Congrats to US Buyers....... but Why?

[JerezBlue!]

First of all, on the basis that the US Pricing Info recently posted is accurate, congratulations to US M3 Buyers. What a deal!

What I can't understand is why? Seriously, other than the fact that UK cars are right hand driven, why do you guys get such a good deal?

It seems that a car of identical spec to mine will cost something like $75k in the US and I paid (as did many others) around £57k or approx $100k!

It's not a major issue 'cause I can't change it and don't really have much choice in the matter but I am very curious as to why?

[Rimola]

this doesnt just reflect the M3 purchase. pretty much ANY car is going to be at least 1/3, if not double the price in EUROPE. i actually have a friend that buys cars here, drives them for a year and then ships them over to europe to sell AND still makes a profit.

in all reality though, i think our prices are just the way they need to be. you folks seem to be paying WAY over whats necessary. in other words, our cars aren't cheap, its just that yours are too expensive

[Keto]

Do you have to pay $800/month for health insurance for your family(this is the company-subsidized price, mind you)?

Is your country currently in so much debt that you, personally, owe investors around the world (mostly the Chinese) 40-50k?

etc
etc
etc


These are just two examples of why it's different. To normalize it, I think the best way would be to compare the lifestyles/demographics of the buyers. For example, it sounds like you need to be quite rich to afford one in India. As for why it's different, I have no idea -- if it's just sales, if BMW priced the M3 that cheaply in the UK, would there sales go up? Someone has a formula/calculation somewhere about this, I am sure.

[JerezBlue!]

Originally Posted by Rimola

in all reality though, i think our prices are just the way they need to be. you folks seem to be paying WAY over whats necessary. in other words, our cars aren't cheap, its just that yours are too expensive

It seems we pay more for almost anything! But there must be a reason why? It can't be our VAT at 17.5% can it? You must have sales taxes?

[lucid]

Add education costs to the list. Sending two teenagers to college can cost you ~$100k/year ($400k in total; that's a lot of money) if your household income is high enough for you to be able to afford a new BMW. Also, social security is a joke here. You have to save for your own unemployment or retirement scenarios. And, I realize this does not apply to the UK, but in most other parts of the world luxury cars such as the M3 are taxed like crazy.

[Keto]

Originally Posted by lucid

Add education costs to the list. Sending two teenagers to college can cost you ~$100k per year if your household income is high enough for you to be able to afford a new BMW. Also, social security is a joke here. You have to save for your own unemployment or retirement scenarios.

Yep, I've started putting money away since the birth of my daughter. Quite a chunk of change. I also enjoy ~$100k left in student loans. Yay!

[Rimola]

in all reality though...you can't look at it as a conversion of how much a $ is towards euro...here is why. a household that makes 100K a year (USD), and a household that mkes 100K (euros) is EXACTLY the same thing. ALTHOUH the value of the $ compared to euro is nowhere near each other, the life style and expenses are about the same. for example, a gallon of milk in germany may cost 3 euros, and here it costs $3...although 3 euros is $5 ?!? (give or take)...catch my drift

the other day i was talkin go to a good buddy of mine in germany...he told me that the new M3 went for about 70,000 euros...here a well equipped M3 will go for $70,000...same number, just different value

[GregW / Oregon]

Originally Posted by JerezBlue!

It seems we pay more for almost anything! But there must be a reason why? It can't be our VAT at 17.5% can it? You must have sales taxes?

That is by state, and there is none in my state, but we pay more in income tax. VAT sounds like a big rip.

[JerezBlue!]

Originally Posted by Keto

Do you have to pay $800/month for health insurance for your family(this is the company-subsidized price, mind you)?

Is that a must? Private Health Cover in the UK for a whole family is not that different to £400 monthly for quality cover.

As for China, I've got no idea how that has come to manifest itself as private debt? I mean if it's a trading deficit then fine but how is it personal?

Maybe it's just supply and demand characteristics, price differentiation for different markets, but how can it be justified?

The Web has brought the whole world closer together, so now it is far easier to see price differentials.

I used to work for a CA based firm (in San Fran) and when we brought them to the UK it was a rule of thumb; what's $1 will be sold at £1.

[lucid]

Originally Posted by Rimola

in all reality though...you can't look at it as a conversion of how much a $ is towards euro...here is why. a household that makes 100K a year (USD), and a household that mkes 100K (euros) is EXACTLY the same thing. ALTHOUH the value of the $ compared to euro is nowhere near each other, the life style and expenses are about the same. for example, a gallon of milk in germany may cost 3 euros, and here it costs $3...although 3 euros is $5 ?!? (give or take)...catch my drift

the other day i was talkin go to a good buddy of mine in germany...he told me that the new M3 went for about 70,000 euros...here a well equipped M3 will go for $70,000...same number, just different value

Yes, currencies fluctuate. You must all remember how strong the dollar was before all this started. If things were that way still, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

[southlight]

Originally Posted by lucid

Yes, currencies fluctuate. You must all remember how strong the dollar was before all this started. If things were that way still, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

If things still were that way, BMW wouldn't have a profit margin "problem" neither...


Best regards, south

[Rimola]

Originally Posted by lucid

Yes, currencies fluctuate. You must all remember how strong the dollar was before all this started. If things were that way still, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

very true

[JerezBlue!]

Originally Posted by lucid

Yes, currencies fluctuate. You must all remember how strong the dollar was before all this started. If things were that way still, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

Even at $1.60 v GBP, you guys would still have an advantage. I guess it comes down to what the market will take from a pure S + D viewpoint.

[JEllis]

I dont know how many times I have said it and yet it still gets disregarded on this forum. But the US is receiving more than double the amount of M3's as anywhere else, including the UK.

This is a simple supply vs demand issue. Out of 100K M3's planned, half of them will go to the US alone. Thats huge... that means the US receives 300%-400% more supply than any other country. The M3's have to be priced to sell and compete!

This is simply basic economics....

Jason

[lucid]

Originally Posted by JerezBlue!

Is that a must?

Yes, it is. Technically, you cannot get treatment if you are not covered or not willing to pay. In an emergency, they will treat you, and then send you a bill. If you can't pay the bill, you will go bankrupt, and they will take over and cash in your assets.

[Rimola]

this may be off topic if a little but last winter when i went to Paris (FRA)...i entered a McDonalds with a buddy of mine and we ended up paying 29euros for 2 meals lol...thats about $50, go figure

[Rimola]

Originally Posted by JEllis

But the US is receiving more than double the amount of M3's as anywhere else, including the UK.

Jason

that may be true, but this is NOT just limited to the M3. any car will be less expensive in the US compared to other countries for whatever reason...whether its a Ferrari or a KIA...same rules apply

[JerezBlue!]

Originally Posted by JEllis

I dont know how many times I have said it and yet it still gets disregarded on this forum. But the US is receiving more than double the amount of M3's as anywhere else, including the UK. This is simply basic economics....Jason

So, BMW are getting amazing margins from the UK, huh? Well, they got me as a customer on 2 occasions over the last 2 years so they must be doing something right.

[OzStriker]

JB you got nothing...

My M3, with a slight discount, is AUD$178,000 thats currently USD$159,736 or GBP 81,585.............

[Rimola]

Originally Posted by OzStriker

JB you got nothing...

My M3, with a slight discount, is AUD$178,000 thats currently USD$159,736 or GBP 81,585.............

[Phoenix 21st]

Originally Posted by Rimola

this may be off topic if a little but last winter when i went to Paris (FRA)...i entered a McDonalds with a buddy of mine and we ended up paying 29euros for 2 meals lol...thats about $50, go figure

Wtf, how hungry were you exactly?

[Phoenix 21st]

just seen the avatar j/k