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Post by EspadaIII on Mar 9, 2021 10:00:31 GMT
What is the real world range of a new i3?
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Mar 9, 2021 10:45:38 GMT
About 260km, making some allowance for heating and lights. Ours typically manages about 180.
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Post by dixinormus on Mar 9, 2021 11:14:05 GMT
Don’t they use miles in Brexit Britain?! Or does saying it in km make the range sound longer?! 😂
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Mar 9, 2021 11:18:30 GMT
‘They’ can use what they like.
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Post by dixinormus on Mar 9, 2021 11:24:01 GMT
Oh well, as long as it’s enough range to get you back ohm...
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Avant
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Post by Avant on Mar 9, 2021 12:25:20 GMT
I'm sure I read somewhere that BMW had been thinking of ditching the i3, but have kept it going as it still sells well. Which isn't surprising as it doesn't have much competition in the supermini class (say about 4 metres length). The i3, e-208 and Renault Zoe seem to have the market to themselves.
Sounds like a good move if you can get a new one for the same money, WDB.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Mar 9, 2021 12:42:04 GMT
I'm sure I read somewhere that BMW had been thinking of ditching the i3, but have kept it going as it still sells well. Which isn't surprising as it doesn't have much competition in the supermini class (say about 4 metres length) Well, 3.999m. Is that close enough? I think they’ve decided against creating a direct replacement, preferring to bring in new BEVs as mainstream models. The i3’s job was to create a bit of a splash, which it did, but now updating it with technology developed for other models is an easy and relatively cheap way to keep it going. ...Sounds like a good move if you can get a new one for the same money, WDB. That’s not what the BMW man said. Not yet anyway. When I mentioned the call yesterday to MrsB1, she voiced a misgiving that had sort of occurred to me but not in quite such exact terms: that buying a second example of something where we’ve been so satisfied with the first may lead to disappointment — like returning to a previous holiday destination. A new one would not be spectacular better — in terms of performance, ride quality and running costs it wouldn’t be better at all. It might have a different interior, when we really like the interior of ours. I admit I’m struggling to see what we’d get for changing, but who knows what financial magic may be about to dazzle me! |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2021 13:46:29 GMT
I know where you're coming from. I really didn't need even the extra range of the newer Leaf, let alone the other minor improvements and spec. I was just fed up with DCR. Wasn't a great financial decision, truth be told. But, you know, 'er indoors as well.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Mar 9, 2021 17:26:28 GMT
I couldn’t resist doing some sums of my own. Our GFV / final payment, due in November, is a shade over £12,000. The various grants, contributions, scrappages and our old E220 paid the first £13,000 or so. WBAC reckons the i3 is worth £13,000 now, which is quite a big drop since Vić and I were logging values here.
Given that our i3 is at 15,000 miles against a par of about 28,000, BMW clearly reckon there’s already some equity between what I’ve already paid and that GFV. Even with a £3,000 ZEV grant, though, it’s unlikely to go far towards the £40,000 or so we’d need for an i3 that would outdo the one we have. (I ran a spec for an i3s with a cabin heat pump and some other goodies.) I also noticed that BMW’s headline interest rate is higher now than the one we got in 2017, and which was a key factor in our decision then.
I have the £12,000 ready to pay the GFV and run the car for 2-3 more years. I could then save, say, 24 £300 chunks to get me towards the starting point for the next car — which presumably won’t be an i3 by then.
So I think it’s going to require some financial magic to convince me. But I’m prepared to be amazed.
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Mar 9, 2021 18:23:54 GMT
I'd keep the i3 you already have. Not so much to go wrong... How much longer is the warranty on the batteries?
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Post by dixinormus on Mar 9, 2021 18:50:36 GMT
Probably not worth upgrading to the - ahem - current model then.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2021 9:45:14 GMT
Blimey. £40k. I'm glad I'm in sub-£14k Leaf territory for my EV motoring.
I'd stick if I were you Dubya, but yes, if you're amazed, then go for it. Don't hold you breath though!
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Post by dixinormus on Mar 10, 2021 20:44:21 GMT
£40k makes my eyes water too Al, but we’re missing the point. Many buyers* just focus on the amount of the monthly payments; the total price is irrelevant to them. And it’s shiny.
*not necessarily the OP of course; I am generalising.
Of course, with the amount of money that people can save now that they’re no longer going on foreign holidays, or to restaurants, or on other pre-Covid fripperies then arguably it’s a good time to spend a few quid on a new motor? (Or on a boat, or on landscaping/renos, or an investment property, as we are seeing in NZ...).
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Mar 10, 2021 20:58:05 GMT
Your point about reduced new car volumes may be pertinent here, Norm. I’m a PCP novice, so for all I know a call at this stage is routine. But it may also be that trade is slack and they’re casting around for possibilities. S’pose I’ll find out tomorrow. At worst, it might be an opportunity to try out an i3s and see if the supposedly improved road manners make enough of a difference.
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Post by dixinormus on Mar 10, 2021 22:46:30 GMT
Thought I read somewhere that BMW GB have pre-registered a bunch of new i3s that they now need to sell? That may be motivating the dealer network.
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