At $137,000, its a steal!

[chasesfish]

http://time.com/money/3697857/hybrid-sports-car-bmw-i8-is-a-steal/

And people wonder why the population is generally stupid with money

[nanu]

They're right though - it's stealing your money away. Then again, if you buy this, you don't really deserve that money.

[LalsConstant]

They're right though - it's stealing your money away. Then again, if you buy this, you don't really deserve that money.

Now even as someone who doesn't quite grasp the appeal of this product at this price point myself, isn't it a bit presumptive to assume what other people deserve without context?

[frpeebles]

I wouldn't buy an i8 but I could definitely spend that kind of money on a car.

You have to realize some things are just badass.

[Jamcas]

The batteries will run flat eventually...How much does it cost to replace them?
I think electric cars are simply not there yet.

[frpeebles]

Clearly they're suboptimal... But how I expensive would they need to be? I enjoy driving Teslas. If you haven't yousohoulf give them a try. The D is nuts!

[frpeebles]

Wow, that's a pretty poor article. I didn't expect do much hot air out of Time.

[firebeard]

The batteries will run flat eventually...How much does it cost to replace them?
I think electric cars are simply not there yet.

I'm holding on to my '96 manual until I can get a car powered by something like Mr. Fusion ;)

[Melchior]

I'm glad I started to read the article as it's filled with hilarious quotes that I'll assume are tongue-in-cheek.

The i8 is priced from about $137,000 to $140,000, although I’m sure you could get one for $130,000 if you negotiate hard.

If you married an iPhone to SpaceX and put the thing on wheels, this is what you might get.

If there's one car sired by SpaceX, wouldn't it be a Tesla?

[nereo]

The batteries will run flat eventually...How much does it cost to replace them?
I think electric cars are simply not there yet.

really...?  You're looking at a $130,000+ sports car and your concern is the cost of replacing the batteries every few years?  ha!  At 76mpg i'd reckon what you'd save in fuel compared to a typical, $100k+ sports car will more than cover the few thousand$ for a battery swap.  ... all assuming money would be an issue to the owner.
Sheesh!

[SixtyNine]

The batteries will run flat eventually...How much does it cost to replace them?
I think electric cars are simply not there yet.

The Chevy Spark EV is 15K after rebates where I live (CA). When fuel is expensive (which it will be soon), it costs 1/4 the cost of a honda civic to drive the same distance. It's limited by the 80 mile range but for most people that is actually most of the trips they take. I think it's definitely there. Over ten years the savings are astronomical. It's just not a good primary vehicle for someone.

[The Money Monk]

They're right though - it's stealing your money away. Then again, if you buy this, you don't really deserve that money.

Now even as someone who doesn't quite grasp the appeal of this product at this price point myself, isn't it a bit presumptive to assume what other people deserve without context?

I agree, and 'deserving' aside, all spending is arbitrary. Some garment worker in Bangladesh probably thinks it's outrageous for us to spend $5000 on a car when we could have gotten a scooter instead.

We have a tendency to make arbitrary cutoff points for what constitutes something being unnecessary. If I sold some website for 20 million dollars, it would be more frugal of me in relative terms to buy a $100,000 car than it is for many people to buy a $2500 car.

We all buy stuff we don't need that would be an outrageous, unjustifiable expense for other people in the world.


With that being said, i understand the OPs point, and I doubt most people who purchase this car are really getting a deal that is too good to pass up.

[Donovan]

If there's one car sired by SpaceX, wouldn't it be a Tesla?

This is exactly what ran through my head when I read that :P

Also, the electric only range of this is pathetic. I can't imagine getting something like this when something like a Tesla Roadster is available.

[121 Seconds]

When I read the title to this post, I assumed it was going to be about housing, not a car. For example if you are happy to live at the end of the world in a ex-mining town in Tasmania (Australia) you could buy this instead.

http://www.domain.com.au/property/for-sale/house/tas/queenstown/?adid=2011728861&sp=2

I imagine prices are even better in the states.

[Indexer]

So I love cars.  Mine is cheap, but I still love the nice ones.  Even if we enter the fantasy land where we would consider dropping 130k on car this thing is crap.  Its pretty, but it ends there.

330 HP for 3350 pounds is not something to brag about.  Thats a V6 mustang.....  Not a 130k car.

0-60 in 4.5 is slow at that price tag.  An Ariel Atom can do 0-60 in 2.8 and it costs about 50-60k.  There are plenty of Porches/Corvettes/etc that can do it less than 4seconds in the 60-120k price range.

If you care about performance there are plenty of much cheaper cars that are much better.  At 130k gas prices are likely not a concern.  Even if you care they have a Tesla.

Its not just robbery to a Mustachian.  It is even robbery to someone like Mitt Romney. 

Car rant over....

[The Money Monk]

So I love cars.  Mine is cheap, but I still love the nice ones.  Even if we enter the fantasy land where we would consider dropping 130k on car this thing is crap.  Its pretty, but it ends there.

330 HP for 3350 pounds is not something to brag about.  Thats a V6 mustang.....  Not a 130k car.

0-60 in 4.5 is slow at that price tag.  An Ariel Atom can do 0-60 in 2.8 and it costs about 50-60k.  There are plenty of Porches/Corvettes/etc that can do it less than 4seconds in the 60-120k price range.

If you care about performance there are plenty of much cheaper cars that are much better.  At 130k gas prices are likely not a concern.  Even if you care they have a Tesla.

Its not just robbery to a Mustachian.  It is even robbery to someone like Mitt Romney. 

Car rant over....

Word. The new Z06 hits has a sub 3 second 0 to 60! incredible. And those are around 80K, so i'd still have  plenty of money left over for a motorcycle and a vegas trip :)

[Cap_Scarlet]

When I read the title to this post, I assumed it was going to be about housing, not a car. For example if you are happy to live at the end of the world in a ex-mining town in Tasmania (Australia) you could buy this instead.

http://www.domain.com.au/property/for-sale/house/tas/queenstown/?adid=2011728861&sp=2

I imagine prices are even better in the states.

I'd sooner have the car

[PeachFuzzInVA]

Good luck getting one for $137,000. Our dealership group was "lucky" enough to get 2 of them from BMW. They both were sold before they ever arrived on the lot for $185,000 each. The buyer of the one at the location I'm at was supposed to be a guy from DC. He didn't answer his phone when the sales manager called him, so he called the next person in line and they were here within 15 minutes to buy the car. The guy from DC called a few hours later and they told him sorry, the car was gone.