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  #1  
Old 08-06-2012, 06:28 PM
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Most expensive xenons ever!!!!

So I decided to configure a 2013 sDrive28i. I always choose xenons first, usually expecting to pay $500 as an option. Cost to add xenons is $5,150, since when you add the "Lighting Package", it also forces you to add the "Premium Package".

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  #2  
Old 08-06-2012, 06:57 PM
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Hey SG...good to read you again!
I too have fiddle with 'builds' recently, and come away shaking my head. BMWNA is obviously trying to jack the pricing to get more in line with their absurd 'out of USA' pricing plans.

I look forward to the '$10G steering wheel', that one can only get by buying that 'pkg' of crappy, unsupported NAV, a pair of sunroofs no one cares about 20 mins after they get the car, rear heated seats no one sits in often, Blue Tooth, (incredulous that they can charge for it), auto braking radar, and on and on.

Hope all is well in AZ, my friend.
BR, D & V
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Last edited by motordavid; 08-06-2012 at 08:15 PM.
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Old 08-06-2012, 07:52 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by motordavid View Post
Hey SG...good to read you again!
I too have fiddle with 'builds' recently, and come away shaking my head. BMWNA is obviously trying to jack the pricing to get more in line with their absurd 'out of USA' pricing plans.

I look forward to the '$10G steering wheel', that one can only get by buying that 'pkg' of crappy, unsupported NAV, a pair of sunroofs no one cares about 20 mins after they get the car, rear heated seats no one sits in often, Blue Tooth, (incredulous that they can charge for it), auto breaking radar, and on and on.

Hope all is well in AZ, my friend.
BR, D & V
Hey there Uncle Motor. Yeah, it seems like they are pulling you in with a low base msrp, then gouging you if you want that new led DRL look.
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Old 08-10-2012, 06:35 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperGreg View Post
Hey there Uncle Motor. Yeah, it seems like they are pulling you in with a low base msrp, then gouging you if you want that new led DRL look.
BMW did this with the F30 3er last year as well, bundling premium package with xenons. They undid it starting in the April timeframe (2013 model changeover).

BMW NA and every car maker in the US continuously moves towards more packaging and fewer a la carte options in order to satisfy dealers, who want to be able to move vehicles off the lot easier and minimise option permutations.
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Old 08-10-2012, 06:45 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AzNMpower32 View Post
BMW did this with the F30 3er last year as well, bundling premium package with xenons. They undid it starting in the April timeframe (2013 model changeover).

BMW NA and every car maker in the US continuously moves towards more packaging and fewer a la carte options in order to satisfy dealers, who want to be able to move vehicles off the lot easier and minimise option permutations.
...
M, that part I understand: have cars on the lot that Biff & Buffy think they want to buy/probably lease.

SG's point, and my rant is that one is hard pressed to pick off a few things one wants, (to order rather than buy off the freakin lot), without having to check several 'packages' that are full of stuff one may not want, but most of which contain 'stuff' that are way overpriced and simply gross margin propper uppers for the mfg.
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Old 08-12-2012, 12:10 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by motordavid View Post
...
M, that part I understand: have cars on the lot that Biff & Buffy think they want to buy/probably lease.

SG's point, and my rant is that one is hard pressed to pick off a few things one wants, (to order rather than buy off the freakin lot), without having to check several 'packages' that are full of stuff one may not want, but most of which contain 'stuff' that are way overpriced and simply gross margin propper uppers for the mfg.
I think it's a matter of corporate policy/principle. If individual customers start picking apart packages, then the whole point of developing a sales pricing plan is defeated. BMW NA does occasionally allow a special order and there is a process but this is only for options that are typically not offered (Individual Sound system, Piano black trim, etc...) and is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

On every car, I'd always like to get things a la carte. On a 3er, I want the sport seats, suspension, and steering wheel but not the glitzy bodywork. I want 4-way electric lumbar but not electric seats. But ultimately BMW is in the business to make money, and if ordering policies are overridden frequently then suddenly you'll get oddball, cancelled orders on lots and messed up accounting.
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Old 08-15-2012, 09:53 AM
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I too hate the "bundling" technique. I understand if the dealers prefer to have certain packages that they find attractive, but if you are ordering a car, you should be able to choose from a full menu instead of having to take a bunch of stuff you don't want in order to get an item like xenons. I built an xdrive28i the other day and was a little surprised at the final MSRP seeing as I had to choose packages instead of individual options. I guess some people may go ahead and drop the extra cash to get all the items they want, but I won't. The bundling just makes the BMW entry cars too expensive for what they are by the time you actually get the items you want, imo. Not that BMW is the only manufacturer doing this though. We shopped around Ford, VW, Toyota and a few others recently and noticed it there as well.
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Old 08-15-2012, 11:08 AM
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M,

Quote:
Originally Posted by AzNMpower32 View Post
I think it's a matter of corporate policy/principle. If individual customers start picking apart packages, then the whole point of developing a sales pricing plan is defeated.

Typical Big Co 1980s 'customer oriented' corp policy, and nothing to do with 'a sales plan', imo. It has to do primarily with BMW, et al, 'plan' to get customers to pay extra for items that are 'standard'/much lower cost on other brands, and is a gross margin % padder...

BMW NA does occasionally allow a special order and there is a process but this is only for options that are typically not offered (Individual Sound system, Piano black trim, etc...) and is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

I knew that; not my point, and it doesn't really address the issue.

On every car, I'd always like to get things a la carte. On a 3er, I want the sport seats, suspension, and steering wheel but not the glitzy bodywork. I want 4-way electric lumbar but not electric seats. But ultimately BMW is in the business to make money, and if ordering policies are overridden frequently then suddenly you'll get oddball, cancelled orders on lots and messed up accounting.
Not suggesting BMW not 'make money', but as a ridiculous example of allowing 'customization', one can order a freakin Subway sandwich any way one wants. Back at the car buying ranch, a car purchase is the largest buy, next to a house, and a car is a rapidly depreciating 'asset' on top of that 'annual income' sized cost. "Ordering policies"?: I must have missed that onerous point, esp in regards to a $50-$100G buy, in Biz school or my 30 year career.

"Oddball, canceled orders", yes it could and does happen. "Messed up accounting", don't think so, and that's what good accounting and audit depts are for.

I am not really shopping for a new $50-$100 G car, of any brand. But as a consumer who might be, I take umbrage with BMW and other brands that force one to take a freakin 'package' full of overpriced stuff to get the item(s) that one wants in their dealer ordered new $80G car. I realize BMW does not care about my cares or rants. But, to couch a defense in your terms is akin to suggesting, "Our customer methods are great...well, they are no worse than anyone else's".
BR, mD
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Last edited by motordavid; 08-15-2012 at 12:03 PM.
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  #9  
Old 08-15-2012, 11:43 AM
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Besides, xenons should be standard equipment on a BMW anyway, imo. Especially if they are concerned about being considered top manufacturer of safe vehicles.
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Old 08-15-2012, 04:23 PM
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I have to disagree with my good friend MD.

While I am not particularly supportive of BMW NA sales policies, limiting option combinations does have its basis in engineering design and manufacturing, not just in shaping customer preferences. There is some shaping going on, sure, but there is still a cost to offering additional variants of a product.

If it was just one option, no problem. But if you have 50 options to deal with, that is a lot of variants to build. Each of them has to be confirmed by the engineering team as being plausible (ie, you can have 18" tires with a third row seat but you can't have 18" tires with 19" tires, you can have red or black but not both, you can have sport or regular suspension but not both) and that compatibility table has to be maintained. Apart from the engineering side, parts and service information has to be maintained for all combinations. When we sell assemblies into the automotive business (parts that have been through PPAP) we typically have to ensure that spares are available for 15 years or whatever the OEM specifies. If only a small percentage of people select one option, that is a pretty high support cost amortized over those few purchasers. Then we move to the distribution side of the business instead of the manufacturing end, and we find that each dealer ends up having to stock more models to appeal to the likes of Biff and Buffy who see and like the X5 with the white exterior, and with the red interior, but want a different radio than the one in stock. So the dealer is left with that vehicle in stock, and orders another one. This drives up inventory cost in a business that operates on small single digit margins, at the retail and wholesale ends.

Subway can deal with thousands of combinations because they don't really care if Thai chili hot sauce goes with bbq chicken or not, it is your risk, and because they don't stock sandwiches, just ingredients.

We bought a resale condo, not a new one, but it was a much larger purchase than a vehicle. Three preset colour schemes. Four floor plans Any other changes were the owner's responsibliity post-possession. Every unit has the same range, same fridge, same dishwasher, same shower door, and that has to reduce costs. They presold all of them over a year before construction started, so they seemed to know what they were doing.

By comparison, a car is a small purchase. My car option strategy is to buy a higher line car, with fewer options. You get all the engineering benefits, without padding that goes into high priced options. They are called options because you don't really need them. They are simply more things to break. People have just been conditioned to buy fully loaded as standard practice.

All that said, I like Xenons and would want them. And I special ordered my last four BMWs, to get rid of useless options that I didn't want to pay for or repair, like automatic transmissions. With the 3 series I even got them to build outside the defined package (no sunroof for headroom, no power seats for headroom, but with heated seats that only came in a package with those two). Had to wait months. And there was a priority ordering charge.
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