BMW i3 Trade-in value - surprisingly depressing

I went to Carmax yesterday to see what they would pay for my 2014 BMW i3 non-Rex fully loaded with 7k miles, no accidents owned for 8 months.

Carmax happened to have one listed on their website for about $39k, associate told me that I'd probably get $34k for mine car. After the appraisal was completed an hour later the official offer came in at $25k. Basically the car is worth less than half of it's MSRP.

That is just sad, anyone else experience poor trade-in value?

Did you have DCFC and what world was your car?

Basically the same for all MBZ's and Bimmers. Those places and the dealers are only going to buy your car for auction wholesale. That way they can make a decent profit, after "certification". Probably more than on a new car.

Can't compare to MSRP. You probably didn't pay it plus you may have taken 7500 tax credit plus any state credit. Allow for 1st owner depreciation and that buyer has to find a buyer and you can get the price down pretty fast. Also, your sales tax is sunk cost as you can't expect a buyer to give you that back as he has to pay another sales tax.

Its best to do research, shop for best price, buy a strategic car and hang on to it for 10 years

Ron

I paid $45k plus Cali taxes all in all about $50k. Autotrader selling same vehicle in the high 30's to low 40's. $25k offer seriously a joke. Not even my 2012 Dodge Durango RT depreciated as much after 4 years.

I'm hoping this appraiser screwed up and all other i3 owners get a much higher residual value.

aero613 said:

I paid $45k plus Cali taxes all in all about $50k. Autotrader selling same vehicle in the high 30's to low 40's. $25k offer seriously a joke. Not even my 2012 Dodge Durango RT depreciated as much after 4 years.

I'm hoping this appraiser screwed up and all other i3 owners get a much higher residual value.

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I think depreciation is definitely has some relation to incentives. In your particular case, some dealers still have 2014 i3s sitting on lots at 3-4K off before incentives. If you have a BEV at a 45K MSRP -4K discount and - 10K in federal and Ca incentives your effective sales price is 31K for a brand new 2014 i3. The 25K offer is low but realistic.

This might be the same reason we are seeing 10K Nissan Leafs and why the 3 year residual of a 33K dollar VW e-golf hovers around 10K.

I still think the i3 is a great car to buy if you plan on hanging on to it for a long time. However, my uncertainty of how much I would like it and its resale pushed me towards leasing.

We normally buy all our vehicles, cars and motorcycles, for cash. I leased a 2013 Smart Electric Drive, and I leased the i3. We did a single payment lease, all up front in both cases, which saved some money. We didn't get the tax incentives of course. Two main reasons for us leasing the electric cars:

1. With the technology moving so fast in this area, I know I will want something better in two years. So will everyone else, which is sure to hurt if not kill trade in or resale value.

2. Nobody really knows how long these battery packs are going to last, or how much capacity they will lose over the number of years we normally keep a car. They haven't been around long enough for there to be any real world data. But, again, once the battery warranty has expired, if the capacity is down to 70% or 75%, that's not going to help resale value either.

I'd prefer to let someone else have those issues while I enjoy the latest and greatest every 2 years.

aero613 said:

I paid $45k plus Cali taxes all in all about $50k.

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If you give due consideration to the tax breaks you got, then you did not pay $50K for your i3. You paid closer to $40K. Anyone buying a used i3 does not get those tax rebates. From the actual $40K or so that you paid (after rebates), there is depreciation for age and mileage, and then there is a spread between wholesale and retail, with private party resell between the two.

Autotrader selling same vehicle in the high 30's to low 40's. $25k offer seriously a joke.

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Low 40's sounds like no depreciation at all, effectively.

My personal experience aligns with what others stated above. i just leased a brand new '14 i3 with Rex for essentially a selling price of $31K. Here was my breakdown.

MSRP: $47K
Discount: $7.8K
Fed credit: $5500
State Rebate: $2500

Mind you if i had purchased the car then i could have gotten an additional $2k in federal credit. So this offer from Carmax is on the low side but not terribly off the mark.

This depreciation is true of every EV out there except for Tesla (and with Tesla, it's pretty much the complete opposite with depreciation lower than that of many ICE cars). Most EVs depreciate around 40-50% in their first year due to the tax incentive and rate of technological advancement.

aero613 said:

I went to Carmax yesterday to see what they would pay for my 2014 BMW i3 non-Rex fully loaded with 7k miles, no accidents owned for 8 months.

Carmax happened to have one listed on their website for about $39k, associate told me that I'd probably get $34k for mine car. After the appraisal was completed an hour later the official offer came in at $25k. Basically the car is worth less than half of it's MSRP.

That is just sad, anyone else experience poor trade-in value?

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This is exactly why I leased my i3 and pretty all other recent cars my household has acquired.

Carmax is known to low ball people on their "offers" to buy your car and give you cash. If you did indeed purchase an i3 and now want to unload it, unfortunately with the incentives in many states it makes it advantageous for those looking to get into the car to buy or lease a new vehicle directly from BMW.

Have you taken it to area BMW dealers? What are you looking to eventually get into and perhaps will come out better if its rolled into another new car purchase/lease?

Of course carmax lowballs. They're taking the risk your car is no good, and providing you the benefit of instant cash.

However, in this case, they don't seem to be low balling too much when you factor the incentives available on brand new cars.

From 'What Car' depreciation calculator. i3 looks very strong on residuals in the UK

BMW i3 Hatchback i3 EV Range Extender 5dr
Yr 1 £34,130
Yr2 £25,447 75%
Yr 3 £20,959 61%
Yr 4 £17,178 50%
Yr 5 £14,679 43%
BMW 5 Series Saloon 525d SE 4dr
Yr 1 £36,980
Yr 2 £22,580 61%
Yr 3 £18,575 50%
Yr 4 £15,269 41%
Yr 5 £13,032 35%
Audi A4 Saloon 2.0 TDI 177 SE Technik 4dr
£29,620
£19,250
£15,826
£13,000
£11,099
BMW 3 Series Saloon 320d EfficientDynamics Busines 4dr
£30,875
£19,646
£16,141
£13,252
£11,331

OP - If you purchased then I'm sorry you are see'ing such a low value for your car.

On the other hand, for those of us that leased, I sure hope this is an indication that BMW's residuals are WAY off and that they will offer us big discounts to keep our cars at the end of lease. I sure hope to buy mine for about $20k at lease end; $15k off of their estimated residual.

imolazhp said:

OP - If you purchased then I'm sorry you are see'ing such a low value for your car.

On the other hand, for those of us that leased, I sure hope this is an indication that BMW's residuals are WAY off and that they will offer us big discounts to keep our cars at the end of lease. I sure hope to buy mine for about $20k at lease end; $15k off of their estimated residual.

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This is what I am thinking as well.

If you keep any car long enough, it really doesn't matter as the depreciation curves eventually merge with some residual value. That was my intent, and so far, nothing has moved me to regret that decision. I do not think that in 2-3 years there will be enough improvements to make a new one that much more alluring...maybe 5 or so. And, the car does what I have been asking it to do. While more may make it more practical to others, it really doesn't matter to me. I'm sure that does not apply to everyone, and then, a lease is probably the best choice.

I guarantee your trade in value after 3 or 4 years will be even more depressing. The technology is moving fast and we're all early adopters. Speaking as someone who had a Mitsubishi iMiev before my i3, I can only say I'm enjoying the ride, and will depreciate the car fully over 4 years or so. I got £5,000 for my iMiev after 3.5 years. Cost including £5,000 subsidy, £26,000. No car is an investment, and electric cars are even less so!

Tobias said:

I got £5,000 for my iMiev after 3.5 years. Cost including £5,000 subsidy, £26,000. No car is an investment, and electric cars are even less so!

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I had a similar experience with our i-MiEV. However, I think the i-MiEV, at least in the U.S., was a worse-case scenario due to the significant price drop (~30%) in 2014 i-MiEV's compared with our 2012 model. I can't imagine BMW dropping the price of a future i3 model with identical specs to the extent that Mitsubishi did.

Nevertheless, your point is valid. EV depreciation will be greater than that of ICE cars due to new EV purchase incentives and rapidly-developing technology (at least compared with ICE vehicles).

Just a thought, if the costs of fuel start to go back up again (inevitable, long-term, but no schedule can be given!)...the quest for a used EV may not slide as fast. Like everything sold...demand equates to the selling prices. More people know about and want one, the price tends to go up or at least stay steady. Predicting what is going to happen in the future is a very uncertain thing. The most economical way to deal with a depreciating asset is to keep it a long time, not trade it in every couple of years. Yes, in a couple of years the new ones may offer more features, but if the one you have is serving your needs, suppress the desire for always having the latest and greatest, or don't quibble about the prices!

eloder said:

This depreciation is true of every EV out there except for Tesla (and with Tesla, it's pretty much the complete opposite with depreciation lower than that of many ICE cars). Most EVs depreciate around 40-50% in their first year due to the tax incentive and rate of technological advancement.

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Yes a good friend with about 1500 miles on his month-old Tesla stopped driving it last fall in favor of trade for a new 4-wd S. The first thing they (Tesla) told him was the $7500 came right off the top.....I laughed and asked Steve how much he then trusted Tesla with HIS money. I didn't ask him what it cost to trade, but I know he got hosed, but he has a genuine need for the 4-wd, so to him it was worth it, even though it didn't arrive until April.