[hemi steve]

All
I'm new here so allow me to introduce myself.

I'm a car geek. I admit it. I've owned a pretty fair number of fast and / interesting cars in my 73 years. For instance:

Fiat X/19 made of water soluble metal

'51 Plymouth business coupe with Chev 265 (2) 4bbl, roller cam 4 speed. Ran it in E-Gas at the drag strip when mere mortals could actually be competitive.

'58 chevy with '63 409 425 hp. Installed Z11 valve train. It was scary fast in the day. Did a bunch of street racing out of Skips Drive In west of Chicago.

'79 Corvette L-82 4 speed. It had pretty much every option including the factory CB radio!! It was the first and last black car I ever owned.

'72 Maserati Bora. It was a pure European car brought in when such things were easier to do. It was serial no 120. The tenth out of I believe 11 cars built in '72. It was a terrific car ( except for the Citroen hydraulics).

'84 Porsche 944 maroon over grey-beige. Just ok car but put 60k miles on it as a daily driver.

'83 Ferrari 308 GTSi Quatrovalvole, red over tan of course. Also a great car (except for the Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection which was very fussy to adjust to get past emissions testing).

'83 Lamborghini Countach, red over tan. I could write a book about the car. The short story is....Great automobile, not so great car. I sold it for 5X what I paid for it.

'32 Ford High Boy roadster with B&M blower on Chev. 350 engine and 350 automatic. Fun car but sometimes scary to drive with the vintage suspension design.

'70 Dodge Challenger with a John Arruzza built 511 cu in Hemi, Tremec 5 speed and Strange Engineering S-60 axle. Very fast and reliable muscle car. 10.5 sec 134mph 1/4 mile. Dyno said 721 hp.

The Deuce and the Challenger were destroyed in a garage fire caused by a Lithium ion battery. Had good insurance and got the agreed value after a little arm wrestling.

2006 Lamborghini Gallardo SE (#169 out of 250) Pearl white over black-white. Carbon ceramic brakes. This has been a great car. The 6-speed E-gear thansmission is very good. I still have this car.

'73 Plymouth Hemi Cuda (resto-mod) Limelight green over white with a full roller 528 cu in cross ram Hemi mated to a Tremec T-56 gear box from a Viper and a Strange S-60 axle with 4.10 gears. I still have this car.

1999 Plymouth Prowler Prowler Purple over Black. I really like this car and it is very fun to drive. I've still got it.

As you can see, I've never owned a BMW before. A couple of months ago I was driving around when I saw what appeared to be a BMW based on the grill design but it was like nothing I had ever seen before. As it passed me going the other way I got a glimpse of the rear and couldn't believe it was a BMW. I got home and looked it u and found it was an I8 PHEV. very interesting. I've got the bug now but before I pull the trigger for one of these I need to ask some questions. I'll do the questions in individual posts so that any responses are relevant to the question.

Steve

[Leto1701]

Welcome to the 'bug' club. And happy new year. A word of caution. The i8 is a great geek car indeed. It might be the most complicated piece of machinery out on the roads with its two electrical and one ICE engine, two transmissions, Butterfly's and all the rest. It is not a petrol head car though, more for growing up out of this phase. It is astoundingly efficient and can be fun to drive but in a engineer's way and not the "brute force" approach some/most of your other cars took to driving. If you are ready to grow out of that phase and have fun in a more, but not too much, grown up way especially the roadster is ideal. The i8 needs to be accepted for what it is, a highly efficient and reasonably fast PHEV with sports car looks and surprisingly good GT genes. If you expect a Porsche like sports or even a supersports car you won't be happy. The i8 is more of a game changer towards really efficient bridge technologies in individual mobility than many realize. It can be a full EV for typical commutes without needing a 700kg battery with it's production CO2 footprint. It can be a long range vehicle without the need for new fast charge infrastructure at very high efficiency of the downsized V3 and it only requires a regular outlet to charge at home in a decent time. Until we have H2 FCEVs this might be the most clever car on the road. If it can stop the BEV hype and the unnecessary millions of tons of batteries that it will bring to the roads without a need of the typical driver? For sure no. But other cars like the 2series PHEV might help.

Good luck with your decision, happy to answer a specific question.

[hemi steve]

Leto1701
Thanks for the reply.
A wise man once told me that "your appearance as you pass bye is your only message to most of the world". In part that is why I have the 3 cars I have right now. They are beautiful cars whose looks have stood the test of time. They draw the attention of people who may or may not know what they are and stimulate great conversations with strangers. I just love the way they look and the way I feel when I turn the key and listen to the sounds they make. I like the totally different driving experience from the sledge hammer Hemi to the surgical precision of the Gallardo. I got the "need for speed" out of my system as a younger man driving a Formula Atlantic race car and don't feel the need to push the performance potential. When I talk to a new person they almost always ask "how fast have you driven it" and I get a strange look when I say 70mph. Missing from the list of cars is my daily driver; a 2008 Prius which I bought new and have put 120,000 miles on it. It is a terrific car in many ways. Aside from scheduled maintenance I've had to replace the 12V battery twice and I replaced the brakes at 105,000 miles (regenerative braking is amazing). That's it. Unbelievable reliability.

Which brings me to the first question I have about the I8. I'll ask it in a new thread.

Steve

[TroyNVie]

I'm about a week into my ownership of a CPO 2016 BMW I8, but I did casually start looking and researching them as far back as 9 months ago. I too have a Lamborghini Gallardo (6-speed spyder) in the garage, which I adore, and recently sold a Maserati Gran Turismo; previously, I owned a Lotus Elise and several BMW 3-series.

My quick reaction to the I8 is that it's an amazing car if its attributes are appealing to you. It's got striking looks (some would call them "exotic" in nature), AWD, seems safe and reliable, excellent gas mileage, and the convenience and versatility that back seats offer (even if they're very small), as well as the peace of mind of a factory, certified pre-owned warranty with a wide dealer network.

I bought it as a third car to fit between the my Mercedes SUV as my daily driver and my Lamborghini as my sunny day, weekend driver. However, the I8 has quickly become my daily driver and I think the Mercedes SUV will be mostly relegated to bad weather and full family events only.

If you currently have a budget of low to mid-$60k range, you should be able to get a very low mileage example (as little as 3,500 miles) with some warranty or a higher mileage example with a longer warranty (as much as 3 years). I personally chose the later, as the peace of mind the warranty offers was very appealing to me.

[hemi steve]

TroyNVie

I like exotic looking things or at least cars that turn peoples heads and then they say to themselves " what was that" as I did a few month ago. I've looked into C7 Z06 Corvettes or a lower optioned C7 Corvette The problem for me is that I see so many Corvettes when I'm out and about. There's 3 in my neighborhood and a couple of GM execs have brought C8's home for the weekend so there'll probably be one or two of those in the mix as well. The mid 60's is fine for the right car. I'm collecting links to cars for sale that are in that range with low miles as you suggest. I have the willies though about what looks like reliability issues so I'm only collecting info on CPO cars which would likely give me a year of warranty coverage. But even then there is the aggravation factor of having to deal with getting it fixed. so, after the year or so, the next big question is "what then?". I'm reading that an extended warranty is in the $6k or more for a year. What do you plan to do when your CPO warranty runs out? I don't have a warranty on the Lamborghini because my research said that they are pretty reliable and I have the time and skills to do all of the routine maintenance in my own garage.

So, how long have you had your Gallardo? Has it been a good car for you? what color is it? I was originally looking for a gated car and got talked out of it by a guy I met at a cars and coffee event. I don't have any regrets. When you get on it in sport mode and do the first to second shift the impact is startling. I've got the Hemi if I want to drive a 3 pedal car anyway.

Steve

[zorgzx]

I'd say from what you write, you'll be happy as a pig in mud with the i8.

It's allways discussion starter @ gas pumps, looks phenomenal with those doors, and if you dont have back issues the getting in and out is slightly better than an elise. I actually enjoy the novelty of it.

Having allso owned a 09 Gallardo Superllegera I can feel where you come from mechanically, I personally hated the sport-mode, as it upsets the balance when going for it on track but I ran mine without a warranty as well, and easily sorted the many minor issues like coils etc.

So I get your thinking, but the drivetrain is run mainly by closed software, I have been searching far and wide to see if anyone has "hacked" it, and have been @ multiple dealers to get issues fixed to no avail.
One of the problems with the car is the dealers (at least in denmark) have no clue how to handle it, and haven't found specialists that compliment.

An example:
My car had the OE 14 software when I purchased it a few years ago, no updates ever. I was a little annoyed the creep mode was so twichy (tight uphill parking @ my office and other various small niggles. So I had it upgraded.
wich is not free, or over the air. Takes 2-3 hours @ shop.

After that I noticed no improovements. Only reading here @ the forum did I realise the battery Icon had changed with newer software, mine didnt. After taking it back they realised the upgrade was not "fully done". So they did it again, free. Still no change. Did it again, this time Icon changed, but no improovement. No better creep, still the multicolor led's can only show blue, orange or white.. stuff like that.

After a few months I noticed the car in eco-pro mode EV would fire up the ICE for no reason, sometimes @ 50km/h with 50% throttle and mostly over 80km/h. I've since figured the car now will fire the ICE when cold (even pre-heated) with heavy foot or over 80km/h. So I just drive it under 80 when cold and keep a delicate foot. Bit dissapointing on a expensive car.
Have taken it to multiple other I-certified dealers, but they just confirm, nothing is broken.

So it's a nerd car, it's great, looks cool, is fast (think m3, not gt3), practical and geeky / green, will do the meeting 400km away. But it IS a little fustrating sometimes you can't fiddle with the drivetrain.

[hemi steve]

zorgzx

Your experience is similar to reports by others regarding software updates and dealership I8 competent techs. I hate taking my cars to a dealer. it seems like you take the car in for one problem and leave with 3 different ones which requires yet another visit....AARGH. It's like having automatic updates on my laptop. I never know for sure what the update was supposed to fix but find that the way the computer behaves is different for no apparent reason. I now have the auto update disabled on all of my lappies and am much happier.

On the I8 are software updates manditory when you bring the car in?

Steve

[zorgzx]

Originally Posted by hemi steve

zorgzx

Your experience is similar to reports by others regarding software updates and dealership I8 competent techs. I hate taking my cars to a dealer. it seems like you take the car in for one problem and leave with 3 different ones which requires yet another visit....AARGH. It's like having automatic updates on my laptop. I never know for sure what the update was supposed to fix but find that the way the computer behaves is different for no apparent reason. I now have the auto update disabled on all of my lappies and am much happier.

On the I8 are software updates manditory when you bring the car in?

Steve

Yes and no. They're supposed to upgrade it, perhaps tey dont of the same reasons you describe above. I've never had a problem after service not related to me having a update done..
That said, it IS a complex car and lots of the faults take time and dedication to track down. Sadly that is not the business of BMW these days.

Still a great car, by I'm going to Merc next time.

[Coastali8]

I’ve had my i8 for nearly 3 years now.
After reading about the software update issues I decided not to do any updates to my car. It works just fine as is, and I don’t need a different battery icon or multicolored light show.
I solved the small handling issues with 245’s on the front and 275’s on the rear.
I solved the only mechanical issue I’ve had so far with the fuel door by just removing the catch on the door.
I can’t see the value of the increased high voltage battery capacity of the newer i8’s as being worth the cost of a newer vehicle just to drive a couple more miles in pure EV when the ICE is ready to take over anytime.
I haven’t taken the car to the dealer or any shop since I’ve owned it. I do all my own maintenance. It’s super easy to work on the car unlike some 10 cylinder lambo. I get 40-45 mpg.
So far ...... never a problem with the car. A lot of fun to drive. Performance is plenty good for street use and the car always turns heads.
What more could you want?

[Romann_28]

Originally Posted by Coastal i8

I’ve had my i8 for nearly 3 years now.
After reading about the software update issues I decided not to do any updates to my car. It works just fine as is, and I don’t need a different battery icon or multicolored light show.
I solved the small handling issues with 245’s on the front and 275’s on the rear.
I solved the only mechanical issue I’ve had so far with the fuel door by just removing the catch on the door.
I can’t see the value of the increased high voltage battery capacity of the newer i8’s as being worth the cost of a newer vehicle just to drive a couple more miles in pure EV when the ICE is ready to take over anytime.
I haven’t taken the car to the dealer or any shop since I’ve owned it. I do all my own maintenance. It’s super easy to work on the car unlike some 10 cylinder lambo. I get 40-45 mpg.
So far ...... never a problem with the car. A lot of fun to drive. Performance is plenty good for street use and the car always turns heads.
What more could you want?

Hey just curious, how you get 40-45 mpg. What mode do you drive in mostly and always charge it?

[Leto1701]

Originally Posted by Romann_28

Hey just curious, how you get 40-45 mpg. What mode do you drive in mostly and always charge it?

I can offer 118 mpg (in the units the world uses less than 2L./100km) driving about 40km per day mostly in EV mode. That there is any fuel consumption is caused by a couple of days with 80km (I go into Sports mode for one leg of the day's driving if I know it's gonna be 4x20km. Without the electrical engine on the Autobahn at 100mph its 47 mpg for me (Sports mode, manual switch to 6th gear as the automatic only goes up to 5th in Sports). The i8 is a great Autobahn cruiser in Sports / 6th gear. Don't use one of the automatic Hybrid modes for that. They work well on very long mixed daily drives, I never use them as that is not my profile. Only in Winter when it's slippery with hold charge mode to get constant AWD.

[Coastali8]

Originally Posted by Romann_28

Hey just curious, how you get 40-45 mpg. What mode do you drive in mostly and always charge it?

I leave the house fully charged and drive in Comfort mode with the wife on board. Sport mode when I’m by myself.
Usual drive is about 100 miles round trip on the Oregon coast averaging about 50-60 mph and the mpg is always 40-45. Just cruising.

[stressdoc]

Originally Posted by Coastal i8

... I can’t see the value of the increased high voltage battery capacity of the newer i8’s as being worth the cost of a newer vehicle just to drive a couple more miles in pure EV when the ICE is ready to take over anytime.

There are many significant improvements in the 2019 model. Agreed that doubled e range likely not worth cost. But the other improvements might be.

[zorgzx]

Originally Posted by stressdoc

There are many significant improvements in the 2019 model. Agreed that doubled e range likely not worth cost. But the other improvements might be.

I belive my car would have been reliable too had I not taken it to the shops. I guess I'm a nerd, and get annoyed when the petrol engine fires for no reason, and that the car will not do the range it is supposed to do.

For me I live 9 km from my kids school and my office, so the car should be able to handle taking me there and back on battery, even in the colder (4-5degC) winter times.

I love the car as a autobahn cruiser, it's very quiet and refined @ 200km/h with a decent range from the small tank.

I love the fact I havent had to change the brake pads in 40Kkm. I guess it just egg's me that 20% more effort from the dealers or BMW (Contacted them twice, no reponse from complaint department) would make it the most perfect car ever.

Imagine if BMW took a Tesla'ish approach to owners and offered a resonable cost for swapping the battery to the later model, for me that would greatly extend the pleasure of the car, instead of having to use throttle gingerly all the time.

Opportunity wasted more than crap car.