Waiting lists in Europe???

[gmund1948]

Originally Posted by chitown08

That was fascinating. seriously.

But I still don't get how if BMW's are so expensive in Europe, (and if anything cost of living is higher there), then how can there possibly be so many 3 series driving around...

I think the answer is that German tariffs cause imported cars such as US Chevy, or Japanese Toyota to become equal in price to BMW? As a result, a German will be choosing between a $40kUSD Camry vs. a $40kUSD 3 series?

Is that right?

1. THe Tariffs on an American or Japanese built car equalize the market to a certain point, because of the Yen being so low, the Japanese may have some advantage. Hyundai/Kia is making a big push but the Korean Won is up big

2.Taxes The Europeans pay tariffs in some countries due to the size of the Engine, I believe it is much less expansive to own a 1.6 or 1.8 liter car in France, I can't remember the difference but it is huge

3. Road size, American cars simply do not fit well ( or at least in the past this has been a huge problem. When I was driving my Mustang Vert we often had to stop behind parked cars on a two way road to let other cars by. Two Volkswagen Golfs can pass but thats about it. In some counties the roads are even narrower.

4. Gas prices besides the taxes on the car and road the price of Petrol
is close to $9.00 a Gallon as I came to work. 75-85 percent of the cost of fuel is in taxes

5.Less disposable income / Leased car tax deductions
The Europeans have less disposable income at the end of every month, that
and the ability to write off the cost of a leased vehicle ( not sure about fuel costs) for business makes owning a fuel efficient vehicle important

6. Better public transportation
Public Transportation is all around and Germans use it, It is not uncommon
for someone to do their Grocery shopping and walk home.

7. The Europeans believe they build the best, period. Watch Top-Gear or
look at an Auto-bild. they trash American cars, and Japanese and Korean cars have made inroads because of reliability

8. GM Has Opel, Ford has the Focus/Mondeo/Ka and a host of cars that the Germans believe they did all the design work

9. Europeans Maintain their cars much better than we do in the US, How many BMWS do you see with 300K on them that are still running well !
Many of those are Diesels and if I could buy an american Spec 335 I
would do so in a heartbeat a friend and I did a trip from Germany to Italy
at higher than the Legal speed of 120/130KM outside Germany and Averaged
33MPG in an BMW Diesel wagon

10. The Premium of a BMW is often justified by the years of Ownership, safety/ performance / and to a point name recognition

In summary
The reason the Germans Buy Very few M cars

1. They do not like to spend $150 USD dollars to fill the tank or more
likely they cannot afford it.

2. They majority rarely will spend 80K Euros ($110KUSD) on any vehicle
Remember the US is a much bigger market for BMW Ms Porsches, Performance
Audis (RS and S) than anywhere else in the world

3. Diesels are much better suited to longer trips have better Engine life and
are state of the art in Europe, they will spend the same Money on a High torque Quiet Direct injected Diesel (Americans are't seeing many of these yet)
that cut your fuel bill by 50 Percent when compared to the M or Gas versions and as importantly, they also last sometimes 3 times as long.

The most interesting part is not seeing the badge on the back of over 1/2
the cars from Mercedes/BMW/Audi maybe because they can have a car that looks the same and is 1/2 the price. I ordered my 335 without to be more like those in my surroundings.

BMW sells a lot of cars but couple the fact that they are on the road longer and have models that are comparable to a Camry or Civic in Germany at the same money, they buy more German

I am posting this 1/2 awake so I hope it makes sense
Headed to the ring this Morning with DSK, Hopefully Driving a Diesel 1 Series, We averaged 20 MPG, last time what a blast, saw a couple Ms to die for