Official BMW i3 thread

[evnow]

People are reporting shockingly high lease rates for i3.

$855 before tax for a $51k i3, for eg.

That would be $30,800 for a 36 month lease... unless there is also a down payment.

That was for no down payment (just the fees + 1st month, I think).

 

[pbennett]

...and also BMW anticipating it depreciating significantly. Good luck leasing it at those rates. Good grief.

 

[Boomer23]

...and also BMW anticipating it depreciating significantly. Good luck leasing it at those rates. Good grief.

Expensive MSRP, especially with some of the nicer options and REx, low residual, dealers jacking the interest rates and BMWFS only passing on about $4850 of the Fed $7500, and voila, lease prices that almost nobody would pay. Add on the questionable styling, small 4 seater size, suicide doors, green stickers only for the REx, first mass market car with CFRP structure, first year very new tech and quite a few other quirks. It will be very interesting to see how this car plays out in the US. I expect it to do well in its Euro city natural environment, with the ability to set when to use the REx so that you can cruise into city centers and avoid congestion fees. In the US, they need to get radically more competitive on lease pricing if they expect to move many.

 

[kmp647]

Very good assessment of the issues with the i3 and it's launch in the USA
You should send it to BMW USA they need a reality check!

I'm glad I have 12 more months on my Leaf lease, by then I3's will be collecting dust and snow on dealer lots, easier to get a deal if ...... The 2015 Leaf is not the better choice.

My bet is the Leaf will be the smart money.

I have advice for the 700 electronauts, tell BMW no thanks, drive the ice for a while or pick up a used Prius until the heat is off the i3.

 

[pbennett]

At that lease price, why wouldn't people just get a Tesla? What a joke.

 

[Boomer23]

Very good assessment of the issues with the i3 and it's launch in the USA
You should send it to BMW USA they need a reality check!

I'm glad I have 12 more months on my Leaf lease, by then I3's will be collecting dust and snow on dealer lots, easier to get a deal if ...... The 2015 Leaf is not the better choice.

My bet is the Leaf will be the smart money.

I have advice for the 700 electronauts, tell BMW no thanks, drive the ice for a while or pick up a used Prius until the heat is off the i3.

Tom Moloughney is counseling the Electronauts to be patient, that these rates aren't fully established yet. And to be fair, no firm deals are being made yet, only reservations so that BMW knows how many to buy parts for (and how many of the special Electronaut package to build). He says to expect firmer numbers by about Feb 8.

There is definitely a disturbance in the Force, though.

 

[evnow]

Here is the basic problem (apart from keeping part of fed tax credit for themselves). BMW used Leaf's residuals.

Leaf MSRP : $35k. Residual : 50% = $17.5k. Cap cost = 17.5k - 7.5k = $10k.

i3 : $50k. Residual : 50% = $25k. Cap cost = 25k - 4.5k = $21.5k.

So, even with 40% more MSRP, we are looking at double the capital cost - and along with higher residual (25 vs 17) - and higher interest rate => instead of $300 a month, the lease is $900 a month - 3x what Leaf costs !

At one time I was looking at i3 seriously - but I wouldn't have paid above $500 (even that is a big streatch, given that I pay $125 for my '13 Leaf).

 

[Berlino]

As far as I know, all of the Canadian dealerships were offered BMW i franchises, just like all of the dealers here in the US were. In the US, 285 of the 330 dealers signed on, which is 86% of all dealerships. Dealers have the right to refuse the i brand.

You pretty much nailed Canadian dealers turning down the opportunity to sell i3s.

A French Canadian EV site, AVEQ interviewed a BMW official at the current Montreal Auto show. BMW said they were disappointed that only one dealer in Quebec showed enough enthusiasm to get on board the i program. He thinks they will live to regret not becoming i accredited. BMW expects to ship several hundred i3s to Canada in 2014 (not sure if they mean fiscal or calendar year).

 

[TomT]

At those lease prices, they will likely wind up being the smart ones by turning it down...

He thinks they will live to regret not becoming i accredited.

 

[Berlino]

At those lease prices, they will likely wind up being the smart ones by turning it down...

He thinks they will live to regret not becoming i accredited.

I tend to agree with you, but it could work out for the dealer who now has a provincial monopoly. Also, the Quebec EV incentive is an $8,000 cash rebate, not a tax credit, so BMW can't keep a portion of the government money for themselves.

 

[kmp647]

while its true that Electronauts only are making a build reservation and are not required to sign anything that I know of to get an I3 on order,

You can bet that many WILL sign buyers orders agreeing to prices or lease Terms that will be outragous and unecesary

Advice to electronauts: order car , dont sign crap or pay any money!

wait for the actual lease terms from BMW financial. decide later in april or may what to do.

 

[EVDRIVER]

Very good assessment of the issues with the i3 and it's launch in the USA
You should send it to BMW USA they need a reality check!

.

BMW has been out of touch for years on pricing so they are not going to change. I bet bay area dealers add $5k to MSRP like some did to the MINI.

 

[TomT]

It's too bad because I might have considered one at some point... But after driving one for a full day and being underwhelmed overall, the white/green Rex sticker debacle, and the ludicrous pricing, I believe it is now permanently off my radar.

 

[jelloslug]

At that lease price, why wouldn't people just get a Tesla? What a joke.

That's what I was thinking.

 

[surfingslovak]

The ActiveE Field Trial: The Final Chapter

After the introduction of BMW i3 will the majority of ActiveE Electronauts stay or leave the brand?

 

[Beleaf]

The ActiveE Field Trial: The Final Chapter

After the introduction of BMW i3 will the majority of ActiveE Electronauts stay or leave the brand?

That's a little bit greedy. BMW are offering a special i3 deal to Electronauts, and the costs to BMW of the ActiveE program would have been much higher than the sticker price.

Pity they didn't offer them here...

 

[surfingslovak]

That's a little bit greedy. BMW are offering a special i3 deal to Electronauts, and the costs to BMW of the ActiveE program would have been much higher than the sticker price.

I don't know, is it? The article seems to echo the prevalent sentiment among Electronauts, and it did not go into much detail about the rationale. Isn't it a bit curious why someone would feel that way? Perhaps greed is not the only possible explanation.

Pity they didn't offer them here...

BMW is not offering the i3 in Australia?

 

[redLEAF]

Saw the i3 (and i8) at the Chicago Auto Show yesterday; won't duplicate photos already posted as seeing it in person was quite different. Perhaps due to the throngs of people it was also locked. Wife's comments were she thought the seats looked cheap (had what looked like tweed cloth and tan vinyl/leather trim on the one shown) but looked decent to me anyway, quite sculptured and thin. Not as tall and skinny as I've seen some video of it as well --- the i8 on the other hand, looked its $100K+ part, very supercar in all respects and could not get as close to it as the i3. The rest of the BMW display emphasized the rest of their line, no real surprises there ... MBZ chose to NOT bring their B-class EV but did have a small smart car display (including the Ed which will hopefully show up this month in Chicago). I'd say I'd like to at least drive the i3 when it does show up but would it be enough to swap up from our LEAF ... perhaps not enough there but we'll see. Overall it's an interesting take and definitely sets it apart on its own design, etc.

 

[Boomer23]

I took another test drive of the i3 this weekend. When people compare it with the LEAF in terms of value, range, seating capacity, etc, the i3 comes up short. But what really differentiates the i3 is the performance. This thing is a little sports car in terms of quickness and precise handling feel. There's really no small car like it, short of a Tesla Roadster or the original MiniE. You can talk about how quick the RAV or the Spark are, or the sportiness of the Fiat, but they don't have the combination of quickness, small size and steering precision that the i3 has, nor the interior build quality. Too bad it isn't more affordable. And it'll be interesting to see how durable it will be after some hard road miles in the hands of regular drivers.

 

[evnow]

You can talk about how quick the RAV or the Spark are, or the sportiness of the Fiat, but they don't have the combination of quickness, small size and steering precision that the i3 has, nor the interior build quality. Too bad it isn't more affordable.

The problem is I don't think too many people are looking for that combination of features and willing to pay thr' the nose to get the car. I think it will be a failure in the US - don't know about Europe.