New 3 series coupe launch event
Discussion
Tonight I attended a dealer launch of the new 3 series coupe. I have to say that the car exceeded my expectations. I am not a fan of the current 3 saloon, but the coupe looked much better than I had feared from spyshots. Who knows when the sport version or even M3 versions appear I could be tempted to return to the fold.......
Edited by disad-vantage-d on Thursday 21st September 23:04
Are you talking about the launch at Bracknell last night? If so, I was there too. The UK Marketing Director (a German) gave a very witty and interesting presentation.
Yes, the coupes are much, much prettier than the saloons. And the performance figuress are very impressive, but the prices!!
There was a nicely specced 335 diesel with an OTR price of £44k! And a modestly specced 325i at £32K!
No wonder they could afford to dole out the champers and canapes!
Yes, the coupes are much, much prettier than the saloons. And the performance figuress are very impressive, but the prices!!
There was a nicely specced 335 diesel with an OTR price of £44k! And a modestly specced 325i at £32K!
No wonder they could afford to dole out the champers and canapes!
No I attended a launch at the dealer I have purchased a number of cars from over the years. With regards to the prices, there seems to be more standard kit now than there used to be. If you want to go wild with the options you can spend silly money. But on reflection I worked out that a 335i to my desired spec. would come out at around £36.5k. Bearing in mind I purchased a 328Ci with a moderate spec. seven years ago for £32k doesn't seem quite so bad. However that was about six months before UK prices were `re-aligned'.
deutscher said:
The thing that bugs me though, is that basic Sat Nav is £1600! And salesmen will tell you that if you don't spec it, you'll have to give the car away come re-sale.
How can they justify this sort of money when you can buy a Tom Tom for £199?
How can they justify this sort of money when you can buy a Tom Tom for £199?
The Sales guys are right on this one as the market/buyers expect luxury cars to have Sat nav as std. Things like tomtom work well but they are never going to look as good as the oem intergrated option.
You need to spec the Professional nav at £1970, not the base Business system at £1,600.
Gareth W said:
[quote
You need to spec the Professional nav at £1970, not the base Business system at £1,600.
You need to spec the Professional nav at £1970, not the base Business system at £1,600.
Yes, but you shouldn't have to gun out an extra £2k for an "essential" on a car costing over £30k.
Also, in terms of re-sale, you'll only see this extra cost reflected in the price you get back if you sell within three years. By the time the car is five years old the difference between Sat Nav and non-Sat Nav will be negliable.
Gareth W said:
deutscher said:
The thing that bugs me though, is that basic Sat Nav is £1600! And salesmen will tell you that if you don't spec it, you'll have to give the car away come re-sale.
How can they justify this sort of money when you can buy a Tom Tom for £199?
How can they justify this sort of money when you can buy a Tom Tom for £199?
The Sales guys are right on this one as the market/buyers expect luxury cars to have Sat nav as std. Things like tomtom work well but they are never going to look as good as the oem intergrated option.
You need to spec the Professional nav at £1970, not the base Business system at £1,600.
This one always bugs me. As a private motorist, should I spec an extra costing £2k which I know I will barely use, just for the sake of resale?
Why not save £2k and sell the car for £2k less than the going rate for one equipped with such an option?
Surely come resale time that £2k saving for the purchaser will be attractive?
I do agree that the prices charged by manufacturers for such options are too steep. Perhaps expecting sat-nav as standard is maybe expecting too much. But to charge £2k is rather excessive. After all it's been around a few years now. Look at other technologies, Plasma/LCD TV's, DVD recorders - as the technology becomes more widely available the prices drop significantly. So why not sat-nav. I think that the answer is simple, they sell it at £2k because they can.
disad-vantage-d said:
I do agree that the prices charged by manufacturers for such options are too steep. Perhaps expecting sat-nav as standard is maybe expecting too much. But to charge £2k is rather excessive. After all it's been around a few years now. Look at other technologies, Plasma/LCD TV's, DVD recorders - as the technology becomes more widely available the prices drop significantly. So why not sat-nav. I think that the answer is simple, they sell it at £2k because they can.
In the mid-90s BMW were still getting away with charging £2k for air-con. Eventually the market forced them to make it standard. Sat Nav will go the same way when enough people kick-up or turn to other manufacturers.
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