Will 3 Series Owners Skip Meals to Pay For Their Cars?

Will 3 Series Owners Skip Meals to Pay For Their Cars?
An Automotive News interview with Rich Brekus, general manager of product planning and strategy at BMW of North America in Automotive News discussed the topic of the high cost of gas and the effect on some BMW owners.

"We have a lot of things going for us, but the market itself is definitely tough. We will see how it works out," Brekus said. "I think it is hard for people who have been a luxury-car buyer not to (remain) a luxury-car buyer."

BMW's sales momentum with the re-engineered X5 crossover, and the more powerful 2008 5-series are expected to be unaffected

But the vehicle line most vulnerable to expensive gasoline might be the 3 series, BMW's top seller.

"Well certainly Today, no. But "at $5 per gallon, I think all bets are off," especially for the 3-series sedan, says Brekus. "We certainly have a group of 3-series buyers who stretch" to buy or lease that model, he says.

"They may have to decide, 'Does that mean I go out for dinner one less time a month?'


Read Article

LecsucksLecsucks - 5/30/2007 1:05:08 PM
+8 Boost
The same can be said about other entry level luxury cars.


S4cabriofoxoneS4cabriofoxone - 5/30/2007 5:20:51 PM
-2 Boost
Are you saying leases aren't cheap on the others? Not true. A4, IS, C, G35... you can all get them for under $200/mo. with a respectable deposit.


enthusiastx11enthusiastx11 - 6/1/2007 1:18:14 AM
+3 Boost
xero:

get a grip. a good portion of buyers in the entire entry level catetgory stretch to buy their cars. bmw, mercedes, lexus, audi...all the same.

badge is an desire for some of those people stretching to buy. for example, why buy an ES when it's got a camry powertrain with some soft leathe for $7,000 more. badge maybe?


Agent009Agent009 - 5/30/2007 1:19:48 PM
+8 Boost
The BMW weight control program? Hmmm has a nice ring to it.


CarboyCarboy - 5/30/2007 9:03:07 PM
+5 Boost
"The Ultimate Diet Machine"

LOSE 50 POUNDS BY NEXT MONTH!!!!!


enthusiastx11enthusiastx11 - 6/1/2007 1:19:44 AM
+1 Boost
americans could definitely benefit from skipping meals...whatever works!


gsh23gsh23 - 5/30/2007 2:10:24 PM
-2 Boost
well when you eat steak every night you cant afford a bmw!


S4cabriofoxoneS4cabriofoxone - 5/30/2007 5:24:00 PM
-2 Boost
Yeah, you're right. I'm fat and stupid. Now, go to sleep; your mother has set your curfew back by an hour.


FerrarisR4meFerrarisR4me - 5/30/2007 3:04:44 PM
+3 Boost
I wasn't really considering a Beemer before, but get a BMW and loose my beer gut? Not a bad deal at all.


adoptgreyhoundsadoptgreyhounds - 5/30/2007 6:38:48 PM
+1 Boost
It's Bimmer for the cars and Beemer or the cycles.


J328CoupeJ328Coupe - 5/30/2007 3:26:18 PM
+1 Boost
i really dont understand all the lexus people thinking that their cars and clientel are superior to bmw, dont they realize they are driving a glorified toyota?


S4cabriofoxoneS4cabriofoxone - 5/30/2007 5:26:29 PM
0 Boost
I am so tired of the BMW fanboys and the Lexus fanboys... bashing other brands, bashing their owners. It sounds like a broken record that just won't turn off.


w209w114w209w114 - 5/31/2007 10:26:06 AM
0 Boost
J328Coupe,

SHhhhhhhhh! not too loud. Dont you remember that they are the most sensible buyers? They arent interested in the badges of prestige. Instead, they are modestly happy with their overpriced toyotas.


david999david999 - 5/30/2007 4:23:05 PM
+2 Boost

I thought the badge whores bought BMWs because of prestige, and don't care about money.


enthusiastx11enthusiastx11 - 6/1/2007 1:22:28 AM
+1 Boost
no...that's the lexus buyers who buy a car for badge alone....they don't care if it's really a toyota. they want that lexus badge! (which was modelled after mercedes logo of course along with the model nomenclature.)


S4cabriofoxoneS4cabriofoxone - 5/30/2007 5:26:58 PM
+2 Boost
Again: I am so tired of the BMW fanboys and the Lexus fanboys... bashing other brands, bashing their owners. It sounds like a broken record that just won't turn off.



RupertRupert - 5/30/2007 6:56:19 PM
+4 Boost
Oh yawn.
Tell us something else completely irrelevant, please.
Tell us about your dog, or the number of gaps on your Jeeps dash, or how many pennies you can hide in them.


RupertRupert - 5/31/2007 11:04:20 AM
+1 Boost
And why compare a 3.5 V6 with a 2.5 I6? Surely compare it with the ES250 or the ES350 with the 330/335?


enthusiastx11enthusiastx11 - 6/1/2007 1:24:16 AM
0 Boost
the 3-series and ES are not in the same class. compact sport sedan vs. large luxury sedan.

the IS is the 3-series competitor.

don't you even know the brand you love?


S4cabriofoxoneS4cabriofoxone - 5/30/2007 11:23:49 PM
+1 Boost
Trail-rated center differential?


Bmw8terBmw8ter - 5/30/2007 10:37:44 PM
0 Boost
Hust wait till the 4 year, 50k mile service plan runs out, in 3 years from enjoying the BMW dream machine too much. Mealtime won't be the only thing owners will be skipping.


Bmw8terBmw8ter - 5/30/2007 10:38:04 PM
0 Boost
*Just*


Will_Will_ - 5/30/2007 11:12:44 PM
+2 Boost
No, this doesn't apply to Lexus drivers as some have inferred. Lexus owners aren't desperate enough for the badge on their hoods as BMW owners, apparently.

On a separate but similar topic...Has anyone watched that reality show "The Desperate Housewives of the OC?" Every single girl/daughter on that show, from about 4 or 5 different families, has a 3-Series.


S4cabriofoxoneS4cabriofoxone - 5/30/2007 11:24:51 PM
-3 Boost
You kind of made it backwards... people are more desperate for the BMW badge than the Lexus badge.


XYZZXYZZ - 5/31/2007 7:15:06 AM
+2 Boost

even before gas prices have forced bimmer owners to have ramen dinners, the evidence of marginal buyer/badge whores was evident in EVERY major newspaper.

in the classifieds: count the number of peeple trying to unload beemers. count the number of lexus owners trying to sell THEIR cars.

like the number of marginal homeowners losing their homes due to increased interest charges, i predict the number of bmws in the classifieds will EXPLODE.






XYZZXYZZ - 5/31/2007 7:18:13 AM
+2 Boost
...compared to ALREADY large numbers. (vs. other lux brands)


RupertRupert - 5/31/2007 7:21:40 PM
+1 Boost
The 350 is the base version???
Why no 250?


enthusiastx11enthusiastx11 - 6/1/2007 1:27:03 AM
0 Boost
bmws are more affordable to lease due to higher residual values.
they are more expensive to buy however due to higher MSRPs.

and why do you keep comparing apples to oranges? ES to 3-series....


enthusiastx11enthusiastx11 - 6/1/2007 1:30:25 AM
0 Boost
loaded IS350 $45,000.
loaded 335i $55,000.

however, you can lease the 335i for about the same...and sometimes a little less...than the IS350.


lewissalemlewissalem - 6/1/2007 4:07:11 PM
0 Boost
As bad as the media wants gas to go up to $5 a gallon, IT IS NOT. Could it happen? Sure. But right now it's only about 5-7 dollars more per gallon to fill up my 328i.


S4cabriofoxoneS4cabriofoxone - 6/2/2007 2:33:42 AM
0 Boost
No, you really can't, formula1. I've never seen a new Lexus car that can sell for its real base price.

BTW, huu76 is Canadian and uses Canadian dollars. If you're so ignorant that you can't figure that out from your post...


M53RM53R - 6/2/2007 9:56:22 AM
-1 Boost
Lexus only has high prices in N.A, because they already brainwashed you people. In the rest of the world lexus costs less than BMW.

The IS300 ( no 350 for us ) costs just as much as a 320i, both base models. But they did so much advertisement in N.A so that they can charge more and you people fall for it.

I wonder what will happen if lexus is prices similarly to BMW in the rest of the world.. maybe lexus would sell 10 units yearly?


Will_Will_ - 6/4/2007 8:54:31 AM
+1 Boost
Didn't Agent009 release an article a couple of months ago that showed you could lease a new BMW 3-Series for less than a Toyota Camry? Don't lease sales make up a large portion of BMW's North American sales? Retaining all this information, isn't Lexus still the number one-selling brand in North America?


XYZZXYZZ - 6/6/2007 4:09:02 AM
+1 Boost

people also buy toyotas and lexuses to KEEP for longer than the payment book and warranty periods. because they KNOW these cars will last and won't put big holes in their bank accounts for repairs no longer covered by warranties.

this is a large part of the reason you DO NOT SEE very many lexuses for sale in the classifieds.

it's been hashed over before-- bmw offers "free" maintenance and repairs (on warranty) for those already skittish about the KNOWN high maintenance/repair costs.
Copyright 2026 AutoSpies.com, LLC