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      01-22-2022, 04:44 PM   #1
Ozsplace
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Question about buying a used 2015 I8

So I have some questions about getting an I8 now used - basically out of warranty for the group

A - would you do it? Is it too risky based on the issues people have had and the super high cost to repair and difficulty of DIY repairs

B - some dealerships offer warranties but with a lot of limitations- anyone find a warranty company that covers the I8 well enough?

I’ve enjoyed reading everyone’s experiences and it generally seems like the car is reliable but no one should own one without a warranty.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance
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      01-22-2022, 10:54 PM   #2
chris_1M
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The car is very reliable IMHO and very cheap -if not bought new- to run (insurance/service intervals)/road tax).
However, having $10-15K spare cash you are willing to throw in if needed might be a wise move.
Good luck!
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      01-23-2022, 02:57 AM   #3
mwhfgjvcg
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2014 Model: the car is very reliable and relatively cheap regarding maintenance/running costs. I spend only $4k over last 7 years for unexpected repair (AC compressor). Compared to other high performance cars this is not much (i.e. Porsche for which you should definitely consider $10-20k when buying a 6 year used one). I recommend to buy a car with full maintenance history only carried out by BMW dealerships. Consider to have checked the high voltage battery within 8 year / milage warranty
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      01-23-2022, 08:29 AM   #4
Ozsplace
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Thanks for the posts so far - that’s good to hear. I guess you mainly hear about issues with the car because if you didn’t have issues there wouldn’t be anything to talk about.

I watched pat’s garage videos on all the things to check for when looking at used I8s so that was helpful too.

Any one have a 3rd party warranty - are they garbage?
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      01-23-2022, 09:16 AM   #5
stressdoc
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I bought mine with the full BMW certified unlimited mileage warranty. Naturally nothing has gone awry in three years, and I only have 19k miles on it. Peace of mind though. Nonetheless very tempting to roll the dice when 4 years are up and risk potential repairs. Watch out for sharp high speed bumps...
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      01-23-2022, 11:41 AM   #6
Coastali8
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Garage List
2015 BMW i8  [10.00]
1970 Porsche 914-6  [0.00]
2018 BMW i3s REx  [0.00]
The warranty guys always make money on the warranties. In my experience, and talking with a lot of people when I was president of a 500+ member Porsche Club region. I would estimate that only about 10% of the members who bought extended warranty coverage got their monies worth.

My i8 hasn’t been the most reliable car I’ve owned but I know it’s considerably cheaper to own than other semi exotic sports cars. I’ve spent about $4000 over a 6 year period on repairs for the car.

I don’t think any particular expensive issues stand out on the i8. Maybe the air conditioning compressor. (Mine needed replacement). And that was probably solved in the newer models and new replacement compressor improvements. There was also an issue with 2014 cars requiring frequent replacement of the belt that runs the starter/generator but my understanding was that was solved by removing a heat shield.

My advice is… take the car to a BMW dealership and have a pre buy inspection and check stored fault codes.
Then if it checks out. Buy and enjoy. The i8 is a unique and fun car. And maybe a future classic.

The only other thing I would suggest is to change the oil and filter more frequently than BMW recommends as turbo chargers don’t like dirty oil. I think the long change interval that BMW suggests is to make the car seem more “green”. It’s really easy to do it yourself too.

Last edited by Coastali8; 01-24-2022 at 10:53 AM..
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      02-04-2022, 04:29 PM   #7
mws
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mwhfgjvcg View Post
2014 Model: the car is very reliable and relatively cheap regarding maintenance/running costs. I spend only $4k over last 7 years for unexpected repair (AC compressor). Compared to other high performance cars this is not much (i.e. Porsche for which you should definitely consider $10-20k when buying a 6 year used one). I recommend to buy a car with full maintenance history only carried out by BMW dealerships. Consider to have checked the high voltage battery within 8 year / milage warranty
on your A/C compressor repair, some people end up with metal flakes in their A/C tubing and the battery cooling tubing. You sound like you got lucky.
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      02-04-2022, 04:39 PM   #8
mws
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If you want one that is relatively issue-free, you would spring for a 2018 or later.

You should watch Pat's Garage videos on YouTube, especially the one about shock absorbers dying and especially the A/C compressor which "will" fail on the early models (as well as the i3s).

2014 with only 1200 miles on it, I bought it a year ago. Such low miles! Safe from issues? Think again. ....

Like clockwork, driving on some not-so well-maintained concrete highway, (really, not anything that would bother any other car) one of my rear shocks popped it's top seal like a champagne bottle. blowing oil all over and causing me to have to replace the rear shocks. I decided to replace both, since BMW shows a new part number for that shock. (the old part number is known to explode open as per TSB) They wanted $4800 to do the job. I knew how and bought them for $680 each, or so, from an online BMW site and did it myself.

Then I saw Pat's video about the Air conditioning compressor, looked into it on the i3 forum (multiple people with $16-18k repair bills which makes their cars worthless) and I just called my BMW dealer and said "how much to just replace mine with the latest part number?". It was around $3500 or so, all in. I just did it.

I looked it up on realoem.com and saw they had at least 5 (five, yes five) newer part numbers for that POS compressor and said "well the 2018s are not exploding, so, maybe they figured it out, finally" and just had it replaced as insurance.

I have no warranty, no plans to get one. I agree with other forum posters, if you find a good indy shop who can do good work, just avoid the 3rd party warranty and avoid the dealer, unless you want the dealer warranty on a certain job or part. I "did" want the dealer 2- year warranty on the compressor and labor, so I had them do it. He said if anything went wrong, due to the compressor, they would replace it and the labor for free.

Now, I plan to just deal with the minor stuff that comes up. Car only has 4k miles on it. Does not get driven much.

2014/2015 costs so much less than a used 2018, I figure it was worth it, and so far, it is.

Also, I really really wanted a Pure Impulse World interior. Not a fan of the light brown seats in the later models.

Last edited by mws; 02-04-2022 at 07:09 PM..
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