Too many Tesla's/EVs in household - would you get a BMW 530e instead of another Tesla?

[Asymmetry]

I'd go for the BMW because its a worse car.

 

[turtlesz]

There's 3 drivers and 4 cars in my household at the moment. My Model 3, my 2000 BMW 323i that was replaced by the 3, my wife's 2018 Honda Ridgeline and my daughter's (well, mine actually) 2011 Nissan Murano. Kind of opposite from OP's situation. However, were it me that had more EVs than ICEs, I'd still opt to keep an ICE / hybrid around. I really don't plan on driving my BMW around that much (don't tell the wife or she'll make me get rid of it) but for the times that one of the vehicles is in the shop, I'd much rather rely upon driving one of my own cars than hassle with getting a loaner / rental. Don't get me wrong; for the many years that I've been taking my E46 in for service, BMW of Mountain View has provided me with either one of their own, or something from a local Enterprise office, I really expect that at the prices I'm paying for factory service on a 18 year old car.

Having an ICE, or even a hybrid, opens up the possibility for taking a long trip without the need to plan for charging stops. If time is the more important consideration than money for a particular trip, then the 530e should fit the bill. It's also why I'd dump the i3s as soon as possible. While it may be a great commuter / urban vehicle, it can't be used for even moderately long trips (>300 miles) without paying a time penalty for filling up the 2 gallon gas tank every 60 or so miles; that's assuming it has the REx option. If battery only, then your trips are about 90 miles on a charge if I'm not mistaken.

I have the i3 BEV, they get about 120 miles per charge and if driven in the city they do match that rating or surpass it which is impressive for their effective $160 monthly payment. The only ICE in the household is a 2016 BMW 435i coupe, so having another larger ICE w/ HOV access might not be a terrible idea. The X 75D has had limitations for us and we have had to charge it and stop more then we would have liked. When going from CA to Grand Canyon or Yosemite its not the greatest feeling to have a EV and worrying about next charge spot. Its not the worry of getting there but worry about the battery drain when there and away from nearby charging. I think when the S and X are refreshed in the next few years they will likely have lower battery costs and can fit 500 mile versions to eliminate range anxiety. EVs are the future but there still is a use for ICE for certain uses.

Interesting discussion! Our household has a Tesla Model S (mine) and a BMW 330e (my wife's). We have two EVSEs in our garage, but for us I think even if we had two BEVs we could easily get by with one.

(I haven't been real impressed with the 330e so far...its electric range is pretty feeble (about 19 miles in actual usage, which is slightly less than the my wife's round-trip commute), and we've had a couple of issues with the high-voltage electrical system (covered under warranty but has not really inspired confidence). To me its main value is as a "gateway drug" to a pure BEV (whether Tesla's or someone else's), and honestly I'm hoping my wife wlll move to a Tesla Model 3 when the 330e lease ends in about a year. Interestingly the 330e was not eligible for a California HOV sticker.)

Bruce.

I felt foolish asking this question on here but I like getting others input too. I found it strange also how the 330e has not HOV access but the 530e does. If you got a good deal you might want to turn in the lease at swap a lease and get the Model 3 while the full $7500 is available. Love the 3 and its our favorite Tesla so far.

 

[suwaneedad]

If you hold your vehicles beyond the mfr warranty, I can't fathom the BMWe (or any BMW for that matter) being a good decision.
I owned an E39 and swore off BMWs for the rest of my days, due to its maintenance cost and lack of reliability.
I am hopeful that my Model 3 is as maintenance-free as my 2011 LEAF has been, once it's beyond the warranty period.

My wife and I are 100% EV, and while our three kids are still burning gas, that won't be the case for more than another five years or so. Our oldest is driving a Lexus hybrid that he's nursing until he can trade into a Model Y. My wife and I will replace the LEAF with a Model Y as well, likely handing down the LEAF to whichever of our two kids is by then a local user and eager to shed their gasoline line item. And presumably within that same five year time frame one of the three gasoline vehicles will get wrecked or otherwise die, motivating an on-the-fly used Model 3LR purchase, hopefully for $30-40k by that point.

Bye Bye Gasoline. I hardly knew ye.

 

[cella]

Why is the 330e not eligible foe HOV sticker?

See here (near the top of the list):

Why don’t I see my vehicle on the eligibility list?

 

[gtmotor]

Highly encourage one of the four driver's in your household to find a job with a charger at work. Problem solved The Model 3 has such a long range that the only reason I even charge at home is because I'm lazy and it's easier to just plug in there.

I'd never buy a hybrid BMW... they are troublesome enough with just the normal engine. I love them and will likely always have something with a roundel in my garage but if you're not a serious petrolhead the Tesla is a vastly superior vehicle. We've pretty much sworn off of gas cars going forward unless it's a sports car that comes with all of the smells/noises/raucous that we're looking for.

 

[Evoforce]

No to the BMW! No to hybrid! If you have to have ICE, Truck or Motor home is the only excuse. For now...

 

[SwedishAdvocate]

First off I want to sincerely thank you turtlesz for buying 4 EVs!

There can’t be that many people out there that have done that…

But still… Having said that…

.../ I am just having a hard time to justify buying another Tesla because they are more emotional/luxury purchase then financially beneficial purchases. [...

Here’s where you lose me.

Why did you buy 4 EV’s?

I’m assuming you did that because of Man-Made Global Warming. No?

That would make the 435i and now this 530e you’re thinking about the emotional/luxury purchase(s)…

I’m assuming the reason that you have 5 cars is that you have children still living at home.

Can your children afford the luxury of you getting a 530e instead of an EV given that atmospherical CO2 is now past 410 PPM, and global mean temperatures are up accordingly…

 

[EV-lutioin]

I think the 530e will be about a memorable and resale-able as the Jetta Hybrid. Does anyone remember the Jetta Hybrid? I didn't think so.

 

[SwedishAdvocate]

.../ The X 75D has had limitations for us and we have had to charge it and stop more then we would have liked. When going from CA to Grand Canyon or Yosemite its not the greatest feeling to have a EV and worrying about next charge spot. Its not the worry of getting there but worry about the battery drain when there and away from nearby charging. [...

If you can make that trip in a 530e…

Doesn’t the Model 3 have almost the same interior space as the BMW?

And doesn’t your Model 3 have more range than a Model X 75D?

 

[hqubic]

FWIW I was seriously considering 530e for HOV sticker and the convenience of gas station, but ultimately decided to get my first EV in m3 instead. In your case (HOV sticker, more EVs than charging stations) I would think 530e is still worth considering.

 

[turtlesz]

First off I want to sincerely thank you turtlesz for buying 4 EVs!

There can’t be that many people out there that have done that…

But still… Having said that…
Here’s where you lose me.

Why did you buy 4 EV’s?

I’m assuming you did that because of Man-Made Global Warming. No?

That would make the 435i and now this 530e you’re thinking about the emotional/luxury purchase(s)…

I’m assuming the reason that you have 5 cars is that you have children still living at home.

Can your children afford the luxury of you getting a 530e instead of an EV given that atmospherical CO2 is now past 410 PPM, and global mean temperatures are up accordingly…

Just meant the Tesla was still expensive from a financial perspective. The economical way would be to get a Bolt lease for under $300 a month or a BMW i3 type deal I had at $160 a month. At that $160 rate I could lease over and over again for nearly 10 terms (25+years) before getting to the price I would pay for another Model 3. It would still be 0 emissions and if longer range/trip was needed could swap car with another longer range car in the home or even rent one. Got the EVs for HOV access/low emissions and the Teslas came after for the fun factor and as luxury purchases.

For those that don't have a current Tesla but try to justify buying one strictly on thinking they are saving money I would still be hard pressed to say that honestly. Would never recommend anyone to ever stretch wallet to buy a car as it will depreciate quickly. Tesla's are amazing and are the future and would buy another for myself in a heartbeat, but I wouldnt feel right saying it's the everyman's car at this point in time

 

[bmah]

I felt foolish asking this question on here but I like getting others input too. I found it strange also how the 330e has not HOV access but the 530e does. If you got a good deal you might want to turn in the lease at swap a lease and get the Model 3 while the full $7500 is available. Love the 3 and its our favorite Tesla so far.

If the lease was for my car I would probably try to do an early return or something like that, but it's my wife's car and she calls the shots on that one. (That's kinda why it's her third BMW in a row, but the way things are looking it might be her last.) We haven't seriously discussed it yet.

Bruce.

 

[nwdiver]

I am just having a hard time to justify buying another Tesla because they are more emotional/luxury purchase then financially beneficial purchases.

??? And a BMW 530e is a practical grocery getter?

 

[Graffi]

Any EV other than Tesla is limited to Local driving.

Any ICE purchase other than Tesla is a step backwards.

We LOVE our EV's and will never go back.

 

[nwdiver]

Any EV other than Tesla is limited to Local driving.

Depends on how you define 'local'; And sometimes local driving is all you need. A used LEAF with ~60 miles of range would easily cover >80% of my driving and would make an ideal 2nd car for most people especially if you already have a few Teslas...

 

[Evoforce]

Depends on how you define 'local'; And sometimes local driving is all you need. A used LEAF with ~60 miles of range would easily cover >80% of my driving and would make an ideal 2nd car for most people especially if you already have a few Teslas...

Depends on your climate with Leaf. Very bad choice for hot climates. Maybe 2019 will be better if they put liquid TMS on it. Also 2018, poor choice because of reduced charging rates on longer drives where they are still disadvantaged by lack of liquid TMS.

 

[wallet.dat]

Miatas are a ton of fun, js.

 

[BimmerConvert]

I have a 530e. Coming from an M3 (BMW M3, not Tesla M3), I've found the car rather boring. The short EV range (15 with AC on, 20 with it off in my experience) is really frustrating. I'm a huge BMW fan, president of my local BMW Car Club chapter, but I wish I could swap my 530e for something else.

 

[cab]

Really, the best deals in plug-in hybrids are the Chevy Volt, Honda Clarity and perhaps even the BMW i3 with the range extender engine (which addresses the whole "i3 not fully charged" situation you encountered. All 3 give you really solid EV range for daily driving and have something to offer. I really like the idea of the BMW 330e and 530e and when I had my gen 1 Volt I would likely have traded it for one. A few years and one Model S later, I find it hard to go back to something with less than 30 miles of EV range. I have the same issue with the new Volvo XC60 T8. It ticks all thr right boxes, but at sub 20 miles of EV range it is just a bridge too far for me right now...

 

[Glamisduner]

I'd get a fully loaded volt over the 530e myself. Very low maintenance for a gas burner and over double the ev range.

Not a fan of the clarity after reading some reviews, it has a few more HP (less torque), but when you accelerate hard the gas engine kicks in (even when running electric mode), unless you need the extra passenger space I'm not crazy about the gas engine kicking in like a Prius. Interior is supposed to be nicer than the volt, but I like my gen 1 volts interior. I mean when I saw the model 3 at the showroom, I thought dang, my volt has a nicer interior than the TM3

Haven't seen the white interior model 3 yet though, maybe it just needed something to contrast the black.