The M3 is pretty backed up right now, but completely agree. Most people purchasing an M3 likely have multiple sources of income such as stock investments etc. in addition to their regular work. Nearly everyone has taken a BIG hit over the past several weeks and I don’t anticipate it to get any better.
For Luxury goods in particular, I would expect demand to slow.
Hope you’re right. I’ve been #4 on the list at my dealer for about 3 months now, desperately hoping they begin getting M3 allocations again soon. It’s been a complete shitshow.
Heard M4 allocations are super easy to come by… I just prefer the look of the M3 (plus having 4 doors is way more convenient with kids).
I feel like I have to call out that I see a lot of posts on this forum that seem to enjoy being smarter than other folks and knowing what’s best. There’s also some flexing knowledge sometimes with a bit of arrogance versus trying to help people out. I spend a lot of time on some specialty forums for certain classic motorcycles where people help each other out with repairs and enjoy the same thing. Here we all enjoy getting the best deal we can on cars, and I imagine a lot of us are car enthusiasts. I’d just like to see a bit more respect for each other. It doesn’t mean we can’t laugh at some proposals or call out BS, but I think the culture would be a bit better with some more respect. I haven’t been around as much as many others, but I imagine a lot of people bail from the forum after enough snarky or rude comments.
Not easy but easier than M3. I think I had that M4cp allocation up for all of two days before it was taken. 
Still got one M4cv.
Totally agree. I personally do have my heart set on an M3 (I have for about 10 years and have been working my way up to a place where I can comfortably afford it). I have been keeping an eye out for cars on the lot, and there are a few, but those car dealers seem to take the Rod Blagojevich stance of “I’ve got this thing and it’s f’ing golden, and I’m just not giving it up for f’n nothing.” It appears that even used M3 or M4s with 20k miles on them are going for the current MSRP. So I totally agree. I’d rather wait, even a year, and get the car exactly how I want it.
Good call. For me, it also comes down to the same principal of getting the car exactly how I want it. The M3 is how I want it and for this kind of money I don’t want to compromise. I’m willing to wait and pay a bit more. But I’m sure some people would be happy to jump to the M4.
Time will tell… We’ve got inflation run amok with a looming recession that’s already started with the markets. I for one have lost a ghastly amount of my 401k but I’m young enough to see a rebound over time. I imagine interest rates will go up but we’ve been expecting that for a really long time and it’s been slow to happen. For me, each percentage increase in loan rate means another $1,200 over the life of the loan. That’s not earth shattering.
I’ll be curious if people fall off the lists because of economic woes. Historically these recessions have hit lower-middle income folks harder which isn’t the typical profile of the M3 buyer. I actually think the waiting lists for the M3 will drop quicker because people are probably signed up on 2 or 3 lists and once they start getting built they are going to drop fast since some people will back out of a lot of lists. I work in healthcare and this is what we saw for the COVID vaccinations. Everyone was on 10 lists 
At the end of the day my prediction is that I get an M3 in about 6-8 months at the 2023 MSRP, which is already available and about $2,500 more for how I want it built. I am betting interest rates will go up modestly. I’m most likely going to go with a 72 month loan from my credit union and even if their rates go up, they will still beat today’s BMWs rates. I’ll just have to finance through BMW to get my loyalty and other incentives, and then refinance a few months later.
My understanding is M3 allocations have been really slim for months and even those with an allocation experienced multiple delays getting their production week bumped multiple times. I believe the M3s are made exclusively in Germany (different plant than the M4) while the regular G20 3-Series has flex capacity in both Germany and Mexico.
During the same time, more and more people have been adding their names to dealer lists, creating more backlog. If I had to guess, I would venture that some part unique to the 2022 3 Series was in short supply or something. Very few allocations did go out last week and it seems that a few lucky customers are getting build estimates. It’s still very murky because the 2023 M3/3-Series will use iDrive 8, so lots of all new electronics and I would assume BMW wouldn’t have wanted to order large quantities of 3-series specific iDrive 7 components. No idea, just speculating. I would guess that if we see the Jahre editions and the first few batches of 2023 G80 M3s get produced on time, that they’ll revert to producing on a somewhat regular schedule and clear the current backlog.
I’m speculating as above, because the M4 uses the same everything except it’s not getting iDrive8 until the 2024 model year. While they aren’t EASY to get, the dealer lists appear to be about 1/3rd as long for M4 vs M3.
TLDR: Supply chain backlog combined with significant changes to electronics probably increased the M3 wait time vs M4
At the end of the day most regulars on LH are financially responsible, we wouldn’t be here otherwise.
Completely agree with your assessment, it took many of us years of hard work to reach a place where we could consider responsibly buying cars in the $80-100k range. I would wait it out and get EXACTLY what you want. Heck, BMW is discounting individual paint by $750 (still $3750 instead of $4500) for the 50th M anniversary. If you were already looking at a premium color such as Tanzanite or Dravit @ $1900, the jump to $3750 isn’t that much more and you can have something truly unique.
Just remember the lovely free gift of 8TR (Decode Automatic LCA) that comes with the full individual colors due to the lack of full paint testing (not saying it can’t be fixed/coded if you’re really determined, but who knows about the safety of that).
Gorgeous possibilities this year, though.
One nice thing that BMW is doing now is to provide a note in the build configuration when you choose an option that causes delays. For example, if you select the individual dark wood trim instead of the aluminum or carbon fiber, it has a note that it could extend the build by 10 weeks.
I agree AND I also think that some people make informed decisions to take on more interest to get what they want. Maybe it’s not the best financial decision, but not everyone operates like a CPA. Maybe they can only afford the lower monthly payment but they really want that 3 series. Personally I live a pretty conservative life. We take some good vacations sometimes, but the one place where my accountant would probably chastise me is for what I spend on cars (and probably DoorDash). I try to get the best deal for what I want, but let’s be real. Nobody NEEDS a BMW, especially an M series. It’s for joy of life. When I die I can’t take my money with me, and my kids will be just fine without my money, so I intend to spend it on fast cars and … my wife :).
Anyway, my point being that we are on this forum because we want to find ways to hack into the best deal possible. In this world where hacking isn’t working well right now we can either just wait until deals come back, or bite the bullet and get what we want. I have an MBA and a job that demands balancing capital reserves with debt while investing to serve our customers with good equipment, so I get it. I can do the math on what is a lower total cost of ownership but the lowest TCO isn’t always the best decision on balance with every consideration. At the end of the day passion for cars isn’t always a math equation. It’s about getting what you want at the best deal possible and hopefully not being dumb and getting into financial distress elsewhere in your life.
This is fascinating. So is the idea that the new paint could potentially cause issues with the lane change assist? And so they are allowing owners to disable LCA if the paint causes issues with the sensors?
Or something totally different?
Personally I’m getting a car with no driver assist stuff that isn’t standard. One day I’ll accept that manual transmissions are extinct and succumb to reality and get an electric car and forget the joy of driving. Until then, I like to drive the car myself.
I almost laughed when I saw that the M3 is offered with the parallel parking assistant. I feel like anyone who gets that should be blacklisted from buying the car.
This reminded me of this guy selling his car who is really in love with his Tanzanite Blue: http://atcm.co/VDPTXTSHRE/23b5463d
“This MPE comes in the exotic BMW Individual Tanzanite Blue Metallic color, which was only introduced in 2018 using BMW’s Integrated Paint Process (IPP). Color excels with its clear, dark blue pigments which shimmer in turquoise under the surface when struck by light. Pictures do not even do it justice.”
So this has to do with the reflectivity of the paint and ensuring different thickness levels (different colors require different numbers of coats) don’t affect the radar sensors, as best I understood - check out this post for more info.
Fair enough, to each their own. I totally didn’t just order an F90 with DAP and a moonroof along with AliExpress audio parts to boot. @HersheySweet, any comments? 
Amen brother!!!
A bit more civility would not hurt! 
….
We’ll make sure to get you added to the blacklist 
One of the reasons I get new cars every few years is because I love new technology and always want the latest infotainment system with all the features. It’s just the driver assist stuff that doesn’t float my boat. I don’t like being told how to drive. By a passenger, or by the car itself!
Currently cruising at 120 in Colorado. So
I’ll leave you with a bruh
Kilometers.
Speedometer shot or it didn’t happen.
Heritage M4, I don’t believe that’s 27k, that’s the stock heritage interior. So they’re bull$&@ting tf out of you.
That’s my neck of the woods. Let me know where you’re passing through and I can give you some spots if you want.
The cops around here use Ka band and very little laser. Don’t speed past the Vail exits on I-70. Not that you need to know, but just saying 
