Is the BMW X6 Piling Up On Dealer Lots?

You have to admire the "unbiased journalism" of teknik. HA! This quote is great: "Heartbroken enthusiasts and rabid fans will rarely ever admit that their brand can do anything wrong. Is the BMW X6 a colossal sales failure?" To help us answer this question teknik, why didn't you post the names of these major dealerships? Were they concetrated in one area or throughout the country? How do these lackluster "articles" ever get posted?

Wow! you sound a little upset. want to tell us about it?

All I'm asking for is a little research rather than writing a piece that just reinforces your own beliefs. Any article directed to the "heartbroken enthusiasts and rabid fans" has little merit in my book.

understood.

Staar, the AUTHOR of an article should have to provide the PROOF. Teknik writes: "A quick search and phone call to various major BMW dealers shows there at least two or three at every dealership. Some dealerships have upwards of ten units in stock. " Did he call every dealership? If not, which ones did he call? Were they in the same geographic area? Give us names of the dealerships that have upwards of ten units in stock. This article is primarily pure speculation. The X6 might not be selling well -- just provide the real evidence instead of giving us: "ugh, I made some calls and there are a ton out there..."

When my FX35 lease ends in May, I would much rather lease the X6. I think the grille on the new FX looks weird. However, at $20,000 more for the X6, it's an awfully hard sell. Leasing, loaded, is about $650 for the FX50s versus $925 for the BMW X6 6-cylinder.

Too far off in my book. I'll just buy a bra for the front of the FX...

I call Bullshit.....you can't lease a FX50s at $650 a month (only drive off's).........I don't care who you know.....

lol @ "rabid fans" wow someone is really bias insults in an article you have no credibility what so ever. It is my impression that one BMW hasnt shipped but so many X6 vehicles here in the first place, and the dealers here in NC cant keep them in stock. Im not sure where you are coming up with this stuff, let alone comparing a car that costs alot less than the BMW X5 with a car that costs more than The X5 a FX50 costs about as much as the 6 cylinder X6.

WOW! I was just thinking about posting the same thought after "surfing" dealer's web sites looking for an X5.. local dealer has 2 X6's.. one has been there for 4 months.. then find another dealer with 6 of them, this one has 5,..etc..

About as "sold out" as the Porsche Cayenne was..

Great Vehicle, BUT Wrong Time, WRONG PRICE!!!

Now offer it in a Diesel, trailer hitch, 10K lower priced (with Premium and Cold packages, and Navigation as standard) and make it useful as a SUV.. then then will move a little better.. AND offer killer leases!!

(I know.. killer leases ARE coming!!!)

Teknik is just an anti-BMW flamewar instigator, you can pretty much disregard anything he says as just baseless rhetoric. Teknik, the X6 was sold out for all of 2008 to consumers, not just dealers. How many dealers did you call LAST year trying to get one? My guess is "zero", because if you had you'd have been told "sorry, they're sold out". Dealers were paying OVER MSRP for BMW's executive X6 DEMOS last year. DEALERS. OVER MSRP. But yes, you are correct, you can actually buy 2009 X6's now. Maybe you have't looked outside the make believe fantasy world you live in though, because what you'd see is sales of ALL vehicles, especially expensive ones, have fallen since this whole little recession hit. You make it sound like dealers are sold out of everything except X6's. Sorry chuckles, but they aren't the only expensive vehicles available on dealer lots. You want a Jaguar XF? That was a hot car for about 10 seconds. What about a Lexus IS-F or LS, or Mercedes AMG? What about a BMW M3 or 535? Maybe a Porsche model, ANY Porsche model? You got it, and with a ton of money off to boot. New car sales are non-existant right now. Everything is sitting. That includes X6's. But in the case of the X6, it was never a volume car anyway. By the way, BMW sold more X5's than Infiniti did FX's, even though the X5 costs more.

Staar, that's cute, but you are confused. Show me where BMW compared the X6 to the FX? You can't. Because they didn't. Infiniti is aiming UPWARDS at BMW, MB, Porsche, Range Rover, etc. Those guys are not aiming downwards at Infiniti. BMW haters can stand atop the mountain and shout till you are blue in the face that the X6 and FX are competitors, and I am sure Infiniti would be happy if the two were cross shopped. They can sell the FX all day as a "bargain priced X6" if they want. Good for them. BMW on the other hand couldn't care less, they're not aiming to sell X6's as "expensive FX's", they're targeting people who might buy a Cayenne GTS or Turbo, or an ML63 AMG, or a Range Rover Sport. And it's priced as such. And guess what? Those are low volume vehicles too, vehicles that are also readily available right now on dealer lots. The only reason they wouldn't be is... drumroll please... artificially reduced supply. The economy is hurting everyone. How many ML63's did Mercedes sell over the last eight months? How many Cayenne GTS and Turbo's were sold? Range Rover Sport's and Supercharged's? Yeah, that's what I thought. So go sit in the corner with your FX. Here's your sign.

I don't know if the X6 is a failure, but it for sure is priced to high for what it is supposed to be.

why are you comparing an FX and an X6? they're not even in the same class. tens of thousands apart. oh...and fyi...$40,000 cars usually sell more volume than $70,000+ cars. duh.

I love BMW but come on now, the X6 is horrid. Just because I am a BMW fan doesn't mean that I have to love everything that they put out. I love and respect all of their cars but hate the fact that they decided to do SUV's/SAV's/ABC's (whatever). I wish (for the brand's sake) BMW would go back to their roots.

I live in Richmond, Virginia. (Current city population - 190,000; metropolitan area population - 1,100,000) Not exactly a major urban center, but big enough to sport two BMW showrooms, both of them owned by the same company.

I did a quick spot check. The two showrooms have a combined total of 6 BMW X6s in inventory.

Regardless of what you thought of the X6 when it was launched, you have to admit that BMW has a good marketing apparatus. I think bad timing has more to do with moribund X6 sales than anything else. Remember that sales of almost all car makes are down significantly because of the credit crunch, especially large gas-guzzling vehicles like the X6. (I was never a fan of the X6, by the way.)

Well I said that before. Why should I buy a car so expensive if the X5 is better with a lot of extra space?...X5 will follow the AMC Eagle...: extintion...not because is bad if not cause is not profitable (even for the buyers, which will be very few cause is not a useful car as the X5). You´ll see it fall (not to fall due it never was able to climb) down very soon. and it is very likely that the V5 will be a low volume car as the R class of MB. but it will be cheaper so at least, BMW should be able to sell it better than MB the R class.

I think we all knew deep down inside that this would probably happen.

I live in the NY tristate area and travel between NYC, Westchester and Faifield counties on a regular basis. Since the X6 hit the streets, I have seen 2. These are affluent areas where the biggest auto labels you see regularly are BMW and BENZ. X6, non existent... I agree X6 = FAIL

The FX makes better sense price wise and the update looks good. I saw a 75K dollar X6 at a dealer expecting it to be the TT-V8...it wasnt. the TT-V8s climb to the 90's, at least they used to.

hmmm, those prices miraculously also fall in line with the ML63, Cayenne GTS and Turbo, Range Rover Sport and Supercharged, etc. I wonder if maybe, just maybe, BMW never intended the X6 to compete with the FX? Could it be that maybe, just maybe, they designed it to be a status symbol, a fashion statement, just like those other very expensive vehicles? I know, I'm talking crazy here.

I've only seen 1 X6 in Ohio and I think the lady was on a test drive or just bought it. But I see loads of X5s.

Awesome. It's not like every other car is exactly flying off the lots either

Agreed, but this is specific to the X6. Overpriced for a so so vehicle. I dont hate on BMWs in general, I feel that they are way overpriced for what u get.

Both are nice SUV's if that is what you like. However, I am not surprised that the FX outsells it as it is newer, faster, and in my opinion looks better.

Wow, BMW owners have some sense after all

X6 = brought to you by the ultimate car rental company and inspired by scrunched up Big Mac

I saw one, just one, X6 all of last year '08, I think it was during Euro Cup soccer, it even had a German flag stuck on it... the word "pathetic" came to mind :)

In West Palm Beach there are several X6's sat on the lot, along with just about anything else you could dream off. Rolls Royce 2 door, more Bentley's than you can shake a stick at, R8's, Ferrari's and Lambo's galore. Anything that was rare 1 or 2 years ago is available off the lot, pick your color etc.

thank you. Better watch out though, some folks don't take kindly to common sense in these parts.

I'd say the X6 is now officially beyond the point of no return. Even if BMW readjusted the X6's pricing to be competitive with it's segment, they'd probably still be in the same position. Who knows though? They might be able to make a complete turnaround via repricing. They really need to drop the X6's price to the X5's current prices. And drop the x5 prices down even further....and get rid of the V8 X5 altogether; the 4.8L is totally pointless now that the 4.4tt produces more power and similar economy. This is just like the case with the Caddy 3.5 EFI vs 3.6 DI...the 3.6 has similar economy with more power. What's the point?

this is funny.

2 or 3 X6s on every dealer lot! and that's 'piling up?' so what do you call the situation at the lexus dealer with dozens of LX and GX models on the lot? i'm still laughing.

competitors would KILL to have just 2 or 3 of a $60-80k car on the lot.

Give it up Huu Union 76. Lexus is the dumpster like everyone else. They are in worse condition than everyone else since the are concentrated in the US where their sales went down the toilet and in Europe they do not even register. The see through shine is off Lexus.

Lexus still sold more cars than any other luxo brand in USA in 2008. and they have a new RX and HS250h coming soon.

Teknik: wow you have that much time on your hands to decide to start calling tons of BMW dealerships to see what their X6 inventory levels are? Your statement that the X6 is a failure because so many dealers have two or three on their lots...WOW! The world is coming to an end! Speaking of fans,let me guess: you are a rabid Audi fan.

Everything is piling up on lots, no just BMWs. For example, in Long Beach all the MBs are developing rust for the sea salt as they have been piling up at record numbers. All automakers are going to hit hard in 2009. The party is over.

"The BMW X6, once the automotive darling of BMW enthusiasts"

???

I don't think any die-hard BMW fans really warmed up to the X6.

His statement was obviously way too far fetched but I also loved the X6. I test drove one and I really liked the driving feel and the engine power is just amazing. If it was in the market before I bought my X5, I would have bought one for sure.

FX sales were awful until last month. Not sure why they had a big jump. The X6 is odd, BMW said they will sell tons, then sales monthly don't add up. BMW says they are all sold but then they are on dealer lots. Then you look at inventory and they move quickly off lots.

Bottom line, its big, ugly with no utility and the FX is somehow uglier and where is the utility??? Amazing people buy these things.

if the X6 were piling up on lots everywhere, why is it the only car that is not being offered with a special offer on bmw usa's site? look:

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/FinancialServices/FinancingOffer/Default.aspx?enc=/eiUrYOZAxtXbrazY6tfkj8+T6EBSg+5SkZXNkS96RSpkPmk6+yCDJyoIMzTLJ/Mu1HYJIBw5Sy6MYhsWJDsHlNCyGyj7ddvZI5qulcfOoPoUXg1x+aS/nNxUhYGelnrHt8pUHXvU8o3GsYnpdgDBUxOqA0NYyk0K8ZYDIws3/xQSO89wbxboMYFaYlVjBci

cause that won´t change the mind of the buyers and will hit harder the presige of the brand in this particular proyect. For the people that do not have the correct perspective: The X6 is not overpriced, honestly I think is not practic but is supperior by far to the FX, If they add extra space forget the coupe profile, they could kill their own X5 with that design.

Whether the X6 is a failure remains to be seen. I have seen quite a few of them on Jamaican roads, so I would say they may be doing well worldwide. The United States is not the only market there is, in case it wasn't obvious. I agree with Teknik, however, that BMW fans are some of the most apologetic there are. Them and Honda fans will blame themselves for everything before admitting that they bought a rubbish car. I should know, my best friend is a rabid BMW fan and I can't get him to admit that his hands are always full with that damn 540i.

The whole of the US car market is down by 40%, and you choose to pick the X6 for comparison. Keep up the smart work.

Several issues here for X6...#1 Sales for almost everything are down. #2 Sales for high-end vehicles are severely down. #3 Devoted BMW customers compare X6 to X5 and are choosing the X5. #4 Competition in this category is fierce...top of line FX, ML, Cayenne, etc. and all are rotting on the lot. #5 Anyone who can afford this type of vehicle just want something unique or different and are deciding to wait till the stock mkt. turns around. #6 All these issues are related for Christ's sake...nobody is buying, period.

With 266 sold in January, the X6 is a failure. Period. Let's not sugarcoat it. That thing is hideous but its loaded with some good technology. The FX is also hideous. However, with the $20K premium charged by BMW, its no wonder the FX is spanking its ass!