[thescouselander]

So I had a marketing text/video sent to me the other day from the dealer telling me for the same deposit and monthly payments I could downgrade from my current 330i to a 320i without LSD or Adaptive Suspension as I have now. The only positive is that the car would be newer.

Seems bonkers to me, at these prices it looks like my next car wont be a BMW.

[lnlyssg]

Unfortunately this isn't just common to BMW, prices are up across the board on most brands. It's a couple of years old now but https://www.moneybarn.com/carflation/ has some interesting figures and graphs showing the trends. I also have my own personal anecdote for this too: I bought a new Ford S-Max back in 2009 for around £18k, in 2019 I was considering a new one and the quotes I got were around the £30k mark, I've just had a look and the current prices are around £40k!

[thescouselander]

Yes, indeed and since I only bought my car 2 years ago I'm well aware of previous price increases.

That said previously I've had to part with more money for what has been a better car. So if they'd had said they could supply a new car that's about the same for a bit more money that probably would have seemed OK but offering a significantly lower spec car for the same money just seems a ridiculously bad deal and the next step up would be a 340 which is a massive gap. The product lineup and pricing makes no sense, to me at least.

[paulockenden]

For those of us able to pay cash one thing I’ve noticed is that ex demonstrators on the official site now take a much bigger hit, percentage wise, than they used to prior to the price hikes for new cars. The only bummer is that you don’t get full control over the options list, but it might be worth it to get a less than 6m old car for a bit chunk off the retail price.

[lnlyssg]

Originally Posted by thescouselander

That said previously I've had to part with more money for what has been a better car. So if they'd had said they could supply a new car that's about the same for a bit more money that probably would have seemed OK but offering a significantly lower spec car for the same money just seems a ridiculously bad deal and the next step up would be a 340 which is a massive gap. The product lineup and pricing makes no sense, to me at least.

The fact interest rates have gone up over the last two years means that any finance offers are going to be worse now compared to a couple of years ago (how I wish I'd locked in a longer fixed term mortgage back then!) There was a thread here talking about some of the massive rates dealers are quoting...

[I800C0LLECT]

I was lucky. I picked up a 2023 demonstrator for $56K (USA). I’m missing ZTK, Driver Assistant professional, and the eSIM…didn’t add any accessories. I committed to it when it had a few miles. So they placed it into the demo room. It only came out when I wanted to drive it for week or so. The salesman drove it a bit to get the mileage up to minimum for me too. It was officially mine after 4 months and 2500 miles.

I was happy to get staggered wheels and raised speed limiter

https://www.mdecoder.com/decode/3mw49ff0xp8d03804

Oddly, a lot of them were tanzanite blue

[xenon]

Originally Posted by thescouselander

So I had a marketing text/video sent to me the other day from the dealer telling me for the same deposit and monthly payments I could downgrade from my current 330i to a 320i without LSD or Adaptive Suspension as I have now. The only positive is that the car would be newer.

Seems bonkers to me, at these prices it looks like my next car wont be a BMW.

I didn't even know LSD was an option; it wasn't when I bought mine in 2021.

[thescouselander]

Originally Posted by xenon

I didn't even know LSD was an option; it wasn't when I bought mine in 2021.

It came with the M Sport Pro pack IIRC. I think it was removed at some point but I think it was available in 2021.

[Rhino at Work]

Originally Posted by xenon

I didn't even know LSD was an option; it wasn't when I bought mine in 2021.

Originally Posted by thescouselander

It came with the M Sport Pro pack IIRC. I think it was removed at some point but I think it was available in 2021.

I have the LSD. Out of interest I looked back at the PDF brochure from May 21 when I bought my G21 330i and, curiously, it looks like the LSD was offered for the Touring only in 330i M Sport Pro guise.

I think it was dropped for the LCI.

[thescouselander]

Originally Posted by Rhino at Work

I have the LSD. Out of interest I looked back at the PDF brochure from May 21 when I bought my G21 330i and, curiously, it looks like the LSD was offered for the Touring only in 330i M Sport Pro guise.

I think it was dropped for the LCI.

A mistake maybe? It's definitely on my 330i saloon from November 21 as stated on the invoice.

[AP]

Agree prices are getting stupid
The used car markets appears to have corrected downwards , more so if a EV

There must surely be a correction soon as surely this is unsustainable?

[k755]

Agree, just priced a new 330e standard no packs just metallic paint and leather- £50050! When I bought my 330e in May22 leather was standard, I can see why people may be moving away from BMW!

[The Lum]

Originally Posted by k755

Agree, just priced a new 330e standard no packs just metallic paint and leather- £50050! When I bought my 330e in May22 leather was standard, I can see why people may be moving away from BMW!

My understanding is that even if you move away from BMW the likes of Audi and Mercedes are doing the exact same thing.

[AP]

Are they trying to hide it by advertising monthly lease rates. That may look more bearable potentially
Either way though it’s getting silly .
If large discounts are offered, that surely hits residuals, which intern must push up lease payments?

[thescouselander]

Originally Posted by The Lum

My understanding is that even if you move away from BMW the likes of Audi and Mercedes are doing the exact same thing.

I guess for me I'm not a plate snob and I'd be perfectly happy to hold on to what I have if there's nothing better on offer for a reasonable price (which looks to be the case).

[Stooo]

I got a mail last week from drive the deal who were doing m340i’s for 50k which didn’t seem too terrible

[Jonnyr7]

its the cost per month thats the issue now

(the majority of people pay for cars on finance.....)

used to be you could pick up a 335d/340d/340i for about £4k deposit and £400 a month


now its more like £10k deposit and £600 a month

big difference, mostly because wage rise inflation has not kept up with goods price inflation

[SilverGrey]

Lease prices are double what I’m currently paying for my car. I have another year left on my current lease. If they don’t come down, I may extend it by another year or consider a 1 series or even a mini as I don’t do so many miles these days due to working from home.

[225]

Still v expensive but you can getv17.5% off a m340i touring at the moment at 5.9% apr

[thescouselander]

Originally Posted by 225

Still v expensive but you can getv17.5% off a m340i touring at the moment at 5.9% apr

That would be good - probably a bit more car than I need though. If only there was a middle ground between the 320 and 340.