[rjdavis61]

Hi. Im going to be looking at a 2014 I8 with 41000 miles tomorrow for $49000 and have done as much research as I can. Im concerned about the high miles and potential battery failure. I would much more prefer a roadster but cant find one locally and they advised of loss of headroom. I just need advice on whether I should wait on one with lower miles and or a roadster. This would be a daily driver for me. Its at a local BMW dealer vin WBY2Z2C5XEVX64500. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[thesubmitter]

Roadsters only exist in 2019+

Check to see if the radiator issue has been handled

There is some diagnostic steps to see the battery health

Make sure the carbon fibre tub is 100% intact

[Coastali8]

Early 2014-15 i8’s had a little higher instance of air conditioner compressor failures that could be a very expensive repair if the shrapnel entered the battery cooling system. Any signs of the compressor making strange noises have it replaced immediately.
The BMW dealer can perform a battery health check for you but unless the battery has sat for an extended period of time completely discharged it most likely has many years of life left in it at only 41k miles.

[rjdavis61]

Thanks for the imput. I found out the dealership specializes in lemon buy backs from the manufacturer. It was a buy back due to engine drivetrain issue. Gonna pass on it and keep searching.

[i8thegreat]

I actually almost bought that same i8, about a month ago, and then i saw the carfax and it was a mess(on top of the lemon title).

I ended up buying a 2015 i8 with 7k miles on it, and 3 weeks later it needs a new HV EH, and HV battery cable replacement....$3500 from the dealer...

ofcourse i bought the car "as is" because of the age and this happened 3 days later!

Cant trust much or anyone these days.

But, like someone mentiones before, you can atleast test the battery by going to a hidden menu on the instrument cluster. Hold down the black button on the bottom left for about 10 seconds and then a menu will appear, scroll down to unlock, and then add up the last 5 (might be 6) digits of the cars vin, and then hold down the button. That same menu will appear, but with a few more options. scroll down to "tank" and then scroll in that menu till you see battery kwh. 2014-2016 the normal range i been seeing has been around 5.0 to 6.0.


I would also invest in an obd2 scanner with an all system scan function. Thats how i got screwed...Didnt have that all system function and couldnt see the intermitten faults.