Is the 1er Expensive-Or Is The 3er Cheap???

[nobbyv]

I've been paying a lot more attention to MSRPs of other cars these days, and have noticed that despite all the complaints about the 1er's price, it is pretty well inline with comparable vehicles. I'm thinking of the Infiniti G35, Nissan 350Z, etc. These cars all start in the low-to-mid $30s, and will run you upwards of $42-43k fully optioned. And out of any of these, the 1er is faster, and has (I guess arguably) a better ride and handling.

So is it just that the 335i is too cheap? I mean, if it was $5k more, I don't think you'd hear nearly as many comments like "Well, for XXX dollars more I can get the same engine in the 335i, so why would I opt for the smaller 1er?". But by pricing the 1er only a few $k below the 335i, maybe BMW shot themselves in the foot just a bit.

Any thoughts?

[Chris90]

Small is part of the 1 series' appeal, not a fault.

[AzNMpower32]

For starters, the US gets BMWs very cheap especially given the current € to $ exchange rate. But really, the 1er was not meant to be a mass market car, hence the 15.000/yr allocation, and BMW also wanted to minimise losses due to the exchange rate. The 3er is more of a mass-market appeal car, hence the relatively lower price and more incentives.

Build a BMW on the German configurator site, and you'll realise that we're kinda lucky in the US even after you take the 19% VAT off the price displayed in the Configurator. To put things into perspective, my mom's 325i sedan would cost about €48.500 given her options, and our 118i rental in Germany would have a list price of €31.500, and it did not have alloy wheels (but it did have Business sat nav).

[Tom K.]

I've been paying a lot more attention to MSRPs of other cars these days, and have noticed that despite all the complaints about the 1er's price, it is pretty well inline with comparable vehicles. I'm thinking of the Infiniti G35, Nissan 350Z, etc. These cars all start in the low-to-mid $30s, and will run you upwards of $42-43k fully optioned. And out of any of these, the 1er is faster, and has (I guess arguably) a better ride and handling.

So is it just that the 335i is too cheap? I mean, if it was $5k more, I don't think you'd hear nearly as many comments like "Well, for XXX dollars more I can get the same engine in the 335i, so why would I opt for the smaller 1er?". But by pricing the 1er only a few $k below the 335i, maybe BMW shot themselves in the foot just a bit.

Any thoughts?

While the 128/328 MSRP differential is only about $4,000, it grows to over $6,000 for the 135/335 - comparing coupe to coupe in each instance. And for the convertibles, the gap between the softtop 1 and the hardtop 3 is a whopping $10,000.

But it seems like it is much easier to negotiate a significant discount on 3 series, so that does narrow the gap somewhat.

Tom

[shad0an]

I was able to get a 5% discount on my 335xi after the already large discount of European Delivery -- which brought me to about a 12% discount. I asked about discounts on the 1, but the dealership said they had enough demand that they didn't really discount much.

[BJDrew]

You're assuming that the "bigger" 3-series is "better." What's really better about the 3-series? I don't want a big car. I don't want a car everyone else has. I want performance. With my 128i, I actually feel like I'm getting the bargain. As far as I see it, the extra few thousand for the 3-series is just a little more sheet metal and a slightly less sporting ride.

[ptack]

The only serious advantage of the 3 coupe over the 1 coupe is the all-wheel drive option. Buying a 1 means you must have good snow tires if you live where it snows. You should probably have them on any car, but you're better off with all-wheel dirive to boot. That said, you pay a premium for BMW's all wheel drive so if you don't need it, the 1 offers a more unique looking, performance-focused experience than the 3.

[lipari]

no complaints about the price of my 135. it was worth every cent

[TeeZee]

no complaints about the price of my 135. it was worth every cent

How could you have any complaints about the price?- your mom paid for it! :D

[X3 Skier]

How could any BMW be described as cheap?:angel:

Cheers