introduction

[Rtebra]

Hi,
My name is Ronald, I'm from the netherlands. And I'm driving a 2016 BMW i3 94Ah since 3 years now. Bought it second hand and in total it did nearly 200k kilometers. Nothing seriously wrong until now apart from the usual tires.
But a couple of days ago I left the roomtop slightly open and it rained so severly that the iDrive control stopped working being soaked. And today the drive selector lever stopped working. Tomorrow it will go to the workshop, a dealer, I really hope the costs will be under control.

 

[wonjuman]

Hi, Ronald,
Sorry to hear about your unfortunate accident! But thank you for reminding me to keep the roof closed when not used!

I just took my 2021 BMW to the dealer (from which I bought the vehicle) to have the iDrive controller assembly replaced. I bought the i3 with over 48k miles from a BMW dealer in Fairfax, VA. Even though I thought I had inspected the car carefully, I missed the fact that the previous owner had spilled offee on the controller when I bought it. A few days after I bought the car I discovered that the buttons were very sticky, not crisp and "clicky" like a normal controller. I brought it in after the purchase and explained my situation to the service advisor Hamid. He was initially skeptical of my claims, but he was very professional and said that he would see what could be done. Well, he called me the next day and said that the dealer would take care of the problem. Thank G*d, because a new iDrive controller (parts and labor) is very expensive. Thanks to Hamid, the dealer covered the repair costs. It was not covered by the CPO warranty that I had also purchased.

So, note to future buyers considering a used i3 (what else is there? LOL): Check every component and function inside and out. Check the wheel wells for broken tabs (a replacement is $$$), door seal condition, etc. Take time to inspect EVERYTHING before you sign the purchase contract. My BMW dealer buying and service experience has been great. As they say, caveat emptor! One does not want to have to rely on a dealer's goodwill. But if one has to, it pays to treat people nicely :^)

 

[alohart]

So, note to future buyers considering a used i3 (what else is there? LOL): Check every component and function inside and out. Check the wheel wells for broken tabs (a replacement is $$$), door seal condition, etc. Take time to inspect EVERYTHING before you sign the purchase contract. My BMW dealer buying and service experience has been great. As they say, caveat emptor! One does not want to have to rely on a dealer's goodwill. But if one has to, it pays to treat people nicely :^)

I was very concerned when I bought our used 2019 i3 remotely in 2022 having seen only photos and a condition report prepared by the auction house. It turned out to be in wonderful condition despite having had an initial lessee who returned it early (repossessed?) and a subsequent buyer who quit making payments (repossessed). Only after it arrived did I discover that it was missing its 12V inflation pump and that one of its drivers had been a smoker. Fortunately, a couple of chlorine dioxide treatments got rid of the odor.

I've just completed the remote purchase of a 2021 i3 hoping that it will be even better than our 2019 i3 having had only 1 lessee and having been driven less than 9k miles. I saw only photos and a walk-around video which aren't sufficient to check for broken wheel well tabs (what are these?), damaged door seals, etc. Keeping my fingers crossed that it will be fine. I asked the BMW dealer's saleslady several questions to learn more about its condition, and it seems to be in excellent condition. I won't see it until 5 July (being shipped to Honolulu), so I'll have lots of time to worry