Sad Realization

[SpencerM3]

I came to a sad realization today

I don't think I'll be able to afford the new M3. On a positive side hopefully within the next month or two my (new) wife and I will be closing escrow on a house here in Studio City, CA. Anyone familiar with CA home prices let alone Studio City can probably guess that our monthly mortgage will be THROUGH THE ROOF

As much as I'd love the new M3, paying likley above $900 or $1000 per month to lease it just won't make sense

Range Rover Sport here I come

[NaViT]

why not 335i?

[imolazhp_ci]

Originally Posted by SpencerM3

I came to a sad realization today

I don't think I'll be able to afford the new M3. On a positive side hopefully within the next month or two my (new) wife and I will be closing escrow on a house here in Studio City, CA. Anyone familiar with CA home prices let alone Studio City can probably guess that our monthly mortgage will be THROUGH THE ROOF

As much as I'd love the new M3, paying likley above $900 or $1000 per month to lease it just won't make sense

Range Rover Sport here I come

my friend just had his range rover SC'd lemon lawed. such a piece of garbage. he is getting a cayenne TT.

[SpencerM3]

Originally Posted by NaViT

why not 335i?

Well I am married now, and kids probably aren't too far off, so a coupe doesn't make too much sense, but of course there could be exceptions (M3, P-car, etc). Also I am in a line of work that does require driving clients around every now and then so coupes can be trickey (that;s why I got the B7 Audi S4 over the E46 M3).

Originally Posted by imolazhp_ci

my friend just had his range rover SC'd lemon lawed. such a piece of garbage. he is getting a cayenne TT.

Truth be told, I would opt for the Cayenne S over the RR Sport, however the RR Sport is cheaper, and I'd rather not have a base Cayenne.

I think RR gets a bad rap about their quality/service. YES, RR probbaly has more cars recalled than they should, but in the grand scheme of things the number is relatively low, albeit higher than makes like Porsche, BMW, Audi, etc.

My mom has an '07 Range Rover and she absolutely LOVES it. It is her favorite car she has ever had. in fact my father drives it many times over with MBZ SL.

Still haven't ruled the M3 out though. Decisions...decisions...

[imolazhp_ci]

range rover sport is what? 60 or so? i think everyone by now is at a consensus that the M3 base price is going to be about 55K. add the M dynamic package which is really all you need and you are good. dont rule it out just yet.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by SpencerM3

Range Rover Sport here I come

Not to be rude but, are you out of your mind??

What possible advantage could an overpriced SUV have over the M3? Price is basically a wash between the two. And the RR will get like 10 MPG. Not that fuel price matters much when you are spending 60k anyway, but man that thing is going to burn through a tank in like 3 days.

If you are simply looking for more space - don't fall into the trap of married + kids = SUV or minivan. At the very least consider the M3 sedan.

[lucid]

Originally Posted by imolazhp_ci

range rover sport is what? 60 or so? i think everyone by now is at a consensus that the M3 base price is going to be about 55K. add the M dynamic package which is really all you need and you are good. dont rule it out just yet.

What concensus are you talking about? Every mag I've seen has been estimating a base price very close to $60k. Majority of the 180 or so people on this forum seem to think so (see the poll I ran recently). Of course, this is still speculation, but I am wondering if you know something I don't.

[ward]

isn't the range rover more than the M3?

[Caravello]

I looked at the RR for a family vehicle, as well as the X5 and others, for those times when we all decide to drive up to wine country or the Bay Area. I don't remember it being cheap at all. The X5, after I got through customizing it on the "build your own" on the website, was at $65K. I think the RR Sport was similar.

I live right up the street from you btw, and so I know how house prices are. But you have maybe a year to save up for a good downpayment for the M3 and cut the monthly payments down quite a bit. Or buy a condo instead of a house; you can get a killer condo in Studio City for $500K or so. If you don't have kids there is no sense in a house. It will be too big for two people.

Jusy my advice fwiw.

[MI6]

Originally Posted by SpencerM3

Well I am married now, and kids probably aren't too far off, so a coupe doesn't make too much sense, but of course there could be exceptions (M3, P-car, etc). Also I am in a line of work that does require driving clients around every now and then so coupes can be trickey (that;s why I got the B7 Audi S4 over the E46 M3).



Truth be told, I would opt for the Cayenne S over the RR Sport, however the RR Sport is cheaper, and I'd rather not have a base Cayenne.

I think RR gets a bad rap about their quality/service. YES, RR probbaly has more cars recalled than they should, but in the grand scheme of things the number is relatively low, albeit higher than makes like Porsche, BMW, Audi, etc.

My mom has an '07 Range Rover and she absolutely LOVES it. It is her favorite car she has ever had. in fact my father drives it many times over with MBZ SL.

Still haven't ruled the M3 out though. Decisions...decisions...

Spence, the RRSport is not exactly cheap...... In fact, fully loaded its about 68k...........

The new M3 will be about the same so why in the world would you go for the Sport? Is your wife behind this????

Seriously though I have an 04' S4 and have had a Sport supercharged....the quality feel in the Sport is seriously lacking........

If you must have a Rover I would only get the full size........

Otherwise M3 Sedan for sure........

Better yet, rent out the Studio City house, stay where you are till you get kids and use the rent profit to get both............

[imolazhp_ci]

Originally Posted by lucid

What concensus are you talking about? Every mag I've seen has been estimating a base price very close to $60k. Majority of the 180 or so people on this forum seem to think so (see the poll I ran recently). Of course, this is still speculation, but I am wondering if you know something I don't.

well after the S. Africa information being released and doing equal conversions between the S.A. M5 to the U.S. M5, using that ratio we can safely estimate the US M3 price and I believe using that conversion puts it right at $55.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by imolazhp_ci

well after the S. Africa information being released and doing equal conversions between the S.A. M5 to the U.S. M5, using that ratio we can safely estimate the US M3 price and I believe using that conversion puts it right at $55.

that math doesn't use a large enough sample to be reliable. math using a larger sample can be found in several other threads which we've all seen, and places the m3 between 54-58k. there is no consensus yet on 55k.

[nusevad]

Originally Posted by esquire

that math doesn't use a large enough sample to be reliable. math using a larger sample can be found in several other threads which we've all seen, and places the m3 between 54-58k. there is no consensus yet on 55k.

true, there is no definite number, only within range of 55ish to 60K

[imolazhp_ci]

i'm still betting it's going to be $53,995 base. that's a perfectly reasonable increase in price over the E46. and the same price increase percentage as the E39>E60. furthermore, almost two years ago there was a release about info regarding every option, price etc...and so far EVERYTHING on it has proven to be true. and $53,995 was the price they quoted.

[aerisolphaln]

^^^^^^^^^

I think base price is going to be > 65K USD. We'll see.

[imolazhp_ci]

Originally Posted by aerisolphaln

^^^^^^^^^

I think base price is going to be > 65K USD. We'll see.

i'm sorry but there is absolutely no reason to believe that the base price will be more than $60k. much less greater than $65k. it doesn't make any sense at all. the M3 can not support its intended sales figures if it's base price was over $20 grand more than the 335i. it's economically impossible.

[lucid]

Base over $65k would be suicide as that begins to creep into 911 territory. 911 base is $72k (yeah I know that's pretty bare bones, but still...)

imolazhp, what press release are you referring to on pricing and by whom? why would BMW make an annoucement on pricing 2 years prior to the release of a new product?

$54k only covers the 3-4% annual pricing hike on all BMWs (2 model years from 06 to 08) and does not include any premium for the new V8 engine. But then, maybe the engine should be seen as a natural evolutionary development, and something a little above $55k might not be so unrealistic of an expectation.

[Leg]

Always amuses me when people think they have to get 'sensible' cars when they have kids. I have 2 sons now aged 6 and 9 and throughout their lives I have owned Audi TTs, A4 Convertibles and various other coupes and softops including my westfield and now have an M3 on order. They wouldnt have it any other way, fast developing into young petrol heads, with careful nurturing! ;-)

[imolazhp_ci]

lucid. i am not sure what the press release was from actually. it was posted on E46fanatics and was said to be from BMW directly. also... $53,995 would be an 12% increase over 2 years. the E39 M5->E60 M5 is an 11% increase over 3 years. by all calculations and other relative trends anything over $55k makes no sense for BMW.

[lucid]

wait, i thought the base for an '06 M3 was $50k. does anyone have that down?

[imolazhp_ci]

Originally Posted by lucid

wait, i thought the base for an '06 M3 was $50k. does anyone have that down?

it was $47.995

[lucid]

I don't think so. Both Edmunds and Yahoo have it down as $48,900. Not a big difference, but still...At the 4% annual increase rate, that would put the 08 M3 around $53k. Regardless, it will all boil down to what, if any, premium BMW thinks the market will pay for the new model.