Thinking of an i3!
Discussion
Having never given electric cars a second thought, I think I've finally come round to them! Makes a lot of sense for my usage really, which is mostly all central London driving. The last couple of months were pretty expensive for my daily beater: road tax, 4 new tyres (granted EVs need tyres too), EML light, windscreen washer leak somewhere, slight oil leak... and I think all this tipped me over the edge.
What's the consensus on an early-ish i3 for around £15k in terms of battery life and future depreciation? I've never bought a new car so I'm not sure I could stomach £5k a year on PCP, the petrol saving wouldn't make up anywhere near that amount either.
Reasons for considering the i3 is its compactness, decent amount of toys, nice place to be inside and I'm a BMW fanboy
What's the consensus on an early-ish i3 for around £15k in terms of battery life and future depreciation? I've never bought a new car so I'm not sure I could stomach £5k a year on PCP, the petrol saving wouldn't make up anywhere near that amount either.
Reasons for considering the i3 is its compactness, decent amount of toys, nice place to be inside and I'm a BMW fanboy
Great car imho but I've an i3s so am biased.
A mate has also just bought one for £20k. It's a 2017 66 plate with 10k. A good deal for a car that was £37k new.
I think a 3 year old 94Ah bev should be feasible in your price range.
It won't have the range of its competitors but makes up for it with rwd and pace. 0-60 in 7.2 seconds doesn't really tell the whole story as it feels so much quicker in 90% of situations.
Handling wise it pitches a bit if you push it as it's quite tall and has skinny wheels. Smooth inputs are best.
As an aside, if you're unsure or want to try other models then the EV Experience centre in Milton Keynes is worth a visit.
ETA. You can get a battery report from the dealer. It should be guaranteed for 8 years and for the capacity to be within 80% iirc. Best Google for the exact T's and C's.
A mate has also just bought one for £20k. It's a 2017 66 plate with 10k. A good deal for a car that was £37k new.
I think a 3 year old 94Ah bev should be feasible in your price range.
It won't have the range of its competitors but makes up for it with rwd and pace. 0-60 in 7.2 seconds doesn't really tell the whole story as it feels so much quicker in 90% of situations.
Handling wise it pitches a bit if you push it as it's quite tall and has skinny wheels. Smooth inputs are best.
As an aside, if you're unsure or want to try other models then the EV Experience centre in Milton Keynes is worth a visit.
ETA. You can get a battery report from the dealer. It should be guaranteed for 8 years and for the capacity to be within 80% iirc. Best Google for the exact T's and C's.
Edited by SOL111 on Monday 4th March 18:24
You're a bit late to the party.
I bought my ex demo i3 with just 343 miles on the clock back in late 2016 for £16k from a BMW main dealer. Today, 2.5 years later with 15 odd thousand on the clock it's worth.... £16k! never had a car that has depreciated so little!
Best car i've ever owned btw ;-)
I bought my ex demo i3 with just 343 miles on the clock back in late 2016 for £16k from a BMW main dealer. Today, 2.5 years later with 15 odd thousand on the clock it's worth.... £16k! never had a car that has depreciated so little!
Best car i've ever owned btw ;-)
ETA: i'm pretty sure it's a sure fire future classic btw. Carbon chassis, not many sold, radical styling, decent pace, nice interior. When the city centres start banning anything with a dino-burner under the bonnet i also think values will rise, even of the "small" battery models like mine because lots of people actually only drive a short distance daily in reality......
It would be superb around central London.
I have a rex and think it's a great car. It is quick and punchy and turns in well enough. Super smooth and effortless in town. Pre heating in morning is genius.
Part of my commute is on country lanes, and when using the power, this is where the handling completely falls apart and gets all fidgety and floaty. Im Thinking of changing car for this reason and because a shorter commute means the fuel savings are less important, But the handling is not going to bother you in London.
Go and try one, for your usage I would be suprised if you were not very impressed at the least.
As said above, once they take a heavy initial hit, they seem to not being depreciating. Cheapest on auto trader last year was circa £13k, and a year on they are the same.
I have a rex and think it's a great car. It is quick and punchy and turns in well enough. Super smooth and effortless in town. Pre heating in morning is genius.
Part of my commute is on country lanes, and when using the power, this is where the handling completely falls apart and gets all fidgety and floaty. Im Thinking of changing car for this reason and because a shorter commute means the fuel savings are less important, But the handling is not going to bother you in London.
Go and try one, for your usage I would be suprised if you were not very impressed at the least.
As said above, once they take a heavy initial hit, they seem to not being depreciating. Cheapest on auto trader last year was circa £13k, and a year on they are the same.
Edited by covmutley on Monday 4th March 20:48
Edited by covmutley on Monday 4th March 20:49
Thanks for the useful comments, especially regarding the depreciation (or lack of) which is good to know as I've not followed the prices of EVs at all.
Not sure if I need the larger capacity one as realistically I won't be going anywhere over 15-20 miles away in this car. Definitely don't want the range extender with all that weight and additional things to go wrong!
Do people just plug it into a 3 pin mains plug or are there any recommendations on installing a wall charger?
Not sure if I need the larger capacity one as realistically I won't be going anywhere over 15-20 miles away in this car. Definitely don't want the range extender with all that weight and additional things to go wrong!
Do people just plug it into a 3 pin mains plug or are there any recommendations on installing a wall charger?
Test drove one yesterday, very impressed with the quietness and general build quality for a small car and it drove pretty much as I expected. Got used to the brake regen pretty quickly although some practice is still required when coming to a stop.
Now to find one with the right spec! I think I definitely want pro nav, rapid charge and HK and maybe a sunroof but that seems to be a rare option.
Now to find one with the right spec! I think I definitely want pro nav, rapid charge and HK and maybe a sunroof but that seems to be a rare option.
ElectricSoup said:
Just to corroborate the depreciation stories, I bought a Nissan Leaf 18 months ago for £10k which WBAC now value at £9620.
Nuts.
Do it, OP. You'll wonder why you didn't years ago.
My original 2 year PCP Leaf from 4 years ago had a projected residual value of £15k. But the car at the end of its time was only worth £10k. So, of course, it went back.Nuts.
Do it, OP. You'll wonder why you didn't years ago.
I'm now coming to the end of next 2 year PCP Leaf deal. The car was projected to be worth £15.5k but is actually worth around £16k. So I will probably buy it, whilst deciding what to do next.
But I think this is a short term effect. Traditionally, depreciation on this type of car has been horrible, which is why I have financed them and let someone else take the risk. But the availability of EVs at this price point is currently quite limited. And there are now more people interested in owning an EV, whilst the pool of used cars is actually still relatively small. Hence the prices are strengthing.
But as I say, this is a short term effect, probably which will only last up to the next 2 years or so. After that, the availability of new, much better EVs is going to accelerate quite quickly. At that point, the normal depreciation curve will resume, as people won't want the "small battery" or "slow charging" tech of today.
SOL111 said:
Great car imho but I've an i3s so am biased.
A mate has also just bought one for £20k. It's a 2017 66 plate with 10k. A good deal for a car that was £37k new.
I think a 3 year old 94Ah bev should be feasible in your price range.
It won't have the range of its competitors but makes up for it with rwd and pace. 0-60 in 7.2 seconds doesn't really tell the whole story as it feels so much quicker in 90% of situations.
Handling wise it pitches a bit if you push it as it's quite tall and has skinny wheels. Smooth inputs are best.
As an aside, if you're unsure or want to try other models then the EV Experience centre in Milton Keynes is worth a visit.
ETA. You can get a battery report from the dealer. It should be guaranteed for 8 years and for the capacity to be within 80% iirc. Best Google for the exact T's and C's.
Your mate scored a i3S for £20k? I can't find anything close to that.A mate has also just bought one for £20k. It's a 2017 66 plate with 10k. A good deal for a car that was £37k new.
I think a 3 year old 94Ah bev should be feasible in your price range.
It won't have the range of its competitors but makes up for it with rwd and pace. 0-60 in 7.2 seconds doesn't really tell the whole story as it feels so much quicker in 90% of situations.
Handling wise it pitches a bit if you push it as it's quite tall and has skinny wheels. Smooth inputs are best.
As an aside, if you're unsure or want to try other models then the EV Experience centre in Milton Keynes is worth a visit.
ETA. You can get a battery report from the dealer. It should be guaranteed for 8 years and for the capacity to be within 80% iirc. Best Google for the exact T's and C's.
Edited by SOL111 on Monday 4th March 18:24
ElectricSoup said:
Just to corroborate the depreciation stories, I bought a Nissan Leaf 18 months ago for £10k which WBAC now value at £9620.
Nuts.
Do it, OP. You'll wonder why you didn't years ago.
And I bought a used approved 64 plate i3 REX for about 19k 18 months ago and WBAC value it today at £11k. But, as it's the 60 Ah car depreciation will will be heavier than the larger battery versions.Nuts.
Do it, OP. You'll wonder why you didn't years ago.
Admittedly, my car has a pretty good spec; sun roof, full leather, professional navigation, adaptive cruise control package, reversing camera package and comfort access, so I would expect more than £11k.
Durzel said:
Ah ok, thanks. I'm pretty new to working out models & options etc. Having driven around a Jazz for the past week I've started to realise how much I'm spending on fuel & maintenance on my daily (last service was £2k including tyres)
Yeah sorry, I meant he bought an i3 as well. It was from Jardine in Milton Keynes. It did seem cheap but looks ok. The only oddity with it was it had new tyres but had only done 10k
I had one for three years to last December - did 39k miles. It was a Rex but I only did less than 500 petrol miles I think (I was a bit obsessive - drove with holly hat and gloves instead of using heater to get as far along 80 mile return trip to Manchester. Bit tricky in winter in a 60ah... A friend has just got a 120ah and loves it
Perfect for town use as long as four seats enough - i needed five seats and longer range so am waiting for my iPace to be delivered next month (also living in countryside the ride was a bit bumpy and wanted more comfort). Leccy cars are ace! Good idea to get a Bev (non-rex) if you can - less to go wrong and cheaper to buy too, but rare. If I remember correctly, the fast charger became standard in late 2015. I recommend joining the facebook i3 group - great bunch of really helpful people and they will answer your questions quickly and more accurately than i can!
Perfect for town use as long as four seats enough - i needed five seats and longer range so am waiting for my iPace to be delivered next month (also living in countryside the ride was a bit bumpy and wanted more comfort). Leccy cars are ace! Good idea to get a Bev (non-rex) if you can - less to go wrong and cheaper to buy too, but rare. If I remember correctly, the fast charger became standard in late 2015. I recommend joining the facebook i3 group - great bunch of really helpful people and they will answer your questions quickly and more accurately than i can!
Max_Torque said:
You're a bit late to the party.
I bought my ex demo i3 with just 343 miles on the clock back in late 2016 for £16k from a BMW main dealer. Today, 2.5 years later with 15 odd thousand on the clock it's worth.... £16k! never had a car that has depreciated so little!
Best car i've ever owned btw ;-)
I wish I could get on with them, as I really like the concept and the design. THe interior, especially if you get the light wood trim, looks superb. The performance is great too and it would be the ideal car for my commute. But the overriding memory I have of using the one we had as a pool car was feeling a bit motion sick and queasy. Seems to pitch and bob a little, a bit like a cork on the ocean. My head can't seem to deal with those kind of floaty, not quite directly linked to your forward travel, kind of motions.I bought my ex demo i3 with just 343 miles on the clock back in late 2016 for £16k from a BMW main dealer. Today, 2.5 years later with 15 odd thousand on the clock it's worth.... £16k! never had a car that has depreciated so little!
Best car i've ever owned btw ;-)
btw I cannot do roller coasters. Oblivion at Alton Towers is about my limit and thats because its so short! Also not great at being a passenger in the back of most cars!
Maybe, its just something to get used to?
Otispunkmeyer said:
But the overriding memory I have of using the one we had as a pool car was feeling a bit motion sick and queasy. Seems to pitch and bob a little, a bit like a cork on the ocean. My head can't seem to deal with those kind of floaty, not quite directly linked to your forward travel, kind of motions
Maybe, its just something to get used to?
Interesting - my daughters hated mine but were never quite sure why and I know some other people found similar to you. Never bothered me though Maybe, its just something to get used to?
Otispunkmeyer said:
I wish I could get on with them, as I really like the concept and the design. THe interior, especially if you get the light wood trim, looks superb. The performance is great too and it would be the ideal car for my commute. But the overriding memory I have of using the one we had as a pool car was feeling a bit motion sick and queasy. Seems to pitch and bob a little, a bit like a cork on the ocean. My head can't seem to deal with those kind of floaty, not quite directly linked to your forward travel, kind of motions.
btw I cannot do roller coasters. Oblivion at Alton Towers is about my limit and thats because its so short! Also not great at being a passenger in the back of most cars!
Maybe, its just something to get used to?
Exactly why I bought an 's'. It still pitches a bit but is much improved.btw I cannot do roller coasters. Oblivion at Alton Towers is about my limit and thats because its so short! Also not great at being a passenger in the back of most cars!
Maybe, its just something to get used to?
I've gotten used to it and have just learnt to adjust my inputs to the car. For me, changing my driving style slightly has been worth it.
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