2014 BEV $7k repair quote, scrap the car?

I would really like to get some input here. I have a 2014 BMW I3 BEV only in California with ~88k miles. I took it to the dealer because it wouldn't run and my regular BMW independent service place didn't want to deal with it. I am being quoted about $7k for repairs ($2.2k parts $4.6k labor, sales tax.) and no guarantee that this will actually fix it. Should I cut my losses here and scrap it? If yes, how do I even do that? Is there any value to it right now? I was already struggling with the 60mi max range and the frequent+very expensive tire replacements are also on my mind. The car has the half leather/half wool seats (Giga?), eucalyptus trim, upgraded navigation screen, and 20" wheels albeit with some curb rash. I paid $11k for it 3yrs/~30k miles ago and the Carguru site is estimating only a $7.5k trade in value if it was working.

Looks like your dealer thinks that the safety box is defective. Replacing it requires dropping and opening up the battery pack which is why the labor cost is so high.

The safety box includes the contactors that connect/disconnect that battery pack from the rest of the high-voltage system. If these contactors won't close, an i3 won't run, and this would probably prevent a dealer from performing a battery capacity test. If you think that the battery pack might have lost at least 30% of its usable capacity, the safety box could be replaced when the replacement battery pack is installed (or maybe a replacement battery pack includes a new safety box). It's worth asking the dealer whether a capacity test could be performed.

I believe battery packs in California i3's have a 10 year/150,000 mile warranty. It would be worth asking whether the safety box is considered part of the battery pack and thus under warranty.

Good luck!

I think 10 year warranty is for REX models. BEV models get 8 years warranty.

alohart said:

Looks like your dealer thinks that the safety box is defective. Replacing it requires dropping and opening up the battery pack which is why the labor cost is so high.

The safety box includes the contactors that connect/disconnect that battery pack from the rest of the high-voltage system. If these contactors won't close, an i3 won't run, and this would probably prevent a dealer from performing a battery capacity test. If you think that the battery pack might have lost at least 30% of its usable capacity, the safety box could be replaced when the replacement battery pack is installed (or maybe a replacement battery pack includes a new safety box). It's worth asking the dealer whether a capacity test could be performed.

I believe battery packs in California i3's have a 10 year/150,000 mile warranty. It would be worth asking whether the safety box is considered part of the battery pack and thus under warranty.

Good luck!

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I left some details out and you got them all...you really know these cars. They called the contactors "locks" and them not closing is what they think the issue is. I will ask about a capacity test but given what I've read around here and other places actually getting a failed battery result is rare and if they're going to charge me another $500+ for it that doesn't seem like a good gamble.

agzand said:

I think 10 year warranty is for REX models. BEV models get 8 years warranty.

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I'm seeing a lot of mixed information about this. For California specifically I think EV's are 10yr/150k but I don't know when that law went into effect? The REX vs. BEV difference is something related to CARB I believe which is also relevant in California but several other states follow it as well. This all based off a few quick google searches so not sure what's actually applicable.

YKK said:

agzand said:

I think 10 year warranty is for REX models. BEV models get 8 years warranty.

Click to expand...

I'm seeing a lot of mixed information about this. For California specifically I think EV's are 10yr/150k but I don't know when that law went into effect? The REX vs. BEV difference is something related to CARB I believe which is also relevant in California but several other states follow it as well. This all based off a few quick google searches so not sure what's actually applicable.

Click to expand...

Everything I've seen is that the BEV is 8yrs/100k miles due to federal law. You're right California has additional coverage due to emissions, but that only applies to PZEVs, so only the REX is covered.

This guy's story includes a similar situation trying to figure out the warranty, but he has a REX so unfortunately for you, his success doesn't help you:
https://www.theautopian.com/i-bought-a-high-mileage-electric-car-with-a-bad-battery-heres-why-that-was-actually-a-stroke-of-genius/

Here's a relevant warranty screenshot from that site, which is also page 28 in the full 2014 service and warranty documentation here: https://f01.justanswer.com/GTR_TECH/c7dce81c-ad7e-4273-9603-4da89d5b0eaf_2014-BMW-i3-Service-Warranty-Information.pdf


Unfortunately, you'd be in the left column, which sends you to footnote 1 which sends you to pages 17-19 which have nothing specific to California and just list the 8yr/100k miles.

As far as trying to repair vs. sell it, I don't have much to offer. Seems like the asking price on Ebay for a 60ah battery is about $3-4k so I'd assume the whole car is worth more than that even non-driveable. FWIW, I recently helped sell a (non-ev) car to Carmax for $9k that cargurus offered $7.5k for, so I think a running i3 should be worth more than what they're estimating, especially with some desirable options.