Used BMW i3 experiences

Nowhere near as bad as the Leaf in my opinion but still a little optimistic I'd say.

My first look at my GOM on arrival in Aberdeen showed a 100% charge and a GOM of 80 miles in Eco!

Code brown needless to say, scarpered back inside and made the dealer print off service documents to confirm that it actually was a 94ah not a 60ah.

Few hundred miles later and it had settled. Dealer said it wasn't unusual to have some wonky numbers after a full service and a reset of all the previous figures.

If your car has only been used for short test drives around the city for the last while it's probably accurate for that kind of low speed mileage.

Dilemma time.
i3 60ah or 94ah. Both Rex. Which to buy?
Car will be used for home-work-home. Total commute 150km. The odd time she'll take it to the city.(100km round trip)
Was only looking at 94ah ,as it should even in winter make the trip but now work have installed 7KW charge points.

Hi everyone,

I'm due to pick up a 2016 BMW i3 on Saturday so no discouragement at this stage! I'm nervous enough about the leap to electric. This thread has been really helpful and I've done plenty of research so I think I've made reasonable decisions. I'd appreciate any advice from current owners and it also may prove helpful to other prospective buyers.

I currently have a diesel A3 which was an impulse buy a year ago. I live 3 kms from work and go home for lunch most days so my average mid week mileage is 12 kms a day! I knew at the time buying a diesel was a mistake. I had been looking at petrol or electric. I was aware of DPF issues etc. but thought a run at the weekend would suffice. I bought a thingy and and an app for my phone and monitored the regeneration cycles, completing them when required. What a waste of diesel! As I said, an impulse buy and although I enjoyed the car, instantly kinda regretted it.

Had been going around kicking tyres and was thinking of a hybrid. Have to say, wasn't really aware of the i3 in the same way as the Leaf or Ionic etc. until one came into a local dealership. Test drove it and thought it was excellent and started researching the car.

Went for the 60a non rex version because it was in budget and suited my mileage. As I said, 12kms daily, 30/40kms on a Saturday or Sunday. My wife has a ICE for the fairly occasional trips over 90 kms. I understand the non REX is potentially more reliable when buying used. I checked the battery via the hidden service menu and it was high 17.8 I think. New tyres. 30000 kms on the car. It has rapid charging. Includes granny cable and type 2 cable.

1) Charging.

Find this a little confusing. The car is the easy part. My plan is to use granny cable initially and there is a CCS rapid charger 10kms away as well as half a dozen fast chargers. I will apply for SEAI grant as soon as I pick car up and get home chargepoint installed. Standard 3 bedroom detached town house with 63 amp fuse in box. One electric power shower. Plan is to typically charge in the early hours with a night rate. I was thinking of getting a Zappi with the Harvi box in the meter. Not currently interested in the solar side of it but I understand it will "modulate" the current to the car depending on the usage in the household. What happens in the worst case scenario that you need to charge in the evening, go off to walk the dog and despite being otherwise instructed, my wife turns on the oven, immersion, washing machine, power shower etc. Does the Zappi deal with this Doomsday scenario? Do you install it and stop worrying. The myenergi site in the UK site seems reasonable value for the current model with the Harvi box and the CT clamp. Would cost about the same as a Rolec and a priority switch. Would anyone have any other suggestions of chargers or where to purchase?

I plan to charge at home and not depend on public charging but am I correct in thinking the 60a version can only fast charge at a max of 7kw at a public Type 2 chargepoint? (The 90a version can fast charge at higher rate but need a 3 phase cable type2 cable ???).

2) Warranty.

I'm buying from a non BMW dealer and am presuming the BMW warranty is expired given the reg. I read here that you can only get a service in Dublin or Cork so I rang my local BMW dealer in the South East. The service department advised me that they can service an i3 in the dealership although he did go off for five minutes to check? He said the 8 year battery warranty would be honoured. Any advice on warranty and servicing? How much is a standard service and what are the intervals?

3) Insurance.

Currently with Liberty and rang to arrange insurance. I was surprised when I was told Liberty don't cover a BMW i3 because "the horsepower is too high. It must be too powerful". Bit of a nuisance. Skeptical wife more skeptical. Tiny bit of mild panic. " I won't get insurance". I know you can demand/force a quote but I'm not interested. Only a couple of months left on current policy and got a very competitive quote with AXA online (140e cheaper than the Audi last year) so will cancel current policy and start afresh. Are any brokers particularly electric car and specifically i3 friendly?

Sorry about the long winded post but the whole process of converting to electric is fascinating if you're technology/ gadget inclined. My car is normally the more decent car in the family and I had reservations of not being to hop in and go on long trips. (I know this is technically feasible but currently challenging) but I feel the i3 suits 95% of my driving. And it's a bit different. The wife's banger will suffice for the other 5%. Any advise from current owners would be most appreciated.

Welcome to boards and best of luck buying your i3!

Most of the 60Ah cars can CCS fast charge up to 50kW at CCS fast chargers. There are more and more of these public chargers in the country and there will be a completely new private charging network too, that only has CCS fast charging (called Ionity)

There are some i3 that can not CCS fast charge, but I would recommend strongly that you avoid these cars. Unless you never have to drive more than 100km in a day. Ever. And that the car is very cheap to buy. It might suit some people.

If you are not sure about a car and you are not sure the seller is sure (this happens all the time, trust me ), ask the seller to send you a picture of the charge port. If it looks like this, it will have fast CCS charging:



CCS stands for combined charging system. The top part is where you plug in your standard slow charging type 2 plug (like from your home charger or any public slow charger). The CCS tethered charger uses both the top part and the bottom part. Combined. Hence CCS.

Many thanks Guys.

The car does have rapid charging i.e. CCS. I was aware of this and it was a deal breaker for me should the network improve in future. As regards slow, fast and rapid charging, I think it's confusing depending what sources you read.

With my specific car, fast charging is at a max of 7kW on a type two cable whether at home with a 32a charge point or a "standard" public charge point. It would take 3/4 hours. I see that there are 22 and 43 kw charge points type 2 charge points but a 60a i3 will only draw a max of 7kw due to the limitations of an earlier model? Rapid charging is CCS and would take 20/30 mins. I suppose the point is that a prospective buyer should look at their specific car whatever is it and be aware of what fast or rapid means for them especially if buying used earlier evs.

I do have a private driveway. I should have specified that.

Regarding the standard warranty, it is about to expire or is expired. With a 3 year old ICE, I wouldn't worry about getting the car serviced in the marque's dealership but what reaction will I get if I rock in to an independent garage with an i3? I know the servicing is pretty minimal but I think the important parts are any software updates and a battery check. I presume these have to be done to maintain the 8 year battery warranty. As said, I will look into this with BMW Ireland.

Insurance is arranged. 390 euro with AXA fully comp with comp driving of other cars as an add on. Thought this was a fantastic price so already feel ev motoring is pocket friendly as was expecting around 600 at next renewal. It is interesting that Liberty quoted on the REX. Maybe, it is considered a hybrid ?

Sorry can't post a link yet but it's on Carzone. The cheaper of the two in Wexford.

Yep, 3rd party cover was standard. But this was an add on. It was only 20 quid extra.

kceire wrote: »

They told me 21 when I was 18
They told me 30 when I was 21
They tell me 40 when i'm 37

30 was the big drop for me. For the first time I could get insured on almost anything and it didn't really affect the quote.

Postal address does impact too. Though probably not in ways you'd expect. Ages ago I considered using my mother's address in Leitrim, but it was more expensive than the Castleknock address we were living at. Must be all those sh*t drivers in Leitrim

Unkel

Are you with AXA? I'm sure you could add it on if required. AA rang me today and they offered it but you had to sign up for Roadside Assistance.

kceire wrote: »

My i3 only comes with the bmw granny cable, so i need a new cable to connect to my home charger (16a ABL unit), which i hope to get flashed to the 32a capabilities soon if another board site can advise on that and to connect to my work chargers.

I know i need type 2 to type 2, but as the i3 is the 94ah battery, is there a specific vocable i should get as seemly this can be charged faster?

I think if it’s a 94ah you’d want this type https://www.speakev.com/threads/3phase-32a-5m-type-2-charging-cable.134728/