M3 vs. M4

[Gibson6594]

Originally Posted by Master Yoda

Is this you?

Ha, I haven't seen that move in years.

"I aced this" was great.

[dinonz]

[m_matt]

I can't even imagine if an m4 gran coupe existed. This thread would go ape shit

[DC-T]

I wanted a convertible. so easy choice for me

[Vooj]

Originally Posted by m_matt

I can't even imagine if an m4 gran coupe existed. This thread would go ape shit

I will be a happy man when the gran coupe phenomenon for performance cars dies. I am not a fan outside of the A7 line.

[m_matt]

Originally Posted by Vooj

I will be a happy man when the gran coupe phenomenon for performance cars dies. I am not a fan outside of the A7 line.

Agreed no one has gotten it right. RS7 is actually the only Audi I like. M6 gc is nice full size car with good power, but not exactly an agile m. Panamera is god damn blimp. Although the Porsche Mission E Concept is pretty nice.

[Vooj]

Related to this thread and the other very similar thread, if you takes verts out of the numbers the threads show a 39.7% and 39.8% M4 take rate. This got me interested in seeing how the M3 vs M4 sales compared. Unfortunately BMW only breaks down their monthly sales by series so I had to compare 3 series sales vs 4 series sales (arguably 4 door vs 2 door). Over the last 5 months, the 4 series sales percentage compared to 3 series was 32.6% in the USA, which is strangely close to our numbers. I then looked at 2015 Dec YTD sales and low and behold it was 32.77%.

My hypothesis:

Contrary to popular and anecdotal belief, M3s are outselling M4s at about a 2:1 rate, which coincides with the apparent lack of dealer and allocation availability (allocations are getting used up and cars selling like hotcakes) vs. readily available M4s. If supply is at a constant rate, which is how factories are designed, then demand would leave us with this scenario. Or our forum community is very atypical representation and it is purely coincidence.

I am far from a statistician but I found the concept to be interesting.

[Xtabi]

Originally Posted by Vooj

Related to this thread and the other very similar thread, if you takes verts out of the numbers the threads show a 39.7% and 39.8% M4 take rate. This got me interested in seeing how the M3 vs M4 sales compared. Unfortunately BMW only breaks down their monthly sales by series so I had to compare 3 series sales vs 4 series sales (arguably 4 door vs 2 door). Over the last 5 months, the 4 series sales percentage compared to 3 series was 32.6% in the USA, which is strangely close to our numbers. I then looked at 2015 Dec YTD sales and low and behold it was 32.77%.

My hypothesis:

Contrary to popular and anecdotal belief, M3s are outselling M4s at about a 2:1 rate, which coincides with the apparent lack of dealer and allocation availability (allocations are getting used up and cars selling like hotcakes) vs. readily available M4s. If supply is at a constant rate, which is how factories are designed, then demand would leave us with this scenario. Or our forum community is very atypical representation and it is purely coincidence.

I am far from a statistician but I found the concept to be interesting.

From what I've heard dealer allocations M4:M3 are 5+:1.

I have no idea of that is true or not but I read it from dealer sponsors from this forum.

[hova00]

M3 everyday and twice on sunday

[iamjim]

Originally Posted by hova00

M3 everyday and twice on sunday

Religious?

[RobC2]

M3. Something about the rear quarters of the M4 doesn't quite work for me.

[Irishsig]

It's all subjective.

Even though I'm a diehard 2 door RWD 6MT guy I didn't vote because I find both platforms sexy as hell.
I couldn't be happier with my M4 but I'd love to see a rendition of the M3's rear flared wheel arches on an M4.
I thought there was one on the boards a few months back, but can't find it.

['Cane]

I bought my M4 because I thought it looked better than M3.

[DBACE]

Well I have to say, when a few physicists and I got together down the street at the Jefferson Lab, we were able to see that........hold on...........wife needs me. Be back in a few hours.

[Vooj]

Originally Posted by Xtabi

From what I've heard dealer allocations M4:M3 are 5+:1.

I have no idea of that is true or not but I read it from dealer sponsors from this forum.

It could very well be the case, as the M3 and M4 are tiny slices of the 3 and 4 series markets and could have huge variability. The numbers just seemed way too similar, but it could be completely coincidental since there is no model breakdown in the available numbers. If that is case, then the M4 is propping up 4 series numbers by a substantial amount to the tune of 11% of 4 series and 1% of 3 series if based on the E90/92 annual sales average.

I should really be writing a thesis right now and not doing hypothetical and meaningless BMW math but it is so much more fun.

[Alvinized52]

Originally Posted by Vooj

It could very well be the case, as the M3 and M4 are tiny slices of the 3 and 4 series markets and could have huge variability. The numbers just seemed way too similar, but it could be completely coincidental since there is no model breakdown in the available numbers. If that is case, then the M4 is propping up 4 series numbers by a substantial amount to the tune of 11% of 4 series and 1% of 3 series if based on the E90/92 annual sales average.

I should really be writing a thesis right now and not doing hypothetical and meaningless BMW math but it is so much more fun.

Very Interesting observation....

[Ryan2103a]

M4 if you don't have kids, M3 if you do. That's how I decided.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by Ryan2103a

M4 if you don't have kids, M3 if you do. That's how I decided.

On whether or not to have kids?

[damnitBobby]

I think they both look good, with the M4 looking a bit sexier b/c of its coupe lines. If you only need back seats for rare occasions then I'd probably get an M4 also.

But there's something attractive about a 4 door sedan that is just as practical as it is fast.

[Gibson6594]

Originally Posted by damnitBobby

But there's something attractive about a 4 door sedan that is just as practical as it is fast.

That's also one of the things I like about the M3. It's one of the best performing sedans you can buy. M4 is much lower on the list of coupes.

[onetrader]

Originally Posted by RobC2

M3. Something about the rear quarters of the M4 doesn't quite work for me.

YES! M4 Looks AWFUL from 3/4 view.

[landshark99]

I sold my GTR to get a fun performance car with 4 doors, so for me the M3.
Two doors are fun in the beginning but get old if you need to have access for 4 people