Purchasing 2019 i3s REX - 51k miles

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ericblz

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 13, 2014
Messages
62
Hi,

My i3 REX lease is coming due at the worst possible time with gas prices high and everyone suddenly buying the i3. It doesn't help that they stopped making them!

I was looking to step up to the 2019 i3s. One I found for a decent price has 51k miles. Though I compared 20k vs 51k miles and KBB takes off ~$4k value. As for reliability - it's an electric motor so don't think that will wear out soon but I do worry about the battery and maybe the REX since they probably relied on it to get that many miles in three years.

Any thoughts for me? Thanks!!
 
How is BMW financial lease buy out pricing these days? Doesn't it make sense to buy out your car with current prices?
 
Not really, I took over a $219/month lease so the residual is high, above KBB by several thousand.

I'd really like the sport model - anyone have thoughts on mileage for this one offered? It's almost 50 miles per day for 3 years.
 
It also depends on how much you are planning to drive. If you are planning to drive a lot in a couple of years you will be in high mileage territory, where things start to wear out. If you are planning to drive a few thousands a year I guess you will be OK.

I wouldn't be concerned about REX mileage or battery. 50 miles a day on a 120ah battery is not a significant cycle and I am pretty sure the REX is hardly used on a 2019. If anything I would be worried about REX not being used frequently. You can ask them to check the battery capacity for you.

I was in the same boat last week. I sold my 2018 REX last year and was looking for a i3s with options that I wanted (HK and Tech package). The only one that I found at a reasonable price was high mileage. Eventually I ended up with a low mileage non s without HK. These days if you want a perfect car you have to pay way too much. One of the main draws of i3 in US market has been value. If I have to pay $35k for a used i3, I would rather pay a bit more for a Model 3 which will have much lower cost of ownership.
 
agzand said:
If I have to pay $35k for a used i3, I would rather pay a bit more for a Model 3 which will have much lower cost of ownership.


I'm not a Tesla owner so I'm curious – why would the Model 3 have a much lower cost of ownership?
 
Because 1) Tesla has the best resale value, BMW not so much, and 2) Tesla has 8 yr/100k mile power train warranty. So potential repairs on a used i3 are more expensive than a model 3.
 
Looks like battery deterioration gets noticable after 1500-2000 charges. If they charged daily, probably about a thousand charges so far.

I drive about 150 miles per week so not a heavy user, assuming nothing is broken when I get it, I expect it to last a long time.

I did check the Batt.Kapa on my current 2019 i3, shows 38.4. Should I look for at least 34+?

Thanks for any guidance!
 
ericblz said:
Looks like battery deterioration gets noticable after 1500-2000 charges. If they charged daily, probably about a thousand charges so far.

I drive about 150 miles per week so not a heavy user, assuming nothing is broken when I get it, I expect it to last a long time.

I did check the Batt.Kapa on my current 2019 i3, shows 38.4. Should I look for at least 34+?
I don't recall any reports of significant 94 Ah or 120 Ah battery cell deterioration. 60 Ah battery cells seem to be much more prone to significant deterioration. So I would not be concerned about 94 Ah or 120 Ah battery cell deterioration but would definitely avoid buying a 60 Ah i3 (2013-2016 models).
 
Good point Art, and besides possible battery chemistry changes, it stands to reason that lower capacity batteries -- on average -- are going to be charged more often than higher capacity batteries (if an i3 owner has a 35 mile daily commute, a 60Ah battery would receive an equivalent 0-100% charge every 2 days, vs. a 120Ah every 4 days).
 
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