Knowing what you know now. Would you do it all over again?

BMW i3 Forum

Help Support BMW i3 Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

fixedgear

Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2014
Messages
17
Hello All,

I am close to finalizing an i3 REX purchase shortly and picking up the car in the next month or so. I love the car and it definitely meets all my needs. The only thing I am hesitant on is the reliability of the vehicle. Visiting this site along with the facebook group, I have seen a lot of people complaining about CEL and other issues, most recently the car becoming immobile along with some other problems.

It's hard to tell how common these issues are. Since this will be a purchase for me (for the long term) I just want to make sure I am making an informed decision.

If you haven't had any issues with the car please let us know, but also include your current mileage.

Same goes for those who have had problems. Make sure you include your mileage along with the details of the problems.

Let us know what you think.

This would be of great benefit to me and other potential owners.

Thanks in advance.
 
I've had my i3 Rex for 5 weeks now, and done 1300 miles. No problem and love the car. Note I live in the UK, though, not in the US with the restrictions on the Rex.
 
Its a new model of a new concept teething problems are to be expected, I knew that going in. I have been slightly frustrated by some of the issues (A/C failure due to split pipe) but these things happen, bottom line is its a F**king excellent car, and BMW UK and dealer have been excellent in dealing with the problems in a timely fashion.

My only regret is not specing DC charge prep, aside from that I have enjoyed all of my 6000miles :p

You also have to bare in mind that forums/facebook page are a magnet to the frustrated and disaffected, and so problems are always disproportionately represented, there are far more people who have had trouble free cars than ones with issues.
 
I'm still on my 2 month honeymoon with my i3. Yes, I wouldn't even think about NOT buying this car again. It's perfect for a lot of people and perfect for me. I would absolutely NOT buy this car without the REX, even if it was twice the price and even though I go mainly all short distances. But that's me. REX kicked again last night before I thought it would due to the massive heat implementations put forth upon it due to my wife's fanny being a heat and comfort magnet :roll: .

Personally I continue to like the car more each day I drive it.
 
jackt said:
You also have to bare in mind that forums/facebook page are a magnet to the frustrated and disaffected, and so problems are always disproportionately represented, there are far more people who have had trouble free cars than ones with issues.

Thanks Jackt, this is pretty much what I assume has been causing my cold feet as of late. It would be nice to hear from a bunch of people who have had a lot of trouble free miles/kms for a change.
 
There's less to go wrong with the BEV, which is what I have. The only transient issue I had was one time, and it has not repeated, the silly charging cord wouldn't unlock from the vehicle...I had to pull the manual release. It's worked before and since. 90+% of my driving is local, and I have an ICE, so I didn't see a big reason to get the REx. I can see it as useful (it's about even 50:50 with/without in sales), but not worth it for me. I was trying to get away from oil changes, filters, gasoline, mufflers, spark plugs, etc. needing service even if it isnt' all that often. 5-months old, but only a bit over 1500 miles (retired).
 
Love the car for what it is: a city car. On repeat, I'd think long and hard about getting the rex. Have never needed it in the past 6 months. It's fine with BMW paying for maintenance for 4 years, but after.....? Why drag around 200 lbs and have a 10-mile, at least, reduction in range. BUT, what if? It would be tough call, and perhaps a lot clearer when these turn up on KBB and we see how much of the $4K is retained in resale value.
 
My situation sounds very similar to jadnashuanh's except that our ICE vehicle, a gasoline-electric hybrid, is >10,000 miles away, so we can't depend on it here :) However, living on an island where long-distance driving isn't possible unless one drives for a living, we didn't consider a REx because I REALLY want to simplify my life (also retired). Changing the oil, oil filter, etc., on our hybrid is not an enjoyable experience (I almost never entrust our car to a mechanic unless it's warranty work), but changing oil is prohibited in our apartment parking space here, so a BEV eliminates that problem. Maximum efficiency is also important, especially with >30¢/kWh electricity, and to date, the i3 BEV is the most efficient EV, even surpassing the i3 REx.

Having owned our BEV for just less than a month, I don't have any reliability experience to report. I expect some problems with a 1.0 version of anything, so I know that our i3 will need some software and hardware updates. We are accustomed to Japanese build quality and reliability, so we hope that our i3 won't disappoint us in the future.

There is no other EV available in Hawaii that meets our needs as well as the i3 BEV, so I would certainly buy it now knowing what I know now (maybe I would have tried to drive a harder bargain :)
 
Emphatic yes here. I took delivery on May 15 and currently show 2450 miles. For the kind of short distance, city driving that I do day to day, it's the best car I've ever had. It makes the stoplight to stoplight slog fun. I have a BEV in a two-car household. As the others have stated, the simplicity of the pure EV was a significant factor. Driving an ICE a couple of miles at a time always bothered me because the unavoidable wear and tear. Knock wood but I haven't had any of the issues discussed in these forums. In fact, I'm still running the original software because I don't see a need to fix what isn't broken.
 
I would definitely buy my i3 again in a hart beat. I have had my i3 for 3 month's now and not had any problems. I have the Rex but to date it has not yet been needed. I am averaging 4.4 miles/kwh over the first 1000 miles which translates into a range of 83 miles per full charge.
 
Yes, I would buy again. This is our fourth week with the car and have put 1500 miles. We have had no problems so far. Where we are the daily driving might exceed the electric range so only the REx works for us. I also bought a coding cable and the software and unlocked the REx menu. That said I have only burned 1 gallon of gasoline during 2 trips to the airport & back but it was very cold (15F) that day and I did not feel like doing Eco Pro then. I did the same trip yesterday when it was 64F in Eco Pro and put 65 miles with 13 range left. I think this car is lots of fun driving and very exciting. However, there are things that a car of that price would typically have which are missing, and a buyer should be aware and OK with these. I was mostly worried about the manual driver seat and steering wheel tilt as we take turns to drive. However, we've managed to get to where we have to only slide the seat fore or aft and keep the wheel tilt in place (the interior rear view mirror we've always had to tilt manually) so it turned out not as big inconvenience as we thought. There are also some problems with the Connected Drive and navigation software being very bad and lacking especially for android phones. Hopefully those will be fixed (or we will forget about them) eventually. Love the car and am constantly looking for reasons to go out and drive it.
 
I traded a Nissan Leaf for the Mega. The Leaf includes a Comfort Access equivalent that I do miss in the i3, but, at two weeks since delivery, that's probably not enough time to develop new muscle memory. I also learned this past weekend that the i3 supports FLAC audio, which, on the non-Harman Kardon speaker setup, sounds amazing. I can't imagine how Neil Young would sound with those additional, and more powerful, HK speakers.

I signed a two-year lease and will probably include these two options on the next go-around. Despite those omissions, I would definitely sign again. This car is a feat for BMW.
 
Yes, I would buy my BEV again. This is my seventh week with the car and have put almost 800 miles on it. Sometimes the rear left door sensor doesn't register, I think it did it 4 times, no big deal, just re-close.

The car is awesome and gets a lot of attention and I never have to go to the gas station! Make sure you shop around as they are being significantly discounted. Find a dealer that knows the car and if you haven't yet, take one out for a three day test drive.

When I travel and rent I really miss my car.
 
While it can be disconcerting...you do need to close those rear doors with authority to fully close the switch. I think it is a bit too sensitive, but it doesn't really hurt the car.
 
Picked up my REx May 15th, just over 5.000 miles, absolutely happy with no problems whatsoever. Love this one like I haven´t loved a car before and will keep it until I can buy something with 200+ miles of range.

Frank
 
Definitely yes. BEV with 8k miles, never missed a beat and the recent UK software update has fixed many niggles (preconditioning, charging interrupt errors and delayed charging).

Bill
 
Had ours for 10 weeks and only done 700 odd miles (retired UK suburb dwellers, with free local bus and train pass), but expect to do more in the coming months and more longer journeys. Only minor niggles, delighted by the car, would buy again. Thank goodness we revised our order in time to include DCQC. Will be even more pleased once we get solar PV. Used about 1.5 litres of petrol/gas so far. Downside: it's having a bad effect on my waistline, due to less local utility cycling to shops, bank, etc.
 
:D I've had my i3 BEV for two and a half months with 1300 hundred miles. Zero problems. Leased mine for 2.5 years, and looking forward to a improved version then. Very satisfied with my choice, BEV, Iconic Silver, Mega, with key options (tech, parking, DCQC). I really like the Mega wheels, but wish I'd gone with the 20" wheels for the look. I could always add, but not a wise expense for a 2.5 year lease vehicle. I can live with the Mega wheels which are my second favorite. Only other omission was comfort access. I have it on my 2012 Prius and it's worth the expense. For those not familiar with comfort access, you could easily live without. I debated REx or BEV, and going with BEV, I made the right decision. Those with REx praise it, but in reality, they get very little use. I like being 100% electric, and my average 80-85 mile range is more than adequate. I've had a variety of other vehicle, but never a BMW. VERY impressed with the quality, fit, and finish, ride, etc. Zero complaints. One note, I started negotiating on my i3 in mid September. My initial quoted lease price was outrageous. I had to negotiate hard to get a reduced rate which I felt was reasonable at the time. Surprising how much purchase and lease prices have come down. Prices vary from region and dealer, so take you time. There's not another EV available that I would prefer over the i3.
 
Hi,
do it again: absolutely! To us, it still feels like driving on 'the next level'. It's far from perfect, E-range and AC charger, amongst other things, leave to be desired, but driving it is an absolute joy. It could be that you'll have to embrace the concept though, like we did, or you could end up less amused than we are ;)
Regards, Steven
 
Back
Top