I found my i3 Rex in the back corner of the service/detailing bay of a Chrysler-Jeep dealer in Fort Dodge, Iowa (USA) in February 2023. It was loaded with I think every available option. Sunroof, Harmon-Kardon, Tera leather upholstery, Tech and comfort packages. It was as far as I could tell in perfect condition with only 40k miles. It had been a California lease car, and the second owner put very few miles on it over the course of 3 years ownership in Iowa. It had a few extras such as the window tint, some carbon fiber look mud guards, and a 220v Turbocord charger. It had the cargo area cover and two cup holders as well as the complete binder with owners manual and original monroney window sticker.
I wasn’t in the market for an i3 or even an EV and was at the dealership for reasons related to my Jeep. However, I am a BMW aficionado (both cars and motorcycles) and although I was aware of the existence of the i3 I don’t think that I had ever looked closely at one. Coincidentally, I own a 2018 BMW C Evolution electric scooter so I had done some reading about the i3 which shares some electronics modules with my scooter. I was aware of the high tech nature of the car and the extensive use of carbon fiber, etc but was never on my radar as a car I wanted to own. The battery was dead so I couldn’t take it for a test drive and the salesmen all thought it was a clown car of some sort so I went on my way.
But like the abandoned puppy at the pound, the car seemed to be calling my name. My brain started noodling on possible justifications for adding this little i3 to my “collection”. My daily driver at the time was a Honda Ridgeline pickup truck and even though it’s pretty economical (for a truck) I still had significant monthly fuel expenses. My norm use was 20-30 mile daily trips to local towns from my rural home, with an occasional 100 mile round trip to the big city where charging stations are plentiful. I figured the car would work for a majority of my driving and I could fall back on the Ridgeline as necessary. I called the dealer and asked them to charge the car and get it ready for a test drive.
I went for a drive a few days later. The salesman knew absolutely nothing about the car beyond the fact that it had a gas engine in addition to batteries. He told me that they had the car sitting in that back bay for months and that I was the first person to show any interest in it at all. He thought the skinny ‘wagon wheels’ were hilarious. They were keeping it inside because they thought the cold Iowa winter weather would ruin the batteries. The only reason they had it was because they participated in a Kelly Blue Book guaranteed purchase program and had to buy it when the previous owner presented it to them.
I loved the unique look and quality feel of the interior materials. Driving it reminded me of the 2002 I owned back in the 70’s. Not a rattle or a squeak or a scratch. The car was like new.
So obviously I bought the car, and at what I thought was a very good price even before considering the federal tax credit. I installed a Grizzl-e Classic level 2 charger in my garage and took advantage of the local electric utility rebate and will also collect an additional federal tax credit for this year. Side bonus is I can charge my scooter in a couple of hours now instead of overnight. We have pretty cheap electricity here (0.14/kwh). I’ve gone from 20 mpg to 124 mpg-e for 7000 miles so far. The car has been flawless. The range has been more than adequate and generally only need to charge it every three days. There is an upscale grocery store I like to go to from time to time about 37 miles away that has free level 2 chargers so I can recover 25 miles of range just doing some normal shopping, more if I decide to eat lunch. There is a popular movie theatre in the city that has nice covered parking with Chargepoint stations so I can recharge while in watching a movie. I try and make it a point to use the Rex for at least 1/4 of a tank every month whether I need it or not. So I only have to stop at the gas station quarterly and that is priceless.
