buy CPO? or lease new?

[jordandhs]

Hi all,

my name is Jordan in Las Vegas area and i been eyeing on electric car for quite a while now, after living in Vegas for 5 years i think EV would make lot of sense for my city driving daily commute, as EV L2 charging station are free and plenty in most Vegas strip hotel (where i commute most to, i don't work in hotel to hog up the space), and a high school near my house has 2 free charging station as well (public use i think, always empty, and safe area over night)

so then i been testing a few EV on relayride (now known as TURO), a Smart EV and Fiat EV, i really love both but they are too small and too light i feel unsafe driving on the highway.

at first i found the i3 really ugly and overpriced for a 55k price tag, but then recently it grows on me and i been wanting one, saw a CPO in a BMW dealer pretty loaded electric only for $28k + tax with only 3000 miles on the ODO :shock:

so i took it out for a 5mins test drive with the sales next to me and i am in love, the weight is just right, the handling and acceleration with technology is perfect, love the single foot pedal only. it seems like i understand the i3 more than the sales does, he had hard time finding the car start button. so we headed back to the dealer and shook his hand and left, as i wanted to do more research on it first.

so here are my questions:
1. what happened to the resell value, i know its not a tesla, but 28k in a bit more than a year?!
2. is it true that each i3 cost close to $100k USD to build? read it some where BMW lose money on each i3 sold.
3. if i purchase the CPO i3, does the dealer still give you loaner on road trip (trip over 100+ miles? if so, how does it work? 10 days per year? 2 trips per year? the dealer doesn't seems to know much
4. i read somewhere say the i3 AC unit is really weak, it might be issue for Vegas heat (over 120F during summer)
5. i know EV has so little moving part compare to ICE car, what type of maintenance are require?
6. estimate cost on battery replacement? because it seems like BMW CPO warranty are around 5 years, which is more than enough.
7. with its price continue dropping, should i just wait to buy a CPO when it reach $20k mark or lease new

 

[Slowdive]

I would lease. The 2017's will probably have around 120mi range and will make the current gen tank in value. Electric cars are like cell phones right now. The technology is advancing too quickly. Also if you do the math and track the depreciation over 5 years I think you'll find you come out ahead with a lease and you'll get the next gen when it comes out. The only way the CPO makes sense is if you hang on to it for 7 or more years. And honestly, would you do that when cars in this class, with 200+ miles range are going to be out next year?

 

[asnes]

Leasing is absolutely the way to go. In 2017 as stated above the range will be about 120 mi. In 3-4 years it will be double (~160 miles on battery only).

Values will tank without a doubt.

I normally buy my vehicles outright with cash - but in the case of the i3 we leased. It just doesn't make any sense to buy. My sales guy disclosed to me that out of the 18 i3 vehicles he has personally sold this year all were leases.