Been debating doing so here. Charging overnight with the standard plug isn’t bad, but if I end up taking a few short trips around town during the day, my battery will be depleted by early afternoon.
With the short 24 month lease, adding the outlet and L2 Charger isn’t the most cost effective, though I will consider a full electric next time around so it likely wouldn’t be a complete waste.
L2 would likely run ~ $1k. ($500 for charger, $500 for 240v outlet)
Anyone else?
I recently got a 330e as well. I won’t consider the installation. For occasional use, you can just drive the car like a hybrid with 30+ MPG. I end up filling the tank once a month or two months.
Not worth it to me to save charge time from 6 hrs to 2 hrs. Plus at home I pay to charge and unless after hours (when I’m asleep anyway, and time is not an issue) it’s more expensive than gas, per mile. Best deal is free charge at work.
What you should do is research if there are credits for charging in your area. My area has $250 for charging equipment. A good L2 charger you can find for $300. The work can be cheap too depending on the distance from the panel. If you think you will drive out the ev range and need fast refil then get it…especially in Ca.
As a garage designer and consultant, I’ve been recommending and doing a pre-wire for charging stations since 2002. For DYI, you’ll need 6/3 plus ground wire, a 50 amp breaker and a NEMA 14-50 outlet. Most L2 chargers (up to 40 amps) will use this outlet or come with adapters if necessary.
Some dealers order the their iPerformance cars with the TurboCord dual 120v/240v charger so you don’t need to buy an extra level 2. (Just prep the garage with the right NEMA plug)
Please note iPerformance cars charge at 3.2kwh max anyways so having a dedicated home station is an overkill.
https://www.shopbmwusa.com/PRODUCT/5755/BMW-TURBOCORD-CHARGER/?CENTERID=46826
It’s only a 7.6kWh battery so it’s unnecessary. Just plug in every time you get home. Driving on gas, which isn’t ideal but the electric range is 17 miles, also charges the battery.
You are making a good point about the turbo charger, it’s true, these phevs are limited and charging is maxed at just over 3. While the L2 is overkill in power is very practical in other ways. Many offer charging flexibility and help you maximize electric savings buy controlling the time you charge…if your utility has off peak times. I’m not sure if BMW phevs have a charging schedule built into the software. Also many so called turbo chargers are about $200 so from there to $300 for an L2 is not that big of a stretch…especially if you think you’ll get another ev in the future.
In the case of BMW 330e/530e/X5 40e leasing …
The Turbocord is baked into the lease so the cost is residualized (make sure to return the car with it or you get ding)
Also you can program the TOU schedule via BMW connected app or from the iDrive.
Dang! That BMW charger is $500!!! WOW!!!
I agree then…if you have the turbo then stick with it…there is no benefit for L2 on this car.
BMW sticker on top is worth $150.
Probably more if they slap on the ///M logo 
… that’s why dealer will order it with the car and bake it into the lease.
They sell for 300 bucks on ebay all day.
Yep, the BMWs have a baked in charging schedule (start charging instantly or wait for specific time periods). Unless you plan to go fully electric in the near future (or as the car to replace the 330e once the lease is up) then I wouldn’t bother with a Level 2 charger.
I toyed with the idea of putting in a L2 charger when I started my 330e lease last Feb, but I never really had a point where I thought to myself that I needed to charge faster for any real reason since our main charging time was overnight. 120v charging does the trick.
Thanks for all the input. Unfortunately I don’t have the TurboCord, I have the standard 120v Level 1 (1.2kwh) cord. Def. appreciate the feedback - strongly thinking it may not be worth it to spend the money when I can still charge the car overnight.
I’ll need to figure out something for my setup though as the outlet is 5-7’ back into my garage and on the opposite side of the car as my port. Since my car can’t fit inside the garage, the cord is running under the garage door when its closed and forces me to park very close to the door, blocking my kids from accessing their bikes, and making a bit of a tripping hazard.
I’m thinking of possibly moving the 120v outlet outside the garage, which would allow me to back the car in and keep the cord contained to one side of the car, though I’m not sure of the weather rating of the stock L1 charger.
Just make sure to put a gfi outlet and hopefully your amperage is high. I had the same setup 3 years ago when i got my first ev. I was charging a 24kWh battery at 1.3 kW speed. It worked fine and my VW charging cable was water resistant…but then again there is not that much rain in SoCal. Check your equipment and see what they recommend.
I think the factory charger is made by clipper creek and it’s NEMA 4 outdoor rated.
You should be fine. I suggest keeping the main unit above ground to avoid prolong exposure.
I bought a $200 level 2 charger off of Amazon and paid an electrician a little $$ to set up the garage. Pretty easy.
Curious, do you recall which one you got?
I got the zen car charger. It comes with a 2 year warranty, so assuming they honor it and don’t go out of business, it looked like a good option for the lease term. No tax since it’s a third party seller on amazon.
There are alot of cheap L2s. I keep seeing this one advertised…not sure how good it is but the price $219 is great for a L2
Edit: for a L2 it’s pretty weak (16 Amp, Level 2, 240V, 3.8kW)