[BanjoPaterson]

Warning - a bit of a pre-amble before the questions...

To begin, I have researched a lot of buying advice on the i8 (even down small details such as you only have 100 launch controls until you are required to take the i8 in to a BMW service dealer, although this may be changing), and so feel eerily familiar with the car despite not having driven it. My wife and I are both interested because the i8 ticks quite a few boxes of "future classic", e.g. wall poster styling, limited quantity, yada yada yada -- and the local prices are somewhat depressed since most people in Ozstraya with $300K AUD have other purchasing options, e.g. good 2nd hand Aston Martin DB9; so dealer demo ones, particularly over 1+ year old, have taken quite a depreciation hit.

So we spotted an i8 at our local BMW dealer at a nicely depreciated price (i.e. we can afford it without renting out our kidneys), at the correct colour and spec. But... and there always is... as I was talking to the sales manager it transpires the car had been shown as an exhibition at some show or other during the weekend and the junior BMW carbon unit driving it back "hit a dip in the road" and "broke the drive shaft." I presume they mean the either or both of the output shafts coming out of the rear engine... but could be the output shafts from the front?? I didn't ask. :-(

The details were sketchy, but they have a new drive shaft flown out from Germany and are flying someone in to check "what other damage there may be" -- ergo the car, apparently, is in pieces right now.

I have been assured that they will "write it off" if there is too much structural damage. I said that my chief concerns would be the CF plastic body since, I imagine, replacing even a door is the cost of new Mazda 3 or such like. Second, I would be concerned that the steel underside housing the battery would be compromised.

So. Gut tells me any "dip in the road" severe enough to break a drive shaft must have compromised the body and structure, and therefore "walk away" and wait for another one at that price point.

But it's not like there's a huge i8 pool available. I think there's less than 60 in Australia. So if the specialist they fly in says the drive shaft replacement is all that's needed and the body+structure is sound, do I accept that?

Another opportunity may not arise locally (although there is one being sold in another state at the same price and colour, but then you get the registration tax here plus transport plus going down to see it plus... plus..).

Any and all advice welcome. Thank you in advance.