i3 Range Extender

[RosscoPCole]

I'm looking at buying a small family car that can be used alongside our VW Transporter. Not much has caught my eye, but the BMW i3 has especially with the range extender engine. My daily commute is no more than 30 miles, with the occasional slightly longer trip. What are the pros and cons of buying one?

[Paul Drawmer]

I've had mine for a couple of years as an only car. Does everything I want, and I like driving it.

Most important question is: Will you be able to charge at home?

Much as I like my BEV, I think they're not a lot of use unless you can arrange home charging.

[Gee Whizz]

We've had our 22 kWh REX for 8 months and it's been fantastic. 95% of the time it's run off the battery and charged exclusively via the granny charger. Bigger distances can be done on the REX and that's how I managed a stress free 300+ mile trip home when I purchased it.

The only downside for us is the rear doors. They are a real pain especially when getting kids in and out. Oh, and winter range may be a bit of a challenge for some. The lowest I have seen on the GOM is 42 miles when it was a bit chilly the other week.

[RosscoPCole]

Thank you both for the advice and experiences. I will go and look at one when there is one for sale locally, then I can judge for myself.

[jonathan_roberts]

If it’s only for runabout and second car then the 120ah full ev is a better bet and more reliable by all accounts. We had one and it was excellent. 200miles range is possible.

[ChrisW.]

We had one for six years ... a 2014 Rex car ... the back doors are a pain by design for rear passengers and the Rex version can suffer from a lack of use of the range extender ... I think that's possibly why they stopped making it.

Otherwise a very brave car from BMW ranking with the i8 ... IMHO.

[VeeTenM]

This a good buy or the 120ah one to get?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176812702967

[eth2190]

VeeTenM said:

This a good buy or the 120ah one to get?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176812702967

If shopping at the bottom end of the market consider a Cat car instead of one with high miles. Often they are written off for fairly superficial damage. Last spring I picked up a repaired 48k mile Cat S 60ah Rex with just about every option ticked for £6.5k. Some due diligence needed of course.

[VeeTenM]

Reason why I picked it was because of FBMSH , then again what do they check that another garage doesn't since battery is the same!

[eth2190]

VeeTenM said:

Reason why I picked it was because of FBMSH , then again what do they check that another garage doesn't since battery is the same!

Service history wouldn't bother me as long as the car has good tyres, brakes, working AC, newish 12v battery, and the REX oil has been changed a couple times. The REX is only in use for a small portion of the car's life, so mileage based servicing isn't as critical as on a normal car.

[BoRED S2upid]

VeeTenM said:

Reason why I picked it was because of FBMSH , then again what do they check that another garage doesn't since battery is the same!

Considering the lack of servicing required is that not selling point? The battery being guaranteed to 100,000 miles is why this is cheap. I’d be looking for a few less miles.

[VeeTenM]

Yeah its the high "mileage" battery (100k+) that is the problem at these £5-7k mark.