Probably another Jetta but they were too pricey this go around
Those kind of deals just don’t exist in my market.
That’s a shame. But that is just one example. With the release of the $35k Model 3, the remaining EV market will need significant incentives to move metal. The false alarm on the i3 deals earlier today was believable because of the downward pressure exerted by the $35k Model 3. No one is going to touch the i3 as a lease when its costs are approaching the cost to purchase the 35k Model 3 outright.
1 Like
BMW might have seen this coming, there is hardly any i3 inventory in Colorado right now.
You’d probably have to pay me to drive an i3, that thing is hideous, more so than the clarity, which is less hideous.
2 Likes
I guess I’m a different breed. While I definitely look for bargains, I also want to drive something that is pleasing to my eye. While a $100 car payment sounds nice, the i3 is a hideous looking roller skate in my eye, so if it came down to it, I’d pay more to drive something else. TBH, there isn’t an EV on the market today that I’d really consider good looking outside of the Model S, but I’m not paying 70 large for a depreciating asset either.
I guess I’m a cheapskate with a caveat.
2 Likes
You just described me before I got the first i3. After I got it, I realized that I was wrong. Paying less per month for your commuter than one pays for a fancy dinner is only the beginning of the value proposition. Drive it, then let’s talk.
1 Like
It’s too ugly for me to consider even driving. I’m just not interested. That’s like buying a house that doesn’t fit the bill other than being cheap. If I’m paying for it, I best be enjoying it too.
2 Likes
As I’ve said once before on this forum, you can lead a horse to water, but… 
You can call me stupid…I don’t mind. Maybe I am. But if I’m stuck with something for 3 years that I’m paying on, I don’t want to be miserable either. Just looking at the i3 in my driveway would make me miserable. It could be the world’s fastest, technologically advanced and have the best driving dynamics out there. It’s too small and ugly. Just my opinion though, and everyone has one. Great it worked out for you.
I hate how the i3 looks, but if <100 a month and I do need a car to commute, I would totally do it.
I have no problem saving money so I can spend it on somewhere/thing I enjoy.
And @Electrifi38 sir, thanks for leading me to the water on the CS.
So basically this will put HUGE downward pressure on the used Model 3 market because most people won’t know the difference between short and long range.
Inb4 I can buy a 2018 M3 long range, premium interior with auto-pilot. for 35k with 10k miles on the clock…in less than 6 months
You are welcome. Where’s my trusted Hackr nomination?
I am driving a Leaf right now and I also have an i3 its day and night. Even thought its a tiny little car, its way better than most of what is on market. Now if you take a Tesla Model 3, ye you can’t compare. i3 is really just a hold over car till you can get into a real EV…
I don’t play the name-calling game so I am most certainly not calling anyone stupid. I look at money as being fungible, and in many ways, I believe in death, taxes and car payments. So, if I can save a little here and there (on cars), that leaves more for death and taxes. [This is like my word play on something Steven Tyler [paraphrasing] used to say, “sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll – if you take away the drugs, there’s more room for the rest.”]
wow the kind of car in your driveway determines your level of misery? 
1 Like
I had the Volt, now have the Leaf and i3. Out of those 3 cars i3 the way better the way drives, comfortable seating, interior quality (if you get the higher trim) is superior. Volt has good driving dynamic, but interior quality suffers. Now if you put those 3 cars next to a Model 3 which has all this autopilot hardware etc and over the air updates, I am sure 95% + people will choose the Model 3… You just need to explain it to people, that Model 3 you can actually charge anywhere with their superchargers.
Well said. The i3 is a very underrated interior experience. It is way more spacious than one would think. It replaced my X5 and was able to handle BJ’s bulk shopping with aplomb.
Is it actually true? I’m too lazy to look up the fuel economy figures for the BMWs, but, if you’re talking about the strictly ICE versions (not the hybrid/plug in), I don’t think the fuel economy is improving at nearly the level of EVs (or hydrogen). And the gains, from what I understand, are often from non-engine sources (transmission). Even w/ something like the Nissan HCCI, the real-world gains have essentially been non-existent. That’s why Toyota reaching 40% thermal efficiency from the engine alone (the base engine in the Camry) was such a big deal, right?
And the gains might be more for fuel-economy testing than actual real-world mileage. I was deeply unimpressed w/ the turbo-4 in my MB (C250, so a bit of a relic, at this point), and the 1.8T in my VW is hardly stunning (although I understand that the fuel economy in the 1.4T is MUCH better).
I know manufacturers are (or were, in the recent past) fond of saying that there was a fair amount of life left in ICEs. I think that’s true, but I don’t think there’s a ton of improvements left to be made (although I’m not an engineer). And as for transmissions, GM and Ford (and I think Mercedes) have all said there’s no point in going beyond a 9-/10-speed transmission.
When your current car isn’t made obsolete by its replacement, then presumably the resale value will take less of a hit.
There’s also a point at which gains aren’t functionally meaningful. For the way most Americans drive, does it matter if they can get 400 vs. 350 mi out of the same tank of gas? Probably not. But 100 vs. 150 mi? Definitely.
You spun that a little off of the point, but ok.