i3 REX vs. i3 REX vs. i3 REX - Which pre-owned to buy?

I'm curious as to your thoughts on the pre-owned i3 cars listed below.

A little about me & my preferences:
I intend to use the i3 for a daily 35-mile round trip commute. I'm in Los Angeles, and will be going over the hills both ways. My "must-haves" include ACC, harmon kardon and a moon roof. Color in order of preference is Mineral Grey, Fluid Black, Silver or White - no blue cars for me! ANything I should consider that I haven't listed?

I like the idea of CPO - but some have told me it's not worth the extra cost - any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Here are the 3 contenders and some notes on them - Which would you recommend?

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=531805190

Preferred color
NOT CPO, but 2 years left on warranty
19K miles - nice!
No leather, would need to see it, but not married to a leather interior.


Vs.

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=532438240

2 years left on factory warranty PLUS CPO - total of 3 year warranty!
29K miles - not bad.
Eucalyptus - I like that interior
Still not sure about a white car.

Vs.

https://cpo.bmwusa.com/used/2017-BMW-i3-rex-WBY1Z8C35HV892533?zip=91602

Just listed - no Carfax yet.
8k miles!
Would definitely need to see the Carfax and pics before deciding

Unless I missed it (I just scanned them), none of them say if it has a 60Ah or 94Ah battery. In 2017 the larger battery was an optional extra. Personally if I buy a 2017 over a cheaper 2015/2016 it will have to have the larger battery.

skeptic said:

Unless I missed it (I just scanned them), none of them say if it has a 60Ah or 94Ah battery. In 2017 the larger battery was an optional extra. Personally if I buy a 2017 over a cheaper 2015/2016 it will have to have the larger battery.

Click to expand...

Good point - all these are 94Ah models. Larger battery - That's the main reason I'm looking at 2017s, not 15/16s - thanks!

For what it's worth shopped for a 2017 and I found many on CarGurus listed as 60 Ah, all incorrect (checked mdecoder), didn't come across an actual 60 Ah from 2017 -- all were 94. Could just be my region.

I agree with what you were told about CPOs, except... I find my suspicions are raised if it's a low mileage i3 and didn't get picked up by a BMW dealer and/or listed as a CPO. Yes, there will always be outliers, but there will also be lease returns that go back into the BMW system and get passed on because they somehow fail to meet CPO requirements or are for some other reason less desirable vs.the others. I'm not saying to avoid these, but try to figure out why the car ended up like it did.

Have you driven 19" vs. 20" wheels yet?

eNate said:

I agree with what you were told about CPOs, except... I find my suspicions are raised if it's a low mileage i3 and didn't get picked up by a BMW dealer and/or listed as a CPO. Yes, there will always be outliers, but there will also be lease returns that go back into the BMW system and get passed on because they somehow fail to meet CPO requirements or are for some other reason less desirable vs.the others. I'm not saying to avoid these, but try to figure out why the car ended up like it did.

Have you driven 19" vs. 20" wheels yet?

Click to expand...

Good advice on the CPO issue - I've seen some very low mileage cars that are not CPO - makes me wonder why.

I have driven both 20" and 19", and felt the 19" was a slightly softer ride - don't know how I'd do in a blind test though!

I drove both wheel sizes a couple of times, including a nearly 2 hour test drive with my wife and kids on the 20's, and put the 19's on my "must have" list.

Ooo, my favorite topic. First off, good finds. You found the creme of the crop. You know what you're doing. If I was buying an i3 now, I'd snatch any of those. I paid $24,990 for a 2016 Value Package Deka World interior with 12,700 miles. The value on any of the ones you listed beats it by far being that the 2017 is the 94ah battery. Even though your spec is priced in the $25k mark, it's actually the better value compared to ones cheaper. Your paying more, but you're getting exponentially more for the money. Again, good picks.

When I was buying an i3, the dealers on CPO's were better than private party sales. It just happened that at that time, they didn't have the Value Package that I really wanted b/c of the 2017 interior on a 2016 model. CPO's also get a longer warranty and I believe maintenance is included too for a certain duration.

Check the CPO incentives. Last year in the Bay Area, they offered a certain number of days for using the BMW dealer's fleet of loaner cars for days you want to drive further and could use a gas car. SUV's included. Anything in their fleet. No restrictions on segment. Dealer offers vary, so check yours to see if they might have something similar.

In order of preference:
I wouldn't expect anything bad on the carfax on a CPO car. I wouldn't be concerned. I would take the BMW one, but it does worry me a bit that they didn't bother to post photos. Says something about the dealership. But then again, maybe there's haggle room.

If I liked black, i'd get that one b/c the front bumper doesn't have license plate holes in it. That's actually a big deal for me but I know not everyone cares about that stuff.

The middle one would be my last choice. It has more miles and bumper holes.

I won't say you shouldn't get a moon roof, but you should know that when the roof is "closed", it's not fully closed. Sun and light still goes through so it can get hot. I imagine in LA it may be even worse. Just an FYI in case you haven't noticed it or driven one yet. I had one for a loaner and that was the drawback for me. I love moonroofs too and that's usually a make or break for me. In the case of the newer i3's though, I'm glad I don't have one.

You might already know, but the leather is dark brown. Not as dark as the CX-5 turbo version but it's brown. Doesn't quite match anything. Not sure if you care or not. You also lose any accent colors that you'd otherwise get from one of the other "worlds".

You can do a search for CPO i3's for sale within 500 miles of you here:

https://cpo.bmwusa.com/certified-used-inventory


Most Dealers can have cars transferred in from other dealers.