[5soko]

went and built a AT 135i with navi,sport,prem,hifi sound,power seats, it came out to like 45k or 46 just for a well equipped 135i and the payments are higher than my 335i!!!!!!!!!! by about 15 dollars a month. has bmw lost there minds.

$2,500 down, 12k a year, 36months for a grand total of $720 a month..... im sorry to say but the 135i in real life even tho cute, is just way too small, the front headlights ruin it, and the rear tailights and dual single side exhaust dont look agressive at all. it just feels like a 3-series wannabe car.

steering feels good, M wheel is sick!, navi is like a benz, shadowline trim is cool, 6 pot brakes are hottt,but i hate the way the ends of the calipers come to a end in a sqaure like shape of some sort.

when driving the car feels really small u can tell, it changes direction really quick, a bit quicker then the 335i, but at the limits i cant say it handles better. as for stopping power, again i cant say it stops better or that the initial bit is better at all. ok engine part, exhaust is alot quieter than my e92 coupe. thats the biggest thing i hated about it, ruins the experience. as for power,coming for a tuned e92, this car felt up to par with a stock 335i, i was feeling as if it was slower, but that could be from the low tone exhaust, but the pull didnt feel as deep, but it was a car with under 1,00 miles.
i gues the hype for me has ended here, i cant say it was a horrible experience but close to it.
enjoy

[crex]

did you notice less elbow room in the door area..

[Bubbles]

Originally Posted by 5sokol335icoupe

went and built a AT 135i with navi,sport,prem,hifi sound,power seats, it came out to like 45k or 46 just for a well equipped 135i and the payments are higher than my 335i!!!!!!!!!! by about 15 dollars a month. has bmw lost there minds.

$2,500 down, 12k a year, 36months for a grand total of $720 a month..... im sorry to say but the 135i in real life even tho cute, is just way too small, the front headlights ruin it, and the rear tailights and dual single side exhaust dont look agressive at all. it just feels like a 3-series wannabe car.

steering feels good, M wheel is sick!, navi is like a benz, shadowline trim is cool, 6 pot brakes are hottt,but i hate the way the ends of the calipers come to a end in a sqaure like shape of some sort.

when driving the car feels really small u can tell, it changes direction really quick, a bit quicker then the 335i, but at the limits i cant say it handles better. as for stopping power, again i cant say it stops better or that the initial bit is better at all. ok engine part, exhaust is alot quieter than my e92 coupe. thats the biggest thing i hated about it, ruins the experience. as for power,coming for a tuned e92, this car felt up to par with a stock 335i, i was feeling as if it was slower, but that could be from the low tone exhaust, but the pull didnt feel as deep, but it was a car with under 1,00 miles.
i gues the hype for me has ended here, i cant say it was a horrible experience but close to it.
enjoy

Interesting, payments will drop following the 6 month mark. I suppose it keeps the "fast and furious" crowd at bay for the time being.

[e90driver]

And people thought the 1 series was going to cheapen the brand in America. Guess BMW took care of that.

[DSXMachina]

In order for BMW to make money on this car they have to adjust for the fact that the dollar has dropped badly against the euro. In a nutshell guys, the dollar is worth about 33% less than it was a year ago. What that means is that to make the SAME money BMW must charge a third more.
We are going to see this adjustment first in the lease rates for the new "M" and the 135. Most people lease rather than buy so BMW can hold off on a PRICE increase for a little while. But we WILL see an increase in MSRP all across the board sooner or later. Simple economics. BMW must raise the price to stay in business.
Kiss cheap leases goodbye for a long time. Welcome to the recession boys.

[5soko]

Originally Posted by crex

did you notice less elbow room in the door area..

yes...also the shoulder to shoulder room from the driver to the passenger was def a bit smaller than the e92... btw im 5'8", didnt wanna be in the back too long at all. way too small for adults. anyone 6' + shouldnt be buying this car anyways

[Majikthese42]

Brilliant! Customers lining up around the building and bringing their own lube, too!

So how do you buy stock in BMW? I can't find an ADR listed!

[jaaz]

I'm still not sure what the purpose of the 135i is when it's priced like that. Perhaps someone can explain it to me.

[LuisBoston]

this is very true. inflation is going to kick in BIG TIME. Buy those pricey cars now before they get more expensive. the good thing is I wont be in my 328xi as far upside down as I am now if it's resale value increases. I hope BMW does increase the MSRP by $2-4000.

Originally Posted by DSXMachina

In order for BMW to make money on this car they have to adjust for the fact that the dollar has dropped badly against the euro. In a nutshell guys, the dollar is worth about 33% less than it was a year ago. What that means is that to make the SAME money BMW must charge a third more.
We are going to see this adjustment first in the lease rates for the new "M" and the 135. Most people lease rather than buy so BMW can hold off on a PRICE increase for a little while. But we WILL see an increase in MSRP all across the board sooner or later. Simple economics. BMW must raise the price to stay in business.
Kiss cheap leases goodbye for a long time. Welcome to the recession boys.

[phantom330]

BMW is going to have very short supply of the 1 series for a while to build up the excitement around it even more, and I doubt people will have problems paying those rates to be the first on the block to have one. Why you would spend more on that than a 335 is beyond my comprehension though. It would be dumb to lease that car, with interest rates the way they are now a purchase on 5 or 6 years would probably be similar payments, however resale value of those units will remain to be seen.

[Gig103]

I believe that the reason the prices are so close between the 1 and 3 is because they didn't raise prices on the 3'er in 2008. When 2009 comes around and they adjust for the devalued dollar, it might start to make more sense to some of us.

Originally Posted by DSXMachina

In order for BMW to make money on this car they have to adjust for the fact that the dollar has dropped badly against the euro. In a nutshell guys, the dollar is worth about 33% less than it was a year ago. What that means is that to make the SAME money BMW must charge a third more.

Anticipated price increases, plus a 3.9% APR, are why I'm buying my 335 instead of leasing.

[Arustik1]

^^^^ Exactly...lease and then buy out cause the price will be as of day you signed the lease.

[dth656]

well, if we're in a recession, wont demand for such cars dry up (after the initial few months of "gotta have it" excitement)? going by that logic, BMW should offer some kind of lease deals/incentives in order to move more units, correct?

[dth656]

and as for the value of the dollar decreasing against the euro, BMW, like all multi-national corporations, has some sort of currency hedging strategy in place. the US is their largest market, so i'm sure they would have moved to protect their margins as much as possible...

[Bobby_Light]

Originally Posted by DSXMachina

In order for BMW to make money on this car they have to adjust for the fact that the dollar has dropped badly against the euro. In a nutshell guys, the dollar is worth about 33% less than it was a year ago. What that means is that to make the SAME money BMW must charge a third more.
We are going to see this adjustment first in the lease rates for the new "M" and the 135. Most people lease rather than buy so BMW can hold off on a PRICE increase for a little while. But we WILL see an increase in MSRP all across the board sooner or later. Simple economics. BMW must raise the price to stay in business.
Kiss cheap leases goodbye for a long time. Welcome to the recession boys.

+1

Get used to paying more for everything (except houses). The dollar is tanking fast. Thanks Federal Reserve and unconstitutional war in Iraq. Really appreciate you lowering my standard of living.

[LuisBoston]

Originally Posted by dth656

well, if we're in a recession, wont demand for such cars dry up (after the initial few months of "gotta have it" excitement)? going by that logic, BMW should offer some kind of lease deals/incentives in order to move more units, correct?

well, maybe not. they could just sell them elsewhere where currencies and economies are stronger such as Europe, Canada and the mid-east.

though if our economy really begins tanking the rest of the world will likely follow.

[DSXMachina]

My guess, based on my knowledge of margins in the automobile industry, is that right now BMW GMBH may be breaking even on every 135, 335 they SELL. BMW USA makes the vig on the cars that are leased.
BMW can't lower the price because then they will lose money on every unit. You don't make up for that by selling more units. There is no economy of scale when dollar deflation robs you of profit.

[JCH485]

335/135 drivers, do you find that as the engine breaks in you can feel an increase in power/performance?

[noro]

I think you are completely off on your lease payment estimates. Don't go by what the "buid it now" price says. I calculated using a reasonable price off of MSRP and using the official published rates and the lease on the 135 comes out to smth like 530/mo, which is still high considering I have the 335 for 590/mo with 5% tax but still it is no where near the 720 mark. And I am also using 0 down payment in the calculation, with Bank fee included in the price.

[dth656]

i wonder how much it costs to produce a car in germany vs. south africa vs. the plant in south carolina? if weakness in the dollar is killing margins for germany-produced cars, i'd like to know how margins are doing for the X5 and other cars that are produced in the US...

[5soko]

like i said the car came out to about 45-46k, for 36 months and 12k miles, with something like a 2500k down payment or so. 700-720 a month. i did it on bmwusa.com and it came out to 725 a month.

[mmm def]

supply-demand