I have enjoyed driving my 2017 BMW i3. It has enough power to amuse me. It is comfortably quiet, which makes long drives a little less taxing. It’s spacious on the inside and compact on the outside. (The places in San Francisco where I can park but others cannot…) The seats are comfortable. The rear seats fold flat and accommodate large items. But, after driving the car for nearly five years, I have a list of wishes for improvement.
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| My 2017 BMW i3 when new. |
First on the wish list is a bigger battery so I can drive to more places without charging. The 2019 BMW i3 introduced a battery that is 30% bigger. I also miss leather seats and have trouble using the backup camera with the smaller display screen in my base car. So, in 2022, I started looking at used car prices and milage on the 2019 BMW i3. I noticed that a number of lease returns were showing up, many with very low milage. (They were leased just prior to the pandemic lockdown and sat idle for much of the first three years.)
I
narrowed my choices down to three cars.
One was the i3s (for sport) model that included a more powerful motor
and a sunroof, and wider tires. It had
17,000 miles. But I was concerned about
how the sport enhancements would drain more power from the battery. I also sat in another model with the sunroof
on a hot summer day and found the extra heat radiated by the glass was
uncomfortable and the opening was split into two small portals. So, I passed on this car. Next was an i3 (no sport) in LA where someone
had removed the decorative strip above the doors. It had just 12,000 miles. I paid for the car after having it inspected,
and the dealer sold it to someone else at the same time. (They did refund my money.) Then my plan-B car also sold, so I was
without any good choices. I would have
to wait and keep searching.
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| Picking up my 2019 BMW i3 |
Finally, a 2019 i3 arrived at the Calabasas BMW dealer and was given a place-holder in their used car inventory. I reached out before it was released for sale and learned it had everything I was looking for: rims, color, leather seats, tech package (for the bigger display), and only 14,000 miles. They held the car for me, allowed me to have the car inspected professionally, and even arranged for an Uber driver to bring me from the airport to the dealership. After a quick test-drive to confirm the car was as promised, I signed the sales contract, handed over the cashier’s check, and headed on my way home. I was decidedly happy with the upgrades. Even backing up is a better experience with the larger screen, as is navigating with the larger map. Now all I had to do was drive it 345 miles to home. (Yes, I would need to recharge twice.)
