$22 grand. That’s a LOT of money. Way, way, way too much money to spend on a car. Right? I mean, the most I’ve ever spent on a car is $10,500, and I had to breathe into a paper bag while the transaction was going through. It was awful, but it paid off, because I love my i3 with all my heart. But now there’s another i3 on the horizon — the Holy Grail of i3s. It’s called the i3S, and it’s got me completely obsessed right now, and I need you all to help me snap out of it
I own a 2014 BMW i3. It’s the best car I’ve ever owned. I love it dearly. BUT, I worry, because as I fall more and more in love with my little Bavarian range-extended EV, I realize its days are numbered. After all, when I bought it in 2023 with 135,000 miles on its odometer, the high-voltage battery was toast, and only through a loophole was I able to get it replaced. That loophole ends after 150,000 miles, which means that when my battery does go the way of the Dodo, it’ll be on me to replace it. That could cost me tens of thousands of dollars.
Yes, that’s probably a decade out, but combine that nagging concern with my hatred of using gasoline (trust me, if you own an i3, you understand that the range-extender coming on means you lost), and I find myself wishing for a newer-model i3 with a better, higher-range battery. The 2017 and 2018 i3 models come with a 94Ah battery battery rated for up to 524,000 miles! Those also go about 100 miles per charge, while mine does about 70.
I guess I could try to swap one of those into my i3 sometime down the road. OR I could buy a newer i3 right now — ideally the 2019 and up model with an even bigger battery than that 524,000 miles one — 120Ah. That’s twice the size of my i3’s battery, and it should get the car about 125 miles per charge.
Having a bit more range means I’d basically never use the range extender (I think I drive about 70 miles a month on the Rex right now), and it means I could keep this car for probably 30 years, because even if the battery degraded to 50 percent, it’d offer about as much range as my current i3 (it’s a bit heavier, so it’d be a little worse than a new 60Ah model, but you get the idea). It could be my “forever car,” so to speak.
Anyway, I’ve been on the hunt for 2019 i3s for a while now, and I found this one, and it’s no ordinary i3:
That, my dear friends, is an i3S, where “S” stands for “sport.” It’s slightly more powerful, quicker, and has a sportier traction control system than the standard i3. In truth, per online forumgoers who own an i3S, the “S” should stand for “stable,” because the wider track and wider tires apparently let the i3S track down the road with more confidence and with less propensity to get thrown around by wind or cracks in the road. It’s really not that sporty, per what I’ve read, but it’s more planted on the road and it looks awesome. It probably gives up a bit of range due to the wider bodywork, and the 20-inch wheels probably require pricier tires than my i3’s 19s, but I mean, look at this thing. It’s badass!
This is unquestionably the Holy Grail of BMW i3s. It’s the best model-year, with the best exterior color (white on black is known as the “Panda” i3), and it’s got the best interior:
But it’s $22,000. Add taxes and a $2000 delivery fee, and we’re talking $26 grand! If I chose to pay it off over three years, that’d put it at 30 grand after interest. That’s almost three times what my i3 cost!
I can’t do it. But I want to; I want the ultimate i3 that I can drive for the next 30 years — there’s something about knowing your car has a shelf-life that really sucks; at least with other gas-cars I know they can do 250,000 miles and 50 years if I maintain them properly. Then again, who knows what will happen in the future. I could get the new car and immediately get rear-ended, battery technology could become 100% better than it is now, NACS chargers could go away, and on and on.
But I’m not sure why I’m trying to apply logic, here? Buying this car would not be logical. It’s just a car that I want. But I can’t.
But I want it.
But really, I can’t do it.
Probably.
$30k for a use commuter car you drive 70 miles a month? When you have a perfectly good one with a fresh battery that meets your needs today?
I’d spend that $30k on something fun, not another commuter car.
And even if you trust a manufacturer’s claim that the battery is good for 500k miles, this is a BMW. It will not be “trouble-free”. Good luck finding those weird size tires in 15 years when most i3s are in the scrap heap.
I think he is saying the range extender comes on for 70 miles per month. His monthly mileage on battery only, with 70 miles range per charge is going to be much higher.
That said, I agree that this would be a foolish expense. If nothing else, wait two years for interest rates to drop and the price of 2019 i3s to depreciate a little more.
You’ve now have a real job that actually pays you $. Sell some of the “crap” and buy it. Quit trying to become a museum.
I have a 2018 i3s with that exact exterior look. Previously had a 2016 non “S”-version that I loved, but those slim wheels really made it feel a bit unstable on the road.
The S with its (relatively) fat tires really sits better on the road. It is also stiff as hell so it really feels like driving a gocart bouncing around on frost damaged Swedish roads.
My recommendation: Just buy the damn thing!
You can put the Sport tune on your existing i3.
Wheel spacers help stability.
Your fresh battery is a keeper.
Could it be? Does David have … battery envy?
Wouldn’t you really rather have 30.000 Jeep taillights?
All cars have a shelf life. Your i3 has 10 years. Spending 3x as much gets you 30 years. That seems like an even trade.
Except, damage will accumulate in those 10 years. Daily drivers get dents, dings, and paint damage. Seats wear out. Electrical problems begin. Once you get 10 years down the line I suspect another car will catch your eye. It might be a used Volvo, a gracefully-aging Ioniq, the little hatchback Rivian promises, or something Chinese that isn’t sold here yet.
You don’t want to make a 30-year commitment to a daily driver. Make the 10 year commitment and trade it in on something else that is interesting in 10 years.
Besides all that, cars are not pokemon. There will always be another version that you don’t have, but you do not have to catch them all. Instead of looking for something else you could have but don’t, enjoy what you already own.
How about a Mini SE instead? Same guts/range as the grail i3 with a more fun chassis and better future parts availability due to sharing a platform with the gas version. And you can get a new (or nearly new) one for no more than that i3 with more warranty years left. I did just that and have had zero regrets so far. Mine is even a Panda with black wheels, so….
Grails grails grails…
(squirrel!)
It’s always holy grail cars with you.
You have the mindset of a golden retriever puppy running about the yard in search of new toys, new things to sniff then toss into the air in excitement, only to forget about them a moment later.
No!
Sit.
Enjoy your time on the porch with the big dogs.
Stop running around the yard with the little pups.
You’ve got dilapidating projects we need you to finish.
No! Heal.
If everything’s a grail, nothing’s a grail.
I truly get the want, and the mental anguish/gymnastics of trying to justify the purchase. Saying the inside stuff out loud helps (in this case), because then you get feedback and can see if your idea is batshit crazy or not. And my feedback is that yes it is.
Your arguments are not logical (e.g. you’re not keeping any car 30 years).
Now, if you can afford it, then just do it. But you said you can’t, so please don’t.
Also, this is a really shitty value proposition: it’s a minimal increase in range at a cost of (per your accounting above) $30K all in, which includes a $2K delivery fee and $4K of interest? Ouch! Fuuuuck that. Yes I realize you’d sell the 2014 and so net cash outflow is less, but holy crap that’s an eye-wateringly high price to pay.
In conclusion, I think your current i3 looks better anyway: I don’t care for the panda look.
Now, please excuse me while I resume my own unwise Mini search 😉 …
> you’re not keeping any car 30 years
By the time the red Jeep is done, it’ll have been 30 years.
Lol, fair point!
Gonna repeat advice from Tom McParland here: the most affordable car is often the one you already own.
That said, if you’re ballin’, drop the coin.
That was a far more succinct and eloquent way to say what I was trying to say above lol
Does this apply for W10 VW’s and JLR products?
2000s VAG products: Am I a joke to you? 🙂
Who knows what capabilities you’ll need from a more modern, reliable vehicle in 10 years when the replacement battery may become an issue, let alone more than that. Plus, you’ll have plenty more options and if you still want a replacement i3, then the newer ones will be cheaper then too.
A few years back I had a 9-3 sedan that I really liked, had a stage 0 tune on, had done mild clutch and suspension work to etc, but had always wanted a wagon and could use the additional space. Well, I spent more than I should have on getting the perfectly specced 9-3 wagon and modifying what I wanted to serve as a reliable DD that I could also take to rallycross or track days, selling the sedan in the process. Fast forward a year, then a screaming deal on an RX8 came up and a third dog was adopted. Another year later and a second kid was on the way, and that time and effort spent on the perfect 9-3 wagon was for nothing when i sold it for a minivan since the RX8 was handling track duties.
Point of the matter is: don’t worry about what 10 years down the road will be with something like this, especially with your life going through so many changes recently and being hopefully bound for more soon (if “Elise” puts up with you living in an Aztek for a week anyway)
Wait what, a 9-3 wagon was inadequate for 2 kids?
If they’re both in car seats and you have 3 dogs!? Then yes, very much so. Though I guess he could have done what the Europeans do and get a roof mounted dog carrier. They love it up there!
It was inadequate for 2 kids and 3 dogs (each over 50 lbs), and I no longer needed the extra sportiness over a van. Before the second kid arrived and I sold it, we did a few big trips where the roof rack and trailer hitch rack were completely full, as was the interior. Plus, you can’t discount the benefit of sliding doors when putting kids into carseats
Wow 3 dogs, I missed that. That’s a lot tocarry!
Will the i3S actually last 30 years?
I have doubts.
They’re not making any more of them, and as one of the founders of a car site it’s hard to justify not having a performance car.
If this i3s has an ICE range extender then go for it, if it doesn’t then skip it. NACS will become the new norm in the US and with it good luck finding public CCS chargers for the i3, but an ICE range extender mostly negates that issue.
I’m much less picky about range, charging times, charging standards, etc. when I have a reliable ICE range extender.
Personally I regret not buying a range extended i3 new when I had the opportunity.
Don’t buy it, you dammit man your an engineer get some (recycled) batteries and wire something up to get you 60AH more juice. Do a series of articles, (buying batteries, how to check cells, wiring, final drive) and profit!
You can have a whole month to do this while you are driving a Pontiac Aztec.
Frankly, I’d rather see you get a JL wrangler since you did some of the cooling work. Your battery is brand new and likely good for about 10years… and I bet that will get you to whereever you are next in life.. and that may include something larger to haul your cats or other creatures around.
Honestly. Get it. Yours has got really high miles. Consider this first one a test subject. It was cheap, it’s worked. Now get the one you want. You will not keep it forever, your life will change. But you can live knowing that you have a new(ish) reliable car that can be a proper EV and take you where you want to go. This is a completely different premise to the last one of these you posted, the other one was “should I spend money on the same thing but newer?” This is “should I get the one of these that I really want.” And that answer is yes
You must buy it and publish your pains and regrets for us, or what is even the purpose of this website….
I say buy it. You obviously want it and you already know you like the car since you have an earlier i3, which you can then sell.
Putting “Was owned by David Tracy” in the ad… makes it worth more or less? 😛
For that price you can get a B7 S4 wagon
One of the greatest V8s ever, with a stick, in a luxo-wagon. Don’t be a fool.
WAIT A MINUTE – other people call their white i3 “Panda” too? I thought we were the only ones???
But regarding your decision … it’s a tough call. Your car, with the battery swap, will probably outlast your desire to drive it. Aside from the various normal car bits that break (I’m looking at you, stupid door handle), the little buggers are really reliable.
I don’t know if the i3S is better-enough to justify >20k for it. Makes a great little car even greater, but that’s a lot of coin for a modest increase in power and range.
Personally, I’d go for the higher capacity battery without REx on the newer version which gets you ~150 miles electric range (or 120 EV-only + REx).
So DT is playing the “Ginger or Maryanne” game again here.
“A bird in the hand” question again.
Sometimes we should just be happy with the easy answer.
I think you should keep what you currently have. It seems your current i3 serves your needs well right now. Give yourself the gift of sticking with this car as it is. The most expensive component is fresh and you love the car enough to consider a version of it nearly 3x the cost of what you have. Your current i3 is a hell of a car at an excellent value, which I think is VERY important.
I don’t know if your brain works like mine does in this respect, but for me a big part of the “this is the ideal car for me” equation is value – the kind of value where I feel like I got a good deal on the car. Part of that is how the cost of the car works within my budget. I have paid my budget’s top dollar for cars before, only to see my budget/needs/wants change in ways I had not planned for. Then I was writing a uncomfortably large check for a car that isn’t perfect anymore but still costs perfect car money. Then the resentment starts towards the car, especially if it has issues at all. Even minor issues hit harder. Eventually I would feel stuck with the burden of a car payment that costs me more than I should have taken on and look for ways out from under it. Most often the way out from under it is even more money.
I don’t think the i3S you described would make you feel like you got a good deal. I think you’d be worried about the large financial commitment, and I fear that any negative financial change in the near future would be poisonous to your love for the vehicle. No matter how perfect any car is, it is very hard to keep loving a car that is wrecking your budget and/or making you feel financially exposed. If you REALLY feel you want and need the i3S, then decide well ahead of time what the numbers need to look like to feel good about making that financial decision. This way once you find a car, it’s all up to how the car performs. In the meantime, I would consider your current i3 ownership experience as an open-ended audition for an i3S.
But “We are Americans! And we always want more.”
A quirky early electric BMW that the manufacturer already seems interested in forgetting exists is going to be a tough car to make last 30 years, though I’m sure David could if anyone could. But given you appreciate new projects and trying different things so much I feel like buying a car with the expectation of having it 30 years may be slightly unrealistic. At the end of the day though it’s up to you and how you want to prioritize your funds and fun!
Probably, the most economical way to repair this thing when something significant fails, would be to gut the entire car and put DIY EV components in it. I despise BMW’s proprietary systems. If everything was open-source and accessible, an i8 would be on my list of near-ideal choices for a pure EV conversion, but the way things are, it’s a no go…
Kraut electronics are very finely engineered, to last not much longer than the warrantee.
Normally I would enable- not here. Imagine the payments of this monthly, put into your current fleet. How would the electric project go? How much sooner would your OG Jeep be repaired? The Golden Eagle running again? The Overlander Overlanding across america on the Trans America Trail?
Your i3 is great for what you need right now.
Plus, you got an Aztek in your future.