Anyone else got a BMW i3

Dr House

Dr House

Dr House

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I have been using my dads I3s.

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Range is not the best but for a city car it’s fine.

The suspension is a bit hard, but that is because it’s the S

I would definitely recommend it.
 
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I love mine and honestly think they were ahead of their time, much like the Audi A2.
I cannot believe they signed off the suspension on the i3S because it is absolutely ridiculously stiff, but otherwise it's a ******* brilliant second/city car.

I will most likely be moving it on after the summer because I don't need 3 cars and it'll be out of warranty, but it's brilliant with the 120Ah battery.

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I drove one and really liked it.

Unfortunately, rather put off by:
- horror stories about the cost of replacement batteries
- concern about the repair costs in the case of an RTA. Steel bodied cars are usually pretty easy to either replace a panel, or bend back to shape. We know that carbon fibre shatters instead of bending. My assumption is that there’s also a severe lack of understanding of how to repair a CF bodied car.
 
Mr_Sukebe said:
I drove one and really liked it.

Unfortunately, rather put off by:
- horror stories about the cost of replacement batteries
- concern about the repair costs in the case of an RTA. Steel bodied cars are usually pretty easy to either replace a panel, or bend back to shape. We know that carbon fibre shatters instead of bending. My assumption is that there’s also a severe lack of understanding of how to repair a CF bodied car.
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My 2016 60Ah had a KLE failure (AC to DC converter). Well over £5k to fix, thankfully under warranty. Driver's seat heating elements failed but also fixed under warranty.
The fact my 2020 i3S is out of warranty after the summer is the main reason why I'm moving it on. Other than a penchant for rear tyres and hideous depreciation (like all EVs last year), it's costing me nothing. However, I do not want to risk a £5k+ bill!
 
mjt said:
I cannot believe they signed off the suspension on the i3S because it is absolutely ridiculously stiff
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Can it be improved by going down a rim size and more compliant tyres? (obviously that does mean extra cost :s).
 
Rroff said:
Can it be improved by going down a rim size and more compliant tyres? (obviously that does mean extra cost :s).
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I believe i3S rears are 20 only. 19s look odd on the S, although some people do run winters in 19, as stock sizes for rear 20s means you only have 2 Bridgestone options and that's it.
 
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The thing is ICE engines can die also and cost a small fortune to fix, yes the battery could die but it’s not like it’s a common issue.


The looks are really growing on me, it’s a bit of a boring colour but I would definitely consider replacing partners A3 with one.

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This one looks much nicer.

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The black interior is so drab it's depressing. The brown leather interior (Suite) is a bit too dark for my liking. The prefacelift Lodge was quite nice, but I didn't like the colour changes for the facelift/i3S.
I think my spec is the nicest as it's so light and airy with the sunroof. Wouldn't get one without HK either, but the leaves out the COVID-era cars.

As long as you have the big battery, the i3 is a seriously underrated cars, and the prices on these are too good to ignore if it fits your needs.
 
Tried to get the Mrs into one when we needed a 2nd car and she moaned about the X1, she wouldn't entertain it and said it looked corrective even though it was perfect for her use, she then decided she liked the X1 more and I ended up getting a 3 Series.

Still think they're ideal if your only doing 'pottering' milage and I actually think they look quite funky.
 
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My wife has a 2017 94 amp hour version in a lovely bright metallic blue. The interior has light grey cloth seats with a blue trim on the edge which matches the car colour. The car is brilliant. I love the way that it drives. Responsive, light feeling (far more so than other EVs, like my previous (awful) MG5 and my current (much better) Megane ETech. Space inside is surprisingly good for the car size - we can fit both car seats in the back for our boys (4 & 2 years old).

The main issue is range. It's awful. 100 miles is realistic out of that battery - worse in winter. She has had it for three years, and it works on her commute (about 25 miles return), but not as an only car.

Would recommend!
 
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I have a real soft spot for the i3.. My mother had a 2018 94ah facelift Rex with every single option available for the Rex (Sunroof, Suite Interior, HK Audio (i3+ pack), Driving Assistant Plus, parking assistance, comfort access etc), I borrowed it for a holiday and loved it and we got an EV shortly after.

A few years on and I'm looking at i3's right now, part of me wants a nice cheap facelift 94ah with OK miles (now around £8k) just for a second car, but the other side of me says buy a well spec'd i3s 120ah and hang on to it as they are very unique and certainly will never be replicated..
 
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Did you see JayEmm's latest video? His friend gets new dampers on hi i3S and the ride is transformed.

 
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I have an i3.
been really happy with it so far. if you get one make sure it's a face lift one (the one with the 2nd or final battery size
most of the issues are related to the range extender. we have that but if it were my choice I would go for the biggest battery any no rex.
it's fun to drive and feels nippier than on paper. it's a firm ride basically a golf cart on steroids. decent amount of room inside (only 4 seats mind you) but boot is tiny.

our mid battery one manages 90 miles in coldest winter worst case scenario and 125 in summer in real world driving. am sure without the weight of the engine and petrol tank it would go a bit further

an impressive work of engineering but if all you want is a car to get from A to B they expensive for what they are . They are not the best bang for buck car but could be a future classic because they are so unique and their design is more like something more akin to a super car (carbon fibre monocoque with plastic panels)

btw my mate had the smallest battery one with rex and drove 210 miles in it to visit me. just needed 1 stop for petrol (a massive 9litre tank) so even the smallest battery one is usable but there the rex is more important.

180 miles real usable summer range on the longest range pure battery one tho is not too shabby even without the REX

bear in mind the S model, whilst being a bit more pokey and some slightly nicer bits glued on and with slightly less pram like pram tyres loses 10-15miles range in the real world. This actually put us off the S as our i3 has just enough range to do 3 trips to work and back for about 9 months of the year (we charge every other day in winter) but even just a 15 mile drop in range would have meant us dipping into petrol on the 3rd day.
 
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Thought hard about getting one, but the doors and it's 4 seater put me off. We do a lot of drop off and pickups with teens and the doors would have driven us crazy. Also we on occasion carry people. We got eGolf instead.
 
Yeah, there are more practical cars for sure, even better VFM by a mile.. I just like them for their quirkyness..

But, I doubt I'll get one, I've looked at a few, and I just can't pay top money for cars when they are dropping weekly, I've only asked for £250/£300 off a £9k-£10k cars and garages just can't help but play the "Theirs no profit left in this car, the price is the price".. sure.. it's been on sale for 12 weeks now, not sold, you've reduced it 4 times and that's because for £10k, people would have a larger battery eCorsa with less miles for less money.. but if you enjoy sitting on ever depreciating stock, feel free!
 
I think if you were going to get one I'd get one from the independent specialist places. Like that one that has the YouTube Channel. Get a specced up one.

I'd like an Mini 3 Just for the heck of it.
 
Had one (non-S variant) for nearly 4.5 years now, bought used when it was around 6 months old. Just had it's MOT done and recently replaced the OEM Bridgestone's with Continental tyres which seems to have improved the ride a bit. The original tyres were all cracked although according to the tyre place it'd have passed the MOT again this year, but given it was an MOT advisory item last year thought it's wise to replace them. It's on 19's anyway so not as hard a ride as the i3S.
It's not been without a few issues but unless something catastrophic happens like a really expensive component failure I can't see me replacing it. Great city car for me, fun too, and also brilliant for carting elderly parents around in thanks to the high front passenger seat. Can get a folding wheelchair in the boot albeit with one seat folder down. Small boot but like a van when the rear seats are folded.
 
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