The $80,000 BMW M3

[BI2016]

I find this quite humourous,

As an Australian, I could only wish the next M3 was available for $80k...you would get a nicely appointed 128i convertible for that kind of price... and at the current US M3 price ($60-$65k) you could get a devastatingly exciting Golf R hahaha.... As it sits the current M3 is $170-$180k AUD with no options here, which is actually offensive considering we don't have congestion issues like Singapore - where they are charging huge license fees/taxes to keep cars off the road..

So next time you feel hard done by, just remember us Aussies ( and Singaporeans) are paying 3-4 x for the same car... If M3s were at US prices here, theyd be used for taxis

[hotsoup]

BMW's ridiculously high price points are the reason why I'll be buying an Audi R8 in 3 years as opposed to the M3, which up until I got the 328i, had been my dream car during college.

[Daya]

In summer 2015 my e92 will be 8 years old and probably approaching 95k on the clock so that is when I am targeting my next car. If a brand new semi to fully loaded F82 is close to 80-85k I will seriously consider a used 991 2s/4s

[hwelvaar]

This new M3 vs used 911 argument/debate keeps popping up on this forum...
A new M3 has always been at 75% price point of a new 911 (base Carrera).
The M3 price may increase, but so does a 911's.

Nothing new ? ...

[TVMA Doc]

Originally Posted by dhoggm3

Sorry our Aussie friends get soaked like that. Glad you can still get yourself into an M3!

It's not quite as soaked as it sounds. VAT is in lieu of income tax and sales tax. In CA, I get hit with at least 10% state income tax/about 30% overall averaged federal income tax and a 9.75% local sales tax. Then there is the "vehicle license fee" in lieu of the "personal vehicle property tax".

By the time you end up factoring in how much you ALREADY paid in income taxes to take home enough money to start shopping THEN how much money you paid in the sales tax/property tax, you are getting pretty similar numbers.

With 40%+ income tax alone, I need to have earned 100K to take home the 60k to make the purchase. If you add in the 6k for sales tax and the roughly 5k I pay in CA VLF, that gets pushed to about 120k earnings (sales/VLF are on already taxed income).

With VAT the theory is that you only pay when you spend (I haven't lived there, so I don't know if there are other ways the government has found to skirt around this?), in the US we pay when we earn and we pay again when we spend. It comes out nearly the same, it just seems less because we are nickle and dimed rather than hit with one single bill.

[TVMA Doc]

Originally Posted by BI2016

I find this quite humourous,

As an Australian, I could only wish the next M3 was available for $80k...you would get a nicely appointed 128i convertible for that kind of price... and at the current US M3 price ($60-$65k) you could get a devastatingly exciting Golf R hahaha.... As it sits the current M3 is $170-$180k AUD with no options here, which is actually offensive considering we don't have congestion issues like Singapore - where they are charging huge license fees/taxes to keep cars off the road..

So next time you feel hard done by, just remember us Aussies ( and Singaporeans) are paying 3-4 x for the same car... If M3s were at US prices here, theyd be used for taxis

You said that $50k was tax and the rest was BMW Australia? If so, we're talking 120k vs. 130k (minus exchange rate if Australian dollars are stronger than USD). Not that much difference actually. You just get more sticker shock. The sheep in the US have the numbers hidden from us via multiple layers of taxes.

[gtabfknkdnme]

NOPE

[dcg71]

Originally Posted by TVMA Doc

It's not quite as soaked as it sounds. VAT is in lieu of income tax and sales tax. In CA, I get hit with at least 10% state income tax/about 30% overall averaged federal income tax and a 9.75% local sales tax. Then there is the "vehicle license fee" in lieu of the "personal vehicle property tax".

By the time you end up factoring in how much you ALREADY paid in income taxes to take home enough money to start shopping THEN how much money you paid in the sales tax/property tax, you are getting pretty similar numbers.

With 40%+ income tax alone, I need to have earned 100K to take home the 60k to make the purchase. If you add in the 6k for sales tax and the roughly 5k I pay in CA VLF, that gets pushed to about 120k earnings (sales/VLF are on already taxed income).

With VAT the theory is that you only pay when you spend (I haven't lived there, so I don't know if there are other ways the government has found to skirt around this?), in the US we pay when we earn and we pay again when we spend. It comes out nearly the same, it just seems less because we are nickle and dimed rather than hit with one single bill.

VAT is the UK, completely different country. Australia has a 10% consumption based goods and services tax (GST). It is most definitely NOT in lieu of income tax. If you look at OECD data, personal income tax rates here are higher than in the US. The top statutory rate is 46.5%.

[jtuds]

Originally Posted by dcg71

lol... you'll get no sympathy from the rest of the world. Try $180K.

Yup. Even the current M3 is over 100K in Canada once you add options and taxes

[Skullbussa]

Originally Posted by jtuds

Yup. Even the current M3 is over 100K in Canada once you add options and taxes

Yes, and the point is that where the dollar figures are higher, average income is also higher. It is all relative.

How much do schoolteachers make in Canada? I'm willing to bet it's more than the $32,000 average they make in the US.

[smashhell]

And that's why you live in the US.

Where a 20 years old working as a waiter can afford a brand new BMW or Mercedes(If they live at home with no expends of course)

[Nando87]

Following the present inflation rates, considering a release date around 2014-15, even if it costs about 20% more than its predecessor when it was launched it won't be more expensive in real terms. So... BTW, in Europe the M3 E92 has a base price of 90-100k US $ and more (155k US $ in the netherlands?), what do you think now

[JRubin13]

Originally Posted by Raja Ventureshield

i am sure bmwna has tons of people doing market study and will figure out what the market will pay for e82. Although bmw costs a lot, their lease is heavily subsidized to get people to drive their car. how in the world can someone drive a 50k bmw leased for 600$ a month.

The MSRP of a car is all of a fuzzy number these days.

I dont mind. Subsidies away. 535i msport im driving now is 64.9k. Leased for 697/month, 36 months, 10k miles per year, 3100 TOTAL drive off. Yes, they lost money on the car.

[Raja Ventureshield]

Originally Posted by JRubin13

I dont mind. Subsidies away. 535i msport im driving now is 64.9k. Leased for 697/month, 36 months, 10k miles per year, 3100 TOTAL drive off. Yes, they lost money on the car.

yeap. my brother is driving m sport 535i as well for in the 700s with zero drive off. I love certain leases. They just make a lot of sense. :-)

[smashhell]

Originally Posted by Raja Ventureshield

yeap. my brother is driving m sport 535i as well for in the 700s with zero drive off. I love certain leases. They just make a lot of sense. :-)

Do they ever lose money? I don't think so.

Purchase - F10 535i $58k MSRP, $10k down, $618/month, unlimited miles

[protein]

Originally Posted by smashhell

Do they ever lose money? I don't think so.

Purchase - F10 535i $58k MSRP, $10k down, $618/month, unlimited miles

5k below MSRP .5%apr financed over 72 months???

[h4nh]

You gotta pay to play. 80k is a good price for an M3. It keeps the car a bit more exclusive.

I noticed the higher the price of the car.. there's less people that whine about pricing.

[cartaa100]

yeah australia they are $175k with a few options.... no complaining about paying 80k please

[Levi]

You want to know how to compare prices? Configure the cars of you choice and compare. Such base price comparing makes no sense. When I compared the GT86 price (€ ~30K) to the M135i price (€ ~40K) I thought the M135i was cheaper than the GT86 price/performance. But once speced as I wanted it, price went far beyond € 50K, and that only for options I consider necessary on a Premium such as the M135i. The Toyota has everything standard, a bit like a Nissan GT-R or a Lexus LFA. At € +50K for the M135i I thought I could get close to a new Cayman S. For fun I configured it, it went from € 65K and ended at € 130K. Yes, for that price you can get a 911 GT3. And it is pointless comparing new vs. used. The M3 has never been "cheap". Just remember that this M3 will be really fast (if BMW let it to be).

[M6-4KIX]

As M630 said... "Those are not car prices, those are taxes, dont blame the US because you live in a society that chooses to fund their society off the backs of car owners...,,,,,,,,

aka Rich people, which is what's happening in the US now?? Correct??

[WhyGeeGee]

Originally Posted by BI2016

I find this quite humourous,

As an Australian, I could only wish the next M3 was available for $80k...you would get a nicely appointed 128i convertible for that kind of price... and at the current US M3 price ($60-$65k) you could get a devastatingly exciting Golf R hahaha.... As it sits the current M3 is $170-$180k AUD with no options here, which is actually offensive considering we don't have congestion issues like Singapore - where they are charging huge license fees/taxes to keep cars off the road..

So next time you feel hard done by, just remember us Aussies ( and Singaporeans) are paying 3-4 x for the same car... If M3s were at US prices here, theyd be used for taxis

And I thought our current M3 price is high ($100k). Oh well at lease it's not as bad as you guys in Australia.

Back to the topic If the M4 cost around ($120k) then I will be buying one but anything more than that and I might have to consider.

[sparkyg]

Originally Posted by M6-4KIX

As M630 said... "Those are not car prices, those are taxes, dont blame the US because you live in a society that chooses to fund their society off the backs of car owners...,,,,,,,,

aka Rich people, which is what's happening in the US now?? Correct??

OT but the US will not be immune to higher taxes and consumption taxes. Its coming...sooner or later that National debt will loom.