Wow, quite a thread. I didn't read all of it, but I do believe with those that feel that the profit margin BMW gets is for the same reason Rolex, Ferrari, yacht makers, etc. have ridiculous profit margins. They have built their brand as a status symbol and can charge a premium for it.

BMW makes nice cars that drive nice, but they are definitely overpriced compared to more plebian makes that do the job for a LOT less money. It's that rule of paying exponentially more for marginal improvement.

I'd rather have a lot of money saved up and fly under the radar driving my 'lowly' S2000. It makes me smile more sliding it around town than I would jamming an overweight M3 or M5. Certainly when I can also afford to drive to dinner and go watch a movie instead of driving home and writing the big monthly payment check and crying myself to sleep.

 

I tell you during the week i was home for spring break I saw no less than 100 new 3/5 series BMW's a day! The dealership in my town moved away from Audi/VW/Porsche and have their own dealership, twice the size of all the others combined. So many cars, so little time!

 

Man i believe you. I am still astonished at all the 6's i've seen thus far. As of yesterday it was 4. As of today the count jumped to 7. Most of them were convertibles too!! I'm bringing my camera with me tom.

 

of course you can discern the difference.

you're telling me you can't tell that the nappa in a Mercedes is nicer than the pleather in a honda accord??

if you are, discussing this with you is a moot point.

(english IS my second language...so i'm entitled to blather at times)

 

so why can't we just stop the sentence there?

nothing more, nothing less?

 

Overpriced? And what other "plebian" makes do the same job for a LOT less money? None, and if you think otherwise you are delusional.

As I have stated before, show me an Accord or Camry (or any other economy sedan) that has the same features, options, handling, performance, and luxury accomodation as a BMW 5 Series and I will shut up. But you can't. You pay more to get more.

BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, and Porsche would have been out of business LONG AGO if they made the same cars as Honda but decided to put a $50k price tag on it. Honda's and Toyota's cost less for a reason.

 

exactly.

 

[QUOTE=mstupp,Mar 12 2007, 05:02 PM]I believe that I understand Stack's point.

 

This is where you lost the argument IMHO. You took it personal and never argued the point.

Chris is right. 95% of BMW owners are soccer moms who don't know theis ass from their elbow but they do know they want a BMW...A 3 kt diamond ring, an expensive house in the burbs and a sub zero. NOT because ony of these things are truly "better" because they are what the Jones' have.

And we all have to keep up with them...you know.
-Lee

 

If your path to choosing a car is "what will suit me best", then go stop at Honda or Toyota and get an Accord or Camry. If your path to choosing a car is "i want a very nice upgrade", then go get the BMW. BMW, Benz, Lexus, Audi, Porsche, etc. are all upgrades NOT "what will suit me best". The fact is, anything that gets you from point A to point B is "what suits you best". You're using such a simple process to pick a car yet you're trying to discern between two with a $20k gap in between.

If you're making more money, if you're moving up in the world, if your kids are starting to go away, indulge yourself, get an upgrade in your life, then go buy that brand spankin new 330i, and buy it because (OF COURSE!) it's a BMW, not because "it suits me" better right now. Everyone in the world would love to have a BMW. But it's NEVER a "does it suit me right now" it's always "if i could afford it". If you could afford something like that, why in the hell would you say no??