Used BMW i3 experiences

I got an i3 33 Kwh Rex 2017 with 46,000 Kms.

No issues with reliability and have 3 yr and 4.5 yr old, car seats are no issue what so ever.

Yes indeed the Rex is a mighty life saver and has got me out of many situations which would have been extremely frustrating in a BEV only due to the extremely poor charger situation in Ireland.

One good example was when we drove around the west of Ireland , from Limerick all around the ring was done on EV from home, all around the ring with about 45 min stop for food and plugged in at AC point @ 11 Kw, without the AC I would have need to use the Rex a lot earlier.

Got to Killarney , DC is ChaDEMo only which I was aware of, AC point was dead despite showing as working on the map. So next morning we had to use the Rex all the way to Cashel and without it we would have had to put it on the back of a truck.

On a trip to Galway in December I met a Leaf 40 Kwh and Ioniq owner at the charger in Ballinasloe and they were also p1ssed off with the network, so while the BEV is great for your Wife's 40 Km commute if you take it on longer trips you need to prepared for queues, it will happen and with small Children who may otherwise have already been an hour or more in the car may not appreciate being bored in the car while you charge another 30 mins or possibly have to wait 30 mins before your 30 min charge, that's 1 hr in total, if there are 2 cars waiting then it will be awful experience and your Wife and Children may loose the rag.

My Oh can just about tolerate a 30 min charge and it's hard to keep the boys from going mad in the back and I'm not someone who will give them Ipads or phones to entertain them , they get books to read or toys to play with but it's better if you Can get out and go in to get food somewhere but when you get back to the car you might meet a p1ssed off Leaf driver scolding you for leaving the car while it's charging lol.

Anyway, if you go for the BEV it will save you money for sure and take the 2nd car for the long trips.

The i3 has a very useful 11 Kw 3 phase charger but you will need to buy a 32 amp 3 phase charge lead as BMW only provide a 32 amp single phase charge lead. 11 Kw can get from 10-90 % in little over 2 hrs, it is very useful.

The rear doors are a pain in tight spaces but I usually park somewhere there is no car beside me but sometimes I can't but it's not something I'd personally let influence my decision not to get the car, I was aware of it when I bought it.

I was critical of the i3 at first but the 500 odd km test drive convinced me it will be my next car, it's as if BMW designed it for Irish back roads it's a joy to drive.

We have 2 cars but the reason I got the Rex was because of the charger situation and because I can't always take the Outlander if my OH is using it and my insurance will not allow me drive anything fully comp without having to call them up and transfer.

Go take a test drive int he i3 and i3 S you will not want to give it back !

The 42 Kwh is now available for an amazing 400 Euro extra.

zoom_cool wrote: »

I have a BMW i3 94AH with Rex and I have now 75000 KM I bought it last year with 31000KM and it is a great car the doors are a nuisance I dont have kids so it doesn't really affect me.

I had a problem with the steering making a clicking noise but this was repaired under warranty. Great car drive takes a little getting use to do can be a bit skittish especially on frosty morning

What's your battery capacity ? dying to know lol.

75,000 Kms for 30K that's good going. Do you use the Rex much ? great isn't it ?

https://bmwi3owner.com/2016/01/secrets/

My i3 is going in for service on the 28th Feb and they're loaning me the 42 Kwh and I'm going to ask them for the S if they can get it, dying to get a spin in that !

That’s pretty good so far, hopefully the amazing cycle life of the battery proves correct.

Mine is down about .2 as well lol probably due to the colder weather.

MM3 wrote: »

On the subject of 60ah vs 94ah pure BEV, Looking at 2 16 reg cars , one a well specd 60ah vs a fairly basic 94ah (upgraded alloys). Would range trump spec? We’d typically do around 50km per day in the car so I’m tempted to go with the 60ah, 94ah is approx €1000 more.

Thoughts?

Is this BEV or Rex ?

More range is always better, i3 is a great car to drive so I'd over look some gadgets for rang especially if BEV.

The 94 ah also charges faster at the fast charger as in it allows the battery charge at a higher rate of power for a lot longer so you get more range than the 64 ah for the same time on the charger, definitely worth that alone.

Remember when the battery is cold, below 20 Deg C it does not charge at full power the same as with all EV's.

i3 has a battery heater that works when plugged in and a depart timer set 4 hrs prior to depart time, it heats to 10 Deg C and by the time you have driven to need a charge it should be plenty warm, that's my experience anyway in cold weather.

That 1000 would be far better spend on range and faster fast charging than gadgets in my opinion.

+ I think the 94 ah battery is a better battery anyway, more time needed of course to establish this but the specs on the cells in the i3 94 ah are amazing if true.

MM3 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, it’s a BEV not a REX, we have an ICE so the I3 will only be used for local trips. I’ll have to have a think about it, that €1000 is €1000 over budget so that has to be considered as well. However I’d imagine it would hold its value better over time which would make justifying the additional spend easier.

M

The 1000 is a good investment but hold off until you find the right spec you want, the 94 ah also has a really good 11 Kw 3 phase charger but you'll need to buy a 32 amp 3 phase charge lead.

We have a lot of 22 Kw AC points so this makes longer distance travel a lot easier as it eliminates the need to hang around at fast chargers or greatly reduced the need for them.

So definitely if it's BEV only the 94 Ah does have 2 very good advantages, you will probably find yourself wanting to drive the i3 a lot more then the ICE car.
But, as I said earlier as with all electric cars if the battery is cold charging will be a lot slower, say at 10 deg C you could be charging at 35 Kw v 55 Kw according to the charger power meter. The battery heater does help in very cold weather when setting off from 100% charge with preheat selected and plugged in 4 hrs in advance.

On 11 Kw ac the i3 94 Ah can get from 10-90% in a little over 2 hrs.

unkel wrote: »

Haven't seen that argument used before. Makes a lot of sense, thanks for sharing + proof with your link

0-60 60Ah 6.4s
0-60 60Ah REx 7.6s

That's a massive difference in my book, the BEV is almost on a par with my Porsche

There u go more of an incentive then to get the 60 ah you were thinking about lol.