Right now I’m selling an awesome electric car for what I would think is an insanely good price, and yet it’s a hard sell for complicated reasons that really only apply to electric cars. Here, allow me to explain my experience selling my first electric vehicle.
Back in the spring of 2023, I bought the cheapest BMW i3 for sale (by a dealer) in the country: A dark gray 2014 model with 135,000 miles on the clock for $10,500. For a carbon fiber car with a world-class interior, backup camera, self-parallel-parking feature, and an extremely good quality build, I thought it was a fantastic deal.
But the deal just got better. Because the California Air Resources Board requires all hybrids to have batteries covered for 10 years, 100,000 miles, BMW actually replaced my high voltage battery (which had dropped below the 70% state-of-health threshold) absolutely free. So now I have a fantastic range-extended electric car with a brand new battery, and I only paid $10,500. Over the past year, I’ve fallen in love with the i3, so much so that I subsequently decided to buy the ultimate version of the car, a 2021 i3S Giga World.
But it gets better. Now I’m having my car’s AC compressor replaced, also thanks to that CARB warranty, meaning the two major failure points on the BMW i3 are brand new. My i3 is basically a brand new car if you consider the value of the new components compared to the value of other wear components on a 145,000 miles vehicle, and if you get in and drive my i3, you’ll see that it feels like a new car, too.
Of course, now it’s time to sell the car (since I don’t need two i3s), and the process has been… different. Certainly different that I’m used to, as I’ve had to navigate some things that just don’t apply to ICE-powered vehicles.
Obviously, selling the car for the same price that I bought a 135,000 mile i3 with an old battery and compressor seems a bit silly. Yes, a year has elapsed and EV values have crashed, but the car has clearly gained value. And if you look at other i3s on the market, you’d conclude that, too.
[Note: Because discussions about money tend to get folks riled up, just know that this article is a discussion about some of the complex factors that go into selling my particular car — things I’ve never dealt with before in an ICE. In the end, the market will decide the value of my car, and I’m not really concerned about that. I am still learning about a few elements of the used EV market (esp. in regards to warranties, EV incentives, and tax rebates), and I’m sharing some of those learnings here. -DT].
It’s All About Mileage
The issue is trying to communicate that to buyers for whom EVs are a new concept. The average American car-buyer looks at a car’s miles and uses that to assess condition (I do to a certain degree, as well). My i3 has 145,000 miles on it, so the average consumer naturally thinks: “Uh, there are 10 i3s with half as many miles for less money; why would I buy that one?”
The answer, to us car enthusiasts, is obvious: A new high-voltage battery is a huge deal. And a compressor is also a huge deal. Those combined obviously outweigh the benefits of having 70,000 fewer miles on the suspension and brakes. Especially since it’s not clear that my 145,000 mile car is going to have more suspension/brake issues than a 70,000 mile car. At least, you would think.
Impressing this upon buyers has been a challenge. Getting folks away from the “miles are everything” mindset that they’re used to is just not going to happen because there was really never an equivalent before. Even selling a car with a brand new engine isn’t quite the same, since ICE cars have complex drivetrains that wear out with miles. With EVs, drivetrains are simple, so a new battery really goes a long way towards refreshing a car. What’s more, a new engine often indicates that an engine was poorly maintained, whereas a new battery just means… time has elapsed and the car got a new battery.
To be sure, miles don’t not matter; if all things are equal, they tend to indicate wear of certain components like suspension and steering and brake parts, plus they also are used to stand in as a representation of how much time the car was in service. And since time tends to degrade things like blower motors and other long-term-wear parts, miles are no doubt a worthy part of the “what condition is this car in” calculus.
But clearly a car with 145,000 miles and a new $30,000 battery and $5000 compressor is a better buy than a car with even 50,000 miles on a worn out battery and a compressor that can kill the whole car any second. But that’s a hard thing to impart upon someone, especially when cars tend to be valued by major valuation entities by mileage on the odometer.
But is is not my only issue.
Things Are Complicated: Tax Credit
The lack of understanding when it comes to the sheer value of a new battery/compressor is among my primary problems, but arguably as problematic is the way the government has set up the used EV tax rebate. It really, really hurts my sale prospects.
You see, an electric vehicle’s eligibility for the used EV tax credit (which is 30% of the sale price up to $4000) does not depend upon whether or not the vehicle has been used for the credit previously. My BMW i3, for example, has almost certainly never been used to receive a used vehicle tax credit because I’m fairly sure I’m the second owner.
And yet, I cannot offer a buyer the used EV rebate because of this unfortunate rule:
To qualify, a vehicle must meet all of these requirements:
- Have a sale price of $25,000 or less. Sale price includes all dealer-imposed costs or fees not required by law. It doesn’t include costs or fees required by law, such as taxes or title and registration fees.
- Have a model year at least 2 years earlier than the calendar year when you buy it. For example, a vehicle purchased in 2023 would need a model year of 2021 or older.
- Not have already been transferred after August 16, 2022 to a qualified buyer.
- Have a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 14,000 pounds
- Be an eligible FCV or plug-in EV with a battery capacity of least 7 kilowatt hours
- Be for use primarily in the United States
The bold print above may lead you to think “oh, it says qualified buyer, and you weren’t qualified for the rebate when you bought it.” Unfortunately, “qualified buyer” basically just means any buyer. And since I bought my car in April of 2023 (eight months after that August 16 date), the car is no longer eligible for a used EV rebate. Ever.
This is a huge issue when trying to resell an electric car. Why buy my i3 at my $12,000 asking price (or even at my own purchase price of $10,500, which is what I listed it at before the compressor went in) when you could just try to find a $15,000 later model and knock off $4,000? You basically get a $15,000 car for $11,000 instead of a $12,000 car for $12,000.
But there’s more.
Things Are Complicated: CARB Warranty
But there’s more to my plight here beyond just struggling to get buyers to understand how big of a deal a new battery/compressor is, and beyond being unable to offer buyers that tax rebate. To people who live in CARB states, my new compressor may not actually be a huge selling point.
The battery is still a huge deal, and who knows, maybe an educated buyer will understand that and buy the car for 12G’s (it is likely the cheapest, loaded Giga-World i3 with a guaranteed good battery in the country). But here’s the thing: If a CARB-state buyer picks up a BMW i3 with significantly under 150,000 miles on the odometer, they really don’t have to worry about the compressor. At least, not for a while.
That’s because the compressor — in CARB states — is covered by a 15 year, 150,000 mile warranty. My i3 will be out of warranty in 5,000 miles; if someone were to buy the aforementioned hypothetical 75,000 mile BMW i3 for less than my i3, they can be comfortable knowing that if their compressor goes bad, BMW will cover it until their car is 15 years old or has 150,000 miles on the clock. Their battery, too, has a 10 year warranty, so if a buyer picks up a 2015 or 2016, they could theoretically get a new battery should theirs fail.
But see, that’s a big if.
If a buyer were to pick up, say, a 2016 BMW i3 for $9,000, they’d be thrilled that they got a newer car with way fewer miles for $3,000 less than my car. But there’s a good chance their battery will not drop below the 70% threshold by year 10, and there’s a chance that compressor will hang on for 15 years.
We’ll ignore the compressor/15 year warranty since that’s six or seven years out, and buyers don’t care about that. But the battery thing is a big deal. When that 10 year-warranty passes in the next year or two, the buyer could be stuck with a car that has a 75% battery state of health. With my car, instead of driving a vehicle with an eight year-old battery that has 75,000 miles on it and probably an 85% state-of-health, you get a brand new battery. And if you’re worried about the 145,000 miles spelling the end of that 15/150 warranty, never fear, for the compressor is brand new.
[NOTE: Here’s an i3 for sale on Carvana. It costs $13,590, and it clearly has a worn-out battery, showing 39mi of range while full. Yikes!].
Again, it’s a bit complicated to explain.
My i3 Is A Great Deal To A Very Specific Customer. Very Specific.
So here’s the thing: Yes, it’s hard to convince buyers how valuable a good battery and compressor are; and yes it’s gonna be tough to sell the car at $12 grand given that it’s not eligible for the used EV rebate; and yes, CARB-state customers are going to say their car is still in warranty anyway.
But to a very specific customer, my 145,000 mile BMW i3 perfect. But that customer is very, very specific.
BMW i3 customers are already rare given that it’s a relatively low-range small car in a country that loves big trucks, has range anxiety, and is overrun by increasingly-cheaper Teslas with more range. But even among those folks looking specifically for i3s, I need to find a customer who a) Doesn’t live in a CARB state and b) Isn’t eligible for the IRA rebate.
For example, imagine a single person making over $75,000 AGI (or perhaps they already took a used EV credit within the past three years) and living in, say, Texas, looking for a budget-friend i3 for commuting from a suburban ranch to a workplace in town. If this person wanted a loaded i3 Giga World with a guaranteed good battery, they’d have to buy a 2017+ i3, since the 2017s had great batteries that degrade minimally. But then they’d still have the concern about the compressor; if it goes out, they could be legitimately hosed.
For this out-of-stater who doesn’t have the security of the CARB warranty and who also isn’t looking for an IRA rebate-eligible i3, you could argue my i3 is the best deal in the country. But my god is this a ridiculously specific person I’m looking for.
Yikes.
Anyway, I just thought I’d share that, since some of these issues are ones I’ve never had before when selling ICE cars. There was no IRA rebate to factor in, there was no ridiculously long CARB warranty, there wasn’t a massive knowledge gap in the general public about EVs.
Maybe I just need to be patient, or maybe I just keep the gray car and let the Grail go. If it’s between that and letting a perfectly good i3 go for a song, the cheap bastard in me will probably win out… It usually does.
Wait…
Is this still available?
Jokes aside, I truly appreciate this article as it does give a lot of thought about what the majority of used cars in the not so distant future will be. Battery performance test results are going to be stat we see listed next to mileage in the ads. Kudos for things to evaluate and selling/buying points of view.
A couple of things.
A/ Everyone needs to chill out about this. David is presenting something that in the future is going to be a quite common predicament. The fact that we are all reading and commenting on it says something.
B/ Was the ‘Texas buyer’ a snide reference to the first arcticle where ‘a subscriber’ from Texas used this forum to get deep into red/blue politics and complain that David was not allowed to change from a spaghetti showering parts dishwashing part tetnus rust fueled frozen Jeep wrencher?
Actually, no! Sounds like I missed something!
Great article and vigorous comments! I think David is searching for Mr. Spock (someone who can evaluate the purchase with cold logic) who also lives in non-CARB state and is not eligible for the EV tax rebate. Unfortunately for him I think logic-driven people are not attracted to brands with slogans like “Sheer Driving Pleasure” and “The Ultimate Driving Machine.”
My brother and I are engineers, logic driven people. We’ve been attracted to BMWs multiple times. After much consideration, the best BMW value for performance, initial cost and cost of ownership is an e36, hence why we own and daily an e36 M3.
We drove an i3 when new, it was a riot but also gave me the worst case of vertigo I’ve ever experienced all due to the aggressive regen braking. I do think the i3 is a fine car, but it’s also outclassed by most other EVs so people looking for a cheap EV with some performance are flush with better options.
Too true!
This has really got me thinking about the difference between high-mileage, older ICE cars vs. EVs.
Consider the same situation: 10 years old, 145K, but an ICE vehicle with new engine instead of EV with new battery. I think the EV is considerably more valuable. I think I run screaming from the engine swapped ICE.
Great, thoughtful article, thank you David. I don’t understand why you’re getting some of the flak you are getting here in the comments.
Also, as Usernametaken said, you may want to just take a bath on this one. You have to value your time and effort in selling things.
Much appreciated!
Yeah, whenever I see a high-mileage car with an engine replacement in its description I immediately close the ad. Why did the original engine fail? Was the replacement done correctly? Is the “new” engine even any good? Assuming the answer to the first question could be neglect, what other things are going to break?
So, to me, someone saying they have a 145,000 mile car with a replacement engine does nothing to the value at best, lowers it at worst. I don’t know if corners were cut in the engine replacement or if parts that shouldn’t have been reused were put back in.
I would apply the same logic to EVs, but with a caveat. If the battery was installed by some guy in his garage, or the battery was restored by cracking it open and replacing dead modules, that’s not worth anything to me. But David’s situation of a fully brand new battery installed by experienced techs and there’s still a little bit of a warranty left? Ok, now I’m on board.
I’d buy a 500,000-mile Phaeton with an actual brand new engine in a heartbeat. Wait, no, Mercedes, that’s a bad idea. lol
Mercedes.
Consider this before auto closing the ad.
Many new engines are just that, or rebuilt by good shops, or people at home.
A new engine comes with a warranty. As you mention in your comment.
But to be honest here, an engine (used) installed by the guy in his driveway is usually something I approach with a lot of doubt.
Very true Col! The cars I’m usually buying high-mileage have depreciated so far that a legitimately new engine is worth as much or more than the car itself is…and you’re still left with a 145k-mile VAG product when you’re done. lol
So, whenever I see a “new” engine advertised in, say, a 150k-mile first gen Audi TT, it usually means “junkyard engine” or “taken out of a parts car.” But I would buy a used car with a legitimately new engine, but I’ve never seen that in the market I buy in.
I offered to buy DT’s i3, too, but I’m even more of a cheapskate than he is, so even the $10,500 he originally paid is more than I’d pay.
I have bought some used stuff with junkyard or owner rebuilt engines a few times. But have always felt like I was perhaps driving a ticking bomb. Being able to see receipts, etc. can make it a lot less stressful.
And as an aside, I enjoy your camping stuff a ton.
I’d trust a junkyard engine swap a lot more than the unknown-guy-rebuilt-in-his-garage engine.
The junkyard engines all come with a (short) warranty, so if the first one is bad the junkyard would replace it (yes, the labor is on you, but that’s the main gamble with the used engines), while a rebuild can end up bad in a thousand different ways, even if done with extreme care by an experienced engine builder (not to mention all the different things that get replaced/renewed or not, as part of the ‘rebuild’).
Agreed.
I have been doing my own rebuilds for 50 years now. Stuff that I don’t have the tools for gets farmed out. Like heads, block, etc. Guess I’ve been lucky because have never had any issues with my engines.
Junkyard engines scare me because you don’t know anything about them, unless it’s still in the car. Then one can examine the car to get a general idea of what kind of owner it had.
And I never trust how someone else rebuilds an engine in their garage. Have actually torn down some of them, and discovered some really stupid crap. But that’s life.
$10,500 is what he paid a dealer. He’s now doing a private sale and somehow thinks he’s owed an extra $1500 for 10k miles worth of engineer farts and two trips to the dealership for warranty repairs.
I’m not sure I understand this “he thinks he’s owed” mentality. Nobody thinks anyone’s owed anything. I’m just listing a car that I took a risk on and bought really broken for $1,500 more now that it’s not broken. The market will decide if it wants it; it may not! But based on what I know about the i3 market, I ultimately think it will IF I can find the right buyer (whom I describe in the piece).
You’re literally ‘I know what I gotting’ because the market is very unlikely to value the car as highly as you are.
Your $10.5k purchase price was before the surge in cheap used model 3’s and very cheap leases on Hyundai / Kia EVs.
You want to explain to people that somehow ~145k miles is pretty much the same as much lower mileage. Even though it may be true as an ownership experience, it is definitely not the case when it comes time to sell.
This car has essentially ALL the strikes against it when it comes to a used car.
I wish you luck with the sale, and hope that the fact that your reach can help you find the oddball buyer you require, but for a non-published civilian selling this vehicle your price is going to be a bit high.
I don’t disagree with many of your points! Based on what I know, I do think there’s a buyer to whom it very much is worth 12, but maybe I’ll end up being wrong, here; wouldn’t be the first time! I’ll keep you posted.
I’m sure I will read all the updates. I hope you make me eat my words.
Seems like you are in the clear.
https://www.theautopian.com/why-my-electric-car-is-so-hard-to-sell/#comment-483787
I also have that same reaction for most newer cars, but exceptions can be made for older ones as illustrated by this actual conversation from when I bought my ’82 Jaguar XJ6:
Me: So, what was this engine out of?
Seller: Not 100% sure, I think it was a Camaro. It’s a 350 – there’s some paperwork that comes with it, but I’ve never went through it.
Me: Any idea of how many miles are on it?
Seller: The engine? No idea. Same with the car – the odometer’s broke. I can say the oil only has around a couple hundred miles on it, although it’s been several years since I changed it.
Me: Any other overall issues with it?
Seller: Just the electrical – the lights all work, but that’s about it.
Me: So… if I try to drive it home tonight, what’s the best you can do [asking price: $3500]?
Seller: Uh.. idk, $2300?
Me: Sold!!
We did make it home even though we couldn’t open the windows or sunroof and it was 90+ degrees out that evening. I’ll never forget my daughter, who was six at the time, drinking a comically big Gatorade and sweating like crazy saying “Dad, this is the coolest car ever!”
We still have that Jaaaag. Fixed the electrical (most of it was one bad relay), put over 25,000 miles on it, and used it for quite a few of my daughter’s driving lessons. Sometimes you have to roll those dice!
Also, when manufacturers replace engines under warranty or extended campaign, it’s often just the long block…not anything attached to it. This can give people a false sense of security, because they think they’ve got an all-new engine and should start their maintenance schedule all over (if they do any maintenance in the first place).
When my sister’s 2014 Soul threw a rod due to the 2.0-liter defect and Kia replaced it, they transferred all the hoses, belts, pulleys and accessories from the original engine. It was the same for my mom’s 2012 Sonata Limited 2.4, which also threw a rod due to an assembly defect.
Better yet, a shower, since it’s just about lunchtime in L.A.
“take a bath on this one”
I think he prefers showers
(w/ spaghetti)
the big question then is if you say swapped a 100K LKQ engine for an original 279K motor would you disclose this or let the buyer think they just have really good running 1/3 million mile car.
The problem is obvious, the grill is way to small!
Try throwing on a set of massive naked mole rat chompers. Then name your price.
David, I wish you the best, and you seem conscientious. Do the next buyer a favor, and give them a good deal on the car. The car has value, but it’s risky. If you could in good conscience ask your grandmother to pay your asking price, then party on. If not, don’t get greedy. Wait for the right buyer, someone who is not wealthy, needs a good commuter car, and loves the i3. Make them love the car even more with a screaming deal. That’s how you pass on the love of cars to the next person . . . And if it breaks down, they will have some cash to make the repair and keep an interesting car on the road.
Definitely would feel comfortable selling it to my grandma at 12. The thing is a tank!
Of course, I could probably play a little ball. I think all the dozen or so buyers of my cars in the past have ended up quite happy, and you’re right, that’s important to me!
I think that’s the right take. Price and present it like you would to a relative. EVs are a huge risk for used car buyers. The guy selling the 2013 Volt I bought for $1800, knew the car had minor issues and a check engine light, nothing either of us thought was serious, but he also knew it would be an endless hassle to try to sell at market value. He basically priced it as if something major could go wrong tomorrow (and it certainly could at 145,000 miles). I’ve been driving it nearly 100% electrically for the past 3 months and have put 1500 miles on it as a second car.
Please reference Matt Hardigree’s Morning Dump from Friday explaining how everyone thinks their car is worth more than it is.
A 145K mi vehicle needing a new a/c compressor does not increase with a new compressor. That’s a maintenance item. The battery is totally different and I’m with you on that. It’s tough to explain that to the general population that might be interested.
100% on it being tough to explain. So true.
Sadly, the compressor on an i3 is much more than a maintenance item!
If you say so. I see any used car without working a/c and put it on the “absolutely not” list. If someone fixes it I will consider buying it but it doesn’t raise the value. Just puts it back in the “maybe” column where it can be considered again.
Yeah in the i3 market a compressor is much more of a big deal than normally, given how a failure can brick a car.
But yeah, in any ICE nobody would care at all. The expectation is that it works!
But … it’s only a big deal in the negative direction. I’m guessing the majority of your purchasing audience is unaware of the lurking threat of “Black Death”. And it’s more likely that you’ll drive a prospective buyer away from i3 altogether by attempting to educate them on the subject. You’ve had plenty of time to assimilate the information, but in the midst of a used car negotiation they’re just going to hear “Hey buddy, most of these things are gonna up and die, but maybe not this one. Wanna pay above market value for it?”
It would help somewhat if the AC compressor replacement actually fixed the design problem and systematically prevented the possibility of this failure mechanism. But as far as I can tell, that’s not the case here. I skimmed the Black Death article and there was no indication that the design fault exists inside the compressor or can be resolved by replacing the compressor. At best you’ve restarted the countdown to death.
It’s generally believed in the i3 community that later iterations of the compressor design are less prone to failure, though I’m not sure we have enough data on that.
This deteriorated quickly. It’s fine to disagree with the man, but these “Who the hell do you think you are?” comments are childish. Thanks for lowering the standards.
I’m perplexed myself, but it’s ok. I think anytime you talk about money in any regard, some folks will get riled up.
Unrelated but anyone know how the Southern contingent are doing after Helene?
In my part of Virginia, we’ve had 2 tornadoes—but no deaths from those. Serious flooding, trees down, and my little dead end street was without power for 30ish hours. Some people in NC & south weren’t as lucky.
-my thanks and respect to the people driving & crewing the line trucks. They came by around 9pm Friday in rain so heavy I saw their lights rather than heard them. Wish I’d caught them on the way up to offer Gatorade, snacks, and to thank them in person.
Are you selling through Galpin? I believe you are required to to get the rebate.
Either way, it’s a good deal, and the right person will show up and buy it. This article should help. You just need to be patient. There are other folks like you out there, they just haven’t come across the ad yet.
I agree, they’ll show up.
The tax credit isn’t relevant either since you are not a licensed dealer. And getting one involved will cost someone some money anyway.
Where is this being advertised? If this is only on FBM you’re missing more than half of your buyer pool and being compared to 2015 Altimas and lowered Chevy S-10s with a purple metal flake paint job. To really get your points across to people that understand your reasoning you need to probably be on BaT or at the VERY least Craigslist, though in LA that’s still a bigger cesspool than in many other places.
You’re asking $12k (I think). If there’s one thing I am fairly ositive about it’s that you have never paid the asking price for a car on FBM so likely don’t expect anyone else to either. What’s the real bottom dollar number? You should probably private message the other responder here who was excited about paying $10500 for it for his mom in Texas. 12 percent less than asking seems very reasonable for a used car that isn’t selling.
FWIW, Cars.com will let you list your car for free.
Um… about that purple metal flake S-10…
Great advice!
David, one aspect of this is that the EV market and the entire car market has changed considerably in the last 2-3 years. Today hybrids are hot, more than what they were a few years ago. Similarly EVs have cooled down. Supply shortages and pandemic pricing is now over and the days you can score selling your used car is mostly done. I’m not at all in the i3 market but have you considered that you bought in that Covid bubble? $10.5k for an i3 with a degraded battery and 135k miles seems a bit high? Again, not in that market so I don’t know but I personally wouldn’t have done that deal.
I picked up a pristine rust free NA Miata with 55k miles a month into the pandemic for $5k and at the peak people were selling them over 10k easily. Today I probably wouldn’t expect to get that much myself. But I don’t care because I love the car and enjoy it for what it is.
Think about it David, you got over a year out of it, put on an extra 10k miles and the person who gets it next will be the third owner of a i3 with close to 150k miles. Someone like that would really need to love the car and drive it for the next 10 years because no way in hell will be able to resell it again for close to $12k. Personally if I could get 10.5k from the deal that would be fine.
Counterpoint: The value of this car was always as a kind of fashion accessory, and that particular fashion is long dead. The ones that exist are being traded amongst a shrinking population of people who remain excited about them. Anybody who is buying a car for function, value, convenience, resale ease or value, is not getting anywhere near a ten year old BMW technology dead-end that has already needed 2 shockingly expensive repairs, has a reputation for high upkeep costs, and has no performance chops. Especially not for a solid 5 figures and more than previous sale. Like the guy trying to flip Mercedes’ financial death trap Phaeton at a profit, you’re trying to sell this to yourself, but even you don’t want it anymore.
Well said.
I actually love the car and would totally keep it if I hadn’t replaced it!
The i3 is a phenomenal car, and I’ve literally had to pay $0 to maintain either of mine.
Agreed that it’s a niche car, but it’s also a really special one. And it’s not just me saying it.
Ah, this brings us to the crux of it. This car isn’t bad. You got it for a good price considering the market, and were able to get it fixed up much-better-than-expected due to the warranty stuff. It’s a reasonable car for a reasonable purpose. The problem arose with the boat-anchor grail i3. I’d recommend getting rid of that thing for real money before “And,” “not,” “me,” and “it” realize this is probably not a modern classic. I think if you took a step back you’d realize you’re thinking of the i3 in the terms people think of classics. That sounds like a fun game, but don’t play with what you can’t stand to flat out lose.
FWIW, I was buying my first EV in 2014 and cross shopped these with the meager offerings of the time. I wound up getting a Focus EV for $14000 after the rebate, and maintain that it was the superior car. The selling points of the i3 at the time were completely BMW brand prestige, which was still performance-related at the time, and I-literally-quote-the-salesman, “you get to say you have a BMW.”
I have yet to find an electric car I enjoy as much as a 2019+ BMW i3. Great overall quality, absurdly futuristic technology, 220 miles of range with the range extender, an unparalleled interior, a compact size for the city, lots of glass for an airy cabin, and excellent reliability overall. Truly a soulful EV, which isn’t an easy thing to pull off!
“an electric vehicle’s eligibility for the used EV tax credit (which is 30% of the sale price up to $4000) does not depend upon whether or not the vehicle has been used for the credit previously”
Which is why my Bolt has been sold to my wife, her mom, her sister, her brother. And then back to me.
The i3 doesn’t have much range – what is it 90 miles? And yours has a ton of miles. In February, before the EV crash, I picked up a 2017 Bolt with a new battery and just 19,000 miles for $12,500. And then got a $1000 check from BAR and another from PG&E. (If I was poor, BAR would have given me $4,000). I’d give you $8K for the i3. Someone will give you more.
Btw – I just saw a salvage Model 3 Performance listed on fb marketplace for $14,600 get sold.
The $10,000-15,000 price range is a tough one. For just a few thousand more you can get a much newer car. And the 145000+ mileage is even worse. All my car searches avoid these parameters. As someone who does almost all my own repair work, a top consideration is ease of repair. Any used electric car spooks me on repair grounds alone. I am curious how the i3 rates on repairability, as well as cost of insurance?
It’s far harder to make money on a car you bought for real money than one you bought for scrap value.
It is also possible that even though it may have been the cheapest i3 in existence when you bought it, you perhaps may have still spent (far?) more than you might have or perhaps should have as far as the market itself is concerned. To put the bad battery sort of in ICE car terms, a car being sold with a nonfunctioning transmission to most people is worth zero, not its actual value minus the cost of a transmission – even if it’s a warranty repair they will almost 100/100 times buy a functioning car instead of the temporarily dead one at a big discount.
The AC compressor thing is another reason to just walk away from ANY i3, even if it has been replaced it could die again and if it’s that big a deal in general keeps people away from the cars altogether. Just like IMS bearings in Porsche 996/986, automatic transmissions in Chrysler minivans and older Odysseys, and for you, timing belts.
Whoever sold the i3 to you is seeing parallels to Mercedes’ story from the other day! 🙂 (I know, I know, just kidding!)
I’d imagine quite a few people in Southern California exceed the income limit for the tax credit, but are hardly “wealthy”. So you might just need to price the car right. I know I’ve looked at used EVs, and every dealer is inflating them and then advertising with the tax credit I don’t qualify for.
Plus, you’re selling a BMW EV, I don’t think lower income people typically consider them an option. Maybe if it was a 144k mile 328i that someone could put //M badges on to pretend they have something else. Can’t play pretend M car with an i3.
Use batteries and motor for an engine swap project, it’s new component with fair performance, for a sweet price.
Part the rest of it and either sell or use as spare for the future of your other car.
Problems solved.
Parting out a $10-11K car just because you can’t get an extra $1-2K for it is…probably not the best of advice. But battery-swapping it with the grail (if that’s even possible) and then selling what’s left for $7-8K might actually not be so terrible.
I’m right there with you with my 2017 Bolt with a 2 year old battery with MORE capacity than when new due to the recall. The market for used evs, similar to new EVs, has tanked.
But unlike you I don’t have an identical premier Bolt sitting in the driveway so I’m considering just hanging on to it as what it’s worth to me as an EV with over 250 miles of range and 0-60 less than 7 seconds, carplay, and ice cold ac is definitely with more than $10k
Oh wow, you had your battery swapped in 2022, eh? I assume there was a time when non-swapped cars were really worthless, eh?
That’s the point, I don’t think the market differentiates EVs with replaced batteries or not, there’s newer Bolts that didn’t get replacements but less miles so are with more.
1 week ago I bought a 2018 with 33k miles, that had the battery replaced 50 miles before I bought it, and the battery gets the 8 year 100k warranty, good to 132k and 2032. The new battery was literally the reason I bought it. With the rebate I’m at $10k. I plan to daily this for work reasons, not long trips. The perfect car.
It is an “ok” deal, and were I in your area I might be your buyer. The problem with your car is the same as my high mileage car . . . Lots of little problems are about to creep up. What will fail next, and how much will it cost? Wheel bearings? Tires (a known problem)? Electrics? Other HVAC components? Suspension? And how available will these parts be? These issues are what would keep me from buying your car, or any BMW product. Fear of loss is greater than desire for gain.
I was recently in the market for a new car with $12,000 in my pocket. After months of scouring the used car underbelly of the interweb, the best deal I could come up with, balancing age, mileage, condition, value, and personality was a 2003 Miata with 32000 miles and a manual trans. Money well spent.
Even putting aside its 22 years on this Earth, that is a HELL of a deal.
Damn it, now I’m looking at used Miatas and there’s an ’06 Sport with a stick and 35K miles available for $13K 2 hours away…
At this point, it is one of the few appreciating assets aside from precious metals and property. And fun, too.
If it was a hardtop and not gray, I might just have convinced myself to do it.
Honestly, that’s a solid buy.
Black book retail in extra clean condition is $10,700. Clean retail is 9k. Those are dealer prices. Private partyis less. Clean trade in is $5k. Nobody is ever going to pay 12k for this car. Getting $10,500 private party would be a miracle. Real world it should sell for 7 or 8k. Average buyers could care less what you had replaced under warranty.
Informed buyers DEFINITELY care about the battery. But how much… we’re going to find out!
10.5 is a deal for this car! where’s the link? Perfect for my mom in Austin you did say delivery included?
10.5 is also not the price he’s selling it for. Which only underscores a number of points I made below.
oops. 12 still sounds good but less excited.
DT: “I know what I have.”
Don’t make me!
Lol
That link hurt me. I know people do stupid destructive things, but I don’t watch them.
What a maroon!
(not you)
I feel like I read a somewhat related story recently right here on this very website!
https://www.theautopian.com/more-than-60-of-recent-car-buyers-think-their-car-is-worth-more-than-it-is-study/
LOL. Ultimately the market will decide.
I’m basing my asking price on BMW i3 listings (typically around $9000 for an old i3 Rex) and an assumption that the value of a new $20,000 battery/$5000 compressor is about 3 large. But, and this is a point of the story, maybe the market just doesn’t care!
It’ll be interesting to find out.
Maybe add “celebrity-owned” to the listing?
Like “John” Voight’s LeBaron!!
Yeah, the obvious answer here is that all David has to do is gnaw on a pencil and throw it in the glove box!
I think you pointed out lots of reasons why your local market doesn’t care. If as you say, your ideal buyer at that price is that guy or gal in Texas, it could be a while before that person shows up. How long do you want to wait? Even 9k could buy you a nice honeymoon…
Exactly. All good points and things I’m thinking about.
I swear reading this felt like it went in circles at least three times to hit a word count.
It’s an old car that most people won’t understand, that from a buyer’s perspective looks to have had heaps of issues that could indicate a continuation of the same.
Also, the market doesn’t underrate, sellers overrate.
Siri’s AI summarises it quite well:
“The author is struggling to sell their electric BMW i3 due to its high mileage and the lack of understanding among buyers about the value of a new battery and compressor.
The used EV tax credit and CARB warranty also complicate the sale, as the car is not eligible for the rebate and the compressor warranty is not as valuable in CARB states.
The author is seeking a specific customer who is not eligible for the IRA rebate and lives outside of California, as this customer would recognize the value of the car’s new components.”
“Hey, buy my car for more than what I paid for it because I did a bunch of things to it that you could have done just as well, instead of a car that’s newer, has far fewer miles and might also have had the same things done to it. Why won’t you just give me more money?!”
That about sum it up? Self-serving much?
Cars are a depreciating asset and none of the work you’ve done to your car will ever translate into its final selling price. As an ex-Jalop guy I figured you’d be well-versed in these truths, no matter what Covidnomics might have convinced you of.
I don’t think I understand why you’re upset?
The article doesn’t compare my car to other vehicles that are newer and have had new batteries placed in. It compares it to cars that are roughly the same age but with fewer miles, but that have a 10-year old degraded battery.
The point is that, even though an extremely expensive component has been replaced (a battery), the average person doesn’t necessarily see the value in it.
I’m just pointing out some new things I’m discovering while attempting to sell my first EV. That’s all.
Also worth noting:
^Because it’s just not true. I’ve made money on every car I’ve ever owned. And it was BECAUSE of the work I’ve done to each of them.
The reason I’m upset is that it’s exactly the people with attitudes such as yours that have ruined the used car market.
>>>It compares it to cars that are roughly the same age but with fewer miles, but that have a 10-year old degraded battery.
How do you know the vehicles you’re assuming to have a 10-year-old degraded battery actually have a 10-year-old degraded battery?
>>>The point is that, even though an extremely expensive component has been replaced (a battery), the average person doesn’t necessarily see the value in it.
Of course, they don’t. Just like people don’t see the value in vehicles that have had their engine or transmission rebuilt from all the “195K miles on chassis, just 50K on powertrain!” ads. And they especially don’t see the value in it because you didn’t actually pay for it, but want them to.
The answer to the title question is very simple: “The reason my electric car is hard to sell is that I’ve deluded myself into thinking it’s worth more than it actually is worth and I’m holding out for a unicorn buyer who may not ever exist.” List that thing for $8K and it will be gone tomorrow.
Because if the battery were new, it’d be in the listing. And if it isn’t mentioned, it’s not really relevant to this conversation.
I hear you, and I mention something to that effect in the article. But a $30,000 battery and a $5000 compressor isn’t the same as a rebuilt motor. Or at least, not necessarily.
But as I’m noting here, in the eyes of buyers, it turns out, it basically is!
I don’t think I understand this. I took a risk and bought a run-down i3 for dirt cheap. It was cheap because it had so little range. Now the car has great range, and should be worth more, no? Yes, could people have done it themselves, sure. But I’m not sure why that matters and more importantly, very few people knew that they could do that prior to me doing the sleuthing and writing this now highly-cited article in the i3 community.
Or not. Maybe by a private party, but dealerships are notorious for omitting most things that aren’t a basic description. Hell, I’ve had a dealership once tout turn signal repeaters as a major selling point of a 2019 Rabbit. Point is, the simple fact you’ve had a battery replaced doesn’t mean someone can’t buy a similar i3 with fewer miles (or even a more recent model year) that fits under the same program and have it replaced, as well. I just looked on Cargurus and yours would be the highest-mileage i3 currently for sale in the country, while the second-highest is currently listed for $8K. People buy cars on perceived value and the main drivers of that perceived value are mileage, cleanliness of title and what other people are paying for similar cars, not the amount of work they’ve had done.
For a layperson who just wants a car to drive and has no idea what an ICE engine costs to rebuild? They wouldn’t know where to start looking to see that value. Furthermore, when someone sees a major component rebuild, they start asking questions about other things that are about to go kaboom that haven’t been addressed yet. If anything, psychologically, it actually brings the value down, no matter how counterproductive it may sound to you. People don’t want fixer-uppers when paying top dollar (even if someone else has done some or all of the fixer-upping), they want turnkey.
As you’re finding out – no. (Also, $10.5K is hardly dirt cheap – or, if it is, today’s market prices vs. when you bought it even further underscore my point.) It’s just a more extreme version of the Focus RS head gasket recall. The simple fact one has had it performed doesn’t make it somehow more valuable. And the simple fact you’re known in the community (which means people know what you’ve paid for it) makes it that much less likely they’ll pay more than you spent on it. In fact, had you been Joe Schmo who doesn’t work for The Autopian and didn’t write a highly-cited article about it, rather than David Tracy, you might have had more of a shout. It’s simple psychology – people don’t like paying premiums, no matter the added value.
I wasn’t going to say it, but someone else beat me to it – this entire exercise reeks of “I know what I’ve got”. You can tell me better than anyone how well those tend to make out.
Case in point: there are 19 REX i3s currently for sale in the country under $13K. The lowest mileage one of them is a 2016 model with just under 40K on the clock. Granted, its battery might not be at 100%, but it (a) is likely eligible for the same warranty and (b) has an over 100K mile advantage vs. yours on other wear and tear components.
I’m very, very familiar with the i3 market (I check it daily). Mine will probably sell for somewhere around $10-11 if I had to guess.
Are you? The questions you’re asking in this article might convince the reader otherwise…
This story discusses the state of the i3 market, and as someone who has spent far too much of his life searching for i3s for sale (I really need to stop looking at listings) I’ve become a bit of an expert on it.
Any man who must say, “I am the King“, is no true king.
lol believe me it’s hardly royalty spending all day looking at i3 listings lol
That’s a pretty low bar to set for a self-styled “expert”. Given how much time I’ve spent looking for a grail similar to yours (which is why I clicked on this article in the first place – I thought that’s what you were selling), I could ostensibly claim to be one, as well, by that standard… Good thing I don’t have nearly the ego to make myself look that ridiculous.
I’m not gonna say you’ve made yourself look ridiculous, because I think that’s mean. But I do think getting upset because an author discusses whether or not $35,000 of EV repairs yields a small increase in said EV’s market value…is a little… well.
Just have a great day. No need to stress over this!
‘I’m smart, and I want respect’ …Fredo
I address this in the article, but it’s just not true. The likelihood if it being below 70% is low. This is where high mileage helped, actually. lol
For ICE cars, it’s very true. I’m finding out it’s true for EVs as well. That’s one of the main points of the article.
The new battery probably only adds a grand or two to the value of the car despite it being worth over $20G’s. I found that interesting. You apparently did not. lol.
But no need to be bent out of shape! I’m asking an extra $1500 for $35,000 worth of repairs; hardly a big deal! And hey, looks like I won’t get it, anyway!
Then…there is no problem? Or did you seriously think someone would value the extra 15% or so as much as you think they should?
Yours isn’t a true EV, though, which adds another few components to potentially break on a car that already had a few major bits replaced. I don’t think the average used car buyer is sophisticated enough to be able to tell the difference between propulsion methods in used cars that have had major drivetrain work done – which, like you’ve said, is what you’re finding out now.
But does it, really? If you truly end up selling yours for $10-11K as you’re saying, where’s that value add?
Honestly, you just triggered what for a lot of people in the automotive space has been a hugely sore spot for going on four years now. And I’m saying this as the dumbass who bought his Volvo C30 for $5K pre-Covid and sold it for a 50% premium (vs. purchase price) in 2021. Sure, I’d put around $3K worth of work into it (the fuel pump and timing belt alone were half that and those actually truly were value-adds, because I had spent the money the buyer would otherwise have had to, in very short order), but nobody cared about that. What they did care about was that the next similar C30 was 1500K miles away and cost $1500 more.
To summarize: You’re upset because I think $35,000 worth of new components should (but ultimately may not) yield a value increase in my car of $1,500 over what I bought it for (or roughly $3000 over comparable cars on the market with decade-old batteries and compressors).
It’s really not something to get upset about. The market is what the market is; it’ll decide, and life will go on.
Does anyone want to buy a car that needed $35k in repairs? I mean a car that’s not a Ferrari?
If it’s between that and a car that has a worn-out battery, yes?
When did the value of the battery go from $20k to $30k??
This deal just keeps getting BETTER.
It’s probably $30K, but I understated it because I bet it can be done cheaper. Source and source.
“ruins the used car market”? Sellers are at the mercy of buyers. Nobody is forcing you to buy at a price. You’re competing with buyers, not sellers. (Unless David has a monopoly on the used car market)
Tell me you have never taken Economics 101 without telling me you’ve never taken Economics 101.
When a critical mass of sellers decides that their vehicles are worth more than they’re worth, but people still need cars to get places, average prices will rise and we will see exactly what we are seeing right now with shitboxes that weren’t worth $2K in 2019 going for three times that today. It’s cute to think that, as buyers, we hold all the power. In a country with an increasingly shitty public transport situation, we really don’t.
That’s not really what’s happening, here, though. i3s are not overvalued; they are insanely cheap these days. I mean, a 10YO carbon fiber EV with soul that you can get for under 10Gs is a deal and a half, which is why so many recommend i3s as a great used car for enthusiasts.
My price is basically what everyone else is asking for a normal i3, but raised a couple grand to account for my vehicle’s superior condition. It’s like selling a Pontiac Vibe with a perfect body/paint for $5,000 when an OK one usually goes for $3000. Nothing wrong with that; it’s a better-condition car!
My car is just like that mint Vibe, except instead of perfect paint, I have a perfect battery — a part that’s way, way more valuable than paint. To the right buyer.
You’re taking my comment and response to the response to it (say that four times quickly) too literally. Your situation may be unique, but people overvaluing their cars (for whatever reason) is a thing most of us have been observing for the past four years and are beyond exhausted of.
Ah ok, yeah I understand. There’s sort of a trauma coming off that whole pandemic-induced clusterf*ck of a used car market.
Which is what got me so hot under the collar in the first place.
Opens with:
Then proceeds to talk about the omniscience of the invisible hand of the market. Which is it, the market corrects and is always right or dudes with their car price off by a couple grand have “ruined the market”?
Also, might be time to double that Lisinopril dosage… the heck do you care if he lists his car for $12K or $20K? Weird thing to get wrapped around the axle about…
Is that what’s going on here? Are you fighting the reality of the market to keep the streak going?
No, if I have to sell it for pennies, I will. I don’t think I will have to, but the market will decide what I sell it for. I’m not too hung up on the money, I just wanted to blog about my experiences selling my first real EV (particularly one that has had a battery swap), because the experience is definitely different.
Missed this somehow. But there’s a difference to buying a $500 non-running shitbox and selling it for $1500 after you actually manage to get it moving (by the way, have you ever actually made enough money to cover the parts and labor invested, not just selling the cars for more than you bought them?) and buying a car for five figures, making repairs under warranty (that the buyer doesn’t see as valuable because they could do the same thing – for free) and trying to pocket a premium for it a year on.
even though the CARB warranty thing might be free, I think there’s quite a bit of value in having all of the legwork already done (and recently done, too). I think he’s going to get his price.
Oh I’ve made money on plenty of cars without doing work to them. Sometimes you just get a great deal!
This math ain’t mathing.
Maybe “each of them” isn’t exactly true, but in any case, I’ve made money by working on some of my cars, and some I just made money on because I got them for under market value. It’s fairly standard stuff.
David, you’re getting married, there is a life lesson you need to learn:
Sometimes you need to take a bath.
Whether on a car or your carapace, sometimes you’re going to find yourself in a position where taking a bath is just going to be what happens and it’s best to accept it and move on.
I’ll be able to sell it for about what I paid for it, but I figured I’d just share some of the considerations when selling an EV like this one, and how those are so radically different than you might think if you’re used to selling ICE-powered cars.
I think he prefers showers
(w/ spaghetti)
David you need to consider the car fax. Replaced battery replaced compressor now you are selling a car with problems. Too many problems. You do not show your ad. Does it explain why so many repairs were done or does the possible buyer see a lot of repairs money pit?
What do you mean? I don’t think it’s showing any problems, it’s showing only good things! Replaced components!
Yes, but the point is that if I see an ad for a car that’s needed a crap ton of work in the last year, I will often assume that car is or was in poor shape and that’s why it needed all the work. If it’s needed $25k in repairs in the last year, what’s up next? Given the background we know on this car, probably nothing. But to someone on the street who hasn’t read a dozen articles on this car, it’s a red flag.
I could see that being true, but I do wonder if it holds true for things like battery packs. You’d think that replacing a battery pack is only a good thing; why would that be a bad thing?
With an engine, it’s a little different because if you had engine parts replaced it indicates a poorly maintained machine, but even a well maintained i3 will have battery degradation.
It’s that knowledge gap there that is a main point of this article, because your line of thinking is spot on!
Yeah like you said, people don’t understand it yet. We’re still trying to wrap our heads around EVs
Throw in the towel, you lost bigly
Right. Maybe if he weren’t selling it again so quickly, but to me this would reek of someone getting rid of a problem.