Several BMW owners are now facing serious financial headaches because the batteries in their electric cars are lagging and in need of replacement.
Even if just one of the 8 cells that make up the battery in a BMW i3 is dead, it can mean huge bills.
Some of them are joined by BMW i3 owners these days. And even on a model that was in production until very recently. It was not until August 2022 that BMW pulled the plug on the small electric car.
Several i3 owners are left with really big bills for often absolutely necessary battery changes. Several of them talk about it on the social media Reddit .
In a thread, the user 'xplorng77' asks whether the account he is on can be correct. A BMW dealer in the American city of Seattle wants a staggering 71,208 dollars for a new battery pack for an i3 from 2015. This corresponds to 491,000 Danish kroner.
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In the same thread, the most liked comment also sounds a bit puzzled: "Are you sure it's not the price of a new BMW i5 you got?"
Nevertheless, the bill only covers a new battery. Even here at home, the i3 didn't cost that much when it arrived in the country in 2013.
At the time, the price for the entire car was DKK 285,000. Even if we convert it to a price in 2023 kroner, the BMW would be an acquisition for 335,000 kroner.
However, this does not change the fact that several i3 owners are in the same situation. And that the price of a new battery fluctuates wildly. According to Carscoops, i3 owners have reported prices between 33,000 and 38,000 dollars for a new battery.
However, it can be done cheaper. The battery in the small i3 is divided into eight cells. And BMW sells them – at least in the USA – in modules.
A module costs 3,500 dollars, equivalent to 24,000 kroner. On top of that comes the labor wage for the assembly. So even though it is a cheaper solution, it still hurts most motorists' finances.
