Reality check : X5 prices !

[Meiac09]

because of this key phrase you see in every advert. for cars in the US.

"Tax, Title, License and Registration Not Included"

If you bought a loaded X5 in Maine:
$67,000 for the car (if you buy it in Mass or NH, $7K "adjustment" at the one dealer we have)
$3,350 for sales tax
$2,500 for Excise Tax (approximation, a $45,000 car runs $1700)
$1,000 for bulls*it dealer fees
$250 for plates/registration fees
IIRC, in Europe, the car comes from the dealer with the VAT (granted ours is a lot less) paid, the Plates welded on and the Reg paid for for a year or two.
Also consider the exchange rate at the moment...

[X5audi]

Originally Posted by Yosemite_sam

The UK just gets ripped off without any clear explanation (excl taxes UK is one of the most expensive countries to buy a car, Ireland is bad as well)

Sorry, just had to.

Ireland = country
England = country
Wales = country
Scotland = country

UK (or Great Britain) = all of them, not a country

Otherwise, yes, I agree.

It must also be known that although the CAD is worth more than the USD now (), Canadian cars are still significantly more expensive.

The UK car prices have been ridiculous for quite some time now; it has more to do with exchange rates than anything else. The British pound is worth nearly twice as much as the USD.

[CKP]

New prices are indeed very high, and I agree that BMW will charge what it can get away with. BUT, if you have a look at UK second hand values or pre-registered car with <1000 miles, you will see drops of almost 15-20%. Some '0' miles cars are going for 42K with the usual 8K worth of extras from BMW dealers.

I think this 15% drop prepresents the 'real' UK value of the X5. So, beware when you come to sell.

I have had to cancel my order (£51K) as my family planning went wrong during the wait for it, and we will have 4 kids by May 2008, and the X5 is just too small for a family of 6.

Good bye X5 world.

[jayo]

Small point, Ireland is not part of the UK.

UK stands for the United Kingdom, which includes England, Scotland and Wales.

Originally Posted by X5audi

Sorry, just had to.

Ireland = country
England = country
Wales = country
Scotland = country

UK (or Great Britain) = all of them, not a country

Otherwise, yes, I agree.

It must also be known that although the CAD is worth more than the USD now (), Canadian cars are still significantly more expensive.

The UK car prices have been ridiculous for quite some time now; it has more to do with exchange rates than anything else. The British pound is worth nearly twice as much as the USD.

[Boston X5 4.4]

Originally Posted by X5audi

Sorry, just had to.

Ireland = country
England = country
Wales = country
Scotland = country

UK (or Great Britain) = all of them, not a country

Sorry, you are wrong

[StumpyPete]

Originally Posted by X5audi

Ireland = country
England = country
Wales = country
Scotland = country

UK (or Great Britain) = all of them, not a country

Sorry....just had to - you are wrong on Great Britain ... it doesn't include Ireland. Great Britain is primarily the Island comprising the three countries England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland is part of the UK but not Great Britain (a UK passport is for the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland"). Eire (Ireland) is a completely separate state.

[jayo]

Sorry Stumpy, you are correct, I forgot about Northern Ireland

Originally Posted by StumpyPete

Sorry....just had to - you are wrong on Great Britain ... it doesn't include Ireland. Great Britain is primarily the Island comprising the three countries England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland is part of the UK but not Great Britain (a UK passport is for the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland"). Eire (Ireland) is a completely separate state.

[Yosemite_sam]

Ignoring the Republic of Ireland and their struggle for independance there is a consistant pattern here : all of you (Ireland / Northern Ireland / Wales /Scotland / and England) are getting screwed from a pricing point of view..... watched some tv programs on BBC on the topic and it does appear that manufacturers keep the prices artificially high and they seem to be doing so with some sort of mutual understanding (or else you'd see much more competition on price)....................or maybe it is caused by the incremental cost of having to move the steering wheel to the wrong side of the car

Sam

[billjet]

Well I get consolation in the fact that "market driven prices" are not only a fact in Canada. It seems that those inflated prices are also in order in the British Isles.

Point taken: "If you wanna bring down those market driven prices, just don't buy the goods..."

... Well I did just that. After 20 years as a loyal and happy BMW customer, in the last days of january I will say goodbye to my tenth BMW ( 05 X5 ) over those years.

In will come a more down to earth priced ( at least in Canada ) MB ML 320 CDI.

'till the market gets back in touch with reality I will certainly miss the BMW experience but won't miss those imposed runflat tires ( that should be an option ) and won't miss the dealer installed hitch ...

I will miss this great forum though but should be lurking from time to time.

I'll probably rejoin the "familly" if and when the 3.0 Diesel reach our shores
at an "american price".

Thanks all and it was more than pleasant to read comments from non US residents.

In the mean time, enjoy your X and Happy Holidays!

[X5audi]

ALRIGHT, the fact that Ireland is not part of the UK has been pointed out to me 3 times now. Sorry!

Anyway, the UK is not a country...