Anyone familiar with the i3?

[Maquis]

My wife currently drives a beater 07 CR-V. There’s a private party in my town that has an i3 for sale that I might consider as a replacement. I don’t know what year it is, how many miles, or the asking price. But before I go talk to them, I’d appreciate any feedback from the community regarding issues, pluses/minuses, etc. Our use case would be local (50 miles, or so) driving only.

TIA

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[EVmodeler]

I got a 2014 i3 (first year) in 2015 with 1100 miles on it. I had the range extender REx model, and used that on occasion, since the EV range was about 70 highway miles. My son in Flagstaff took this over after I got my job 1 MME AWD ER in 2021.
The early models had 60 Ah battery, about 18 kWh usable. Then they went to 94 Ah and finally 120 Ah with about 150 mi range. There was also an i3s model.
The car is very light, nimble, RWD, and a blast to drive. The front is roomy, the rear a little cramped and hard to get in and out of. It has a tiny frunk, but the rear cargo area with the rear seats down is pretty useful for a small car.
The i3’s do have a few reliability issues. The BEV not REx version has less issues of course. The main issue is that if the air conditioning fails, it is very expensive to fix, and since the battery is refrigerant cooled, the car becomes undrivable. So ac compressor failure basically totals the car. My i3 has not had any ac issues.
The BEV has a heat pump for heating, the REx is pure electric resistance heat (and no engine waste heat).
The model year, battery size and Bev Vs Rex all matter. There were also 3 different trim levels. So find out what model you are looking at.
I think it is a great car and would recommend it if it fits your needs. I have a ton of info on i3 and used it as a modeling project in my class. It was the most efficient vehicle for sale for several years. Ask if you have more questions.
Doug.

 

[kennethjk]

My wife currently drives a beater 07 CR-V. There’s a private party in my town that has an i3 for sale that I might consider as a replacement. I don’t know what year it is, how many miles, or the asking price. But before I go talk to them, I’d appreciate any feedback from the community regarding issues, pluses/minuses, etc. Our use case would be local (50 miles, or so) driving only.

TIA

There was an article in one of the auto magazines this month that talked about which I3 to get and gives a fair amount of info.

when I get home I will try to find it and send to you . I don’t remember which magazine.

 

[Guss-E 2021]

Thanks for that post @EVmodeler . I see the i3 here and there know next to nothing about them. My girlfriend is on a limited budget. Her Fiesta is at the end of its life and she really wants a BEV. She has a Sondors Metacycle (electric motorcycle) but we are in NH so that is a no go in the winter. I'm friendly with the owner of purely used BEV dealer and he said he can get her just about any car she wants. Would you recommend the i3 over a Bolt?

 

[Alan]

My 2014 i3 went mostly trouble free for almost 5 years when the AC went out and “totaled” the car with a $23K repair quote. The compressor self destructed no fault of my own. The book value went from $16K to an $8K salvage value. I loved that car so much, until that happened. Given that the AC self destruction likely would have done less than $5K damage (BMW dealer pricing) had BMW used a dryer that included a particulate trap like virtually all other vehicle AC systems. The design created further risk without having a trap by running the coolant lines through the battery, rather than using a heat exchanger system like most other EVs, This was BMWs design failing. I will never own another BMW product since they would not stand behind their catastrophic product failure made so much worse by their horribly risky design.

 

[kennethjk]

I think they changed their design in a few areas after 14 but can’t remember what

 

[generaltso]

Thanks for that post @EVmodeler . I see the i3 here and there know next to nothing about them. My girlfriend is on a limited budget. Her Fiesta is at the end of its life and she really wants a BEV. She has a Sondors Metacycle (electric motorcycle) but we are in NH so that is a no go in the winter. I'm friendly with the owner of purely used BEV dealer and he said he can get her just about any car she wants. Would you recommend the i3 over a Bolt?

A new Bolt can be had for less than $20k after tax credit. It's hard to compete with that on price.

 

[EVmodeler]

Thanks for that post @EVmodeler . I see the i3 here and there know next to nothing about them. My girlfriend is on a limited budget. Her Fiesta is at the end of its life and she really wants a BEV. She has a Sondors Metacycle (electric motorcycle) but we are in NH so that is a no go in the winter. I'm friendly with the owner of purely used BEV dealer and he said he can get her just about any car she wants. Would you recommend the i3 over a Bolt?

I am not as familiar with the Bolt as I am with the i3. The Bolt has much more range but is also much more of an economy car - which is good for costs and service. If you have an opportunity to test drive an i3, I would recommend it! The Bolt is probably a more practical lower cost option, but be sure to get one with the updated battery.

 

[Jack Roberts]

My wife currently drives a beater 07 CR-V. There’s a private party in my town that has an i3 for sale that I might consider as a replacement. I don’t know what year it is, how many miles, or the asking price. But before I go talk to them, I’d appreciate any feedback from the community regarding issues, pluses/minuses, etc. Our use case would be local (50 miles, or so) driving only.

TIA

I bought one while waiting on my Mach e. It’s great. It was a 2014 with low miles. It drives great is easy to drive and park. Is very comfortable an and solid. I should have kept it as a spare. You want regret it.

 

[Maquis]

I got a 2014 i3 (first year) in 2015 with 1100 miles on it. I had the range extender REx model, and used that on occasion, since the EV range was about 70 highway miles. My son in Flagstaff took this over after I got my job 1 MME AWD ER in 2021.
The early models had 60 Ah battery, about 18 kWh usable. Then they went to 94 Ah and finally 120 Ah with about 150 mi range. There was also an i3s model.
The car is very light, nimble, RWD, and a blast to drive. The front is roomy, the rear a little cramped and hard to get in and out of. It has a tiny frunk, but the rear cargo area with the rear seats down is pretty useful for a small car.
The i3’s do have a few reliability issues. The BEV not REx version has less issues of course. The main issue is that if the air conditioning fails, it is very expensive to fix, and since the battery is refrigerant cooled, the car becomes undrivable. So ac compressor failure basically totals the car. My i3 has not had any ac issues.
The BEV has a heat pump for heating, the REx is pure electric resistance heat (and no engine waste heat).
The model year, battery size and Bev Vs Rex all matter. There were also 3 different trim levels. So find out what model you are looking at.
I think it is a great car and would recommend it if it fits your needs. I have a ton of info on i3 and used it as a modeling project in my class. It was the most efficient vehicle for sale for several years. Ask if you have more questions.
Doug.

Did later years have a better (non-lethal) battery cooling system design?

 

[kennethjk]

There was an article in one of the auto magazines this month that talked about which I3 to get and gives a fair amount of info.

when I get home I will try to find it and send to you . I don’t remember which magazine.

Car and driver

take a look at this


https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a44386254/what-to-buy-2013-2021-bmw-i3/

Hope it helps

 

[Mike_Hawk]

I currently have a 2016 REx (range extender) i3 that I need to sell soon, due to getting the Mach-E. No problems, great well-built short range commuter vehicle. I believe it's the last year with the first-gen 60Ah battery. Overall it's a really efficient 4.0 KWh/mile vehicle best used for shorter drives. 2013-2016 models gets about 60 miles plus another 60 miles with the backup range extender, which is essentially a backup generator. Later year models will have higher battery range.

For your use case, I would recommend it if you can get it for a good price, especially if it's 2017+.

 

[SWO]

My 2014 i3 went mostly trouble free for almost 5 years when the AC went out and “totaled” the car with a $23K repair quote. The compressor self destructed no fault of my own. The book value went from $16K to an $8K salvage value. I loved that car so much, until that happened. Given that the AC self destruction likely would have done less than $5K damage (BMW dealer pricing) had BMW used a dryer that included a particulate trap like virtually all other vehicle AC systems. The design created further risk without having a trap by running the coolant lines through the battery, rather than using a heat exchanger system like most other EVs, This was BMWs design failing. I will never own another BMW product since they would not stand behind their catastrophic product failure made so much worse by their horribly risky design.

That is a pretty huge flaw. I wonder if the Mini SE (I've read they have the same drivetrain) has the same flaw. Feeling good about not buying one when they were $30k with full tax credit back in 21.

 

[methorian]

That is a pretty huge flaw. I wonder if the Mini SE (I've read they have the same drivetrain) has the same flaw. Feeling good about not buying one when they were $30k with full tax credit back in 21.

Mini SE's have a heat pump which the i3 doesn't, so it may be different components/design even though they do share the same motor. Really not sure though.

I purchased a '18 i3 REX while waiting on my Mach-E and drove it for a year. It was a great commuter car, but my commute was mostly highway and the ride on highways is not very "planted". Skinny tires and boxy vehicle leads to swaying in even small winds. Just wasn't super comfortable for me, so I sold it (for more than I paid thanks to the crazy used car market boom at the time) and ordered a Mini Cooper SE. Have absolutely loved it since getting in June of 2022.

 

[EVmodeler]

Mini SE's have a heat pump which the i3 doesn't, so it may be different components/design even though they do share the same motor. Really not sure though.

I purchased a '18 i3 REX while waiting on my Mach-E and drove it for a year. It was a great commuter car, but my commute was mostly highway and the ride on highways is not very "planted". Skinny tires and boxy vehicle leads to swaying in even small winds. Just wasn't super comfortable for me, so I sold it (for more than I paid thanks to the crazy used car market boom at the time) and ordered a Mini Cooper SE. Have absolutely loved it since getting in June of 2022.

The REx i3 did not have a heat pump due to the fuel tank but the BEV versions did have a heat pump.

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