CTC Review: 2009 BMW 328i xDrive Sedan

[johngenx]

Local Infiniti dealer is advertising the G37X with Premium Package for $5000 off from Infiniti and $1670 from the dealer for a PDI included price of $39,995, pretax.  THAT is an awesome deal, and if I were in the market in the segment, it would be the clear winner for value.

[normancw]

carjoe, did that BMW comparison drive also include the Acura TL SHAWD and the Infiniti G37x?

It seems rather silly to have a Lexus IS250AWD for comparison, b/c most shoppers wouldn't cross shop a 328xi with an IS250AWD.  There would be some ppl who might consider a G37x in similar territory with the 328xi though.

I cross-shopped the Lexus IS250 when I bought the 330i, but I was looking for pre-owned and I could not find one with a manual transmission.  I didn't look at the G37 because of it's size - at 9" longer than a 3-series, it wouldn't fit in my garage.  But the 328HP would be nice!

Not that I was looking for AWD, but of all the cars discussed, only the Audi and BMW offer a manual transmission with their AWD models

[carjoe]

Surprisingly, no G37 or any Acura. I was really hoping they'd have the G37x or any other G car car but no such luck.

It was surprising for 2 reasons, one the G37 is awfully close the 3 in most aspects and second because of the emphasis on the "new" X-drive. BMW even took the time to explain the differences between all the systems prior to the driving portion of the event.

To The Truth Hurts: I'd cross shop the Lexus IS if the emphasis were on the AWD which makes the 250 an ideal candidate. Most people aren't looking for huge performance but rather brand recognition, value and safety with the AWD and in that respect certainly the IS delivers. You could argue that a Legacy delivers the same safety with a better AWD system but the brand cachet just isnt' the same.

Holy cow, I never post but I've posted 2 books in the same thread...

[Cityblue]

I've been looking at the 328i at our dealers in Toronto and know about the $1,600 auto trans incentive from BMW, the $2,500 for cash discount. Does anyone have any idea of how much of a discount can be given by the dealer ? I need to sell my mint 325Ci, 10k km 05 but new in March 06. Any suggestions for sites to post it would be really appreciated. For the 325Ci e mail me at bishopbge@yahoo.com

[vdk]

Most people aren't looking for huge performance but rather brand recognition, value and safety with the AWD

Well said. You will NEVER see a G35/G37 at a BMW comparison drive. That's cause they'll have to explain why a fully loaded $40k Japanese Luxury Sports Sedan can smoke their $50k Bimmer. They'd rather have people go to the nearest BMW store, not Infiniti.

[johngenx]

Well said. You will NEVER see a G35/G37 at a BMW comparison drive. That's cause they'll have to explain why a fully loaded $40k Japanese Luxury Sports Sedan can smoke their $50k Bimmer. They'd rather have people go to the nearest BMW store, not Infiniti.

The G37's horsepower cup runneth over.  Since it's inception, the interior has been improved immensely, the exterior is fine, and the overall dynamic package (power, handling, etc) is very impressive.  It's a lot of car for the money and given it's large size in the segment, I don't really see the need for the M-series Infiniti products.

[samej]

I've been looking at the 328i at our dealers in Toronto and know about the $1,600 auto trans incentive from BMW, the $2,500 for cash discount. Does anyone have any idea of how much of a discount can be given by the dealer ? I need to sell my mint 325Ci, 10k km 05 but new in March 06. Any suggestions for sites to post it would be really appreciated. For the 325Ci e mail me at bishopbge@yahoo.com

I did CarCostCanada to get details on wholesale and incentives - I recommend them highly (I miss living in California where EVERYTHING on the cost of a car was available for free). ANyway, the 328 has about a 9% profit - it varieis as you dive into the options. If you're in the Toronto area there's a BMW dealer that'll give you a quote.

[normancw]

I need to sell my mint 325Ci, 10k km 05 but new in March 06. Any suggestions for sites to post it would be really appreciated.

If you haven't already, you might try autocatch toronto, bimmerfest, e46fanatics, e46toronto, toronto kijiji, usedtoronto, craigslist, and bmwclub.ca (all free), and of course, autotrader (not free). 

[Flinter]

The BMW 3 Series is one hot-selling luxury vehicle line-up.  Even in these challenging times, BMW sales are only slightly down (9.3 per cent) for 2009 over 2008 for the 3 Series, and heck, BMW is only down 2.7 per cent overall, so they must be doing something right.

I don't think it would be wise for BMW to spend much time congratulating themselves for only having a 2.7% drop in sales in today's market. Both Audi and Mercedes-Benz have had a significant increase in sales in Canada over the same period.

http://www.desrosiers.ca/Monthly%20Updates/sales.pdf

In the case of the BMW 3 series, I don't think the problem is the car. I test drove a BMW 328i (man.,sport package) and loved the car. However, the price premium to own a BMW is very difficult for many to swallow, me included. Especially in today's economic times.

Modified to correct typo.

Check out this link to a G&M article discussing the drop in luxury car sales and competition to steal market share from BMW.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/auto/luxury-it-aint-what-it-used-to-be/article1185908/

Here is an interesting quote from the article:

Mercedes-Benz, in particular, is charging hard in a highly competitive market. Mercedes' sales last year were up 26.4 per cent, while BMW's slipped 3.3 per cent. Of the top six luxury brands, only BMW lost market share last year.

Jung says he believes Mercedes-Benz is “buying” market share by selling some vehicles at unprofitable prices and supporting others with inexplicably low cut-rate deals. But BMW, too, is offering deals on its models.

“I don't want to give up [luxury] segment leadership in Canada, but I do not really understand the approach of our colleagues from Stuttgart,” Jung says. “I do not really think there is profit there. I do not want to play this [discounting] game, but I do not want to give up leadership.” Quite the dilemma.

Quite the dilemma indeed. I think BMW needs to be very careful here because even though they are offering some incentives, it appears they are not being as aggressive as the competition. You can choose to maintain existing per unit profit margins, but loose market share and appear unresponsive to potential customers, or you can choose to reduce per unit profit margins and maintain your market share. Either way, you can't expect to maintain the overall profit levels enjoyed in recent years.

[normancw]

Alright - the new CPO 335i baby, somewhat wet after a Sunday afternoon drive around the East End and Cumberland.

Wow, great colour!  Very unique - now you have to post a better angle picture taken on a sunny day.

Just noticed after I first posted this reply that a few posts just got deleted.  Not sure what happened. 

[tpl]

Alright - the new CPO 335i baby, somewhat wet after a Sunday afternoon drive around the East End and Cumberland.

Wow, great colour!  Very unique - now you have to post a better angle picture taken on a sunny day.

Just noticed after I first posted this reply that a few posts just got deleted.  Not sure what happened. 

They have moved to show and shine  it would appear.

[samej]

Alright - the new CPO 335i baby, somewhat wet after a Sunday afternoon drive around the East End and Cumberland.

Wow, great colour!  Very unique - now you have to post a better angle picture taken on a sunny day.

Just noticed after I first posted this reply that a few posts just got deleted.  Not sure what happened. 

They have moved to show and shine  it would appear.

Got an active moderator  . I'll post a sunny day picture after I wash the sucker. I managed to keep 'er clean for less than 48 hours. I miss California where I'd have to DUST my cars off once in awhile, and the cars' hand washed & dried once a month for $10 including tip, sigh

For the teenagers in the crowd (my daughters' friends), there's a definite minority that don't like the colour - that would be the ones that are saying "awesome" to the bright orange new cameros buzzing around right now