It has come to my attention that there is a SMOKING HOT deal on a BMW i3 here in California, and I’m struggling to resist it. I should, because $15,000 isn’t cheap, but it’s for a 2019 BMW i3, which has twice as big a battery as my 2014, yielding twice the EV-only range. I could probably sell mine for $10,000ish, but would it be worth it? Help me decide!
Apple Carplay, twice the range, roughly half the odometer mileage, the new fascia, a less-worn steering wheel — these are a few of the benefits I would get if I bought the 2019 BMW i3 for sale near me. I’d have to plunk down $15 large, which will be a hard pill to swallow, but I’d get a $1000 rebate from my power company, so that’d be $14,000 plus tax, probably bringing me to about $15,500. I could sell my current i3 for probably $10,500, so all in I’d probably have to drop $4 or 5 grand to get those benefits. Is it worth it?
It might be? I mean, look at this beautiful golden-brown carbon fiber range-extended electric car:
Here’s the interior:
I love my dark gray 2014, too, and I prefer both its 19-inch wheels and its Giga World interior to the 2019’s above:
In fact, I love the car so much, I just made this effusive Instagram reel:
View this post on Instagram
You’ll notice that my i3 has the bigger screen and Harman Kardon audio system. Really, when it comes to the interior, this 2019 would be a downgrade. But the cabin still looks cool, plus it has Apple Carplay and I guess I could swap the seats and door panels…
But I don’t really need 150 miles of range. My i3’s 70-80 miles gets the job done 99 percent of the time, and that once percent isn’t using so much fuel that spending $5 grand on the 2019 would pay off anytime in the next decade.
That said, my i3’s original battery only lasted 135,000 miles and nine years; if I plan to keep this car for a while (and I do), buying a 2019 could allow me to put off replacing a battery for at least another nine years. In truth, I think the 2019’s battery pack will last even longer, as it’s an improved chemistry.
But now we’re talking almost a decade in the future. Who knows what the world’s battery situation will look like then; maybe I should just hold onto my $4-5 grand, keep enjoying a car whose problems I’m familiar with (it’s pretty much problem-free), and Love The One I’m With?
But that bigger battery and Apple Carplay are so tempting.
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Images of 2019 i3: Facebook Marketplace
you will do want your girlfriend wants. I sense a whipped male in the making…
what?
no
You should add this as a perk in one subscriber levels. Have a say on David Tracy’s auto purchases for 1 year.
We are really living in the age of the Truman show.
I’d say keep yours with the new battery and add in some aftermarket CarPlay support if that’s a feature you’d really like. Don’t know how feasible it is for an i3 but I know places like Crutchfield sell kits to do it. It’s hard to put a price on that brand new battery you got for free.
The interior is the only part of a reliable car that we interact with for any amount of time. Go with the interior that brings you the most joy, and spend any extra money fixing the issues you have with it.
Also, it looks like it would cost about $700-$900 to both buy a new OEM steering wheel rim *and* an Apple CarPlay retrofit kit.
Was gonna say…dunno what it’s like for EVs, but even for my fairly-well-integrated 2012 Prius v, I spent ~$1000 all-in on Crutchfield to get get an Android Auto head unit, installation kit, and an interface to retain all car features/options.
Compared to $5k, I’d research that for your model. Aftermarket does not have to mean “janky”. I still have all my steering wheel controls.
The retrofit kit for the i3 appears to be an inline unit that interfaces with the OEM system, so it’s pretty solid.
The main thing I have always liked about the i3 is the Luxe Techno Sushi Bar interior aesthetic.
You could easily carve up and serve a Dragon Roll and some nigiri on that passenger-side dashboard.
Just imagine all the tamari, wasabi and ginger you can keep in the well below the Nav screen.
More Asahi Super Dry, Tracy-San?
Does the 2019 have a new battery in it? If you just replaced yours then you’re good to go for another 10 years. If you get the 2019 with a 5 year old battery, it likely won’t last quite as long
I’d keep yours
This is what I was gonna say.
No, keep yours.
I gotta say that new one has a -serious- case of Habsburg jaw. Also, paying $1k per model on a BMW isn’t bad, so buy yourself some more good years!
Keep the one you have David. It has a new battery and you already know it. With the $5k you save you can buy a new steering wheel and three or four more rusty ‘Holy Grail’ Jeeps.
Don’t.
Given the curve of the arc you’re on (look at the changes in the last two years: extrapolate ten).
I’m not sure whether to expect a Bentley—or perhaps one of those self-driving Jaguar IPace-es, but I’m fairly certain an i3 won’t be the chariot of choice at this rate
(Unless you can find one which gives you a Sonic Bath as you motor…)
Would this mean sonic bath spaghetti?
Don’t do it. There will be others with much better specs. Keep waiting for one with HK speakers, sunroof, suite interior etc.
Buy a CarPlay module for yours in the mean time, mine was £250, and an easy mod.
Never trade for a different version of the car you love. Either be like that guy who used to live in Detroit and find a good home for the screaming deal (and discover why it wasn’t such a good deal after all) or be like that guy who used to live in Detroit and add a car to your fleet (hmmm maybe ask Mercedes about it).
You can only lose by trading.
1) it’s Harman Kardon, not Harmon
2) the blue piping in the steering wheel is worth $5k
Personally I think your current i3 is the best BEV setup one can have. Small (brand new) battery for in town usage, the simplicity & durability & reliability of a BEV drivetrain, all with an ICE generator for road trips. Also it should be a good deal lighter than this new one which should make it a bit more fun to drive.
I think the smaller battery on your current i3 will lead you to run the ICE generator more often which will overall be better for said generator. If the new i3 you’re looking at lacks the ICE generator I’d definitely pass on it. CCS is going the way of the Dodo in the US long term and I doubt that public chargers will have the plug long term. Gas is gas and the gas pump isn’t going to change to be incompatible with your i3 anytime soon.
I personally wouldn’t buy a BEV I plan on driving outside of town in unless it had NACS and or a ICE generator.
With an ICE generator I could get by with 110v charging worse case.
If it was me, I’d leave well enough alone. The dealership installed a brand-new battery in your i3 after you bought it, so that’s sorted for quite a while. You say you prefer the interior and the stereo of your current i3 over the 2019 model, and you really don’t need the extra all-electric range, so what really is the upside?
DT looking to trade up to a nicer car? Huh?
California or his girlfriend are having an effect on him.
Don’t do it, you will pay more for taxes, registration and insurance which in the end will cost you more than 5k long term.
So I know Commiefornia is the land of unnecessary expenses and government overreach, but are the taxes, registration, and insurance really gonna be that different? In my state I know that none of those would change even a little bit when doing this trade up.
Even in the UK the only increase might be a bump in your insurance premium (because it would cost more to replace). Tax would be the same (both EVs). Don’t have to pay to change the registration on a car here.
I see an interesting loophole, register a really old cheap beater then change it to a newer more expensive car for free!
There’s no fee to register a car in the first place, instead you’ll be paying road tax based on emissions* and there’s a surcharge for ‘luxury’ cars (>£40k) for the first five years.
*(it’s a bit more complicated than this)
I did some research and here is how it breaks down
From CA DMV’s helpful calculator taxes and registration on the initial purchase is $1,903
Yearly renewal for the 2019 ~$310 vs $225
I spent 20 minutes trying to find a quote on an i3 and came up empty, but I’ll try to estimate it off the one car I carry comprehensive on which just happened to cost ~19k $180per month (his would probably be higher being in CA) , assuming his i3 is worth half as much we can assume his comprehensive insurance will cost $90 extra per month (it’s likely they would charge extra for liability but let’s be conservative)
So initial up front cost 1.9k +$100 per month he would hit 5k at 30 months of ownership, about 3 years, seems weirdly reasonable. Honestly I was guessing the 5k number at first but it seems to pan out.
One caveat is it highly depends on David’s insurance, maybe he gets a way better rate, or some kind of tax break?
Wow yeah, he’d be at $5k inside of 3 years. I believe he could get a $1000 rebate for it being electric, and some people are saying he could get $4k if he does it right. So the cost factor probably depends on if he can get the $4k rebate or not.
I didn’t know that comprehensive insurance could be so expensive, but I don’t have that on any of my cars. $5k in taxes, registration, and insurance inside of 3 years is crazy to me because I don’t own a car I paid as much as $1000 for. Here in Idaho I pay $75/yr for registration and no separate recurring tax.
Looks like this car doesn’t have to upgraded infotainment system. If that matters to you (it did for me when I was shopping i3s) then I’d pass.
I don’t know much about them, but apparently there are CarPlay retrofit kits available for the i3.
Since the range works for you I’d keep what you have. Aside from the range extender I think the new one is an overall downgrade.
Unless you’re fully prepared to swap that Giga World interior, no. Even still, didn’t you get the battery replaced through a loophole anyway? $4-5K gives a lot of budget for fixing up your ZJ Moab overlander the right way, as well as a few other projects when the time comes.
Save your bucks, David.
$5k is 5 years’ worth of Moab vehicles and 50 articles.
It’s a business expense. Just write it off like Kramer would suggest.
DT as a rampant consumer, whoda thought? Silly impetuous decisions are fine and sometimes the spice of life, so reserve them for stuff that is truly life-altering. Buying the same car you already have costs you money, time, and the headache of selling your current car while bringing nothing better to your life. This decision is not near crazy enough. Don’t do it.
I think you have to honestly ask yourself if you are even going to want to have an i3 for a long time when all the tech will have drastically changed. I can see how you think today that you’ll keep it for a decade, but I’d probably wager that the DT of 2032 will have no desire to. You are a pretty young guy and when I look back at myself in 2014, so many priorities/tastes have completely morphed into something else entirely.
There are plenty of fun things to do w/$5k other than being debatably pragmatic.
Forget the new i3 and focus on your Jeep FC dreams!
Yes!
Ignore me. I know nothing about these cars. I do know of a dude who did an insta you should watch. He answers your question pretty clearly.
If carplay is the driving factor, I gotta imagine there’s some car play retrofit for your existing i3 that allows you to keep the bigger screen and nicer interior.
I got one for my fiance’s GLC that was a year too early for carplay, works just fine
They do exist, here’s one example.
https://www.bimmer-tech.net/blog/item/49-how-to-retrofit-carplay