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Arm

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 7, 2020
Messages
332
Hey everyone,

I've a 2019 i3s Rex that's coming off a 2 year lease. I am trying my best to not lease another vehicle and have been looking at used i3s's. 2019's are too expensive (although I'd prefer it for battery size) so I found a used 2018 i3s BEV for sale.

Here are the specs:

2018 i3s BEV (previously lease, one owner).
Tech Package
Sunroof
Deka
HK Sound System
Excellent condition...one of the cleanest I've seen
Mileage is a bit high (this person did drive the car quite thoroughly) at 42k.
Asking price is $22.5k

My only concerns are the higher than normal mileage and smaller battery size than what I'm used to (+ no REX).

It's fully CPO'd and has warranty through 2023.

I do owe money on my current lease but they will waive all return fees and wear and tear. I may pull the trigger tomorrow so I'd appreciate some quick feedback if you possibly can

What do you think?
 
The only thing worth me commenting on relates to the mileage. I just sold my 2017 with 47,000 miles on it and the battery was doing great. I'd still get 130+ miles on a full charge on a nice day. However most of my charging was done at relatively easy-on-the-battery 16 amp level 1, about 1.9 kilowatts. Not many DCFC sessions. I didn't bother checking my kappa max at the end, but I recall it never straying from the mid-28's when I checked periodically. So I really wouldn't sweat the battery at this mileage if the kappa max is looking good at purchase.

BTW I was the second owner. The first owner had it for a 2 year lease, 22,000 miles.

Mechanically, the car was holding up nicely. I upgraded to a new 2021, so for me the change wasn't just moving away from a 4 year old car, but into the LCI refresh, which you're already familiar with. But I have to say that other than the thumb selector for setting cruise control speed on the steering wheel, and the ergonomics of the iDrive control wheel, both cars felt remarkably similar. In other words, I don't feel as if the 2017 had any excess play in the handling , squeaks or rattles, not really even any wear items that made me feel as if the car was getting on in years.

The big thing for you is going to be the reduction in range due to moving in to the smaller 94 Ah battery, but only you can know whether that's going to be OK.
 
Thank you for your input.

The mileage definitely is a factor. I get about 150 to 160 miles per charge with my current car. So I'm expecting 120 to 130 miles with the 2018.

It's likely I may get a second EV with greater range since I've leased two i3s's actually... both coming off their leases one month apart.

The dealer is actually offering to pay both my disposition fee and all wear and tear.

I'm wondering if it's worth getting additional warranty for the car. They quoted me $4400 for two additional years... never had to deal with an extended warranty so I'm not sure if that's a good deal or not. It seems like a good idea given the mileage.



eNate said:
The only thing worth me commenting on relates to the mileage. I just sold my 2017 with 47,000 miles on it and the battery was doing great. I'd still get 130+ miles on a full charge on a nice day. However most of my charging was done at relatively easy-on-the-battery 16 amp level 1, about 1.9 kilowatts. Not many DCFC sessions. I didn't bother checking my kappa max at the end, but I recall it never straying from the mid-28's when I checked periodically. So I really wouldn't sweat the battery at this mileage if the kappa max is looking good at purchase.

BTW I was the second owner. The first owner had it for a 2 year lease, 22,000 miles.

Mechanically, the car was holding up nicely. I upgraded to a new 2021, so for me the change wasn't just moving away from a 4 year old car, but into the LCI refresh, which you're already familiar with. But I have to say that other than the thumb selector for setting cruise control speed on the steering wheel, and the ergonomics of the iDrive control wheel, both cars felt remarkably similar. In other words, I don't feel as if the 2017 had any excess play in the handling , squeaks or rattles, not really even any wear items that made me feel as if the car was getting on in years.

The big thing for you is going to be the reduction in range due to moving in to the smaller 94 Ah battery, but only you can know whether that's going to be OK.
 
I don't have a feel for what goes bad on these. The parking pawl module gave up at about 25,000 miles but it looked like an easy fix, and I've only cone across one other owner with this problem. Besides a few early year reports of catastrophic AC fails, everything sounds lightweight: the latch on the charge port, dashboard LEDs, seat pressure pads. What else?
 
I had a couple of sensors fail but the biggest issue for me was my heater core or A/C compressor failed. But that's it.
 
Awful time to be buying a vehicle, new or used, lots of news media article about the chip shorage, etc.

Would recommend that you don't unless there's no way around it. Once life gets back to normal, people are going to be more upside down than normal.

I bought a 2021 Jeep Wrangler Diesel back in November, the MSRP was $57k. Had a $6k rebate. That same vehicle is now $64k MSRP. I got $51,700 for it 9 months later. I traded it on another i3, a 2021, but I got an $11k military rebate and a $1,200 discount off the MSRP. I'm still way upside down on the new i3, but I like the car.
 
I hear you. That had crossed my mind. My lease is up in 2 months and I know I'm going to have wear and tear costs on it. They won't budge on the residual so buying my current car out is a no go. I don't know if anything will change within 2 months market or chip wise 🤷‍♂️


2020i3 said:
Awful time to be buying a vehicle, new or used, lots of news media article about the chip shorage, etc.

Would recommend that you don't unless there's no way around it. Once life gets back to normal, people are going to be more upside down than normal.

I bought a 2021 Jeep Wrangler Diesel back in November, the MSRP was $57k. Had a $6k rebate. That same vehicle is now $64k MSRP. I got $51,700 for it 9 months later. I traded it on another i3, a 2021, but I got an $11k military rebate and a $1,200 discount off the MSRP. I'm still way upside down on the new i3, but I like the car.
 
Punching in the car you're describing in to KBB with the mentioned options and mileage, it says the private party sale value is between, $16,802 and $19,307. The trade-in range is $15,531 to $17,864.

https://www.kbb.com/bmw/i3/2018/hatchback-4d/?condition=verygood&intent=trade-in-sell&mileage=42000&modalview=false&options=8156254%7ctrue%7c8156291%7ctrue%7c8156264%7ctrue%7c8156178%7ctrue%7c8156206%7ctrue&pricetype=trade-in&vehicleid=431926

KBB said the Jeep I mentioned at trade-in was worth $55-$57k. I got $51,700 trade after shopping four dealers.

The wholesale value on that $22k i3 is probably $13k.

It all comes down to how bad you want the car and your tolerance for negative equity.
 
2020i3 said:
Punching in the car you're describing in to KBB with the mentioned options and mileage, it says the private party sale value is between, $16,802 and $19,307. The trade-in range is $15,531 to $17,864.

https://www.kbb.com/bmw/i3/2018/hatchback-4d/?condition=verygood&intent=trade-in-sell&mileage=42000&modalview=false&options=8156254%7ctrue%7c8156291%7ctrue%7c8156264%7ctrue%7c8156178%7ctrue%7c8156206%7ctrue&pricetype=trade-in&vehicleid=431926

KBB said the Jeep I mentioned at trade-in was worth $55-$57k. I got $51,700 trade after shopping four dealers.

The wholesale value on that $22k i3 is probably $13k.

It all comes down to how bad you want the car and your tolerance for negative equity.

Actually the car is an i3s not a regular i3. It isn't a base model. It has the a few packages as mentioned in my original post.

I priced it on the KBB site as well as configured and got the following:

https://www.kbb.com/bmw/i3/2018/s-hatchback-4d/?category=hatchback&condition=very-good&intent=buy-used&mileage=43000&options=8156288%7ctrue%7c8156250%7ctrue%7c9243993%7ctrue%7c8156295%7ctrue%7c8156166%7ctrue%7c8156269%7ctrue&pricetype=cpo&vehicleid=431927

Granted this isn't wholesale price...but it was a CPO that also comes with full unlimited mileage warranty through 8/2023.

An link to the image of the vehicle is found below:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BR2DwixudkFkPRoMA
 
Clicking on your link still shows a trade in value of $16,157 to $18,872 with a realistic value of $17,515. And any dealership who doesn't have the apetite to let such a car sit on the lot will start calling wholesalers for a value, which will be probably $2k lower.

I still don't find it to be a good deal, especially with that much mileage.

In today's crazy car market, I'd have to go with something like a new Prius until things cool down and get back to normal, but it's your money and your choice. I don't know your financial situation. $22k isn't a lot of money to me. I can drop $5k on the counter and get out of an upside down car quite easily. And not care about the loss, life is short. Don't know if that's the case for you.
 
Not sure why you're seeing that price. I get $23k to $25k for the trade. Wholesale prices aren't applicable to me...I can't get wholesale prices anyway.

$22k isn't a lot and is definitely less than a new lease or a more expensive EV. My point was to find an i3s in decent shape and it be mine. I got weary of leases and endless payments.

2020i3 said:
Clicking on your link still shows a trade in value of $16,157 to $18,872 with a realistic value of $17,515. And any dealership who doesn't have the apetite to let such a car sit on the lot will start calling wholesalers for a value, which will be probably $2k lower.

I still don't find it to be a good deal, especially with that much mileage.

In today's crazy car market, I'd have to go with something like a new Prius until things cool down and get back to normal, but it's your money and your choice. I don't know your financial situation. $22k isn't a lot of money to me. I can drop $5k on the counter and get out of an upside down car quite easily. And not care about the loss, life is short. Don't know if that's the case for you.
 
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