After sitting (not driving) in 3 and 4 after s90/v90 I realised that I will stick with Volvo. Sure, different class of cars, but 2019 S60 will be the same design as S90.
Yep, Volvo is showing some cool interior design ideas and it’s making everyone else look silly, especially BMW.
Yes, it will be discounted after the initial hype dies down. However, how much it is discounted is yet to be seen. There definitely won’t be any hacker deals on them. We have to keep in mind that SUV’s are hotter than sedans, so the discounts won’t be nearly as good, but they will be there. I don’t think that the new X5 will be cheap to lease, you will be lucky to be at 1%, so unless you are ok with a $700-1000/mo payment depending on sticker with some money due at inception (likely bank fees, DMV, First Payment and some Taxes), I wouldn’t hold my breath for one. If you are the drive until they die or until CPO warranty is up, I would go for the CPO ML for now and watch what happens.
Leasing is great, and it makes a lot of sense for some people and I love it, but it’s not for everyone, and a lot of people do get screwed on leases, especially when the car first comes out or is equipped with a lot of options making it rarer or impossible to find as a loaner.
Are you asking which dealership I used to work for? If so, it is Open Road BMW (NJ) (They have 4 locations, but I’m not gonna specify which one I worked for other than it wasn’t Newton), they’re deals aren’t that great from what I’ve seen, Paul Miller has much better deals. Park Ave is hit and miss. Open Road BMW of Newton sometimes have amazing deals when they need to hit their targets as they are in a really redneck/trailer park area of NJ where not too many people get BMW’s. I’ve heard BMW of Manhattan (Corporate owned store) has good deals, but I’ve never verified or had any experience with them.
I agree, some of their products aren’t competitive at current costs, especially with the C class being as nice as it is. It’s not as sporty as a 330 or 340, but it it has a much more luxurious interior. Even the A4 is better right now. BMW’s really only make sense to lease if you qualify for CEL (Center Employee Lease [Have to work at a BMW dealership or Corporate]), or if you find a loaner or undesirable model that they’re willing to significantly discount like the 535/550 GT leases we are seeing right now. Otherwise, doesn’t make too much sense as a 530 loaner will be $150-200/mo more than an E300, which has a nicer interior in my opinion. 7 series loaners are cheaper than S Class loaner though (last time I checked).
Volvo is killing it right now. I wonder if we will see some amazing deals on the S60 like we see on the S90. That would be spectacular. Especially if you can get a T6 S60, that car will be fast.
Not for a while, but I really hope so.
One reason BMW is in the pickle they find themselves in is their product line is so vast they are cannibalizing their own sales. 2,3,4,5,6,7, and soon to be 8-series. There’s sedans, X’s, M’s, i’s, SAV’s, SAC’s, convertibles, and wagons. We’ve Grand Coupe’s, Grand Turismo’s, and Alpina’s. Within those groups there are three “tiers” and the “M-sport”. And to things even more complicated… the new X1 and X2 aren’t available with Blind side… so to get that option, you have to buy a more expensive, bigger vehicle and even then you likely have to purchase the navigation package in order to get Blind -Side. BMW is a mess right now.
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Non M BMWs are underperforming in the driving experience. The i3 isn’t competitive in the EV market where everything has more range for less money. Premium EV drivers are going to Tesla or high end Hybrids. I love my i3, but I would never pay full price minus state and federal incentives.
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Deano has it right in terms of the product lineup being a mess…
Plus more choice on the lot only means the dealer can’t inventory enough of what people might want, so the customer ends up disappointed and the dealer ends up with no sale, or the dealer has to throw in huge discounts to convince the customer to take whatever the dealer has… Doesn’t really makes sense for a discerning customer looking for a premium vehicle. It’s good for Leasehackrs looking for a deal though!
If BMW just went back to the 3, X3, 5, X5, and 7, offered with a couple trim level and engine choices, and only offered in sedans and not coupes, coupe-sedans and hatchbacks, I think they’d be back on their game. It’d give them focus and I bet sales and transaction prices would increase naturally.
Audi and MB aren’t immune to this idea of offering a vehicle for every niche, but they seem to be a little better about differentiating the product so the different similar products appeal to different customers. For example, I don’t see an A6 or A8 buyer being interested in an A7, it’s just… Different. BMW seems to want to offer everything to everyone and it isn’t working.
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I haven’t driven one but the reviews of the new X3 are saying it has some of the old BMW driving dynamics though the steering still sucks.
They really need to remember the recipe for their special sauce and apply it liberally to the upcoming G20 platform 3 series. If they don’t then it is going to be up to the SUVs to save the brand. Because so far BMW has not shown itself capable of out designing Audi and Mercedes for their interiors. And a lot of their market is more willing to wait to get a Model 3 than a 3 series sedan.
I still generally prefer BMW exterior design language to MB and Audi, with a few exceptions (A7, AMG GT). I think BMW will be fine - plenty of loyal customers and will work out the steering issues. They are still building great engines and technology is still solid (iDrive is still among the 2 or 3 best infotainment systems). They are a few tweaks from a major resurgence.
Long run they will be fine - they got the premium brand, experience and capital to make many changes.
However, my observations lead me to believe there will be some great BMW lease deals (possibly on older and less popular models like GT etc etc or 2017 X3) imminently… Perhaps this month end, maybe next month …
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BMW will change incentives mid month? I thought they usually go month to month
Best 2 or 3 infotaiment systems? Man my jeep has better system than bmw. Try to check 2019 Dodge Ram system as well. I think iDrive does not do justice to a premium product like bmw.
It’s not unheard of for incentives to change mid month. Not typical, but not something that hasn’t been done.
Last chance for those great deals on the 2017 oddballs this month.
If one is interested in a 2017 x3, absolutely positively do not even look in the direction of a 2018, especially do NOT look inside one, and absofuckinglutely do NOT sit inside one.
so you’re saying you don’t like the 17
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You wouldn’t believe how many people email me, " I really only want to spend $400 p/m and I see a lot of people getting X3s less p/m. So can you help me get a new X3 for that much. Here is my build (it has every friggin option)
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Reading some of the posts on this forum…I sure as hell would.
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Haha, I like the 17, and was seriously going to pursue one for the wife since we now qualify for loyalty which is worth $1500 on the X3, but went to the dealer and sat in the M40i and a more “normal” 18 X3, and the quality difference is just night and day, that I know I’d be kicking myself hard next year when there are big discounts on loaners again.
Though if my dealer starts offering some stupid ass deals near the end of the month, like sub $300, then I might pursue it still. But at this point would pick the CX-5 over an older X3.
The new X3M is pretty special, but if it’s like every other BMW of late, only the sport and M models are worth the price. The rest are weak attempts at selling a badge with the car included for free.