Official BMW i3 thread

[kmp647]

Looks like BMW has updated the build your own feature to include an owners choice payemnt quote

base I3 no options $503 pr month
$7500 down
2.99%

 

[TomMoloughney]

Looks like BMW has updated the build your own feature to include an owners choice payemnt quote

base I3 no options $503 pr month
$7500 down
2.99%

Yes, but the $7,500 down is not coming out of pocket, it's the Fed Tax rebate. If you do put down $2,500 out of pocket, you can get the mileage up to 12k/yr and the monthly payment will be $461.54.

 

[kmp647]

the 7,500 comes out of your pocket initially, then gets replaced when you file your taxes the following year correct?
presuming most purchasers will qualify

 

[kmp647]

at this point you can not modify the terms on the price quote builder.
be nice if you could adjust the down and the miles and the months

 

[Clippy]

Looks like BMW has updated the build your own feature to include an owners choice payemnt quote

base I3 no options $503 pr month
$7500 down
2.99%

Good for them!

And a further kudos for not going for the lower payment option bandied about here and telling you that this nebulous $7500 is coming from you or us (not US-A). They still fail to mention your "Scheduled Final Payment" amount of $20,000 or so if you pay the $7500 up front and $27,500 or so if you don't. That's if you want to keep the car. And of course, that for the "base" model, optional extras, taxes, license fees, dealer installed options and your old maiden aunt's underwear is extra. At least they are only using partial Tesla Math figures.

And that TruCoat, you don't get it and right away you get corrosion problems, even with CFRP.

 

[TomMoloughney]

the 7,500 comes out of your pocket initially, then gets replaced when you file your taxes the following year correct?
presuming most purchasers will qualify

No. With the OwnersChoice with Flex, BMW FS cuts the $7,500 off the purchase price up front so you don't have to come out of pocket. However you then owe it to them. You can pay it back anytime during the term, like when you do your taxes and get it back or wait till the end of the 36 months.

 

[Boomer23]

Great test drive event for the i3 at Crevier BMW in Santa Ana CA today, Sunday Mar 30, until 4:30 pm. Extra cars on hand in both Tera and Giga trims, 20 inch and 19 inch wheels. Well run, organized event, and you can drive alone if you wish.

This is the fourth time I've driven the car and I'm liking it more each time. The only issue I noticed with drivability is that the steering on straight roads at speed, probably including freeways, is that it is quite sensitive and needs more attention and awareness to keep the car from moving about in the lane. Every tiny steering wheel input results in a slight change of direction. That's what you want in a responsive sports car, to be sure, and it's great on the twisty bits, I'm just saying it's not as relaxing to drive on fast, straight roads as the LEAF is. My wife isn't gonna like that part much, I predict.

 

[kmp647]

Looks like BMW has updated the build your own feature to include an owners choice payemnt quote

base I3 no options $503 pr month
$7500 down
2.99%

Yes, but the $7,500 down is not coming out of pocket, it's the Fed Tax rebate. If you do put down $2,500 out of pocket, you can get the mileage up to 12k/yr and the monthly payment will be $461.54.

Tom the current BMW USA site shows , " owners choice" quote

It does not say owners choice with flex

Isnt owners choice with flex the plan where they allow the extra 7500 .

Owners choice without is just. A guaranteed buy back at a set price
Lowering your monthly and you get your 7500 and keep it

Am I correct.

 

[TomMoloughney]

Looks like BMW has updated the build your own feature to include an owners choice payemnt quote

base I3 no options $503 pr month
$7500 down
2.99%

Yes, but the $7,500 down is not coming out of pocket, it's the Fed Tax rebate. If you do put down $2,500 out of pocket, you can get the mileage up to 12k/yr and the monthly payment will be $461.54.

Tom the current BMW USA site shows , " owners choice" quote

It does not say owners choice with flex

Isnt owners choice with flex the plan where they allow the extra 7500 .

Owners choice without is just. A guaranteed buy back at a set price
Lowering your monthly and you get your 7500 and keep it

Am I correct.

I haven't checked the site but yes OC lets you buy it or give it back at the end of the predetermined period. The OC with Flex was just created specifically for the i3. It's the same as OC and I believe all the numbers are the same except with Flex you are allowed to take a capitol cost reduction up to the amount of the federal tax credit. I'm not sure why anyone would do OC on an i3 and not OC w/ Flex.

EDIT: OK so I just checked. It does say OwnersChoice but they were using OC w/ Flex for the payment calculations. If you hover over the "?" it shows that they used the $7,500 federal tax credit as a capitol cost reduction. Also, the car they use has the Ionic Silver paint, and that's optional so the monthly lease price is $504/mo. Actually, if you ordered an i3 with the standard paint and no options, with no money down (just the federal tax credit $7,500 Flex), you payment is $494/mo

So I think that is the lowest "lease" rate for any i3 - for not at least. With no money down you can do OC w/Flex on a base BEV i3 and your monthly payments will be $494/mo. All you owe in 36 months when you return the car is the $7,500 federal tax credit that you earned. You can pay it off anytime, or wait till you return the car or buy it outright in 36 months.

So now we know the lowest 3 year "lease" rate with no money down is $494/month. I suspect we'll see BMW announce something about this soon- probably around NAIAS in two weeks. I suspected they would do whatever they could to get a monthly price under $500 for advertising purposes and they did.

 

[Clippy]

In case anyone is interested in what an "actual" lease/purchase arrangement for a particular vehicle would be, I provide the following, received by me today from a dealer contacted by me today way up here in the Great Northwest, where it isn't raining for a change.

2014 BMW i3

MSRP 50,875
$5,000 customer cash + $4,875 tax credit.
36m lease @ 10k/yr
$652.48/m

Includes all fees
Residual @ end of lease is $46% and thus $23,402.50

If you are a throw caution to the wind type and actually want to purchase (shudder @ the thought of a $25K+ engine repair bill such as the one I signed for the ActiveE) the numbers are:

$503/month for 36 months
$7500 down payment(which may be recouped by fed income tax credit)
2.99% apr
$19,700 Balloon value(what is still owed at end of 36 months)

The purchase numbers are for a base model. Which of course doesn't exist yet, or maybe it does, who knows.

As you can see, the actual "How much am I paying for this car?" figures are nowhere to be found. Perhaps somewhere in this great land of ours, there's someone who just doesn't care what the exact numbers are for a car lease/purchase, if that person's reading this thread, BMW has a car for you!

 

[cwerdna]

In case anyone is interested in what an "actual" lease/purchase arrangement for a particular vehicle would be, I provide the following, received by me today from a dealer contacted by me today way up here in the Great Northwest, where it isn't raining for a change.

2014 BMW i3

MSRP 50,875
$5,000 customer cash + $4,875 tax credit.
36m lease @ 10k/yr
$652.48/m

Includes all fees
Residual @ end of lease is $46% and thus $23,402.50

Great Northwest? What state? If it's WA, IIRC, EVs are exempt from sales tax. OR has no sales tax (at least on non-car purchases, not sure about cars).

So, if I'm reading this right, the total cost of a lease for a base i3 w/3 year lease and 10K miles/year allowed is $652.48 * 36 months = $23489.28 or possibly $652.48 * 35 months = $22836.80. Am I right?

 

[Clippy]

In case anyone is interested in what an "actual" lease/purchase arrangement for a particular vehicle would be, I provide the following, received by me today from a dealer contacted by me today way up here in the Great Northwest, where it isn't raining for a change.

2014 BMW i3

MSRP 50,875
$5,000 customer cash + $4,875 tax credit.
36m lease @ 10k/yr
$652.48/m

Includes all fees
Residual @ end of lease is $46% and thus $23,402.50

Great Northwest? What state? If it's WA, IIRC, EVs are exempt from sales tax. OR has no sales tax (at least on non-car purchases, not sure about cars).

So, if I'm reading this right, the total cost of a lease for a base i3 w/3 year lease and 10K miles/year allowed is $652.48 * 36 months = $23489.28 or possibly $652.48 * 35 months = $22836.80. Am I right?

Lol!

Who the heck knows? From what I can gather, the above figures are either a "Flex" or Non-Flex arrangement. What is certain is that you take $23,489.28 (Total of Payments) and add $5000 (Customer Cap Reduction) to it, then divide it by 36 you get $791.37, which is right around the figure I originally received from my non Great Northwest dealer. This is on an MSRP of $50,875 which is a Scarlet O'Hara Special Edition Tara or it could be a fully loaded Froggie Gigya.

Plus, on top of all this there is a Subaru Forester Sized Balloon Payment due in 36 months or gimme my car back. But who the heck knows?

In the good old days, the wiseguy at the dealership would cover the amount of the Balloon with his hand or by folding the mile long purchase agreement under out of sight while you were signing. This is just a new wrinkle. What's double funny is they're using good old Uncle Sam as a fudge factor.

 

[pbennett]

MSRP 50,875
$5,000 customer cash + $4,875 tax credit.
36m lease @ 10k/yr
$652.48/m

$5k down = an additional $138/month. Money down on a lease is a really bad idea in general. Either way, basically $790/month. :\

 

[cwerdna]

MSRP 50,875
$5,000 customer cash + $4,875 tax credit.
36m lease @ 10k/yr
$652.48/m

$5k down = an additional $138/month. Money down on a lease is a really bad idea in general. Either way, basically $790/month. :\

Doh! I misinterpreted "customer cash" to mean some sort of rebate.

So, if that's the down payment, that means the total cost of 3 year lease is $28489.28 or $27836.80. That's nuts!

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Same as the ELR, these guys need to experience crap sales stats for a while to bring them to their senses. IMO the BMW faithful won't bail them out; this car has about as much panache as a honda element and won't attract the image conscious buyers with more money than brains.

 

[mkjayakumar]

$50K for a 2 door, 80 miles range car? Do they think we are idiots? :shock:

Oh now I know. It is a friggin BMW, so it has to be north of 50 grand. Anything less makes them look cheap.

 

[jsongster]

Still Love my LEAF!

 

[TRONZ]

BMW is making a very compelling EV. The best thing the i3 has going for it is the lightweight structure. Full CFRP is pretty darn cool but then again I really appreciate that sort of stuff. Is it worth $50K? Well, everyone certainly is going to find out! Prestige brands have no shortage of people happy to line up and throw money at them for the latest and greatest. Going by the large number of Model S around me, I expect we will be swimming in i3's this summer. But like Nissan, after the sizzle fades, it will be time to adjust i3 prices and features for a more real world appeal. The second wave of i3 buyers will not be showing up with blank checks.

 

[evnow]

Going by the large number of Model S around me, I expect we will be swimming in i3's this summer. But like Nissan, after the sizzle fades, it will be time to adjust i3 prices and features for a more real world appeal. The second wave of i3 buyers will not be showing up with blank checks.

I'd be very surprised if i3 sells anywhere near Leaf or Model S. Once the initial demand is met (doesn't seem to be too big to start with given even a lot of Active E owners aren't signing up) - my guess is BMW will find it hard to sell even 500 a month at the current prices because i3 is simply too impractical for too many people.

 

[TRONZ]

If BMW sells 500 in the first month, I bet 100 of them will be in South Orange County. Tesla outsells Leaf two to one around here. I will keep you posted.