HOW TO BUY A USED i3 AND WHAT TO PAY

An early, entry-level i3 will cost you from £11,500 today. Cars at this price are 60Ah models, equipped with a 22.6kwh battery pack. They produce 168bhp and 184lb ft and offer up to 100 miles of range.

Upping your budget to £15,000 will give you a much wider range of i3 options. The most common model at this kind of money is the range extender (REX), which uses a 647cc two-cylinder petrol BMW motorbike engine, fuelled from a nine-litre tank. This acts as a generator for its 22.6kwh battery and boosts the i3’s range to 180 miles. The 94Ah model is also found in this price bracket and has a 33kwh battery for an electriconly range of 124 miles.

You’ll have to stretch to around £18,000 to get the 120Ah, with its 42.2kwh battery. It’s worth seeking out, though, because it’s able to travel 160 miles as a pure-ev. The 120Ah REX, meanwhile, boosts the range to 200 miles.

In June 2020, 189 cars were recalled due to a defective sensor in the airbag control unit, which may stop the airbag from being deployed when a vehicle has rolled over. BMW rectified affected cars for free.

Generally, though, the i3 has historically been a reliable car. “We don’t have to work on them often,” says Barrie Rowles, BMW master technician at Turner Automotive. “We mainly do MOTS and servicing, and that’s just for range extenders, which sometimes need an oil change.

“They don’t have many problems. Any high-voltage issues are all taken care of by BMW. There were a few teething problems on the first-generation models but, speaking to colleagues at BMW, they are very reliable.

“My advice for customers is just be careful when you’re buying an electric vehicle out of warranty, because if they go wrong, you’re looking at thousands, not hundreds.”

ONES WE FOUND

2014 BMW i3 60Ah, 100,000 miles, £11,500

2015 BMW i3 90Ah, 25,000 miles, £15,900

2017 BMW i3s REX, 35,000 miles, £20,500