Used i3 advice

Discussion in 'i3' started by JyChevyVolt, Jan 31, 2018.

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  1. If you can afford it and it makes your wife happier, option 2 would be the sensible choice. Personally, if I had my ruthers, I'd prefer to somehow keep the i3 to drive for myself. I suspect it's a bit more fun to drive than the Clarity.
     
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  3. Apexerman

    Apexerman Member

    Domenick's thoughts are spot-on. Option #2 is probably more sensible, but once you drive an i3 (if you haven't already), you may reconsider. It really is a hoot to drive these cars and after four months, I still love it. I've learned to modulate the throttle more effectively for near one-pedal driving. Occasionally I'll hit the friction brake for quicker stops, but not often. If the majority of your driving is highway, however, you might take advantage of the Active Cruise Control feature. The sensitivity of the throttle regarding regen mode requires precise pedal placement, meaning the pedal is sensitive to minor throttle inputs. One doesn't just let off the throttle and coast... you'll experience aggressive regen as a result. Over a long period of highway driving in non-AAC mode, your foot could get a little tired from maintaining precise foot control. However, I haven't driven longer than 30 minutes at highway speeds and I didn't find the pedal action obtrusive. I've utilized the ACC twice and found it interesting, but I'm still not quite comfortable with the feature yet. It may take time to acclimate. I'm a long-time manual transmission guy, so I like human control.

    The 2015 models are hitting a sweet spot coming off three-year leases. Ours is a Certified Pre-Owned version, so there's an extra measure of security regarding condition and maintenance. It's pretty amazing these were $50K cars at the time. Well kept models look and drive virtually new. And yes, I'd recommend the REx model... the flexibility has been quite worthwhile. That said, if the driving experience isn't paramount, then the Outlander and Clarity are perfectly reasonable choices.
     
  4. JyChevyVolt

    JyChevyVolt Active Member

    The 2015 i3 Rex is a CPO. I get $1k off with BMW CCA. 20k miles. The car is fully optioned with the tech package. The only bad part about the i3 is the lack of coasting. Coasting is incredibly useful on the highway.

    The logical choice is the Outlander PHEV since the wife only drives 2-10 miles a day and 50 miles, once a week. The warranty on the Outlander is outstanding.
     
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  5. JyChevyVolt

    JyChevyVolt Active Member

    Looks like the 2017 i3 model (bigger battery) will be coming off their 2 year lease in a few months. The price on the 2015 model will drop substantially.
     
  6. Apexerman

    Apexerman Member

    I am curious why BMW didn't offer regen modes similar to the VW eGolf. It doesn't seem like the programming would be terribly difficult. I'm sure they had their reasons.
     
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  8. JyChevyVolt

    JyChevyVolt Active Member

    Hopefully, final update.

    We will get the CPO i3 and drive it for a year and give it to my sister in-law. Why? My wife wants the 2019 Outlander PHEV.

    This upgrade will cost me, the Volt, i3, and a new Outlander. Is divorce a cheaper option?
     
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  9. Sorry. Can not give marital advice. o_O :)
     
  10. Viking79

    Viking79 Well-Known Member

    I had Volt, wife got Clarity PHEV, I sold the Volt and bought a used i3 REx. The i3 is definitely more fun to drive than the Clarity, but Clarity is my choice on the highway. Better MPGs and better on gas.

    Clarity is great for us since we put 15 to 20 thousand miles per year on that car, and it is wider than most compact SUVs like Outlander Sport, making it a bit better for 5.

    Outlander PHEV looks like a great vehicle, and if her commute isn't long it might be easy to drive all electric despite short range. If you live in a cold climate make sure to check how heat works (engine or electric) not sure with outlander.
     
  11. JyChevyVolt

    JyChevyVolt Active Member

    We live in Southern California. The Clarity PHEV is the best choice but we already have the electric version. 2 Clarity in the driveway would look funny.
     
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  13. JyChevyVolt

    JyChevyVolt Active Member

    Test drove the i3. We decided to get another Clarity electric as my wife wants her car back. The used i3 carpool sticker expires this year.

    1. Wife get Clarity electric.
    2. I get another Clarity electric.
    3. Brother gets the Volt (sticker expires this year).
    4. Sell the Sonata and Camry and get the Prius Prime for Mom.
     
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  14. Viking79

    Viking79 Well-Known Member

    Those stickers seem to be high value in CA. The i3 I bought had the green ones, which I think are expiring? I took them off since I won't ever drive it in CA. I assume you would have to get a newer high priced i3 to get longer lasting stickers?

    I like how they expire as it creates a great used market for EVs all around the country. I see CA sticker cars showing up at midwest dealers.

    Enjoy the Claritys, appears you like them a lot :)
     
  15. Apexerman

    Apexerman Member

    We recently went through the process of acquiring the CA Clean Air stickers. These allow for single occupancy use in the HOV lane. Apparently, all stickers expire at the end of the year. You're eligible to reapply in 2019 as long as the car was registered in 2017 or 2018, or never had a sticker in the first place. If you have a model earlier than 2017 with a sticker, you'll only get use of it for the last remaining months of this year. At least, that's how the rules read. When looking for a used EV (ours is a 2015 model), we made sure to find a model that didn't have a sticker, so that we could reapply in 2019. We just received our stickers and they've changed the color to red. Does that mean these are good after 2018? I'm not sure why red, but it seems odd to change color when they supposedly become ineligible in January.
     
  16. JyChevyVolt

    JyChevyVolt Active Member

    Another update.

    After my futile search for the electric Clarity or fuel cell, I gave up and went searching for a Volt deal.

    Mom gets brother's Sonata.
    Got brother the 2018 Volt.
    IMG_20180605_210851926.jpg
    Wife keeps Clarity electric.
    IMG_20171203_235629487.jpg
    I will keep the Gen 1 Volt until the Kona EV comes out.
     
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  17. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web Well-Known Member Subscriber

    Good, fast, cheap: pick two.

    GOOD LUCK!
    Bob Wilson
     
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  18. Viking79

    Viking79 Well-Known Member

    Kona EV looks like a slightly better looking Bolt EV, and I think it adds optional adaptive cruise and other safety features strangely missing from the Bolt EV. Looks like a nice EV. I would get one here if we actually had public CCS stations.
     
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  19. ab13

    ab13 Active Member

    As an aside, if you are part of a company or workplace that has car buying benefits, one should check. I was amazed to find at least two UC schools offered discounts on i3, Leaf, and other vehicles. I don't work for those places, but saw the deals. 10k or 12k off i3, most likely MSRP sales, from UCI, UCSD, UC Davis, etc. The UCSD deals expired, but I would guess they might renew in the future, they even offered it to students, which is amazing.
     
    Last edited: Jul 3, 2018

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