I don't get it

[SS32]

If the US is 50%+ of M3 sales worldwide, then why are the some of the last people to receive any info on pricing and options?

[ward]

no reason to announce pricing when the car's not available yet

announcing early would just allow the competion more time to add/subtract features to be more competive

[SS32]

So then why release it in SA so early? Makes no sense. It's not competitors can't find the info.

[ward]

SA/europe/canada

all are different than our pricing, and are way smaller markets

our market is huge, that's why they're so guarded with the pricing

[aerisolphaln]

Originally Posted by ward

our market is huge, that's why they're so guarded with the pricing

Maybe they are planning a shock and awe tactic...

If they wait to anounce that base MSRP is 65K right before launch, people like use will still be too geared up to not purchase the car at that overly-inflated price...

[Hans Delbruck]

Other markets are just testing the car for "US" first....

[Epacy]

Originally Posted by aerisolphaln

Maybe they are planning a shock and awe tactic...

If they wait to anounce that base MSRP is 65K right before launch, people like use will still be too geared up to not purchase the car at that overly-inflated price...

I'll bail

[kishg]

Originally Posted by Epacy

I'll bail

if it's 65k base, i will too..

[bullitt5897]

Same Here!!! Thats too much for the car bone stock! I will Buy a GTR or Z06!!!

[nusevad]

yea theres no way ill pay for 65K base for the new M. i can see 65K with a few options after tax and title but not 65K base MSRP.

[swamp2]

Originally Posted by JackHollywood

i agree the longer this no pricing goes on, the higher the price is gunna be

The price may be higher than we all expect. We may get a big surprise and be way off on our guesses and calculations made this far. However, the amount of time we have to wait has NO influence on the price whatsoever. The NA price was locked down LONG AGO. I can't prove that, and have no hard evidence, but these things are figured out way in advance by such large global companies as a major auto manufacturer.

[Davo2003]

Hellooooooooooooo??? It's a GERMAN car, not an American car...why the confusion? How loyal would you be to Chevrolet if they shipped Corvettes to Europe and gave them equal standing in the market on an American car. Simple politics. They are using their heads, believe me.

[Sick Speed]

The real reason they have not yet released pricing for the US market is very simply that they (the Germans) have not yet conferred with Godzilla on what they should do in light of his recent attack on the factory.

They have to calculate the setback costs to make up for the dino's outburst of anger.

[Davo2003]

Originally Posted by Sick Speed

The real reason they have not yet released pricing for the US market is very simply that they (the Germans) have not yet conferred with Godzilla on what they should do in light of his recent attack on the factory.

They have to calculate the setback costs to make up for the dino's outburst of anger.

Agreed

[lucid]

Originally Posted by swamp2

The price may be higher than we all expect. We may get a big surprise and be way off on our guesses and calculations made this far. However, the amount of time we have to wait has NO influence on the price whatsoever. The NA price was locked down LONG AGO. I can't prove that, and have no hard evidence, but these things are figured out way in advance by such large global companies as a major auto manufacturer.

I agree that they must have decided on a target NA price for internal projections and so on, but I don't see why they would need to lock anything down.

Regarding the original question: I don't see why they would need to announce pricing on a product that won't be available for almost another year. It's not as if this is some kind of product that only large companies will purchase, requiring budgeting by a small number of potential clients. Things/markets change. Why commit when you don't have to? Why not observe the markets and decide on the most appropiate price when the time comes?

And regarding the why are we getting this so late question: I can only assume they need to ramp up production and cannot supply the whole world with M3s right away. It is only natural that they would turn toward Europe and other smaller markets where the margins for the product are much higher than the US market--provided they are not in some kind of danger of losing market share in the US, which they are not, as there is nothing else available right now in the US that competes directly with the M3 (please don't bring up the RS4).

[13eastie]

Originally Posted by lucid

I agree that they must have decided on a target NA price for internal projections and so on, but I don't see why they would need to lock anything down.

Regarding the original question: I don't see why they would need to announce pricing on a product that won't be available for almost another year. It's not as if this is some kind of product that only large companies will purchase, requiring budgeting by a small number of potential clients. Things/markets change. Why commit when you don't have to? Why not observe the markets and decide on the most appropiate price when the time comes?

And regarding the why are we getting this so late question: I can only assume they need to ramp up production and cannot supply the whole world with M3s right away. It is only natural that they would turn toward Europe and other smaller markets where the margins for the product are much higher than the US market--provided they are not in some kind of danger of losing market share in the US, which they are not, as there is nothing else available right now in the US that competes directly with the M3 (please don't bring up the RS4).

There would be very little point announcing prices so early: exchange rate fluctuations affect margins while interest rate variation will affect demand. Meanwhile, it would make a nice big target for the competion to spend a year preparing for.

Be patient, chaps! It will only be a few months before BMW unveils its new strategy of converting the US price directly from the UK price and then you can all ask for your deposits back

[Tobizach]

Originally Posted by FifthStreetz

yea theres no way ill pay for 65K base for the new M. i can see 65K with a few options after tax and title but not 65K base MSRP.

Same here no way are we going to pay 65-70k base price for a bmw, like my hubby says if its that much we are going the 997 route instead. (hmm mabey not so bad afterall )

Originally Posted by 13eastie

Be patient, chaps! It will only be a few months before BMW unveils its new strategy of converting the US price directly from the UK price and then you can all ask for your deposits back

Then we all come back in six months to pick up those cancelled and now discounted M3's

[nusevad]

Originally Posted by swamp2

The price may be higher than we all expect. We may get a big surprise and be way off on our guesses and calculations made this far. However, the amount of time we have to wait has NO influence on the price whatsoever. The NA price was locked down LONG AGO. I can't prove that, and have no hard evidence, but these things are figured out way in advance by such large global companies as a major auto manufacturer.

thats true, that whole price increase theory is ridiculous. If the price is in proportion to the amount of time we need to wait for the annouchment of a price then the price should be around...75K now...

[goldminer]

Originally Posted by cowmoo32

If the US is 50%+ of M3 sales worldwide, then why are the some of the last people to receive any info on pricing and options?

I suspect that they are worried about recent weakness in the US dollar against several of the major currencies. They won't want to commit on price until they have to.

They also know that there is a threshold price beyond which sales will drop dramatically so I suspect that they don't want to annouce final base content until they know what they might have to remove or move to an options list.

[aerisolphaln]

Originally Posted by goldminer

They also know that there is a threshold price beyond which sales will drop dramatically...

Very well said, sir. I've been trying to convey this point for some time, but was never able to make it so eloquently.

I do in fact think that BMW will exceed the threshold price you speak of with the M3. For evidence, I point to the other M class cars, most notably the M5 and M6, which are just sitting around on dealer lots with no one willing to pay BMW's asking price.

[Hans Delbruck]

Originally Posted by aerisolphaln

I do in fact think that BMW will exceed the threshold price you speak of with the M3. For evidence, I point to the other M class cars, most notably the M5 and M6, which are just sitting around on dealer lots with no one willing to pay BMW's asking price.

It probably will be priced higher than people expect, and fewer of the M3's traditional buyers will be able to afford the E92, compared to the E46 when it came out. The M6's price makes the M5 seem like a bargain... and the M5 is a much more "practical" car.

I think the M3 MIGHT base under $60K.... but just barely. I'm expecting $65 with just basic options (no nav). I thought BMW was trying to move the car "upmarket" a bit, weren't they? I mean they almost called the E92 coupes the "4 series"..... With the CF roof, they're going to pitch M3 as a mini M6, don't you think? The 335i fills the performance gap now anyway, and at an "affordable" price.

Sheer conjecture on my part -- but it's fun to pass the time......