BMW radio advertisement

[benyl]

Are they serious? Comparing a BMW 320 to a Toyota Avalon?

Ok, I know the Avalon is a total Grandpa car, but it is the Flagship of the Toyota line.

How can they compare the bottom of the barrel to the flagship of the best Japanese brand? Makes no sense to me... is that supposed to sell cars?

Wow, the Ford Pinto of BMW is cheaper than the Avalon. Go figure.

BMW must be having a tough time selling the 3 series. The lease rates keep going down and they come up with this great advert. You might see BMW offer 0% financing soon!

[max_boost]

There is nothing special about the 320 sedan. In terms of quality, refinement, price, and power, it can not compete with the other entry level luxury sedans. The only 3 series worth buying is the 330. The 325 is under powered and over priced. I know this girl who paid $61k for her 325ci coupe fully loaded. I mean, for $61k, it may look nice but its still slow as shit! haha

Manufacturers are quickly closing the gap so BMW better start doing something! Like up the horsepower!! or stop making their cars so ugly! haha

[XylathaneGTR]

My friends lease rate on his 03 325Ci got cut from like, 7.8 to 3.5 or something...Avalon could own the pants off a 320...wtf?

[bksze]

actually the 320 is right in line with all the other german entry level sedans

audi's a4, mercedes c240 and the bmw 320 are all ~45k depending on the options and in terms of power, they're all ~170hp so it's not like they are that far off from each other

it's when you start comparing the new japanese entry level sport sedans that you see the big difference in power and price, ie. the is300, g35, 3.2 . . . these all have relatively the same luxury as the german cars with a lot more power, all for ~45k

when you start comparing the two, you realise the big difference in "value" but if you had the $$$, what difference does it make? haha

[Altezza]

BMW has built a name for itself...it's the name they're hoping to sell for that price. My neighbour bought a 3.20i last year solely for the name, she even admits it. The car is a POS for $35k, but they're hoping for the customers who think "Ooooooh, it's a BMW; I can get a BMW for $35k. I will be the object of envy for only 35k" Then these customers realize that when they show up at the dealership, they have to PAY FOR EVERYTHING. Base for BMW is BASE...

You should have seen my neighbour's jaw drop when she said, "The BMW is pretty quick. The 0-60 is around 9 seconds, what's the 0-60 in the Lexus?"

[benyl]

Originally posted by Altezza
BMW has built a name for itself...it's the name they're hoping to sell for that price. My neighbour bought a 3.20i last year solely for the name, she even admits it. The car is a POS for $35k, but they're hoping for the customers who think "Ooooooh, it's a BMW; I can get a BMW for $35k. I will be the object of envy for only 35k" Then these customers realize that when they show up at the dealership, they have to PAY FOR EVERYTHING. Base for BMW is BASE...

You should have seen my neighbour's jaw drop when she said, "The BMW is pretty quick. The 0-60 is around 9 seconds, what's the 0-60 in the Lexus?"

Too funny. I wanted to get a 3 series, not because of the name, but because the lease payment is pretty good. But the 3 series wagon only comes in 325... no 330. If they had a 330, I would be driving one right now.

They are nice cars, but I would never BUY one. I would lease one though. The residuals are so high! on the 325ixT I was looking at, it was 62%!

But for 35K, you can get way more stuff in just about any other car. Heck, I would buy used over a 320.

I still don't understand the comparison to the Avalon. If they compared it to the Camry 4 cylinder or even the V6, ok, that makes sense. But the Avalon?

[Altezza]

Originally posted by benyl

I still don't understand the comparison to the Avalon. If they compared it to the Camry 4 cylinder or even the V6, ok, that makes sense. But the Avalon?

I think the point they're trying to make is that you can get a "higher-class" vehicle for less money than a "lower-class, more-common and affordable" brand.

[three.eighteen.]

Originally posted by XylathaneGTR
My friends lease rate on his 03 325Ci got cut from like, 7.8 to 3.5 or something...Avalon could own the pants off a 320...wtf?

320 could handle circles around the avalon...but bmw is not only selling the name, all bmws are built with the same road feel/handling characteristics, which are superior to many cars (my car for instance can outhandle anything new for the same price i got my car for, but i wont be winning any drag races any time soon), for some people that is all they want