[mullini]

Well I sold my 2013 X1 this week and bought a 2017 i3.

I first drove the i3 at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show (or was it 2013?). I remember feeling like it was too gimmicky at the time, from interior to exterior to even the driving experience. Over the years I started to warm up to the look, and then this May I went to the Santa Anita UDE and test drove it, and just fell in love with the i3. My X1 has/had been a great car, but with my commute and the HOV sticker as a huge incentive, I decided to make the change.

Picked it up Wednesday at Pacific BMW (thanks Greg Poland!) and drove it back to my downtown LA office. I didn't notice the exact number of miles remaining when I left work for 18-mile drive home, but traffic was so bad that the charge level didn't go down much if at all. Love those regenerating brakes!

Due to an older townhome and the distance from fuse box to garage, getting updated to a 240 volt outlet cost me $700, then I bought the Siemens plug-in from Amazon for $500. So yeah, I won't be buying gas, but it's going to take a long long time for the savings to break even. Whatever! I love driving it and once I get the license plates, that HOV sticker application gets in the mail.

So hello all, see you in the HOV lanes...

[M///Fanatic]

Awesome! Congrats!

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by mullini

Well I sold my 2013 X1 this week and bought a 2017 i3.

Congrats!

Originally Posted by mullini

Due to an older townhome and the distance from fuse box to garage, getting updated to a 240 volt outlet cost me $700, then I bought the Siemens plug-in from Amazon for $500. So yeah, I won't be buying gas, but it's going to take a long long time for the savings to break even.

If your commute is anything like mine, that's ~300 miles / week, or ~16 gallons/week. At the current $2.50/gallon, that's $64/week, or $256/month.
Alas, we somehow managed to drive i3 more than the vehicle it replaced, thus that gas savings were closer to $300/week.

Thus, it will take <5 months to break-even on L2 charger installation.

In my case, with $249/month lease, i3 is basically a free car (not counting insurance)!


Not too bad at all, if you ask me...


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[Almaretto]

Congrats! Now you just need to code to unlock additional potential.

[lorinzo]

Enjoy!!

[VacMan1]

Don't forget your Chargepoint EVGO account for free rapid charging for the first two years. Not sure where you're at in Redondo, but every time I'm down that way I go to the DCFC right outside of Bevmo at Rosecrans and Redondo:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ev...4d-118.3825028

Download the plugshare app and you'll find lots of places to charge when you're away from home. Even though I have a 40a Juicebox at home I almost always top up somewhere free before I go home. You can add ~100 miles of range in 30 minutes.

[mullini]

Originally Posted by VacMan1

Don't forget your Chargepoint EVGO account for free rapid charging for the first two years. Not sure where you're at in Redondo, but every time I'm down that way I go to the DCFC right outside of Bevmo at Rosecrans and Redondo:

BevMo! Now there's a fill up. I have signed up for EVGO. I live a mile or two from that ChargePoint, so I might as well charge at home and save the free charges for when I'm elsewhere and the battery is low. I was thinking about visiting my brother in East Bay this summer and either driving the 99 or 101, which seem to have best options for charging. But I think the range anxiety would add stress to a boring commute, so I'll probably take my Audi 3...

[VacMan1]

Originally Posted by mullini

BevMo! Now there's a fill up. I have signed up for EVGO. I live a mile or two from that ChargePoint, so I might as well charge at home and save the free charges for when I'm elsewhere and the battery is low. I was thinking about visiting my brother in East Bay this summer and either driving the 99 or 101, which seem to have best options for charging. But I think the range anxiety would add stress to a boring commute, so I'll probably take my Audi 3...

It's unlimited charging for the first two years. You're costing yourself money by charging at home.

[Almaretto]

Originally Posted by VacMan1

It's unlimited charging for the first two years. You're costing yourself money by charging at home.

I was thinking the same thing.

[mullini]

Oh that's true. But would I rather hang around BevMo on Rosecrans for a couple hours or just charge at home overnight? But I'll keep that in mind. At least parking is free at that location. The free EVGO stations near my work in downtown LA are all inside pay parking structures so - not so free after all...

[VacMan1]

Originally Posted by mullini

Oh that's true. But would I rather hang around BevMo on Rosecrans for a couple hours or just charge at home overnight? But I'll keep that in mind. At least parking is free at that location. The free EVGO stations near my work in downtown LA are all inside pay parking structures so - not so free after all...

Couple hours? You can add 100 miles of range in 30 minutes with a level 3 charger. For your usage you could probably stop by there on the way home on Friday after not charging all week and top off your battery in 15-20 minutes.

[mullini]

I haven't done L3 yet so was thinking L2. I checked the EVGO locater and it didn't show the BevMo location...then I realized I needed to check "DC Fast" and it showed up as "Fresh 'n Easy." Wow that takes me back! I still have a couple F&E recyclable shopping bags...they're getting a little worn tho...