For those navigating the urban landscape of San Diego, the BMW i3 stands out as a highly suitable option. Its… lightweight chassis lends itself to quick, nimble maneuvers, making it perfect for weaving through city traffic or finding parking near popular spots like Balboa Park and the Gaslamp Quarter. The i3's compact size is particularly advantageous in a bustling city known for its vibrant atmosphere and coastal attractions, as it can easily handle tight spaces. Visitors to San Diego's beautiful beaches will also appreciate the ease of access that the i3 provides, allowing for spontaneous seaside getaways.
On the other hand, potential buyers should consider that the i3 may fall short for those requiring longer driving ranges or more cargo space for weekend adventures. While the available range-extender model provides a backup option, it may not completely satisfy the needs of drivers who frequently embark on extended road trips or require additional utility for outdoor activities. With numerous newer electric vehicles now featuring advanced technology and superior performance, the i3 might feel less compelling against the competition. For city commuting, however, it remains a charming and stylish choice, embodying a unique blend of luxury and practicality that fits well within the vibrant culture of San Diego.
Located in El Cajon, CA / 8 miles away from San Diego, CA
MUST SEE THIS IMPRESSIVE 2016 BMW i3 W/ RANGE EXDTENDER!! ALL SERVICES ARE UP TO DATE, FULLY ELECTRIC, ONE OF THE SLEEKEST EV'S IN TOWN, LOW MILAGE A...
AutoCheck Vehicle History Summary
Accident Free Vehicle: Yes
Personal Use Only: Yes
History Provider: AutoCheck
Title Details: Clean Title
Salvage Vehicle: No
Frame Damage: No
Theft History: No
Lemon Status: No
Free History Report: Yes
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VIN: WBY1Z4C53GV507074 Stock: 250006 Certified Pre-Owned: No Listed since: 01-03-2025
Located in Escondido, CA / 27 miles away from San Diego, CA
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Accident Free Vehicle: Yes
Personal Use Only: Yes
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Title Details: Clean Title
Salvage Vehicle: No
Frame Damage: No
Theft History: No
Lemon Status: No
Free History Report: No
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VIN: WBY1Z2C57FV286615 Stock: 26559395 Certified Pre-Owned: No
Located in Poway, CA / 15 miles away from San Diego, CA
2015 BMW i3 Range Extender – Premium Electric Performance with Added ConfidenceExperience the perfect blend of innovation, efficiency, and lux...
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Accident Free Vehicle: Yes
Personal Use Only: No
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Title Details: Clean Title
Salvage Vehicle: No
Frame Damage: No
Theft History: No
Lemon Status: No
Free History Report: No
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39 Combined MPG (41 City/37 Highway)
Listing Information:
VIN: WBY1Z4C59FV278494 Stock: 7024 Certified Pre-Owned: No Listed since: 01-08-2025
Located in Oceanside, CA / 33 miles away from San Diego, CA
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VIN: WBY1Z8C58HV889899 Stock: 26240659 Certified Pre-Owned: No
Located in Oxnard, CA / 157 miles away from San Diego, CA
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Accident Free Vehicle: Yes
Personal Use Only: Yes
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Title Details: Clean Title
Salvage Vehicle: No
Frame Damage: No
Theft History: No
Lemon Status: No
Free History Report: No
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VIN: WBY1Z6C54HV548147 Stock: 27370920 Certified Pre-Owned: No
Located in Colorado Springs, CO / 812 miles away from San Diego, CA
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Title Details: Clean Title
Salvage Vehicle: No
Frame Damage: No
Theft History: No
Lemon Status: No
Free History Report: No
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39 Combined MPG (41 City/37 Highway)
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VIN: WBY1Z4C56FV504507 Stock: 27084313 Certified Pre-Owned: No
Located in Inglewood, CA / 112 miles away from San Diego, CA
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Accident Free Vehicle: Yes
Personal Use Only: Yes
History Provider: AutoCheck
Title Details: Clean Title
Salvage Vehicle: No
Frame Damage: No
Theft History: No
Lemon Status: No
Free History Report: No
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VIN: WBY1Z4C57GV508891 Stock: 26886445 Certified Pre-Owned: No
Located in Cincinnati, OH / 1,865 miles away from San Diego, CA
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Accident Free Vehicle: Yes
Personal Use Only: Yes
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Title Details: Clean Title
Salvage Vehicle: No
Frame Damage: No
Theft History: No
Lemon Status: No
Free History Report: No
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VIN: WBY1Z8C38HV890601 Stock: 2003541292 Certified Pre-Owned: No Listed since: 03-14-2025
Located in Costa Mesa, CA / 81 miles away from San Diego, CA
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Title Details: Clean Title
Salvage Vehicle: No
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Theft History: No
Lemon Status: No
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39 Combined MPG (41 City/37 Highway)
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VIN: WBY1Z4C51FV500591 Stock: 27196818 Certified Pre-Owned: No
Located in Costa Mesa, CA / 81 miles away from San Diego, CA
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Accident Free Vehicle: No
Personal Use Only: Yes
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Title Details: Clean Title
Salvage Vehicle: No
Frame Damage: No
Theft History: No
Lemon Status: No
Free History Report: No
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VIN: WBY7Z2C55JVE61787 Stock: 27198889 Certified Pre-Owned: No
Located in Inglewood, CA / 112 miles away from San Diego, CA
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VIN: WBY1Z8C3XHV895475 Stock: 26871466 Certified Pre-Owned: No
Located in Charlotte, NC / 2,074 miles away from San Diego, CA
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Accident Free Vehicle: Yes
Personal Use Only: No
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Title Details: Clean Title
Salvage Vehicle: No
Frame Damage: No
Theft History: No
Lemon Status: No
Free History Report: No
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VIN: WBY1Z8C38HV890159 Stock: 2003306661 Certified Pre-Owned: No Listed since: 11-26-2024
Located in Sacramento, CA / 464 miles away from San Diego, CA
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Title Details: Clean Title
Salvage Vehicle: No
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Theft History: No
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VIN: WBY1Z4C50GV507002 Stock: 2003468261 Certified Pre-Owned: No Listed since: 02-06-2025
Located in Sacramento, CA / 464 miles away from San Diego, CA
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Title Details: Clean Title
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VIN: WBY1Z8C59HV550844 Stock: 2003506031 Certified Pre-Owned: No Listed since: 02-21-2025
Located in Spokane Valley, WA / 1,031 miles away from San Diego, CA
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Title Details: Clean Title
Salvage Vehicle: No
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VIN: WBY1Z4C58GV508494 Stock: 26708171 Certified Pre-Owned: No
Located in Asheville, NC / 1,972 miles away from San Diego, CA
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VIN: WBY1Z8C35HV892791 Stock: 27022773 Certified Pre-Owned: No
Located in Inglewood, CA / 112 miles away from San Diego, CA
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VIN: WBY1Z8C31HV893789 Stock: 27329582 Certified Pre-Owned: No
Located in Gainesville, FL / 2,056 miles away from San Diego, CA
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VIN: WBY1Z8C36HV892136 Stock: 26746567 Certified Pre-Owned: No
Located in Cincinnati, OH / 1,865 miles away from San Diego, CA
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VIN: WBY7Z2C54JVE64728 Stock: 2003326722 Certified Pre-Owned: No Listed since: 12-20-2024
Located in New York City, NY / 2,427 miles away from San Diego, CA
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VIN: WBY1Z4C58GV505191 Stock: 2003406370 Certified Pre-Owned: No Listed since: 01-07-2025
Located in Boston, MA / 2,574 miles away from San Diego, CA
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Salvage Vehicle: No
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VIN: WBY7Z2C57JVE65159 Stock: 2003387583 Certified Pre-Owned: No Listed since: 01-02-2025
We have had short-lease ownership of both a 2017 and a 2018 model, They are virtually identical, with the main difference being that the 2017 did not have the backup camera. From 2018 on, all i3's now have the integrated camera, and it is a good one.
Now that the lease is up on the 2017 model, we got a nice promotional offer from a New England dealer, and took them up on it. So, we … will now have a 2019 model, with the larger battery pack.
Obviously we enjoy the car. It is particularly fun and zippy around town. Highway driving is okay, but sketchy on days when there is a strong crosswind.
This car is not for everybody, of course. But none of our routine drives are more than 75 miles, and we have a level 2 charger in our garage at home.
As an experiment, I once drove round-trip 650 miles in one day, to visit my daughter at college, using frequent gas fillups. This is not ideal, but it is possible, if you don't want to find chargers.
Try driving a Chevy Bolt or Nissan Leaf 650 miles in 13 hours.
People get hung up on the list price of the car. As if that is what you really have to pay. The pundits don't seem to grasp that virtually nobody BUYS a new i3. The lease deals are too attractive. With some effort, you can lease one for less than $300 per month. Particularly if you are buying at the end of the model year.
You have the option of "buying out" the car at the end of the lease, but I suspect that nobody does that, either, because the pre-determined 'residual value' is set at an artificially high level, in order to decrease the monthly lease payments.
These are fun cars.
But because they are so fun to drive, the tires will wear out. if that bothers you, stay away from this car. It is a very odd tire size, and no other car on the planet uses that size. As a consequence, there is only one company that manufactures that tire size for all-season tires. (there are two other companies that make winter tires for the i3, but only in the 19" rim size).
At first, when I realized I might have to buy new tires on the 2017 that I turned in, with about 18000 miles, I was a tad upset. But then I realized that it is a high-performance car, and the rear-wheel drive dynamics do put a lot of stress on the rear tires.
In the end, the dealer who accepted the car at the end of the lease commented on the worn rear tires, but let it pass, ultimately.
And I am okay with buying new tires, if I have to. And I will be putting on Nokain R3 winter tires on my 2018 this winter, both for winter safety, but also to save the tread on the summer tires.
Again if you hate buying tires, and you want to own this car, then drive gently, corner reasonably, and avoid jack-rabbit starts. Hard things for me to do.
If you test drive this car, you will want one. I have now "test driven" over 20K miles, and I am sold.
It is an electric car 98% of the time. But it has neutralized range anxiety with the backup gasoline power. I rarely use gas, but it's nice to know that I can. That beats a Chevy Bolt or a Nissan Leaf, as far as I'm concerned. And it comes pretty close to beating a Tesla, from range-anxiety point of view.
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I do live in an area with a handful of available high-amperage DC chargers. These will fully charge a depleted battery in about 40 minutes. But most owners charge at home, or at work, if they are lucky enough to have an enlightened employer.
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Buying a used i3 REX is a totally valid option. They all have warranties out to 48 months, and the first 36 months includes free dealer service, including inspection stickers. So any car that you will find has been well maintained (though you will want to do your own due diligence on that). The gas engine requires an oil change about once a year, if it is used at all. The battery and electric powertrain should last ten years or more, without being touched. You just have to keep up with tires, wiper blades, and changing the hydraulic brake fluiid every couple of year.
But if you are buying used, be aware of the battery size. The battery size has jumped every two years of production. And be sure to get a backup camera. You can tell if a used car has a backup camera in the dealer's photos, because the little fish-eye is in the middle of the bumper.
And rumor has it that BMW will stop making these in a year or two. And it seems likely that they will not increase the battery size beyond what is is now (2019 and 2020 model years) It is a unique car, remarkably quiet inside, remarkably good ride, considering it is a small car. Remarkably tight turning radius. I can make a U-turn in places were no other car could possibly do it.
Even if you never own one, you should make an effort to drive one. It is unique.
