Oh yes, 93% of you want the Corvette over the E36, and I am with you all the way. Now – the BMW i8. One just sold for $37,726, and that got me thinking – just how cheap does an i8 need to be in order for you to buy one?
The 2017 BMW i8 vs 2010 Ferrari California
See the California listing here
The genesis of this article started while I was busy doom scrolling on Instagram:
Now, on the surface Doug looks correct. The i8 has the sort of look you want in a sports car. Gullwing doors, a carbon fiber tub, mid-engine layout, and a 0-60 time of under four seconds. But then you get closer and find a tiny three-cylinder engine, dated interior, and the relatively unknown reliability of its electric powertrain components. It was hard to get into, and it wasn’t all that fun to drive.
Then there’s the price.
New, the i8 had an MSRP of $163,000 for the 2020 roadster version, not that the year matters – the i8 changed little during its production run. Never sold well either, not when you could get a really nice new 911 for that cost. But now an i8 just sold for $37,000, and Doug thinks that makes the car much more appealing. Naturally I still find some issues, and it made me wonder what else we could get that’s “exotic” for the price.
The 2018 BMW i8
This car is a bit of a special case – i8s usually go for a range of $40–50k. Let’s look at why:
- 82,900 miles
- Clean CarFax and title
- Six-speed auto
- Crystal White Pearl with blue accents
- Tera World, so it gets Dalbergia Brown interior with Carum Spice Grey accents. Looks like dirt alright.
- PPF on the front end. How old is the PPF? The notes say “Rock chips and scratches on the front end.”
- Also – “Paint protection film peeling on the edges of the hood and fenders.” Just replace the damn thing.
- All the modern comforts you’d expect, like a Harmon/Kardon stereo and Park-Distance control
- Gonna need an oil change
- Power comes a 1.5-liter turbocharged 3-cylinder engine, 2 electric motors, and a 7.1 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. The system is rated at 357 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque.
Now we come to the heart of the matter. Forget about the miles for a moment – do you want this car at any price? I don’t see you getting a lot of attention in one at a Sunday car show, nor is it very sporty to drive. Now bring miles back into the mix – this is a car you now drive every day because of the shape it’s in. Do you even want to? $37,000 is still a lot of money, and you’re buying a car that is essentially already used up.
If you keep it within the BMW family, I can show you many, many M cars for around the same price that are more functional, faster, and more fun. But they are still pedestrian.
We want exotic, yes?
2010 Ferrari California
I thought of a few different things. A Porsche Cayman. Any sort of Lotus. But since we can get the Ferrari badge for nearly the same price, let’s find a (bad) one:
- 65,700 miles
- Clean CarFax
- Argento Nurburgring over Nero leather
- Wheels powder-coated black
- Tints
- It’s well-worn inside and out. Torn stitches everywhere, creases and tears on seats…yeesh
- Needs new tires
- The convertible top doesn’t work.
This California is an outlier – the cheapest decent example I could find comes in about 20 grand higher. But you could fix its issues for less than that. And it’s perhaps my least favorite Ferrari outside of something like a Mondial – this could be a topless Maserati.
But no, the California is actually a Ferrari. V-8 soundtrack included. Life will be good.
The larger question here is what else can you get for the price of a typical i8? If I hand you $40k, are you even going to look at one?
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