Would you buy if your dealer was 4 hours away?

[Ruffles]

Hi everyone. I've been lurking for awhile as I debate purchasing an i3. One of my major concerns is that the closest BMW dealer to me is 30 miles away and they are not an "i" dealer. I would have to buy the i3 from a dealer in Salt Lake City Utah which is 4 hours away.

Would this be a deal breaker for you? People seems to need to visit the dealer frequently for software updates etc. This would be difficult for me. The closer dealer said they would try to service it but couldn't promise anything.

Thanks for your opinions.
Steve

 

[dlass0123]

deal breaker with all these issues and problems:
only if they would pick it up on a flatbed and give you a free loaner:

 

[Blue20]

BEV...for sure not
REX...may be

Bear in mind, the range is much shorter in the mountain terrain. I'm in Vancouver, BC. it is very difficult to get to 130KM (80miles) range when going up and down hills.

 

[tiburonh]

BEV...for sure not
REX...may be

Bear in mind, the range is much shorter in the mountain terrain. I'm in Vancouver, BC. it is very difficult to get to 130KM (80miles) range when going up and down hills.

Depends on how much of a pioneer you are willing to be, but I would personally not do it, either the BEV or the REX, unless you had some advance, written commitment from the dealer that they would make it work for you whenever you need service, either by sending one of their techs to you (or even to that closer dealer) or else by always bringing you a loaner and then flat bedding your car back to their place.

And I don't think you can rely on a tech at the closer dealer to do the work -- even the guys who have been officially certified to work on the i3 are still learning on the job.

 

[DAZ]

Might be best to hold off until some of the first year bugs/glitches are resolved.

 

[i3atl]

If you had enough charging infrastructure to get it home, I don't see an issue with this for a BEV. I really don't see much issue for it with a REx, either, but your chances of needing to visit the dealer again are higher in that case.

Per a couple of surveys on the FB group, the vast majority of owners (including me) have not needed to visit a dealer for any type of service. There were very few BEV owners who had returned for any service.

 

[Ruffles]

FYI - I talked to BMW North America. They said that if I had any problems with the car, Roadside Assistance would take it to my local dealer who would then be responsible to get it to a certified i dealers. They told me I would NOT have to pay to have it towed.

 

[jadnashuanh]

Unless you are unlucky, the i3s have been pretty reliable. Yes, there has been a s/w update, and expect another one somewhere after the first of the year. There could be more, but it's not like your PC, where there maybe some on a weekly basis! ANd, they don't have to be applied immediately, you have some time to make arrangements.

If there were any DC fast chargers along the way, you could do it in either vehicle without a huge impact on time, but those are few and far between in most places in the USA, at least for now. If your normal, daily use is within the available range, and you only need to take it to the dealer for service (and there's not much!), it may be a viable choice. It is REALLY fun to drive, if that's any issue. BMW has built over 10,000 of them now, and some have been in service for nearly a year. And, they ran around in various stages of development for several years before that. Most of the latest issues are preferences rather than defects (at least to many, some consider them defects). It is what it is, if it works for you, who knows how long the federal tax credit will still be around...waiting may mean a moderate hit in the end price.