Current M3 vs M4 Inventory Split

ASAP · 03-03-2015, 11:14 PM

Featured on BIMMERPOST.com

I was looking at cars.com and see over 740 M4s currently in stock at dealers... at the same time there are only 72 M3s for sale. That would be a 10:1 ratio... yet the split on this forum seems to be 50/50. I don't know if BMW royally screwed up the sales predictions, dealers made the wrong orders or some how allocations were totally a miss. In addition, it appears that everyone here is having trouble finding an M3 but no such issues with M4s... what gives here?

TwinTurbs · 03-03-2015, 11:34 PM

This seems to be true. About a month ago I was at my dealer they had 6 to 7 M4s on the lot and not a single M3. Out of curiosity I asked my client advisor about the M3/M4 ratio. He ran a locator on all the M3s/M4s that were produced, in-stock, and unsold for all the dealers in the US. There was something like 450 M4s in-stock compared to like 44 M3's.

anjizkit · 03-03-2015, 11:46 PM

same here... 0 M3s .. 7 M4...

i got a M4

AW BMW · 03-04-2015, 12:13 AM

I experienced the same, that is why I ordered my M3 and been waiting since early October but she is almost here. If I didn't have the need for a car seat I would have opted for an m4, specially after looking at so many m4s on cars.com. I'm sure I would have been happy with either car though.

gxman · 03-04-2015, 02:48 AM

Too many heavily optioned M4's.

On Cars.com

801 new M4's.

filter it to list only less than $75K M4's, only 60 shows up.

Vectors2final · 03-04-2015, 05:04 AM

I'm totally okay with this.

Vigilant · 03-04-2015, 05:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vectors2final

I'm totally okay with this.

+1

BeamerandBimmer · 03-04-2015, 05:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASAP

I was looking at cars.com and see over 740 M4s currently in stock at dealers... at the same time there are only 72 M3s for sale. That would be a 10:1 ratio... yet the split on this forum seems to be 50/50. I don't know if BMW royally screwed up the sales predictions, dealers made the wrong orders or some how allocations were totally a miss. In addition, it appears that everyone here is having trouble finding an M3 but no such issues with M4s... what gives here?

I have noticed this as well. I think it was probably the same with the E9x. In speaking with my sales manager when I ordered my M3 he told me that their allocations all start out as M4s and they have to go in to the system and change it to an M3 if they want one.

fun2drv · 03-04-2015, 06:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeamerandBimmer

I have noticed this as well. I think it was probably the same with the E9x. In speaking with my sales manager when I ordered my M3 he told me that their allocations all start out as M4s and they have to go in to the system and change it to an M3 if they want one.

I'm not sure that they can change an allocation from an M4 to an M3 since they are built in different factories...

fortressmaximus · 03-04-2015, 06:22 AM

The 50/50 split on the forum does not reflect reality. I've seen probably 4-5 F80 M3s on the road and probably 25-30 M4s. There is no doubt based on what I've seen that M4s have much higher production and sales.

Also, since M4s are probably sold in much higher numbers there must be a substantial portion that aren't members of the forums. Perhaps M3 owners on average have a higher probability of being a forum member or at least have a higher probability of filling out the survey.

From the photo threads and general posts, it looks like there are substantially more M4s on the forum than M3s, even though the survey says otherwise.

BeamerandBimmer · 03-04-2015, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fun2drv

I'm not sure that they can change an allocation from an M4 to an M3 since they are built in different factories...

The way I understand his statement is that each dealer gets a certain number of M3/M4 allocations, BMW doesn't care what the ratio is. He showed me the system that they use to order cars. When he pulled up the screen to order my M3 he showed me how the system defaulted to a M4 and he literally had to click several times so get it to change to a M3. I have no reason to think that he would feed me a line of BS, I've bought lots of cars from him.

GOLFFRR · 03-04-2015, 06:32 AM

The CF roof delay has played a big part of the large amount of M4s on the lots I would imagine. For us we have only ever been able to keep moon roofed M4,M3s on the lot. All the CF roof models we ever had usually go pretty fast.

I feel for us personally we have sold a tad more M4's then M3s but not a drastic amount of one over the other

PS: allocation for a M3/M4/M4 vert all the same.

Brady1984 · 03-04-2015, 06:42 AM

As a CF roof M3 owner I approve this thread

ASAP · 03-04-2015, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fortressmaximus

The 50/50 split on the forum does not reflect reality. I've seen probably 4-5 F80 M3s on the road and probably 25-30 M4s. There is no doubt based on what I've seen that M4s have much higher production and sales.

Also, since M4s are probably sold in much higher numbers there must be a substantial portion that aren't members of the forums. Perhaps M3 owners on average have a higher probability of being a forum member or at least have a higher probability of filling out the survey.

From the photo threads and general posts, it looks like there are substantially more M4s on the forum than M3s, even though the survey says otherwise.

Which is somewhat contrary to what one would think... I would expect a significantly larger portion of "enthusiasts" to have the coupe. I myself love the sedan and that is by far my choice. What else is somewhat weird are the options on those cars... Adaptive Suspension is missing from many expensive cars and there are virtually 0 cars hovering around the 70k mark that have only stand alone options as opposed to packages. Did so few dealers think that through? IMHO, from day 1, it was easy to pick the popular options yet so few cars came this way.

antych · 03-04-2015, 07:04 AM

It's interesting that in UK things like adaptive suspension are standard equipment. You can't even buy the car without 19" wheels, you can only pay extra for the black ones.

afadeev · 03-04-2015, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASAP

Quote:

Originally Posted by fortressmaximus

The 50/50 split on the forum does not reflect reality. I've seen probably 4-5 F80 M3s on the road and probably 25-30 M4s. There is no doubt based on what I've seen that M4s have much higher production and sales.

Which is somewhat contrary to what one would think... I would expect a significantly larger portion of "enthusiasts" to have the coupe.

Enthusiasts or not, more people have historically bought 2-door M4s than 4-door M3s, when both were offered:

All E36s: 18,961 coupes, 7,760 saloons, and 6,211 convertibles
'10 E90s: 5,729 coupes, 1,843 saloons, and 2,544 convertibles
All E90s: ??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_M3
http://www.bimmerfile.com/2011/02/02...10/#more-10250

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASAP

What else is somewhat weird are the options on those cars... Adaptive Suspension is missing from many expensive cars and there are virtually 0 cars hovering around the 70k mark that have only stand alone options as opposed to packages. Did so few dealers think that through? IMHO, from day 1, it was easy to pick the popular options yet so few cars came this way.

US dealers love optioned out cars.
Probably because they are easy to sell - fewer people will pass on a sale if it has one too many features vs. doesn't have the one they wanted.

Not sure why adaptive suspension doesn't get checked by most of them - may be it's not expensive enough? I do love it, though!

a

fortressmaximus · 03-04-2015, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASAP

Quote:

Originally Posted by fortressmaximus

The 50/50 split on the forum does not reflect reality. I've seen probably 4-5 F80 M3s on the road and probably 25-30 M4s. There is no doubt based on what I've seen that M4s have much higher production and sales.

Also, since M4s are probably sold in much higher numbers there must be a substantial portion that aren't members of the forums. Perhaps M3 owners on average have a higher probability of being a forum member or at least have a higher probability of filling out the survey.

From the photo threads and general posts, it looks like there are substantially more M4s on the forum than M3s, even though the survey says otherwise.

Which is somewhat contrary to what one would think... I would expect a significantly larger portion of "enthusiasts" to have the coupe. I myself love the sedan and that is by far my choice. What else is somewhat weird are the options on those cars... Adaptive Suspension is missing from many expensive cars and there are virtually 0 cars hovering around the 70k mark that have only stand alone options as opposed to packages. Did so few dealers think that through? IMHO, from day 1, it was easy to pick the popular options yet so few cars came this way.

Yes, a lot of dealer cars had strange groupings of options, which why I ended up ordering mine. I happen to like both the coupe and the sedan.

48Laws · 03-04-2015, 08:46 AM

The numbers might reflect aesthetics or the possibility that those who owned an e92 in the past might have young families now and can't rationalize an m4 coupe. They need space. Both apply to me.

Zee Dgerman · 03-04-2015, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by antych

It's interesting that in UK things like adaptive suspension are standard equipment. You can't even buy the car without 19" wheels, you can only pay extra for the black ones.

Every country has their thing it seems. For the convertible here in Canada, 19 black is standard as well as adaptive suspension.

Noisygriff · 03-04-2015, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by antych

It's interesting that in UK things like adaptive suspension are standard equipment. You can't even buy the car without 19" wheels, you can only pay extra for the black ones.

Interesting... When I ordered mine, the choice was black or silver 19s, with no difference in price between the 2.

ASAP · 03-04-2015, 12:53 PM

To me, the only mandatory options are HK, black 19s, dct and leather... in any dark color M3.

BTW, there are exactly 0 cars like that.

m3z · 03-04-2015, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brady1984

As a CF roof M3 owner I approve this thread

+1

03-03-2015, 11:14 PM	#1
ASAP Major General 10131 Rep 8,609 Posts Drives: '23 X3 M40i Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: FL iTrader: (0)	Current M3 vs M4 Inventory Split Featured on BIMMERPOST.com I was looking at cars.com and see over 740 M4s currently in stock at dealers... at the same time there are only 72 M3s for sale. That would be a 10:1 ratio... yet the split on this forum seems to be 50/50. I don't know if BMW royally screwed up the sales predictions, dealers made the wrong orders or some how allocations were totally a miss. In addition, it appears that everyone here is having trouble finding an M3 but no such issues with M4s... what gives here?
	Appreciate 1 Tweet Quote

03-03-2015, 11:34 PM	#2
TwinTurbs Enlisted Member 15 Rep 46 Posts Drives: F80 Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: NJ iTrader: (0)	This seems to be true. About a month ago I was at my dealer they had 6 to 7 M4s on the lot and not a single M3. Out of curiosity I asked my client advisor about the M3/M4 ratio. He ran a locator on all the M3s/M4s that were produced, in-stock, and unsold for all the dealers in the US. There was something like 450 M4s in-stock compared to like 44 M3's.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

03-03-2015, 11:46 PM	#3
anjizkit New Member 21 Rep 28 Posts Drives: BMW M4 (So on SO) Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Dallas TX iTrader: (0)	same here... 0 M3s .. 7 M4... i got a M4
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03-04-2015, 12:13 AM	#4
AW BMW Lieutenant Colonel 1428 Rep 1,984 Posts Drives: 15 SS2 F80/18 AVUS BLUE F80 Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: 818 SoCal iTrader: (0)	I experienced the same, that is why I ordered my M3 and been waiting since early October but she is almost here. If I didn't have the need for a car seat I would have opted for an m4, specially after looking at so many m4s on cars.com. I'm sure I would have been happy with either car though.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

03-04-2015, 02:48 AM	#5
gxman Private First Class 22 Rep 119 Posts Drives: old mercedes Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: louisiana iTrader: (0)	Too many heavily optioned M4's. On Cars.com 801 new M4's. filter it to list only less than $75K M4's, only 60 shows up.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

03-04-2015, 05:04 AM	#6
Vectors2final Brigadier General 1342 Rep 3,340 Posts Drives: 2018 F80 YMB/SS ZCP Join Date: May 2011 Location: Austin, Tx iTrader: (0)	I'm totally okay with this. __________________ 2019 Ruby GT350 - Gen 5 Whipple on corn making 855RWHP. Sold: 2018 F80 Part Deux /DCT /YMB /Full SS /CF Trim /ZCP /ZEC w/Black 666M Sold: 2015 F80 /DCT /YMB /Full SS /CF Trim /ZEC /ZLP /HK /S&TVC- 18''///M
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03-04-2015, 06:22 AM	#10
fortressmaximus Captain 104 Rep 680 Posts Drives: BSM M4 Join Date: May 2009 Location: South Florida iTrader: (0)	The 50/50 split on the forum does not reflect reality. I've seen probably 4-5 F80 M3s on the road and probably 25-30 M4s. There is no doubt based on what I've seen that M4s have much higher production and sales. Also, since M4s are probably sold in much higher numbers there must be a substantial portion that aren't members of the forums. Perhaps M3 owners on average have a higher probability of being a forum member or at least have a higher probability of filling out the survey. From the photo threads and general posts, it looks like there are substantially more M4s on the forum than M3s, even though the survey says otherwise.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

03-04-2015, 06:32 AM	#12
GOLFFRR 10773 Rep 27,587 Posts Drives: GOLFFRR cart Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: we sell BMWs to "ALL" US states iTrader: (4)	The CF roof delay has played a big part of the large amount of M4s on the lots I would imagine. For us we have only ever been able to keep moon roofed M4,M3s on the lot. All the CF roof models we ever had usually go pretty fast. I feel for us personally we have sold a tad more M4's then M3s but not a drastic amount of one over the other PS: allocation for a M3/M4/M4 vert all the same. __________________ BEFORE YOU BUY YOUR NEXT BMW, EMAIL OUR GUY KOTE FIRST! Kote M Sales:Kotem@bmwofcamarillo.com Cell:805-368-9101 vipfinance@bmwofcamarillo.com for warranties!
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03-04-2015, 06:42 AM	#13
Brady1984 Lieutenant 186 Rep 413 Posts Drives: 2015 M3 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oklahoma iTrader: (0)	As a CF roof M3 owner I approve this thread __________________ "Most things I worry about never happen anyway" -Tom Petty
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03-04-2015, 07:04 AM	#15
antych Lieutenant 246 Rep 435 Posts Drives: 2017 BMW M4CP SO Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: London iTrader: (0) Garage List 2014 BMW M4 [10.00]	It's interesting that in UK things like adaptive suspension are standard equipment. You can't even buy the car without 19" wheels, you can only pay extra for the black ones.
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03-04-2015, 08:46 AM	#18
48Laws Banned 705 Rep 1,908 Posts Drives: '15 F80, '18 991.2 GTS Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: East Coast iTrader: (0)	The numbers might reflect aesthetics or the possibility that those who owned an e92 in the past might have young families now and can't rationalize an m4 coupe. They need space. Both apply to me.
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03-04-2015, 12:53 PM	#21
ASAP Major General 10131 Rep 8,609 Posts Drives: '23 X3 M40i Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: FL iTrader: (0)	To me, the only mandatory options are HK, black 19s, dct and leather... in any dark color M3. BTW, there are exactly 0 cars like that. __________________ 2 x N54 -> 1 x N55 -> 1 x S55-> 1 x B58
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