valuations, a savvy dealer surely knows this is the time to become a profiteer.
 
Yes, I know that many cars and trucks are in high demand, while the factories have to idle due to the chip shortages. But i3 is not a popular car and, other than the disappearing HK audio, its production never stopped until the end.
 
There's no point in arguing this. Somebody apparently paid that dealer's markup.

You can call the i3 unpopular, but I can count on one hand the number of BEVs with tech + HK + sunroof listed on the common car shopping sites. So simply word getting out that the HK option is temporarily dried up, and US order books closed, that may have been enough to increase inquiries and sales.

"Scarcity," if somebody perceives that, can inflate demand and price.
 
OK, I'm about to put my 2018 for sale, will see how scarce and in demand will it be :)
The current market is crazy. I managed to buy a Pacifica PHEV in April. The sticker on it was $52k, I paid $41500 after the factory rebates and dealer discounts. Then the production stopped and the supply dried out. The factory discontinued all rebates, and the dealers started to charge extra instead of discounting. I saw some offered for as much as $63k, or even $60k for a slightly used, and thus not eligible for the $7500 credit.
 
Good luck. I'll tell you, the mind trick worked on me, too.

I've been keeping my eyes open for a 2019 lease return with the same features, mainly to get the bigger battery and headlights. But whereas I bought my 2017 for $24,000 two years ago, the same spec i3 vintage 2019 is listing in the low $30's, due to this crazy market. That obviously wasn't going to fly with me.

But then I saw how much Vroom and Carvana are willing to pay me for my current i3, and I began considering tax credits, state rebates, and the $11k BMW incentive. I got the news of the July US order cut-off, then the HK discontinuation, and it drove me to pursue a new car I previously wasn't even considering. So yeah, I got sucked in to the hype. My 2017 has been serving me just fine. No denying, I'm partly responsible for that "spike in demand."

I think it's only rational that a new car dealer gets in on this. I don't like the idea of a dealer markup, but it would be weird if used car prices could be so elastic as to touch the bottom of the new car market, but new car prices would be "locked" to what's printed on their stickers when consumer demand + thin inventory clearly supports higher prices.
 
A follow up, to bring this thread to conclusion...

I followed through with the swap. Here are the photos: of the end result https://photos.app.goo.gl/sZYiZMahN83jaA8E7

The 2021 Mega i3 received Dalbergia dark brown leather from a 2017 Tera, and also the dark oak wood dash panels.

As I wrote about in another post the front seats contain airbags, so the swap resulted in airbag errors in both cars that a local BMW coder resolved in his driveway.

Ancillary items making the jump: 2017's full-width front & rear floor mats, rear license plate mount (w/ four threaded brass eyelets), 12A L1 EVSE, Wokeby trunk extension, and Euro-spec aspherical mirrors. I also carried over my 19" 428 wheels.

The 2017 received "Mega Carum Spice Gray Sensa" seats and "Electronic Brown" dashboard trim.

If I had one objection to my 2017, the dark Tera interior + oak was too dark, and I'm really enjoying the way this new contrasting arrangement brightens up the interior. As I mentioned in a different thread, the only thing I'm missing in the swap to the new car are a few of the ambiance LEDs in the rear door handles and front door pockets (the others are present, including the blue "fishbowl lights" when unlocking with the remote.

Happy to be riding off into the i3's sunset in such a nicely customized car.
 
eNate said:
A follow up, to bring this thread to conclusion...
Not so fast… :D

eNate said:
I followed through with the swap. Here are the photos: of the end result https://photos.app.goo.gl/sZYiZMahN83jaA8E7

The 2021 Mega i3 received Dalbergia dark brown leather from a 2017 Tera, and also the dark oak wood dash panels.
Good work! Now I find myself in a similar situation and would appreciate your advice. For some reason, outgoing private messages get stuck in my Outbox even though my Sent box isn't full, so I don't seem able to send private messages.

I just bought a 2019 Giga BEV from California to replace our 2014 Giga BEV. When I picked up the 2019 at the docks in Honolulu, this was the first time I had seen a facelift Giga interior in person. I much prefer the lighter original pre-facelift Giga interior. The facelift leather upholstery trim is a dark tan/light brown rather than golden tan, the wool seat fabric contains brown threads making the fabric appear darker overall, the arm rest is off-white rather than golden tan, and the wood dashboard trim is dark oak rather than light eucalyptus. This makes me really want to swap the seats, door cards, arm rest, and wood dashboard trim since I have both cars while I still have both cars.

eNate said:
Ancillary items making the jump: 2017's full-width front & rear floor mats, rear license plate mount (w/ four threaded brass eyelets), 12A L1 EVSE, Wokeby trunk extension, and Euro-spec aspherical mirrors. I also carried over my 19" 428 wheels.
I also swapped the rear license plate mount to keep the threaded brass eyelets.

I will swap our 2014's 12 A OUC for our 2019's 10 A OUC unless the 2019 OUC is a dual-voltage model. The massive 320+ page, 32 language Delphi OUC Owner's Manual appears to be one original generic text translated to all other languages such that it doesn't state explicitly whether the U.S. OUC is dual-voltage. I suppose the specifications plate on the OUC would state the input voltage range.

Even though a front 428 (Tera) wheel on our 2019 has very light surface curb rash that could be repaired quite easily (no deep scratches), I won't swap its wheels for the unblemished 429 (Giga) wheels on our 2014 because I prefer 428 wheels, and our 2019 has new tires instead of tires with 13k miles of wear. I like that the left-side and right-side 429 wheels are different on our 2014 so they appear to be rotating in the same direction on both sides of the car, but if I had to replace a wheel, finding the correct-sided wheel might be more difficult compared with the 428 wheels on the 2019 which are the same on both sides of the car.

Our 2014 has a CFRP cargo floor access panel whereas the 2019 has a likely slightly heavier aluminum panel. I'm tempted to swap the CFRP panel to the 2019 to maintain the CFRP theme of the i3. However, BMW discontinued the CFRP panel for some reason (cost, CFRP panel breakage problems, ??). Anyone know why?

I'll definitely swap the cargo floor covers because the 2014 version has 2 rubber hold-down straps that are missing from the 2019 version.

I'm tempted to swap the part of the center console behind the iDrive controller. The 2014 version has a padded area whereas the 2019 version is hard plastic. I'm not sure what the pad accomplishes, so it's probably not worth the risk of breaking or damaging something during the swap. Also, the top touch-sensitive surface of the 2014 iDrive controller is smooth whereas the 2019 is a matte finish that feels rougher to the touch. I assume that it's an improved version, but who knows? Maybe it's a cheaper version :D

Below the center of the dashboard just above the floor is a small cargo net on the 2014 but just an elastic strap on the 2019. I haven't used the net in almost 8 years of 2014 ownership, so I'm not seriously considering swapping this for the strap. Probably would require too much effort.

I am considering swapping the 2014 "unlock i3 frunk" fob button with the 2019 "unlock i8 hatch" button. However, I don't know how easy that would be to do without risking breakage, and I don't know whether I can code the 2019 fob receiver to unlock the frunk instead of the hatch. I use the unlock frunk button several times each month but would never unlock the hatch with the fob because with Comfort Access, it unlocks when pulling its handle.

Can't think of any other "decontenting" or improvements on the 2019 relative to the 2014. Any other suggestions?
 
alohart said:
I will swap our 2014's 12 A OUC for our 2019's 10 A OUC unless the 2019 OUC is a dual-voltage model. The massive 320+ page, 32 language Delphi OUC Owner's Manual appears to be one original generic text translated to all other languages such that it doesn't state explicitly whether the U.S. OUC is dual-voltage. I suppose the specifications plate on the OUC would state the input voltage range.

I haven't tried my 12A Delphi EVSE on 240 because of something I read somewhere saying it's incompatible, and it's only labeled for 120. However, the 10A EVSE that came with my VW ID.4 is similarly labeled for 120 only, and yet it is fully functional on 240 volts. So it could just be a liability omission. One day I'll get around to cracking it open to verify, but I have a hard time imagining something like this being built for 120 only.

alohart said:
Our 2014 has a CFRP cargo floor access panel whereas the 2019 has a likely slightly heavier aluminum panel. I'm tempted to swap the CFRP panel to the 2019 to maintain the CFRP theme of the i3. However, BMW discontinued the CFRP panel for some reason (cost, CFRP panel breakage problems, ??). Anyone know why?

Mine was aluminum in both. But now that you're starting fresh, maybe take a look at the Wokeby Trunk Extension? He says his shipping to the US is flat rate regardless of state. It was a relatively reasonable charge given its size. He's since transitioned from GRP (fiberglass) to plastic, but I find mine to be a wonderfully useful addition hidden beneath the false floor.
 
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