Bad news: BMW is discontinuing its lovely all-electric iX crossover for the U.S. market, as first reported by BMW Blog yesterday, to make way for the upcoming iX3. Good news: Pre-owned examples are getting cheap enough that I think they might be the best used car deal on the market right now.
Say what you want about the iX’s polarizing looks—I won’t blame you, there’s a lot to say—but as a car, I think the iX is actually one of BMW’s best in years. I drove one back in 2021 when they were new, and didn’t really have any expectations (I sort of dismissed it based on looks alone, which is shameful for me). But it handled better than any other modern non-M BMW I’ve driven, went pretty quick, and had an interior design to die for.
As great as it was, the iX was not a cheap car. The cheapest model, the xDrive45, started at $76,600 including destination. That made it inaccessible to a large swath of people looking for a solid EV, and harder for me to recommend. But now, thanks to the miracle of depreciation, there are iXs out there you can purchase for less than half the price of a new one.
What Made The iX So Great, Anyway?
It’s not just one thing that makes me love the iX; it’s a bunch of small stuff, done right, that adds up to a lovely package. Despite its 5200-pound-plus curb weight, the crossover still handles pretty well, with typical BMW-like steering feel and chassis response. At the same time, it didn’t have a crashy, overly stiff ride. You can daily drive this thing and be perfectly comfortable.
The tech is also pretty good, even for a five-year-old car (in the world of EVs, that’s really old). The iX uses a trick aluminum space frame with some of the unibody components, like the side panels, the rear window frames, and the roof, made from carbon fiber. The resulting lightweighting, as well as the controversial design’s aerodynamics, meant even the earliest versions could squeeze 324 miles out of a charge, according to the EPA. While that’s not a gigantic number by 2026 standards, it’s certainly more than enough for most people.
What really sold me on the iX, when I drove it, was the cabin. The floating center console, the interesting materials, the nicely sized and designed steering wheel, the spacious dashboard area—it all came together to form a really nice place to spend time. Plus, it seemed to have all the leg and arm room you could ever want. The only point against it is that the climate control buttons are embedded in the infotainment screen. But if you can get past that, you’re in for a nice time.
How Cheap Are We Talking?
Those first 2022 model-year iX xDrive50s are now five years old, and some of them have been well-used, with lots of miles on the clock. Pair that with the typically heavy depreciation you see on EVs, and you get a handful of very tempting deals.
The cheapest I could find right now is this first-year iX painted in grey for sale at a Nissan dealer in Florida with 83,000 miles on the clock, listed for $29,500. That’s a far cry from the $76k starting price of a new car, obviously, but it’s also just a few hundred dollars more than the cheapest new EV on sale right now, the Chevy Bolt.
If you prefer a splash of color, there’s another iX painted in a lighter shade of gray with a staggering 112,000 miles on the clock listed in Cincinnati for $29,999. Like the first car, there doesn’t seem to be any damage or crashes reported on the CarFax, which is probably good for the integrity of those carbon fiber chassis parts (if those get damaged, I’m sure the repairs aren’t cheap).
High-mileage examples aren’t the only iXs that have gotten affordable. Here’s a black one, another ’22 model, with under 40,000 miles on the clock, listed for sale at a Honda dealer in Georgia for just $36,000. This white example with under 50k miles can be yours for just $32,900. Want a color that isn’t grayscale? Here’s a blue model with 44k miles for just under $39,000.
If you’re not content with the iX xDrive50’s 516 horsepower, don’t worry, used examples of the performance-oriented M60 model, which came out in 2023, are nearly as cheap. Here’s one with 83,000 miles in Chicago for just $35,888, and another in a nice shade of beige for $44,971. As a reminder, these M-badged iXs make 610 hp and a gargantuan 811 pound-feet of torque, and are capable of sprinting to 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds, per Car and Driver testing.
I know the iX’s design isn’t everyone’s style, but if you’re on the fence, consider this: You won’t be looking at the car when you’re driving it, and from the driver’s seat, there’s a lot to like. At a time when gas prices are spiking, it feels like a great used buy. Would you spend 30 grand on a used BMW EV? How cheap would the iX have to be for you to put up with its appearance? Let me know in the comments.
Top graphic image: BMW
Do not buy one. There are a bunch of proprietary parts on these and they cost an inordinate amount to repair. If I recall correctly a new windshield is a 5 figure affair. The running costs of a used iX will probably be comparable to an aging 6 Series or even worse…EV or not it’s still a declining German technological showcase.
Is a $29,500 BMW EV with no warranty and 83,000 miles a good deal because it was originally $76,000? No, no it is not.
One of the worst looking cars, though.
I am not even sure the prices on these have dropped and if anything the floor for these has risen a bit given the surge in EV interest. I was shopping for an EV in February and I remember seeing a few 2024 iXs in the low $40k range. There was a particular one right at $40k that I at least thought about for a minute because it was in the best color (that red in the top image) and still had some warranty left. But I just could not get past the way it looks and bought something different.
There’s really no price I’m willing to consider if the rules state I’m not allowed to resell it. It’s just too fucking ugly. I’d feel bad subjecting my community to it’s appearance. I like the people around me for the most part. Why would I want them to have to see a BMW iX every day?
BMW SW (Stevie Wonder) Edition
We considered buying a new i4 when they first came out, but the timing ended up not being right. I’d probably consider a used one, definitely not an iX, which, besides being hideous, is just too big.
But, honestly, I thought by now the aftermarket would have come up with an option to swap something closer to the nose of a 3-series onto the i4 to get rid of those godwaful beaver teeth. The absence of that option alone still makes me think twice about considering one.
More naked mole rat than beaver.
I honestly don’t think I’ve ever even seen one of these in the wild, which is odd given that my town loves BMWs and Teslas and this is kind of at the intersection of the two.
Consider yourself lucky
I saw one a few miles from their SC plant and the Performance Center. It did not look better in person.
I don’t know if I would say there’s “a lot” of them, but I see them almost every day in Oregon. Around here seeing them is about the only time you can assume someone in a BMW got their driver license in the US/Canada.
Good. That thing was designed by someone blind in one eye and couldn’t see out of the other.
I have to think there are a handful of other massively-depreciated EV’s out there which drive just as well without looking so terrible.
You can get Lexus RZs now for around $25,000 with low mileage. The range is 220-240, but it actually seems like it’ll last past 300,000 miles.