I bought a second-hand electric car – conclusion

Having now owned a second-hand electric vehicle for almost four months, it still surprises me almost every day – in a good way.

In the previous instalments of this series, I first wrote about why I wanted to buy an EV as an everyday driver, and followed that up with the trials and tribulations of actually finding and purchasing my 2016 BMW i3.

It has been an interesting journey.

With experience, I can now honestly say there is nothing to fear about owning a second-hand electric car.

But I will reiterate that it definitely pays to do your homework to know what to look for and exactly what you’re looking at when shopping around.

As I mentioned last time, I live in Newcastle and ended up buying my BMW i3 – a mid-life-upgrade fully-electric model with the 94Ah battery – from Queensland.

I had (virtually) no choice as local options were extremely limited. In fact, I had to scour the entire country for the right one, with the right features and within my budget.

It wasn’t an easy process, and a little frustrating right to the end as I had to wait three weeks after buying the i3 before it was actually delivered. That isn’t unusual when buying a brand-new car, particularly if you tailor options specifically and have to wait for it to be built.

But normally you drive out with a used car as soon as you’ve signed on the dotted line.

Alas, the hurdles didn’t stop after the car was delivered.

Firstly, I had to re-register the car in New South Wales which, like any vehicle, requires a pretty simple blue slip inspectio. Except it wasn’t…

While the car passed without any issues, my mechanic had a major problem trying to input the results into the Service NSW database as he couldn’t find the right model code in their system.

As it turns out, the BMW i brand is registered as an entirely different make from the Munich car-maker’s mainstream models, and the i3 isn’t actually called an i3 either – it’s an i01. That’s why you’ll see them advertised as such on carsales.com.au.

In the end, it took several phone calls to help desks and more than four days to complete what would normally be a one-hour task.

Once that was complete, getting the car registered wasn’t a problem at all. By sheer coincidence, however, I paid full freight on rego and stamp duty costs and finally got to drive my BMW i3 on exactly the same day the NSW government announced its future electric vehicle incentives.

This included the abolishment of stamp duty on all new and used EVs that cost less than $78,000 – a chunk of change I could do with considering I stretched beyond my initial budget to buy my i3.

While I was pleased by the actions and think it is a great way to encourage more EV owners, I was a little peeved. But then I found out the stamp duty could be refunded retroactively when the bill is passed.

I’m still waiting for it to go through and hoping I can recover a couple of grand back. That’d be a bonus.

On the flipside, I’ll likely have to put that aside to pay for the proposed road user tax that is due to come into effect from 2027, or when EVs become more popular and make up 30 per cent of all new car sales in the state.

At a cost of 2.5c per kilometre, it would only be $250 if I travelled 10,000km per annum. And if I get the stamp duty back, it will basically pay for itself for at least the next five years. I’m okay with that.

Besides, I am literally recharging my car for free at the moment, which is an even bigger bonus.

To encourage more locals to buy electric cars, the Newcastle City Council installed a number of solar-powered public charging stations that would initially offer no-cost charging for the first six months. They have been operating for a couple of years now and (luckily for me) are still free.

One of them just happens to be at a sportsground a couple of blocks from my home, right next to a shopping complex and not that far from my gym.

So there’s always been a free plug to charge. I thought I would have to wait once when I discovered a Tesla owners’ group was having a meet-up there, but they immediately offered me a charger – as well as a cupcake, and a chat.

Having been involved in the local German car club scene with my Audi, I can say that EV enthusiasts are just as passionate about their cars.

They talk about different aspects – obviously – but it’s not a bunch of nerds discussing the latest update to ‘World of Warcraft’ or last Friday’s ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ battle.

When I need to charge, I leave the car for an hour or so (it’s locked and safe) while I’m working out or doing the weekly grocery shopping. It’s easy, and I haven’t had to alter my lifestyle very much at all.

I know not everybody has such convenience, but I reckon the growing network of public charging stations will make owning an EV a simple choice in the not-too-distant future.

It will be interesting when – rather than if – there are more EVs on the road and space and time on the chargers becomes an issue.

That’s a while off, I hope. And probably longer for me in Newcastle than it would be in a major capital city.

The BMW i3 only has 180km of driving range on a full battery and I was figuring that I would have to treat it like my mobile phone and keep it topped up by charging at home every night.

In fact, I’m recharging the car a lot less than I expected. My daily commute to work and back is a 30km round trip, which is right on the average for most Australians, and I have never had any less than 40 per cent battery capacity at the end of a full week.

To be honest, it’s all you need as a city car and any notion I had about range anxiety was extinguished within the first few days.

As for the battery itself, it shows no signs of any degradation and still has its full useable capacity after four years and 40,000km.

That gives me a good sense of security for my driving future, but also knowing that if I care for the battery properly it will still be useable (and have some value) when the time comes to sell the car to someone else.

One of questions many EV researchers ask is will the battery be dead in a couple of years and the car worthless. From my experience, I honestly don’t think that is the case if it has been treated correctly – like any other car.

What I am concerned about though is the car’s long-term ability to remain connected.

I really like the fact that, using the smartphone app, I can remotely monitor its charging rate, schedule the battery to be pre-conditioned in the morning before I leave for work (which improves the longevity of the battery) and, while summer hasn’t arrived just yet, being able to switch on the air-conditioning and cool down the cabin before I drive.

However, I learned that the car is connected to its online services using a 3G SIM card, and that network is due to be phased out over the next couple of years.

When that happens, those conveniences – along with real-time traffic data in the sat-nav and weather information – will no longer work.

Newer versions of the i3, from 2017 onwards, have an in-built 4G modem that works on a completely different operating system in order to manage later versions of the iDrive controls and allow for the introduction of wireless Apple CarPlay.

While it is physically possible to upgrade the entire system when it comes to that, I don’t imagine BMW will make it very easy or affordable.

Until that hurdle becomes closer, I have installed an aftermarket Apple CarPlay adapter into the audio system, which was a simple plug-and-play project and makes the car instantly feel more up-to-the-minute in terms of technology.

Looking past those niggles, my BMW i3 still drives like it is brand-new. That’s not to say it’s perfect – as the ride is a little brittle on the low-profile 19-inch tyres and the steering is oddly weighted on-centre – but, like the day it was built, it is a brilliant city runabout.

The electric motor feels more powerful than the output suggests. With 125kW of power and maximum torque on demand, I can win almost any green light grand prix to the speed limit if I want to.

But the novelty of that aspect wore off pretty quickly (as I have the TT for that anyway) and I quickly reverted back to what I wanted from an electric car in the first place; a quiet, relaxing driving experience.

I really like how smooth it is, and I’ve adapted to the regenerative braking power to the point where I only use the physical brake pedal in an emergency.

The i3 is also surprisingly fun to drive – despite its skinny eco tyres and diminutive dimensions. It feels light on its little feet and yet totally surefooted through the corners thanks to the low centre of gravity.

With the rear-mounted motor, there’s only ever a faint whir intruding into the cabin under heavy acceleration. Otherwise, I love the silence at cruising speeds and appreciate that I don’t have to crank up the stereo to drown out the cacophony of a combustion engine.

At the end of it all, despite the roadblocks I had to navigate along the electric highway, the destination is totally worth the adventure. Bottom line: love my BMW i3 as much as I do my Audi TT.

Buying a second-hand electric car isn’t simple right now, but I hope my experience will make it easier for you one day.