[AFineMan]

Greetings All

Well as the heading says, New Owner here. We bought a 2014 with 4700 miles on it, and I feel we stole it.

Any ways, this is our first week with the new toy and today we ran it down until the REX kicked in (I wanted to make sure everything worked as it should), we did errands all day (including having my 228 Xi get its 10K service).

It was my original plan to give my wife the 228 Xi convert in a few years so I could get a new i3 but, her car died (idler pulley for timing belt broke causing the timing belt to skip and then the valves smashed in to the pistons) so she needed a new car.

We have a back up car that she likes (2006 grey market Smart car), it is small, easy to park and she sat high making it easy to drive. I felt the back up car was not a good primary car for her (she does love that car though) so I started looking.

She reluctantly agreed to test drive the orange 2014 i3, well 2 minutes in she was all smiles and wanted it. I then took her to test drive Honda,Toyota, Kia, Ford and none were small enough or put her high enough in the seat so in her mind, she knew what her next car was going to be.

I have followed the i3 since its introduction (you tube build videos) and was fascinated buy the technology (I work in the electronics field). So here I was, my wife wanted the car, I wanted the car, BUT it was used and someone else took the tax advantage. I went to car fax and found out the original dealer had been trying to sell it for the past 6 months, So I figured I may have some leverage(I bought my 228 from them 9 months prior).

So in the end, I was able to get a car with 4,700 miles on it for $20K less than a new one would of cost me (Happy Dance), I'm amazed that a car with so few miles had deprecated so much.

My wife drives so little (~3,500 miles per year) and my office already has has "Electrical Vehicles Only" parking spots (20 amp GFI 120 volt outlets good only for the level 1 charger) so I'm not sure if I need to buy a lever 2 charger (yet). but I believe this car will be the go to car in the coming years. It is scary to think the 2015 228 Xi will become the back up car, funny how things happen.

Thanks for reading

AFM

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by AFineMan

Well as the heading says, New Owner here. We bought a 2014 with 4700 miles on it, and I feel we stole it.

Congrats, and welcome aboard!

Originally Posted by AFineMan

Any ways, this is our first week with the new toy and today we ran it down until the REX kicked in (I wanted to make sure everything worked as it should), we did errands all day (including having my 228 Xi get its 10K service). [...]
I have followed the i3 since its introduction (you tube build videos) and was fascinated buy the technology (I work in the electronics field).

You are a great candidate for unlocking all the extra cool features in your REX (use of full 2.5G tank vs. US electronically limited 1.9G, ability to turn on REX manually on demand, etc, etc) via coding.
This forum tries to scramble useful outside links, but lets see if this one survives:
bmw[delete me]enet[dot]com/guides

Originally Posted by AFineMan

So in the end, I was able to get a car with 4,700 miles on it for $20K less than a new one would of cost me (Happy Dance), I'm amazed that a car with so few miles had deprecated so much.

Electric cars depreciate by the value of federal and state (first owner only) at the point of sale. The rest are the traditional mark-up plus used car hit.

Originally Posted by AFineMan

My wife drives so little (~3,500 miles per year) and my office already has has "Electrical Vehicles Only" parking spots (20 amp GFI 120 volt outlets good only for the level 1 charger) so I'm not sure if I need to buy a lever 2 charger (yet). but I believe this car will be the go to car in the coming years. It is scary to think the 2015 228 Xi will become the back up car, funny how things happen.

Most of us have found an L2 (240V) charger (can be had for under $500) and invaluable compliment to EV ownership. L1 (120V) chargers are just too slow.

I stumbled onto i3-REX last year as well, and am surprised to report that we had put 10K miles on it in the first 8 months of ownership. It's a great little town / commuter car!

a

[AFineMan]

afadeev

I know about the coding and have a spare laptop that can be designated for this task, I'm just going to wait until the warranty runs out.

I have lots of coding plans for the 228 and the i3 (5 blink, turning on the REX at will, using the entire gas tank, some lighting options, etc).

I'll just wait another 3 years (sounds like a long time doesn't it). I've already checked out level 2 chargers (the cheap GE charger is my charger of choice) but only time/demand will decide if I need that charger.

Then again I saw a DIY charger that has some cool options that I may consider (in the end same cost but cool features)

AFM

[bovino]

Oh man I so wanted the orange! I'm new too. We rock.

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by AFineMan

I know about the coding and have a spare laptop that can be designated for this task, I'm just going to wait until the warranty runs out.

That's a very curious approach - you are planning to forgo the benefits of unlocking car's cool features for the next 4 years and 50K miles of ownership?

In all likelihood, you will have sold the car by then (EV tech evolution is going exponential, and will leave gen-1 i3 in the dust in 4 years)!

Originally Posted by AFineMan

I have lots of coding plans for the 228 and the i3 (5 blink, turning on the REX at will, using the entire gas tank, some lighting options, etc).

All good ideas.

Don't forget the removal of all warning disclaimers and warning gongs, add AM + Weather band radios.
And my personal PITA - stop the trunk from auto-locking and not auto-unlocking upon parking (I just disabled the first step).

Plenty of other fluff as well...


Have fun either way...

[info@trinityautosport]

Congrats on the car! Welcome.

[plymjack]

looks a good buy, loving the Orange. and the interior is fab too

like you I followed the I3 and then suddenly the dealer called with a great offer on a year old 7miles on clock - so we went for it.

L2 charge is really useful so dont hang on if your going to get one.

We have an X3 as our 2nd car now lol..

[siliconkibou]

Love this car - just bought the same color, but with the tan/wood (giga world) interior!

Level 2 charger is definitely a must - takes just a few hours, and ensures the battery is still full even when you precondition it on very cold/hot days.

I'd be curious on how to find a reputable source for the necessary programs and files for coding. Anyone have a lead on that?

[Schulz]

Congrats on the new car and that's a great color too! I like the interiors and I am sure that it will give you a nice fresh feeling for a long time to come.