You're so totally right. We bought a 2017 i3 for our daughter a few months ago. It had under 15k miles, zero scratches, lots of warranty left and we got it for spare change, i.e. a fraction of its initial sale price. She loves it. On the other hand, to buy one of these new for 55+k? That would be madness. So, thank you, all of you mad people who bought these 'new' so that the rest of us could get them used but almost new, for a fraction of what you paid :)))
Haha exactly! I can't believe anyone purchased this over the model 3 at 50k-60k. The pre owned market is amazing though. Under 15k miles! Great buy! Be safe and thanks for watching
Thank you! Honestly I think every i3 owner really loves their car. If the new price wouldn't have been so high making it a competitor with the powerhouse model 3, I think the i3 would have seen a lot more shine.
I drove 5 hours from California to Arizona to buy one. I bought a 2016 (MINT) i3 /range extender with almost 17,000 miles on it for $16,500! 😜 ❤️❤️ MY CAR! ❤️❤️
Have had my 2017 for over a year. REx is insurance that allows me to drive long distances over mountain passes. It's winter now and I just drove 117 miles (official range est. is 97 mi on electric only) over two mountain passes, ~35-45 F temp outside, with a net elevation gain of 1500' and (this time) had no REx use (woo hoo!). Because it's winter I'm very energy thrifty, dressing warmly (gloves, hat, and scarf, keep warm mostly by using seat heater and blanket over legs). Most of the drive is 45-50 mph speed due to being on a curvy mountain road, but I also drive pretty slowly on the freeway (55-60 mph). On this drive, which I've done half a dozen times, REx has kicked in (with ~7% left on battery) between 0 and 5 miles from my destination. Most of my other driving is very local and I charge most nights. The last time I added gas to the 2.5-gal tank was over 3000 miles ago (and some of that use was from the automatic REx maintenance cycle that kicks in every few months). Having the REx model gives me confidence to do travel longer distances and saves me from having to stop to charge along the way on nearly all trips. I rarely charge anywhere but home. Love love love this car! Was ecstatic to have paid only $16K with just under 40,000 miles, REx, moon roof, tech pkg, and was still under warranty. Orig. list price was $54K, but mine was a returned lease. (I doubt BMW sold many new ones at that price.) The car design isn't perfect - suicide doors have some benefits but are inconvenient unless you're parked out in the open somewhere which is almost never - but I have not one regret about buying it. (Also nice that it has gained value since then despite adding another 13K to the odometer, but no chance I'll be selling any time soon.)
Nice job on the review! I bought a 2014 REX certified off lease a few years ago and still have it. Totally love it still. It’s held up amazingly well. Still looks basically new. Coded the REX to be able to turn on manually in settings once battery is below 75% state of charge. That’s a really nice tweak.
@@raysyd5643 yes exactly. I regularly drove it Atlanta to Nashville - 260 miles door to door each way - no problem other than frequent stops for gas of usually about 1.75 gals each fuel up. Loved the car
Really useful review Ray. I’ve owned 20 BMWs and apart from a 740i Sport Individual, I bought them all second hand and avoided a huge amount of deprecation over 40 years of driving. Im going to buy an i3 later this year when a lot of lease deals come to fruition as I’d like 42kwh model without the REX (a petrol engine disqualifies cars in many ways) but with a sunroof and all the kut you mentioned plus a heat pump. Hope to get a three year old one for £16,000 ($20k). Subbed Cheers Geoff (UK)
Hello Ray, Nice review. Could you tell me what package do you have in your car? I can see you have the TERA version which is black and leather seats. Also this car is 20 or 33Ah batt?
Adaptive cruise control may be trash compared to Tesla but it comes in handy way more than you described. Daily traffic jams on the highway, RUclips and email with confidence.
I also have a "panda", without REX but with large battery and high trim. It is my daily drive since a year. When I got it, I also considered Tesla Model 3 - I actually slightly preferred the Telsla due to its better drivetrain, AP and SC network. However, practical aspect like the trunk and the visibility as well as the quality of the interior made me go for the i3 in the end. And my family also voted in favor of the i3...
I love my i3 also, in terms of cost vs value. I also did a Tesla model 3 video that might be worth checking out. At current lease prices for the model 3 and y, they are a great deal. I really do believe Tesla makes a better electric car than any of the other manufactures.
I have a similar spec, 2018, white with black roof, no Rex tho, I honestly love it. People stop me all the time when driving it to ask what it is or how I like it. It’s a really great all around car. Curious to see how it holds up long term
I see around 100 miles with normal driving in Los Angeles, using the AC as well. If there is heavy traffic I can see over 100 miles on electric alone without the range extender, due to regenerative breaking. The only time I see less than 100 miles is when I am over 80mph driving for extended periods.
You can swap the 6.5" screen for around $200 you have to just unscrew display and pop the other display in and used bimmer code to reset the resolution. With that same app you can increase the usable tank for the REX from 1.9L to 2.5L (around 50 miles).
At some point you really know the range estimate yourself and as long as you know how many miles away the trip is and if it's highway or city, you'll be fine. Car play is just so seamless and google maps provides much better animation through car play than bmw's maps.
Great review, thank you for sharing. Thinking of snagging one myself, their fit and finish inside is miles ahead of Tesla while Tesla's are miles ahead in price.
Great review and summary of this car. I would only like to recommend ppl to check out models with cloth upholstery instead of leather, this particular BMW has some great (wool?) options that keeps you cool and fresh during summer and warm in the winter. The counterintuitive REX option is an American thing, no one in Europe has that. Oh, my neighbour had one - it caught on fire on the freeway. Otherwise a dream car. I drive a Model 3 now, previously a I3s 94Ah, but will try to get my hands on a used i3 60Ah as a second car.
How’s range through canyons? Also in LA and commute to Palmdale from the valley. Want this for the commute but a little worried on range through the 14. Love to hear your thoughts
At the 6:30 mark, I can see where the door sealant is coming undone. Eventually you'll get a lot of wind in your car and you'll receive the door open indicator. Had mine repaired under warranty.
just to let u guys know when factory warranty runs out.. go thru car shield they will cover the i3 bumper to bumper for 80 bukks a month just take it to the bmw dealer and your good, they cover it all. just a 100 dollar deduct! that it.
You couldn’t drive this car and rely on the range extender motor to charge it could you? What I mean is, this has to be plugged in at the end of the journey to charge it up right. It’s just that I don’t have access to a charge point at home or at work. I’m thinking the Lexus CT200h would be a better fit for me right now.
Ya you might be a little nutty buying one new, you better get an amazing lease deal. Even then you might as well buy used and maybe build a little equity.
The only flaw about the I3 is that,when you are in a crash or someone crash into you,they go to shit,body shop can't Fix Carbon Fiber insurance company will total it
@@raysyd5643 any front tint is illegal in Calif. but it's mainly CHP you have to watch out for. i had to pay $25 fix it ticket after they come out of their office locations and validate the tint is removed.
@@EvanBlack11 surely the charging infrastructure in the Us is better than Australia. You can DC fast charge if you have that option or run on the ReX with Petrol. Keep a couple of 5L jerry cans in the frunk in case you run out. It will still do highway speeds on the 650cc Scooter Engine.
Haha I did, honestly I never have to use it. I really hate the lawnmower generator that is the REX, but in a few situations it has been very helpful. My car is hacked also, so if I had to, I could technically run on pure gas.
Great reason to make sure to get a BMW I3 that is still under warranty. No issues at all. The nice part about an electric car is the regenerative breaking which keeps down on brake costs as well!
You're so totally right.
We bought a 2017 i3 for our daughter a few months ago. It had under 15k miles, zero scratches, lots of warranty left and we got it for spare change, i.e. a fraction of its initial sale price. She loves it.
On the other hand, to buy one of these new for 55+k? That would be madness. So, thank you, all of you mad people who bought these 'new' so that the rest of us could get them used but almost new, for a fraction of what you paid :)))
Haha exactly! I can't believe anyone purchased this over the model 3 at 50k-60k. The pre owned market is amazing though. Under 15k miles! Great buy! Be safe and thanks for watching
Sir, this title sums up everything I would say as an i3 owner. Great summary.
Thank you! Honestly I think every i3 owner really loves their car. If the new price wouldn't have been so high making it a competitor with the powerhouse model 3, I think the i3 would have seen a lot more shine.
I drove 5 hours from California to Arizona to buy one. I bought a 2016 (MINT) i3 /range extender with almost 17,000 miles on it for $16,500! 😜
❤️❤️ MY CAR! ❤️❤️
Enjoy the car!
Have had my 2017 for over a year. REx is insurance that allows me to drive long distances over mountain passes. It's winter now and I just drove 117 miles (official range est. is 97 mi on electric only) over two mountain passes, ~35-45 F temp outside, with a net elevation gain of 1500' and (this time) had no REx use (woo hoo!). Because it's winter I'm very energy thrifty, dressing warmly (gloves, hat, and scarf, keep warm mostly by using seat heater and blanket over legs). Most of the drive is 45-50 mph speed due to being on a curvy mountain road, but I also drive pretty slowly on the freeway (55-60 mph). On this drive, which I've done half a dozen times, REx has kicked in (with ~7% left on battery) between 0 and 5 miles from my destination.
Most of my other driving is very local and I charge most nights. The last time I added gas to the 2.5-gal tank was over 3000 miles ago (and some of that use was from the automatic REx maintenance cycle that kicks in every few months). Having the REx model gives me confidence to do travel longer distances and saves me from having to stop to charge along the way on nearly all trips. I rarely charge anywhere but home.
Love love love this car! Was ecstatic to have paid only $16K with just under 40,000 miles, REx, moon roof, tech pkg, and was still under warranty. Orig. list price was $54K, but mine was a returned lease. (I doubt BMW sold many new ones at that price.) The car design isn't perfect - suicide doors have some benefits but are inconvenient unless you're parked out in the open somewhere which is almost never - but I have not one regret about buying it. (Also nice that it has gained value since then despite adding another 13K to the odometer, but no chance I'll be selling any time soon.)
Thank you for the video! Looking to purchase a 2017 i3 REX this weekend, so I’m glad to see that people enjoy driving them.
Nice job on the review! I bought a 2014 REX certified off lease a few years ago and still have it. Totally love it still. It’s held up amazingly well. Still looks basically new. Coded the REX to be able to turn on manually in settings once battery is below 75% state of charge. That’s a really nice tweak.
That range extender mod gives you a lot of comfort on long trips
@@raysyd5643 yes exactly. I regularly drove it Atlanta to Nashville - 260 miles door to door each way - no problem other than frequent stops for gas of usually about 1.75 gals each fuel up. Loved the car
I just bought the same car and with the same equipment. 2017 (19k miles). Hope to enjoy like you.
I think literally every i3 owner I have met loves their car. Congrats!
How much did you pay?
Really useful review Ray. I’ve owned 20 BMWs and apart from a 740i Sport Individual, I bought them all second hand and avoided a huge amount of deprecation over 40 years of driving. Im going to buy an i3 later this year when a lot of lease deals come to fruition as I’d like 42kwh model without the REX (a petrol engine disqualifies cars in many ways) but with a sunroof and all the kut you mentioned plus a heat pump. Hope to get a three year old one for £16,000 ($20k). Subbed Cheers Geoff (UK)
I just purchased the 2017 I3 Rex Thursday and I love it
Drive the “Panda” myself 2015 Rex. Great car! Purchased used. Want Starter EV, this is it!
Pretty much the best for getting around the city and a great starter ev. As model S prices drop I am looking at moving into a model S next
Future classic **
One of the first electric cars on the market to do it right!
Hello Ray, Nice review. Could you tell me what package do you have in your car? I can see you have the TERA version which is black and leather seats. Also this car is 20 or 33Ah batt?
Adaptive cruise control may be trash compared to Tesla but it comes in handy way more than you described. Daily traffic jams on the highway, RUclips and email with confidence.
I also have a "panda", without REX but with large battery and high trim. It is my daily drive since a year. When I got it, I also considered Tesla Model 3 - I actually slightly preferred the Telsla due to its better drivetrain, AP and SC network. However, practical aspect like the trunk and the visibility as well as the quality of the interior made me go for the i3 in the end. And my family also voted in favor of the i3...
I love my i3 also, in terms of cost vs value. I also did a Tesla model 3 video that might be worth checking out. At current lease prices for the model 3 and y, they are a great deal. I really do believe Tesla makes a better electric car than any of the other manufactures.
Just picked up a 2014 Rex. Love it so far!! Thanks for your review.
Enjoy!
8/24/21 is car still running ok?
Been wanting an i3 rex for about 2 years now. I’m going to look at a 2015 rex terra world this weekend!
Good luck! It's really a great car for running around the city.
Ive got it and it sucks
@@Bernepen why?
I have a similar spec, 2018, white with black roof, no Rex tho, I honestly love it. People stop me all the time when driving it to ask what it is or how I like it. It’s a really great all around car. Curious to see how it holds up long term
Hi Ray! Thanks for the review. What kind of electric range are you getting on your i3?
I see around 100 miles with normal driving in Los Angeles, using the AC as well. If there is heavy traffic I can see over 100 miles on electric alone without the range extender, due to regenerative breaking. The only time I see less than 100 miles is when I am over 80mph driving for extended periods.
Thanks Ray! Best wishes for you and your loved ones.
@@raysyd5643 but how much range do (or did) you get just from the range gas extender?
@@xXZ31t6esTXx I've never really used it that much, I'm sure a cool 60 miles with normal driving
You can swap the 6.5" screen for around $200 you have to just unscrew display and pop the other display in and used bimmer code to reset the resolution. With that same app you can increase the usable tank for the REX from 1.9L to 2.5L (around 50 miles).
Swapping the screen just sounds like more work than I'm willing to do. It was a pain to find one with the good screen though.
Sure you meant US Gallons
It's more than 50 miles.. More like 80 miles...
All you need is an App or do you also have to buy a connector?
I have been eyeing the '14-'16 models. I work at a BMW shop so repairs will be easy, although hopefully nothing major.
I think that I would rather to use the built in navigation over car play because it calculates range etc.
At some point you really know the range estimate yourself and as long as you know how many miles away the trip is and if it's highway or city, you'll be fine. Car play is just so seamless and google maps provides much better animation through car play than bmw's maps.
Ray Syd point taken
Great review, thank you for sharing. Thinking of snagging one myself, their fit and finish inside is miles ahead of Tesla while Tesla's are miles ahead in price.
Great review and summary of this car. I would only like to recommend ppl to check out models with cloth upholstery instead of leather, this particular BMW has some great (wool?) options that keeps you cool and fresh during summer and warm in the winter. The counterintuitive REX option is an American thing, no one in Europe has that. Oh, my neighbour had one - it caught on fire on the freeway. Otherwise a dream car. I drive a Model 3 now, previously a I3s 94Ah, but will try to get my hands on a used i3 60Ah as a second car.
How’s range through canyons? Also in LA and commute to Palmdale from the valley. Want this for the commute but a little worried on range through the 14.
Love to hear your thoughts
My i3 is Gray, the white really is the best color!
Nice! Ya I love the white
At the 6:30 mark, I can see where the door sealant is coming undone. Eventually you'll get a lot of wind in your car and you'll receive the door open indicator. Had mine repaired under warranty.
O no lol, I just got out of warranty, debating what direction I want to go with the car
just to let u guys know when factory warranty runs out..
go thru car shield they will cover the i3 bumper to bumper for 80 bukks a month
just take it to the bmw dealer and your good, they cover it all.
just a 100 dollar deduct! that it.
Nice! I will absolutely check that out
I named my 2017 i3 Panda. I have also have I got both of my i3'sa 2015 i3 ( Micky) The bigger battery on the 17 is a Big Plus.
The 2017 seems to be the perfect i3 so far
You couldn’t drive this car and rely on the range extender motor to charge it could you? What I mean is, this has to be plugged in at the end of the journey to charge it up right. It’s just that I don’t have access to a charge point at home or at work. I’m thinking the Lexus CT200h would be a better fit for me right now.
Is it a reliable car ???
One of the most reliable cars I've owned up to about 70k miles now
@@raysyd5643 thanks for responding my decision is final 🌟
Can’t wait to get mine!
Enjoy it
Good review.
Thank you. One of my favorite and most reliable cars I've owned.
@@raysyd5643 bought one based upon your review. We are very happy with it. Cancelled the Tesla order. Thanks again.
best deal in the US and Europe but here still more expensive than some new EVs as there's so few for sale
Great info - thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it
Just bought an '18 i3s for $23K. No where near worth its MSRP, but for $23? Love it.
Ya you might be a little nutty buying one new, you better get an amazing lease deal. Even then you might as well buy used and maybe build a little equity.
Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it!
How much is it in a dollar?
The only flaw about the I3 is that,when you are in a crash or someone crash into you,they go to shit,body shop can't Fix Carbon Fiber insurance company will total it
Ya the carbon body is really cool until you think about fixing it haha
surprised that popo didnt come give you a ticket for the front tint
You know what it actually isn't that dark in person
@@raysyd5643 any front tint is illegal in Calif. but it's mainly CHP you have to watch out for. i had to pay $25 fix it ticket after they come out of their office locations and validate the tint is removed.
Would you let me know who coded the car for you?
Are you local in socal? He is in the valley
60k car dropping to 20k within a couple of years. isn't that a red flag ?
Appropriate title 👉🏼 All BMW’s are a horrible new car investments as they are famous for depreciation to a point of a joke. Any common man knows that.
Certain cars are better than others with certain options.
My next car next to my Prius
I literally bought this after getting rid of my 2015 Prius, similar vibe, better car
@@raysyd5643 but you can't take this car out of town on long trips right? Thats why I would keep my prius.
@@EvanBlack11 surely the charging infrastructure in the Us is better than Australia. You can DC fast charge if you have that option or run on the ReX with Petrol. Keep a couple of 5L jerry cans in the frunk in case you run out. It will still do highway speeds on the 650cc Scooter Engine.
i wish one day electric car can charge as fast as buying gasoline.
You forgot to go over the REx but overall good video.
Haha I did, honestly I never have to use it. I really hate the lawnmower generator that is the REX, but in a few situations it has been very helpful. My car is hacked also, so if I had to, I could technically run on pure gas.
"Problems" not "issues".
You will be glad to know the i3 is solid well above 120K miles - ruclips.net/video/b8igfSIOWEE/видео.html
Nice!! I am scared for warranty to run out haha
The i3 is quicker than an M3 or M4 from 0-30mph!
NO BMW is a great used car. Super expensive repairs eliminate even the best of bargains. Don't bother with BMW (Bavarian "Mierda" Works)!!!
Great reason to make sure to get a BMW I3 that is still under warranty. No issues at all. The nice part about an electric car is the regenerative breaking which keeps down on brake costs as well!
Very little maintenance needed on EVs.
poor california and those ugly stickers