Looking to buy a BMW i3 and need advice

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pchauhan

New member
Joined
Sep 11, 2021
Messages
2
Hi, I'm really keen on buying a BMW i3 BEV and have test driven 2 used cars within my price range. The first one is a 2015 model with 27,500 km and has a battery kapa max of 17.4 kWh. The second is a 2014 model with only 6,700 km on the clock (possibly ex demo) but has a battery kapa max of 16.5 kWh. Both drive really well - I'm blown away by the quality of this car. The 2015 model is a few thousand $ cheaper than the 2014. Does anyone have any advice on which one would be a better choice?

Thanks in advance.
 
I’ve been looking and bugging everyone on here for weeks so good luck to you. You will find those on this forum give very helpful and thoughtful comments. Having said that, I look for a specific interior…Giga, Tech package, CarPlay…everything else is a plus. I had more “must haves” but as the supply dwindles in the US of GOOD used i3’s so has my required options. Yes it’s strange the car with less miles has a weaker battery. Not being an owner I can’t address the issue intelligently. Maybe you “checked” the batteries at different temps???

For example, you’ll see a recent thread of mine talking about a ‘16 REX at a Chevy dealer. I said it had to go through a BMW PPI. So to the dealer’s credit they took it there first. $3,000 US and 2 weeks to get the car sellable. No thanks… I’ve lost 6 or 7 now to not pulling the trigger fast enough or maintenance issues, but I refuse to do so.

Yes…the car struck a cord with me and I’m sure all on this forum. My interest…for whatever reason developed in early July only to read BMW will stop US deliveries end of July. We are headed out early afternoon to lease a 2021 BEV that meets our minimum criteria. One of the few left in the entire country. Yes…we’ll consider it a nice Saturday drive, fully expecting someone will take it before we get there or the dealer will manipulate the lease terms because we drove 2 hours…and we’ll walk…again.

Wisely Automotive in the UK has some excellent YouTube videos on buying a used i3 that I didn’t find until last night. He’s a dealer who specializes in the i3. Good luck!!!
 
Conventional wisdom is to avoid the first model year of a vehicle, so a 2015 would be preferable in that regard. The 2014 had a couple issues like the motor mount bolt that turned into a recall, but in theory the recall should have fixed that on any 2014s out there driving around. I have a 2014 and haven't had any issues like that (knock on wood).

The extra miles/kilometers on the 2015 wouldn't bother me as it's not a huge difference but it is something to consider. Will it need new tires/brakes, etc. sooner than the other?

Ultimately, I think either would be fine so if you like one better than the other based on color/options etc. I'd get that one. If you are indifferent to the two actual vehicles, I'd go for the 2015.
 
Skyking6976 said:
...
Wisely Automotive in the UK has some excellent YouTube videos on buying a used i3 that I didn’t find until last night. He’s a dealer who specializes in the i3. Good luck!!!

I thought I'd watched every UK-based video about buying the i3 on YouTube. Thanks for the tip!
 
Thanks for your responses guys. Wisely Automotive seems like a great youtube channel to follow. I've seen a couple more i3's since my post and have decided to go with the first one I saw which has the best kapa max of all the ones I've seen so far. Now I need to work on my negotiation skills... :D
 
Also, compare the option packages. The tech/assistance package, Giga or Tera trims are worth paying extra.
 
Don't by any i3 without proper warranty and avoid cars driven over 50tkm. Also prefer 2017-> cars that have updated batteries, should have better bearings in the motor that maybe survies over 80tkm :roll:
Overall nice cars when they are working :mrgreen:
 
JTY –

"better bearings in the motor"?

Having owned i3s since 2014 I've never heard motor bearings brought up as an issue with the design.

BMW did have a service action (soft recall) for motor mounts that might fail. Could this be what you're referring to?
 
In the press releases for the i3S rollout in 2018, BMW made as cryptic reference to new tapered roller bearings allowing to eeke a bit more performance from the drivetrain.

No relevant parts numbers changed, the motor and gearbox port numbers are interchangable between the non-S and S, so whatever bearings were changed was likely done universally across the lineup.
 
eNate said:
In the press releases for the i3S rollout in 2018, BMW made as cryptic reference to new tapered roller bearings allowing to eeke a bit more performance from the drivetrain.

No relevant parts numbers changed, the motor and gearbox port numbers are interchangable between the non-S and S, so whatever bearings were changed was likely done universally across the lineup.


As I've not read that press release that's pretty interesting! I would have expected some part number changes in the i3 Sport's powertrain as it makes more power and torque.

The sound of my 2021's e-machine is subtly different from my 2014's. The 2021 has a more physical sound compared to the 2014's smoother tone. I happen to like the sound of the 2014's powertrain better, but the mechanical sound of either are light-years more pleasant than the aggravating, synthetic sound that the 2021 has been burdened with.
 
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