Are the $10000 rebates gone for good?
interestedinEV
Well-Known Member
They seem to be gone. I have been looking at the i3 but could not see myself spending about $40,000 out of the door with the i3 a couple of months back, when Model 3's were not easily available. Today it is ridiculous. My local dealer is advertising a fairly basic i3 for $48,395. Even if we get a discount of the MSRP and get a sales price of say $45,000, it is no deal. For just $4,000 I can get a Tesla with more than 2.5 times the range and full sedan rather a compact hatchback. For that matter even with a $10,000 discount off MSRP, I do not see the value. If someone is budget constrained, they should go for the Leaf which is cheaper, has better range and almost as good of convenience features. I am surprised that BMW even sold 400 i3 vehicles in August. If they are coming up with newer versions, I would expect deep discounting. I have no idea why BMW does not even make a pretense of being competitive. No wonder that they are being outsold as a company by Tesla.
Apexerman
Member
As an owner of a certified pre-owned i3, it's hard to justify buying new. I love the current updates, but the depreciation is quite steep. When we approached our salesperson, the guy went straight into lease options without mentioning new purchases. He said the vast majority of new i3 owners go for leases or pre-owned cars. As with any car, I'd drive several different makes to determine driving characteristics, function and overall impressions. I happen to find the design thinking behind the i3 a singularly unique combination of technological experimentation and aesthetic courage, so I was willing to forego certain practical concerns to reach that goal. That said, I certainly appreciate the strides made by manufacturers like Tesla and I hope the competition will spur others to exceed expectations going forward.