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      10-16-2020, 03:15 AM   #1
The Kilted Canuck
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I8 LCI - Less Obvious Changes?

Hi everyone,

New to the forum and am currently looking for an i8. I was hoping for some input - I have both heavily Googled and searched the forums for this info, so sorry if this info has been posted and I have missed it!

I am debating whether the LCI Coupe is worth the extra money. On top of the price premium - here in the UK I would be subject to an £150 annual road tax that I would not have to pay on an i8 registered before April 2017, as well as an additional surcharge the first few years of ownership (again not applicable to the older i8s). The benefits would be better finance rates and the factory warranty and service plan still being active - on top of the actual model changes.

I am aware of the more obvious changes (battery and motor update, iDrive update, air shutter, "coupe" emblem, etc). I have seen someone mention additional steel bracing carried over from the roadster and a better engine note, but cannot find anything official on that or any other 'under the skin' updates. Is anyone aware of a list of the more subtle changes?

Also, on either model - can anyone tell me the difference between the standard and the 'natural leather' besides the cloth inserts? Is it that much nicer?

Much appreciated and sorry for a long first post!
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      10-16-2020, 04:34 PM   #2
MolarBear
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You've done your research. There are a few minor internal changes but nothing that I'm aware has been extensively published. There was a small mention about air flow rerouting via the air shutter to go 'under the car' rather than out - internally this can be seen as the air flow is now drastically reduced making it a little challenge if you wish to get the pre-LCI bonnet vent working back to how it was - the cooling is reduced in the LCI. Shame they didn't omit this change and leave it only for the roadster as it's a damn cool vent (pre-LCI), but the LCI vent has grown on my gradually.

I'm going to go so far as to say if the tax saving of £150/£400ish (or whatever it is) extra per year is a factor in your decision, then look at the mileage you are anticipating to do (is it a weekend car? daily drive? Etc). The range difference is so much different in the LCI (a true 25-30 miles vs 10-12) that it makes commuting a very viable proposition. If your trips are above 12 miles but not much more than 30 miles you will save a lot of money on fuel (presuming you're happy to go all electric) - I get 68mpg over the last 2500 miles, that's mainly commuting of 40 mile trips twice a week and 60 mile trips twice a week. I do 12,000 so the tax savings pale in comparison to the fuel savings. If your mileage is low and you do very short trips not more than 12 miles then it won't matter if you get a pre-LCI.

Of course don't forget that you can't just look at cost of MPG, (which is easy to try and do when you justify the more expensive car vs the cheaper one) you've bought the car to drive!

The carplay is useless (as it is in general) - forget it - the BMW integrated nav is far better.

Really for the LCI, you're not paying much more really for them and there isn't a price premium really - essentially the LCI upgrades are free, they're just consistent with the age and mileage given the pricing. That is to say, an October 18 pre-LCI is very similarly priced to a November/December 18 LCI of the same mileage. That makes the LCI pretty good value for the same mileage/age!

If I were deciding it would have to be a pre March 17 model or a November 18 onwards LCI, but not much inbetween, as the inbetween models have full tax and no LCI extras, the worst of both worlds. I don't understand why April 17 -> October 18 models aren't cheaper, but they seem to be relatively linear regardless of the fact they are not LCI.

The later models came with slightly more kit as standard, but it's marginal as they were all well equiped. The LCIs do come with carplay but as above it's rubbish. The LCI does come with a much improved heads up.

What I would do is decide how much you would want to spend, and then decide on colour scheme. There were only 119 ish LCIs released (excluding roadsters) and the colour schemes are extremely limited. I wanted sophisto grey/frosted accents with dalbergia tan, and the one I bought is the only one I've come across in the last 3 months. Similarly I only know of one Donington grey that was sold just before mine. There are plenty of good colour schemes available pre-LCI, but post LCI there's only a handful and most involve the blue accent which you may or may not like, and the majority have black interiors (not to my taste). I only know of two so far with ivory leather in LCI trim.

I hope this helps, I plan to write a daily drive post soon as I've had mine for nearly 3 months!
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      10-16-2020, 04:42 PM   #3
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Also later LCIs did not have a service pack - which is possibly not that comprehensive. Early models had 5 years, some strangely had 4 years, and my Nov 18 had 3 years. They only go off the onboard computer though so if you buy a garage queen with minimal miles it will forgo it's services that it might get if it were used more, annoyingly! So many LCIs will not have a service pack. The service pack didn't include brake fluid anyway, I think it was just oil and air filter.
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      10-17-2020, 02:40 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MolarBear View Post
Also later LCIs did not have a service pack - which is possibly not that comprehensive. Early models had 5 years, some strangely had 4 years, and my Nov 18 had 3 years. They only go off the onboard computer though so if you buy a garage queen with minimal miles it will forgo it's services that it might get if it were used more, annoyingly! So many LCIs will not have a service pack. The service pack didn't include brake fluid anyway, I think it was just oil and air filter.
My 3 year service pack included the brake fluid change. Academic though really as its now expired lol, i will be paying for my services from now on!

In response to the OP, I'd say that you seem to have picked up all of the changes that I'm aware of on the LCI, it is a little bit better in a few ways, mostly the battery life and infotainment updates. The question is really how much in your mind it is worth paying for these. The extra road tax costs and fuel cost savings will pale in comparison to the extra depreciation costs you will suffer for a newer car vs an older one. So for best VfM buy a pre-april 2017 with a BMW warranty (or budget add one on yourself), a newer model will likely cost you £5k + a year more in depreciation.
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      10-17-2020, 02:52 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Maxxsirrah View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by MolarBear View Post
Also later LCIs did not have a service pack - which is possibly not that comprehensive. Early models had 5 years, some strangely had 4 years, and my Nov 18 had 3 years. They only go off the onboard computer though so if you buy a garage queen with minimal miles it will forgo it's services that it might get if it were used more, annoyingly! So many LCIs will not have a service pack. The service pack didn't include brake fluid anyway, I think it was just oil and air filter.
My 3 year service pack included the brake fluid change. Academic though really as its now expired lol, i will be paying for my services from now on!

In response to the OP, I'd say that you seem to have picked up all of the changes that I'm aware of on the LCI, it is a little bit better in a few ways, mostly the battery life and infotainment updates. The question is really how much in your mind it is worth paying for these. The extra road tax costs and fuel cost savings will pale in comparison to the extra depreciation costs you will suffer for a newer car vs an older one. So for best VfM buy a pre-april 2017 with a BMW warranty (or budget add one on yourself), a newer model will likely cost you £5k + a year more in depreciation.
Good points, but once you add price in age, mileage differences, and extra warranty (£1k a year) and battery cover (unsure of cost of this but it probably would be a few hundred at least a year equivalent) , add in CarPlay/nav conversion and time off work to get it fitted/hassle (£2k), fuel savings, then it's actually not a huge difference.

I did all the above when picking pre April 17 vs LCI and figured it was worth it for me, for what was a bit extra (but not actually loads once the numbers were crunched) if you were happy to pay for a newer car with less miles and more warranty.

It's obviously how much you want to pay and how much you use the car. The depreciation has largely occurred and even though theres £20k difference from 2014s to start of LCIs, it's actually pretty linear regardless of LCI or not once everything has been factored in.
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      10-17-2020, 02:56 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MolarBear View Post
Really for the LCI, you're not paying much more really for them and there isn't a price premium really - essentially the LCI upgrades are free, they're just consistent with the age and mileage given the pricing. That is to say, an October 18 pre-LCI is very similarly priced to a November/December 18 LCI of the same mileage. That makes the LCI pretty good value for the same mileage/age!

If I were deciding it would have to be a pre March 17 model or a November 18 onwards LCI, but not much inbetween, as the inbetween models have full tax and no LCI extras, the worst of both worlds. I don't understand why April 17 -> October 18 models aren't cheaper, but they seem to be relatively linear regardless of the fact they are not LCI.
Thanks for this! I know the road tax change is trivial in the grand scheme of things, but my point was more on what you picked up about the mid 2017-2018 models...why would I pay the extra tax and cost and not get the LCI changes?

On another note, where'd you get the 119 LCI coupes figure? Makes my decision easier if true as not much stock to pick from!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Maxxsirrah View Post
My 3 year service pack included the brake fluid change. Academic though really as its now expired lol, i will be paying for my services from now on!

In response to the OP, I'd say that you seem to have picked up all of the changes that I'm aware of on the LCI, it is a little bit better in a few ways, mostly the battery life and infotainment updates. The question is really how much in your mind it is worth paying for these. The extra road tax costs and fuel cost savings will pale in comparison to the extra depreciation costs you will suffer for a newer car vs an older one. So for best VfM buy a pre-april 2017 with a BMW warranty (or budget add one on yourself), a newer model will likely cost you £5k + a year more in depreciation.
The one I am looking at specifically has been on the market a while, so the amount more I'd be paying is largely offset by the better finance rates (/bmw warranty/service plan). Appreciate the input though!
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      10-17-2020, 02:57 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Kilted Canuck View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by MolarBear View Post
Really for the LCI, you're not paying much more really for them and there isn't a price premium really - essentially the LCI upgrades are free, they're just consistent with the age and mileage given the pricing. That is to say, an October 18 pre-LCI is very similarly priced to a November/December 18 LCI of the same mileage. That makes the LCI pretty good value for the same mileage/age!

If I were deciding it would have to be a pre March 17 model or a November 18 onwards LCI, but not much inbetween, as the inbetween models have full tax and no LCI extras, the worst of both worlds. I don't understand why April 17 -> October 18 models aren't cheaper, but they seem to be relatively linear regardless of the fact they are not LCI.
Thanks for this! I know the road tax change is trivial in the grand scheme of things, but my point was more on what you picked up about the mid 2017-2018 models...why would I pay the extra tax and cost and not get the LCI changes?

On another note, where'd you get the 117 LCI coupes figure? Makes my decision easier if true as not much stock to pick from!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Maxxsirrah View Post
My 3 year service pack included the brake fluid change. Academic though really as its now expired lol, i will be paying for my services from now on!

In response to the OP, I'd say that you seem to have picked up all of the changes that I'm aware of on the LCI, it is a little bit better in a few ways, mostly the battery life and infotainment updates. The question is really how much in your mind it is worth paying for these. The extra road tax costs and fuel cost savings will pale in comparison to the extra depreciation costs you will suffer for a newer car vs an older one. So for best VfM buy a pre-april 2017 with a BMW warranty (or budget add one on yourself), a newer model will likely cost you £5k + a year more in depreciation.
The one I am looking at specifically has been on the market a while, so the amount more I'd be paying is largely offset by the better finance rates (/bmw warranty/service plan).
There's an i8 Facebook group where a lady in the UK is writing a book and collating figures. I believe it's just called "BMW i8" (group).
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      10-17-2020, 02:59 AM   #8
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You're also right about the no mans land dead spot of taxable cars. Obviously the UK tax policy is out of sync with BMWs refresh cycle!
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      10-17-2020, 02:59 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MolarBear View Post
There's an i8 Facebook group where a lady in the UK is writing a book and collating figures. I believe it's just called "BMW i8" (group).
Thanks for that. Do you know roughly how many members it has? There are a few just called that.
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      10-17-2020, 03:08 AM   #10
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      10-17-2020, 05:47 AM   #11
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6.5k
Cheers!

Does yours have the standard leather or the 'upgraded' natural leather with cloth?
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      10-17-2020, 05:53 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Kilted Canuck View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by MolarBear View Post
6.5k
Cheers!

Does yours have the standard leather or the 'upgraded' natural leather with cloth?
Dalbergia, which is an option. Not sat in a regular one to compare. I'd probably go on colour rather than leather quality as you don't have different options within colours anyway.
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      10-17-2020, 03:41 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MolarBear View Post
Good points, but once you add price in age, mileage differences, and extra warranty (£1k a year) and battery cover (unsure of cost of this but it probably would be a few hundred at least a year equivalent) , add in CarPlay/nav conversion and time off work to get it fitted/hassle (£2k), fuel savings, then it's actually not a huge difference.

I did all the above when picking pre April 17 vs LCI and figured it was worth it for me, for what was a bit extra (but not actually loads once the numbers were crunched) if you were happy to pay for a newer car with less miles and more warranty.

It's obviously how much you want to pay and how much you use the car. The depreciation has largely occurred and even though theres £20k difference from 2014s to start of LCIs, it's actually pretty linear regardless of LCI or not once everything has been factored in.
You can try to play the numbers however you like, but an older car will cost you significantly less per year than a newer one. I've had my 2017 i8 from new on a 4 year 0% interest PCP deal which comes up in march next year. My decision is whether to pay the £43k settlement number and keep my current coupe or trade the car in for a newer roadster. Financially its an absolute no brainer to keep the current car, if you're simply looking at monthly finance payments then thats far from a true reflection of the ownership costs. But as long as you can afford it and you're happy with your choice then go for it!
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      11-23-2020, 01:56 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Maxxsirrah View Post
You can try to play the numbers however you like, but an older car will cost you significantly less per year than a newer one. I've had my 2017 i8 from new on a 4 year 0% interest PCP deal which comes up in march next year. My decision is whether to pay the £43k settlement number and keep my current coupe or trade the car in for a newer roadster. Financially its an absolute no brainer to keep the current car, if you're simply looking at monthly finance payments then thats far from a true reflection of the ownership costs. But as long as you can afford it and you're happy with your choice then go for it!
Interestingly, a recent discussion on Facebook showed the price of a UK 18 Plate pre-LCI with 11k miles was £54k. Mine was 1 month older, but with 3k miles, for £59.3k. Let's say £2k reduction off for the mileage. That puts the difference between a pre-LCI and post-LCI of the same age at about £3.5k difference.

You're right an older car has less to fall and is astounding value, but once you start to get to the transition period £3.5k buys you a battery, better head-ups, upgraded nav, touchscreen, the LCIs don't carry a huge premium really if those are priced in!
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      11-23-2020, 09:45 PM   #15
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The key deciding factor for me was performance. I was less than impressed with the handling of the pre-LCI. BMW learned a lot from experience with the i8 on track. LCI coupe suspension is more performance-oriented. Get the lighter 516 rims, aero, swap B-stones for wider Michelin PS4s, dump some weight, maybe a tune, and you have a fast, fun car.
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      08-18-2023, 05:05 AM   #16
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Having been looking closely at a late build Roadster (Jan 2020 production date), there seems to be a couple of other changes - standard carbon fibre trim and blue stitching on the black interior seats, door edges and dashboard edge. Cars with a 2019 build date just seem to have white stitching if they have the black interior and do not have carbon trim as standard. Does anyone have a list of what was changed for the 2020 final model year?
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