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02-15-2007, 05:59 PM | #1 |
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M3 Euro Release Information Dates, Pricing
Hi,
Today a few things were updated / verified regarding the E92 M3 release in Finland. This should also apply for other European countries. First off - at least for Finland, the demo car import has been canceled. The country won't be getting a demo car in March/April at all. Because of: The first real, off-the-line PRODUCTION cars will be here in late May/early June. Only three (3) cars have been allocated for the whole country in the year 2007!! Christ! 2 of the cars have already been sold through the importer (BMW Finland), but they will be registered and used as demo cars first before their buyers get them. The third car will be sold to the biggest re-seller of BMW in the country, and is still available to pick up. The cars have been ordered and specified from the factory by BMW Finland, so no option changes are possible, besides exterior and interior color changes (non-price affecting ones.) Color changes may be made up to one week prior to the actual production taking place. But no option changes that would change the price or options are allowed for these cars, they are "locked in" as I was told. I've been told that the first production cars will be all manual, but that SMG-equipped cars will be off the line very shortly after that. Apparently about 85% of the production capacity has been geared toward the US market, as most big US resellers will get at least 3 cars to sell during the year 2007 - more than some countries, such as Finland! This is also strange, as BMW makes the least profit on the US market with EU produced cars due to the low value of the USD. Apparently the US-centric production schedule is also one of the reasons for the fact that SMG cars won't be rolling off the line right off the bat. Unfortunately, the first cars being manual means that the 3 cars that Finland gets, one of which I had reserved, will be manual. I'm going to have to consider very hard if I want my car this year, because then it will have to be a manual. And I really don't like the idea of a V8 manual, I have been looking forward to this SMG. If I wanted a manual, I would have gotten a straight six Z4 M Coupé Manual. Oh, and there's a third catch too: The reseller has been pressured by the importer (BMW Finland) to put the third and only car that the reseller gets on display on their car display hall for 2 months before they can sell it. That means the buyer will only get it in around Late July/August. The reseller also has to register the car to themselves because the importer requires that the reseller allows all people who order the E92 M3 during 2007 for production slots for late 2007/early 2008, who will get their cars from the 2008 allocation (which will be much, much larger than just 3 cars), to have a possibility to test drive the one car for about 15 minutes with the dealer. Also, few bosses, salesmen and other people will test drive the car. So that means that the third, and only available car will be used and test driven and not new when it's buyer gets it - albeit to just slight extent, but the it's the most important first 1500 break-in kilometers of an M car, and those kilometers should definitely not be used for stupid test drives! That makes me furious! So the car will forcibly be manual, cost as much as a new one, will be fucked up from the test driving in worst case and only it's colors can be chosen by the person buying it. I might just give up my "honor" as the first person on the wait-list. As far as the other 2 cars, pretty much the same test driving will happen to them, they will just be hauled around the country from different smaller resellers to visit them all so everybody around different parts of the country can get a shot of seeing the thing live. I'm really pissed off by how this turned out as a potential customer. 3 cars per country is really laughable in my opinion, especially considering what the cost of the car is. And the way they will sell it is nearly insulting. It's like blackmail. Either you get it engine revved up to red-line all the time during your break-in miles, with a manual tranny, if you want this year, and oh by the way, you'll pay full price through the nose, or forget it, we'll sell it to some other fool who won't know/care/understand. Here's what the cost is: Standard price for the E92 M3 in Finland: 100.000 euros Price with the options that the 3 first manual M3's will have: 115.000 euros I do not know at this point what the options include, but I suspect pretty much everything except perhaps "full leather" (Vollleder in German option lists), if that's available on the M3 - it's a very stylish, classy (and expensive) interior option on the M5 and M6 where everything on the dashboard and side panels etc. on the doors that is usually plastic, is sewed leather instead. As the old E46 M3's list price in Finland was about exactly 90.000 euros, and it used to cost 56.000 euros in Germany (list price with no options), this sounds like the price has been hiked up only pretty reasonably. I do not know if the definite list price without options is 100ke exactly, or if that was just a ballpark number. I thought people would like to know this, as this is is as definite as it gets. If I had said yes today, I would be on the line to get this third car. But considering how the situation is, I told the dealer I'm going to have to think about it. I have a day or two to respond. Sounds like you guys in the US will have it much better, at least having options to choose from and even having the option of getting the SMG during 2007. Given how things are now, if I want SMG, I'm going to have to wait for early 2008 and actually really Summer 2008 to enjoy the car. Then I might as well wait for the E93 model as the E93 Coupé/Cabrio setup has been getting pretty rave reviews as to it's usefulness (here where it snows for 3-4 months of the year, a real ragtop cabriolets are a pain in the ass, and a CC would be the perfect combination, if it indeed is as quiet, warm and the visibility is as good as with a true Coupé in the Winter, as they claim (or at least around 85-90% as good.) Best regards, Jussi |
02-15-2007, 06:23 PM | #2 |
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Thanks for the insight Jussi.
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02-15-2007, 07:02 PM | #3 |
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Good and bad, my observations
Sorry to hear you pretty much CAN'T take delivery of a NEW SMG car in 2007 - ugh. However, this is all great news for me!
Observations: Price: 100,000/90,000 * $48.9k USD (2006 E46 M3 base price) = $54.3k. Wow sounds really low! I'd be darn happy if we get the beast for under $55k base price. The $115k price translates into $62.5k USD well optioned! These seem a bit low to me - we'll have to see. Delivery: Seems like things have either been accelerated or the truth is now out on delivery. Looks very promising for a late 2007 calendar year delivery in the US as a 2008 model year (what I have been saying all along). I sure hope I (and the rest of us) can get an SMG car delivered in calendar year 2007. That would really make my year. Perhaps us SMG-ers will only have to pass on a month or so of allocations if 6M is the only thing rolling of the line first. |
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02-15-2007, 07:39 PM | #4 |
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Thanks for the info. I think one would have to be crazy to get a demo car for 115k euros. Well, no matter the price, I would never get an M-car that was test-driven during the break-in period.
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02-15-2007, 08:55 PM | #6 | |
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Who's da' man! Six months ago I said the new M3 will base at $54.6K so if the above information is correct, I was only $300 off. |
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02-15-2007, 11:12 PM | #7 |
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02-15-2007, 11:35 PM | #9 |
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02-15-2007, 11:42 PM | #10 |
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Sounds too low to me
This "ratio method" with a price known in a foreign currency typically works quite well to get a local price. However, this figure seems way too low to me. I base this conclusion on the premiums from highest model to M model in a series as well as the price increases in a given M series. I also base it on the cars the M3 was benchmarked against. I still think high 50's is the best guess. Only time will tell. I am just so stoked that US delivery looks promising in this calendar year. Am I repeating myself? Just excited.
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02-16-2007, 12:48 AM | #11 | |
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02-16-2007, 03:28 AM | #14 |
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Sorry for my distrust, but I can't approve some of the good information Jussi gave.
1. If Scott says there won't be a M3 in US till Spring 08 this means guess what: There won't be till spring 08. Supporting that delayed introduction for the states is the fact that there is not one single m3 prototype seen in the US which is from the FEP stage. All the cars cruising around in America are early prototypes. So my guess stays: The time frame Scott gave is quite accurate. 2. There are strong indications that there won't be SMG at all for the M3. The M3 starts with a manual (enough for me) and there will be a DSG, but it's delayed till at least spring 08 (which could be another reason to wait with US introduction). 3. There can't be a "production" car in May because the production will not have started by that time. Best regards, south |
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02-16-2007, 03:57 AM | #15 | |
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1. Where did Scott say there won't be an M3 in the US until Spring '08? If I recall correctly he was talking about the E93 M3, not E92. 2. That would be ludicrous. SMG is BMW's flagship transmission technology. What you're saying makes no sense. However, I have no info on DSG. Is that an advanced version of SMG? 3. Makes sense. If the OP said July it would be more plausible to me since the production version will be released at Frankfurt soon after. |
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02-16-2007, 06:13 AM | #16 |
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DSG is VW/Audi's current twin-clutch, automated gearbox. It's called S-Tronic on new Audi's.
They're known for having issues with pulling away in first gear, that is what I've read about the Golf GTI with DSG anyhow.
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02-16-2007, 06:13 AM | #17 | |
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http://www.m3post.com/forums/showpos...53&postcount=1 http://www.m3post.com/forums/showpos...0&postcount=32 Sorry, that was my mistake; anyway he said there won't be an M3 in the US this year. 2. DSG is the kind of transmission that Audi is already using (for example in TT) Here's the wikipedia explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct-Shift_Gearbox Best regards, south Last edited by southlight; 02-16-2007 at 06:33 AM.. Reason: link added |
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02-16-2007, 07:22 AM | #18 | |
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HEA production from june till august. Customer from september. No SMG at all. (another system available in 08) No dealers will have cars before august (at the earliest) |
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02-16-2007, 08:17 AM | #19 |
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There will be SMG for the new E92 M3, that's for sure. Just the first models will be all manual. And if I wanted, I could now order this third car coming here for delivery in late July / early August, since they have to keep it in the showroom for two (2) months. Those are hard cold facts straight from the dealer. I'm probably going to skip this one though, I really don't want to pay through the nose for a car that has been test driven during the break-in period. A car that's basically used demo car, for a full price. And with a manual, when SMG was the biggest thing I was expecting with the new V8.
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02-16-2007, 09:02 AM | #20 |
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Great discussion on this thread... Assuming that they are produced and then shipped to North America, does anyone in the "reasonable" know have any idea (or good guess) as to when the E90 version of the M3 will be available in the U.S.?
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02-16-2007, 09:10 AM | #21 |
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E90 will be produced later, much later than the E92. It is possible that those who are claiming 2008 production are getting their information confused and are referring perhaps to the E90 model M3. For that, 2008 spring sounds like a realistic time-line. But the E92 M3 Coupé will be out this summer (2007), no doubt about it.
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02-16-2007, 10:17 AM | #22 | |
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