does the bmw i3 make sense financially?

[adrian130980]

Hi

I have place my order for an i3 for my wife but after some further thought i am not sure it makes sense financially

here are my figures, forgive me if there are any errors

deposit: £2,995
monthly figures: £427 a month over 3 years = £15,372
Car Charging point £350
Electric bill: £37 p.m is a guess £1,332 over 36 months

Total: £20,049 that is on 12,000 miles

Leasing a new Citroen C4 Picasso for example

deposit £1,400
monthly figures: £287.32 a month over 3 years = £10.343
Fuel bill per month £180 over 3 years £6840

Total: £18,583

The other benefits are that i can do 300+ miles and simply fill up
its larger for our two kids with a much larger boot

am i missing something in my figures as i really like the i3 but cannot seem to get the maths?

is this car simply for people who want a green car but ignore the financial side?

thanks

adrian

 

[SanSerif]

One thing you're missing is that you're comparing a high tech carbon fibre BMW with a decidedly old tech French car. Given that, the figures seem remarkably close.

Especially when you factor in car tax (£0 per annum on an i3).

 

[adrian130980]

hi

thanks for the reply,

i understand where your coming from and i agree the bmw is high tech but the citroen is pretty well equipped

it is also free on the tax

i am simply trying to see if it makes financial sense

thanks

adrian

 

[electricvirgin]

Have you allowed for the i3's performance advantage?

As far as i can see a C4 Picasso with zero tax will be 4 or 5 seconds slower to 60 than an i3. Even if this is not a priority in your case the differential is considerable and most car makers charge more for performance increases.

 

[VintageMark]

Not to put to fine a point on it... but its personal choice...

If it was all down to simple maths we would all buy the same cheap car with the best mileage etc...

It's a personal choice on your part to pick a car that you like the look of, suits your preferences (green carbon credentials, tech, etc)... and at a price point you are personally comfortable with..

I have a Model S on order... my wife has a BMW i3... personal choice!

Good luck with your decision!

 

[Lecram]

Do you need additional figures to convince your wife or yourself? It seems that your heart says i3 and that your wallet says C4.
Follow your heart. I have ordered the i3 and expect it in may. But this weekend, I am drive the demo i3 from my dealer and I cannot wait to make the next ride.

 

[Stevei3]

Hi Adrian, my two cents worth:

I did the math for a good friend of ours to see if it made business sense to replace her aging A2 with an i3. It didn't, moneywise, not even with company tax breaks etc, because she doesn't drive enough km/miles per annum. That could be the case in your situation as well. Drive more miles with less fuel and i3 starts to make more and more sense. For this reason, we are using our i3 as car#1 in our household.

But, in the end, I'll have to agree with others in this thread: BMW is more expensive than Citroën. Always was. Lots of customers seem happy (...) to pay the premium. If it's worth it for you, you'll have to decide for yourself, I guess.

Regards, Steven

 

[noakey]

Hi... A personal choice I think is what drives the i3 route for most. .. but for me it makes financial since too. I drive around 20000 business miles a year so leasing an i3 which I can also use for personal use is cheaper than claiming per mile on a personally 100% owned car... The difference is about £2000 a year all inn or £6000 over the life of the lease..

 

[I33t]

I think it's a fair question, and there is an element of risk in the decision because no-one knows what the i3 second hand market will be like when it comes to trade-in time. Well, unless you have a guaranteed value from BMW I guess.

We have a C4 Picasso. It's a pleasant and economical smaller people mover. Is it a competitor to the i3? I don't think so. The Picasso has a lot of space and utility but it is definitely not sporty. The EGS gearbox is a delightfully eccentric French take on the electro-mechanical gearbox and I can't stand it - I drive it in manual using the paddles but the wife puts up with it. Interestingly, the Picasso is substantially cheaper than the i3 here, nearly half the price!

The i3 will replace our V6 Golf R32. Several people have now compared the i3 ride and handling to the Golf Gti which is probably slightly better than the R32. I think this hot hatch segment is where the i3 fits in, not the people mover segment.

So, I guess the real question in front of you is: Do you want a people mover or a hot hatch?

Good luck with your choice, whichever way it falls.

 

[adrian130980]

hi

thanks for the reply,

i understand where your coming from and i agree the bmw is high tech but the citroen is pretty well equipped

it is also free on the tax

i am simply trying to see if it makes financial sense

thanks

adrian

 

[adrian130980]

Hi

thanks for everyones replies,

to be honest i like the i3 lots, but having 2 young kids the speed is not so much of a make or break decision

It needs to make logical financial sense too and at not being cheaper than any of our alternatives its not looking good for the i3

thanks again

adrian

 

[Lecram]

You could consider a Dacia Lodgy if ££ is so important.

 

[adrian130980]

Hi Lecram

ha very funny, theres always one on these forums...i guess I've found that one

to be honest I've reached that stage of life where a car is just a car, even though i like a nice car just as much as the next guy i just feel that its not everything

we have a budget for a car and think that for the money there are just more sensible options which do not restrict

miles in a day and size

have a good day

adrian

 

[SanSerif]

hi

thanks for the reply,

i understand where your coming from and i agree the bmw is high tech but the citroen is pretty well equipped

it is also free on the tax

i am simply trying to see if it makes financial sense

thanks

adrian

In general, cars don't make financial sense at all. New ones certainly don't.

So chuck any idea of investment analysis out of the window and accept that what you're doing is "man maths" to justify a purchase decision of a consumer good.

Given that, I'd say that if the difference for you between a barely sprung from the Concept Car mould BMW and a functional Citroen is only £500 a year then point proved, QED and off to BMW I'd trot. And it'll only take 250 more miles a month (or fuel to go back to £1.62[1] a litre) to eliminate that £500 difference totally. The man maths is proven, it's now just down to what you want!

OTOH, if you want to do a "are EVs in general cost effective in comparison with their ICE counterparts" question then the best model to do the sums with is the Zoe - as it's so similar to its sister ICE, the Clio.

[1] This may be a duff calculation - I've forgotten what petrol costs already!

 

[bishbosh]

In general, cars don't make financial sense at all. New ones certainly don't.

So chuck any idea of investment analysis out of the window and accept that what you're doing is "man maths" to justify a purchase decision of a consumer good.

I have thought a few times now how it doesn't make any sense to buy expensive cars and arrived at the same conclusion as yourself...

Now I just look forward to paying up and owning the car for what it is. A consumer product that his innovative, quirky, funky and relatively new on the road compared to other cars.

 

[viking79]

Most of the time the cars that make the most sense financially are small base model cars. Don't get any/many options and get one with a small fuel efficient engine. These will almost always do better (financially speaking) then a much more expensive hybrid or EV. At least for now.

I am not sure how much it would cost me to drive the BMW, maybe $0.03 US per mile in electricity? If so, my Nissan Juke average $0.16 US per mile, roughly. The $0.13 difference would take me maybe 190,000 miles to make up the difference in price (about $25,000). The Juke will always cost me less to drive unless gas increases dramatically in price, and it isn't very fuel efficient. In the US gas is sitting at about $1 US Liter after taxes.

Environmentally, even though the Juke emits CO2 and other tailpipe emissions, you have to consider manufacturing the two vehicles, and the more expensive vehicle almost certainly caused more emissions in its production. I imagine the environmental impact is closely related to the cost to actually purchase and drive the car for its lifetime, but haven't seen any studies on this.

So I think the Math would justify the cheaper engine car, but as others are saying, there is more to it than the math. Do you want to support R&D into new EVs? If so, the current model ones need to be successful, so investing in them now will likely mean more and cheaper EVs in the future. Maybe not cheaper from BMW, but other companies as well.

The reason I like the BMW i3 is the quirky styling (I drive a Juke), RWD, premium quality materials, small footprint, etc. It wouldn't make financial sense for me to get one, but am considering it for other reasons. I want to see EVs do well, I love electric powered devices. I already drive fuel efficient and fairly clean vehicles, so I wouldn't be getting one for environmental impact.

Eric

 

[ChrisRayner]

hi

i am simply trying to see if it makes financial sense


adrian

I think this is a difficult point to resolve at this stage. There are big questions over the residual values and running costs of electric motors. The longevity of battery packs and the robustness and durability of the mechanics are all unknown quantities for the i3.

However, I have owned three or four French cars in my life, starting with a Citroen 2CV. In every case I have eventually regretted the purchase. I have also owned several German cars, and have not regretted any of them. I have seen a lot of minor irritating and expensive faults, principally electrical, on the French cars, while the German ones just kept going until I needed to dispose of them for reasons unrelated to function. The residuals on the French cars were minimal, while the German ones held their values fairly well. I realise you are looking at leases, and so this is not a direct consideration, but it relates to the cost of ownership and hence lease costs.

 

[amateurish]

The i3 will never be the cheapest family car to lease personally. There are always good lease deals to be had, which the i3 cannot possibly match, even with the lower running costs. You can get a C4 Gran Picasso for £200 pcm on a 3+17 contract, so even cheaper than you thought.

As a company car, however, it is a very economic proposition. When I did the sums, practically nothing could match it financially.

 

[noakey]

The i3 will never be the cheapest family car to lease personally. There are always good lease deals to be had, which the i3 cannot possibly match, even with the lower running costs. You can get a C4 Gran Picasso for £200 pcm on a 3+17 contract, so even cheaper than you thought.

As a company car, however, it is a very economic proposition. When I did the sums, practically nothing could match it financially.

I agree.. fro a personal lease/purchase the i3 was a no-go when compared to many other (gas) cars. But leased through my company its a sure thumbs up. Just 1 week to go...