[capt_slow]

I had a last minute itch to jump into a new i3 and spent the better part of two weeks looking for options. Between buying a CPO i3 and leasing a new one, I decided on the latter. Picked up a 2018 i3 Rex in Imperial Blue and Giga interior, plus the Tech package, parking sensors, and CarPlay.

While the car was fresh from the VPC, I did spend some time detailing it. A full wash, paint correction, seal, and wax later...





I'm absolutely in love with this car! It drives great and handles well, and just a fun toss-able car all around. I've already coded in a few things and planning to add TJA eventually. I'm debating whether or not to add tints, but since I dont plan on keeping it post-lease, I think it's kind of a waste.

[3002 tii]

Very nice i3! I was wondering the same about tints but ultimately decided to go with it. At little less than $100/yr, I thought it was worth it considering how hot it gets during the summer. Plus I’ve never had issues returning a lease car with tints...

Be sure to post your review on the TJA. Sucks it didn’t come with the car.

[tom @ eas]

Congrats on the new i3. Love my TJA, use it almost every day.

Let me know when ready for a module and I'll get you set up.

[bagekko]

Congrats welcome to the club, we're not ignorant like the Tesla fanboys

[DonC]

Welcome, have you thought about a home charger?

[jmg]

Congrats! You got the best interior too. I find the traffic assist absolutely essential with this car. What's your monthly if you don't mind me asking?

[capt_slow]

Originally Posted by DonC

Welcome, have you thought about a home charger?

I dont have a 240V outlet in the garage yet, but will be getting a NEMA 14-50 installed alongside our solar system. I'm looking at either a portable Level 2 charger or a Juicebox 40 Lite. Any recommendations?

Originally Posted by jmg

Congrats! You got the best interior too. I find the traffic assist absolutely essential with this car. What's your monthly if you don't mind me asking?

About $180/month

[jmg]

Originally Posted by capt_slow

I dont have a 240V outlet in the garage yet, but will be getting a NEMA 14-50 installed alongside our solar system. I'm looking at either a portable Level 2 charger or a Juicebox 40 Lite. Any recommendations?

About $180/month

With zero down? That's pretty good! I'm trying to look for a similar deal. My current is $177/mo zero down $1800 MSDs.

[DonC]

Clipper Creek is the company I went with.

[capt_slow]

Originally Posted by jmg

With zero down? That's pretty good! I'm trying to look for a similar deal. My current is $177/mo zero down $1800 MSDs.

My drive off was about $7k, but it was comprised of rebates, taxes, fees, title/reg, etc. There was no real cap cost reduction.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by capt_slow

My drive off was about $7k, but it was comprised of rebates, taxes, fees, title/reg, etc. There was no real cap cost reduction.

There had to have been a cap cost reduction to get your payment that low. $7k drive off is not a small amount of money! What dealer?

[capt_slow]

Originally Posted by jmg

There had to have been a cap cost reduction to get your payment that low. $7k drive off is not a small amount of money! What dealer?

I also had about $11k in incentives on top of that too.

[rolltidef32]

Hey May, welcome to i3 world. Glad to hear you're enjoying it; sure love mine.

Even with a lease, ceramic tint is a must have to me. Keeps heat down which helps you keep the AC running low on Auto which saves range.

My tint isn't too dark at 50, but it's effective and keeps things cool. The windshield is the biggest culprit for heat and in Georgia, you can't even do clear tint.

[capt_slow]

I've had the car for about a month now and thought I'd follow up on the first 30-days of ownership.

Mods/Accessories
I actually havent done much to this department. Aside from the usual coding tricks for hold mode and the like, the only thing I spent on this car were OEM all-weather floor mats that I got off from Craigslist for $80. The previous owner used some sort of air freshener and it sunk into the mats...deep. Thinking about adding ceramic tints to the car still.

This thing is fun to drive
I've driven i3s during UDEs and weekend test drives. I know it's a fun to drive car, but every time I'm behind the wheel it still amazes me. It's a torquey, tossable car that simply brings smiles. The short wheelbase definitely helps with getting in tight spaces in some OC parking lots.

The interior is HUGE
The boxy shape of the car gives it a huge greenhouse and it's one of the roomiest cars I've had in a while. Likewise, the windshield is massive and I'm constantly reminded of it when I'm cleaning the interior. The build quality is top notch, not a rattle and little to no noise. Much like Tesla and other EV makes, I guess they need to since there isnt an engine to drown stuff out.

The bad: Giga interior
The Giga leather interior, especially the patch for the driver's left-side butt cheek, is especially prone to stains. Within the first 500 miles the tan leather was noticibly stained from the jeans I was wearing. Fortunatnely, I was able to get it off with some Lexol.

The bad: Insurance
The i3 is expensive to insure. Compared to my F31, the i3 is almost twice as much to insure with the same amount of coverage. In talking with some other i3 owners, it pretty much boils down to the fact that EVs are generally more expensive to insure and the i3's CFRP shell is seriously expensive to fix (read: easily totaled).

The bad: The tires wear out. Fast.
I knew going into this that I would need a new set of rears at some point in the lease. It's pretty well known than I'll need new tires around 20k. However, I didnt expect it to be this bad: 579 miles and I wore out 0.0185" of tread, or about 0.5/32nd. At that rate, I'll be at 4/32nds at 6k, and 2/32nds at 8k!

That said, it was a rough month. Most of those miles were spent showing off the gobs of torque to friends and family.