Quote:
Originally Posted by Dante
I know that Germany is not the most expensive car market in the world. You take my comments out of context. You keep going on talking about taxes and import duties. I never did. I'm talking about comparing net prices, without any tax added. So I don' t see where I made your point. 
I think its rather remarkable that there are markets (like the U.S.) where the same or even better products are sold for less then in others, just because of different market structures, consumer behavior and thus different competition. In Europe, manufacturers like BMW, Audi or Mercedes Benz don't have to compete with Toyota, Honda or Nissan. It's a whole different market segment.
What brings me up the wall are comments like the one I originally referred to.
I think some people in the U.S. really don't know how lucky they are when it comes to purchasing cars while at the same time they think they are treated unfair.
Nothing more, nothing less. |
I do agree with you that there is a plus to paying for a car in the USA. Yes, deals are generally good. And sadly, a lot of people simply do not understand how good they have it. Having lived overseas, third world countries etc.., buying there is a rip off of the first order; IMHO of course.
To the disagreable part...
I responded to a specific "subsidizing" comment; quoted below.
Quote:
The rest of the world subsidizes the U.S. market by paying up to twice as much for their BMWs as you do, just for BMW beeing able to compete with Hondas, Nissans and Toyotas. How's that for "throwing a bone"?
Feel free to move over to Europe and pay $80.000 for a 335i.
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Therein is nothing about "net prices" that creates the context that you now claim to have had in mind. In your second post you introduce a tax-free paradigm, but even that one fails to be convincing on two counts:
1. The German market is hardly up to representing the bulk of the world's domestic markets to conclude that indeed BMW pricing (minus tax) is such, perhaps even discriminatory if you will, that US customers are getting a better deal on the backs of non-US customers.
2. Larger markets, and the USA is the largest BMW market, present large businesses with the luxury of being able to reach their profit goal with smaller profit margins per unit sold.
Smaller markets. for their part, leave a business in a position of seeking higher profit margins per unit sold. Given the disparity between the German and US market, it may well be that the sheer amount of profit BMW makes in the much larger US market is used to subsidize pricing of BMW's sold in Germany. Imagine that!
