DOTS

"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
03/09/2019 at 01:55 • Filed to: hour rule, BMW, dots

BMW i3

DISCUSSION (9)

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > pip bip - choose Corrour
03/09/2019 at 02:31

Those only make sense to me as a lease...the sticker price seems crazy for what you get. But the subsidized BMW lease makes it rational.

To me they look like a Honda Element and a garden shed had a baby.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > NotUnlessRoundIsFunny
03/09/2019 at 09:32

Used prices are great, though. As a small commuter car, there are some great deals to be had.

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > BaconSandwich is tasty.
03/09/2019 at 14:54

That’s a really good point...I hadn’t even considered one used.

One weird thing about EVs (we’re on our 3rd) is they often have a high residual value to reduce the lease payments. But they depreciate like mad, so at the end of the lease the buyout value is out of whack for the market. You’re better off turning the car in and buying the same thing used at that point. They don’t want to negotiate at the end of the lease, either.

BTW, I have long enjoyed your username. It was a little thrill to get a comment from you.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > NotUnlessRoundIsFunny
03/09/2019 at 15:15

I’m terrible with knowing my Opposite Lock member names, but was it you on here that had a Spark EV with a lease that is almost up? I was curious, so I looked it up, and I could totally see that being the case. It seems like most lease buyouts aren’t usually a great deal compared to used prices. The one advantage is that you know exactly how that car was treated, but that might not be worth the price premium.

I’ve been keeping my eye on used EV/plug-in hybrid prices, in hopes that in a few years I’ll make the jump. I’m currently driving a 2001 Honda Civic with ~ 285,000 km on it, and I figure if I can keep it running for another 2-3 years, prices of used EVs will hopefully have gone down even further. Another part of me also wonders, though, that they may get more popular, and depreciation won’t be quite as brutal as it has been.

Also, thanks! :P

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > BaconSandwich is tasty.
03/09/2019 at 15:22

Nothing about the Spark, but I was in the same situation with a Nissan Leaf a few years ago and Automatch Tom offered some advice.

It’s going to be interesting to see how the prices settle out, yeah. Cost / availability of parts and longevity of said parts will factor in, and I have some guesses from my own experience.

For example, used Leafs are cheap. Probably in part because the battery packs are primitive / simple and lose capacity relatively quickly.

But...if they’re plentiful and available cheaply, does that matter if you’re willing to swap it out?

Whereas, Tesla batteries seem to hold up better. But they’re a lot more complicated and expensive to replace. So...maybe that’s a wash?

BaconSandwich is tasty. > NotUnlessRoundIsFunny
03/09/2019 at 16:22

Yeah, it’s hard to tell. Part of me thinks some smart, enterprising young Chinese company is going end up making cheap replacement packs for the Leaf. I’ll be surprised if that doesn’t end up happening.

How was your Leaf ownership experience? They definitely are more plentiful than the i3, and used prices are definitely lower. Part of me wants to buy one and turn it in to a tiny pickup truck, like some guys from Nissan did as a team building experience. Jack it up a bit, put some slightly k nobbier tires on it... I think it’d look hilarious. Not sure if Mrs. BaconSandwich would let me do that, though. :P

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > BaconSandwich is tasty.
03/09/2019 at 20:06

Agree about the cheap replacement pack idea. I also suspect that if you’re very careful around the high voltage, you could probably replace a module here or there yourself.

As for the Leaf, it was a good experience. Never really had trouble with the car. We turned it in at the end of the lease because it didn’t do well on the updated crash tests, and the range was just not enough, and declining. Nissan wanted a crazy amount to buy out the lease, anyway.

Nissan lost us as customers because when we turned in our 2011 Leaf, all they had to sell us was...pretty much exactly the car we were turning in.

But my desire to buy a used one cheap and tinker with it is very strong.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > NotUnlessRoundIsFunny
03/11/2019 at 18:54

Yeah, I think Nissan really dropped the ball. Even the new Leaf is basically the same as the old, but with a different body. From as far as I can tell, it’s the same size/shape as the old battery pack, and still no liquid cooling.

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > BaconSandwich is tasty.
03/12/2019 at 00:00

Kind of a shame, because the car had basically treated us well. So if they had something for us to move up to, it was their business to lose.