The big argument in favor of electric vehicles is that, in the long run, they’re cheaper than their gas-powered counterparts. Sure, they might be more expensive to buy, but you’ll save a ton of money in maintenance and won’t need to pay for gas anymore. However, some BMW i3 drivers have found this week that this claim is only partially true.
The all-electric BMW i3 was killed off in America in 2021 after launching back in 2013. Now, drivers of some i3s are being hit with sky-high repair bills as the cells in their EVs start deteriorating, according to a new report from CarScoops.
In the report, three owners claimed that they were facing five-figure repair costs to replace the batteries in their cars. As the site explains:
BMW sold the i3 as both an all-electric vehicle and as a range-extended hybrid with a small combustion engine. Now that the small car has left production, it appears as though dealers across the nation are slapping i3 owners with huge repair bills. The issue comes down to the high-voltage battery used in the i3 design.
It consists of eight cells and when just one goes bad, the repair bill can get crazy. One poster on Reddit and another on Facebook claim that a dealer showed them repair statements of some $33,000 for a full battery. One poster who evidently wasn’t so fortunate said their battery replacement quote was $38,000. Somehow, that isn’t the worst of the bunch, not by a long shot either.
The biggest bill CarScoops reports was for more than $71,000, which was around $20,000 more than the cost of a new i3 back in 2021. Absolute madness.
What’s more maddening, however, is that the repairs are often only required after one cell out of the eight that make up the car’s battery goes bad. As such, you actually only need to replace one cell, which costs around $3,500 from a BMW parts center according to CarScoops.
So, if you’re able to find a mechanic with the skills required to work on an i3, you could save yourself thousands off the dealer-quoted repair price.