I love this little car. The i3 is unlike anything I’ve ever owned before; yet also like many, as it shares BMW DNA with plenty of other rides that graced my driveways over the years. And it’s completely opposite to the 1987 Jeep Grand Wagoneer I’m currently babysitting. Except for the four wheels. And four doors. And the tailgate. Ok, bad example.
But this really bothered me. It took me 45 minutes and several dropped calls from BMW Roadside Assistance to get this unlocked (and yes, they were great and helpful). These kinds of hiccups are why people still haven’t fully embraced electric vehicles. Even though I logically know that the electric motor is the best way of propelling a personal vehicle down the road…issues like this and range shortness make me very happy to hear the rumble of the Jeep’s AMC 360 V8.
So I’ll be taking the i3 in to be checked out, WITH the charging unit, per the Roadside Assistance tech’s advice, to see what caused this. But this definitely makes me a tad bit wary of having the i3 as my daily driver/grocery getter. That being said, resale and CPO values of these are so low, that they’re really a steal. Especially if they have years left of bumper-to-bumper warranty, as mine does. It’s not like there’s any real maintenance to be done, other than tires and wiper blades. Brakes may last the life of the vehicle, as regenerative braking means touching the brake pedal only happens in emergency stops or when already sitting in place at a traffic signal.
Feel free to follow along here, or on the other various and sundry social media sites at dougscars. Let’s see where this story takes us.
