CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

If I'm not mistaken, part of the reason why the ED is cheaper is because in a way you are buying the car in Europe and the car needs to stay in Europe for a minimum amoount of time. That is why the ED has all of that activities tied into it like visiting the facilities, the 14 days insurance and other things to do for the buyer. During that time you are doing all of the activities the car meets the minimum time requirement and you can then ship it back to the US. Fortunately, BMW covers the shipping as it is all part of the experience. At least that is somewhat the way I thought ED was.

chiawei

Not true.

If you like you can go pickup the car and dropped it off at aiport and take the same flight back.

BMW does this to help promote german tourism. There is no string attached. You can go there for one day and return. BMW pays for all insurance and shipping expense.

picus

In the US you get two weeks free insurance and there are no tarrifs and shipping is included. The "ED price" is usually about 4-5k lower than the US MSRP and you can negotiate on it. All you pay is plane tickets, lodging, food, gas, etc.. like a regular trip but in your own car. You get a deal on tickets through Lufthansa, and if you're a BMW CCA member you get an additional $1,000 off.

So in the end what most folks do is negotiate on ED MSRP (which usually saves you about 5-7k off msrp), fly to Germany when production is complete, pick up the car, drive for 14 days and then drop it off - the car is then shipped with all the other BMWs and treated like a regular car. It arrives at a port and it shipped to your dealer.

In Canada it doesn't make financial sense because we pay a 6.1% tarrif and shipping, but in the U.S you can save ~$3-5k depending on the price of the car and get a trip to Europe in the process.

Downsides: the car won't arrive for ~4 weeks after you drop it off in Munich. You can not do a trade-in and if you do (through the dealer) you do not get the tax benefit of the trade. Otherwise thats it.

TRDFantasy

Japanese-spec IS350 makes 314HP and 280 lb-ft of torque ... naturally aspirated with no turbos.

Further, what exactly do you define as "significant"? As far as straight-line performance goes, the 335i sedan will be nowhere near "significantly" faster than the IS350. First off, it's a bit porkier than IS350, which does affect performance. Secondly, BMW estimates for 0 - 60 in the 335i sedan are decidedly lower than their estimates for the 335i coupe. Straight-line performance between the two will be close, with the 335i sedan being just a bit faster than IS350.

chiawei

1. IS350 Japanese spec is measured based on JIS standard, which is different from SAE Net that US is using. Hence you can't compare its output.

2. Automobile Dyno was on the rear wheel which was measured to be 299HP. Which is significantly higher than what IS350 dynoed by over 10%. I haven't see IS350 dyno over 270 in stock form. Automobile's two dyno run on two different car already shows that BMW significantly under-rate the engine. For 335i to output 299 HP to the wheel, it is actually putting close to 340 and higher.

Those are real number that you can't deny.

335i will probably not significantly faster than IS350 has more to do with the rear differential.

BMW's estimate has always been on the conservative end.

chiawei

Actually no.

BMW pays insurance up to 6 months not 14 days. Hence you see a lot of ED last more than 2 weeks. There is however restriction on which country you can visit. BMW does not cover theft in eastern european country. So you are on your own if your car is stolen in czech republic for example.

BMWCCA rebate varies by car, although $1k is the norm. However, you can only use it once a year.

As far as ED price goes. There is no discount on M cars and 6 series. Because those come out of dealer allocation. There is no Z4/X5 for ED because Z4/X5 is made here. All other BMW have significant discount for ED and you negotiate up from ED invoices (not negotiate down from ED MSRP). Usually ED invoice +800 to $1000 would be more than suffice.

Tax benefit vary state by state. For state that allows you to get tax credit on trade in, it will also apply. The only difference between ED and none ED transaction is that you need to conclude your deal 30 days prior to pickup. In other words, you need to pay 30 days in advance (or trade in your car 30 days earlier). All the tax are the same (for us). I am not sure about canadien pricing or ED for canadien. Also, due to 30 days advance policy, for lease you ended up lose out on about one to two month of lease payment because your car is in transit.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

All this talk of "ED" and I was thinking of 'those' commercials on TV.

Anyway, chiawei, thanks for the info on this - I've always wondered how it worked. Still don't get why it's cheaper - my guess is the German govt subsidizes BMW to do it to get the tourism as you or someone else mentioned.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Does anyone know if the 3 series has a limited slip available? In looking at the data on BMW USA I couldn't find one.

picus

Actually yes. You can keep the car in Europe for 6 months. Anything more than 14 days and you pay for insurance. BMW will pay for 14 days of insurance.

European Delivery price includes:
* 14 days of free premium road insurance
* Tourist registration
* Factory preparation
* Inland European transportation from the designated drop-off point
* Marine insurance
* Customs duty and clearance
* U.S. port processing and accessory installation
* Wharfage and handling fees


I've done ED twice now in two countries. It's 14 days.

No LSD.

chiawei

You are correct. I was mistaken. I have thought it was 6 months. Need to re-read my ED packet.

Broker404

This car is very underrated from the factory. They couldn't have it competing with the M too much. They claim 300 at the crank. More like 300 at the wheels.

SteVTEC

ED is cheaper because you're bypassing the 7% commission that BMW AG pays to BMWUSA for each car sold based on customer satisfaction scrores, or something like that. It's still extra money in the dealer's pocket though because the cars don't come out of their fixed allocation of cars, so it's extra cars that they can sell and make money on. A lot of people can negotiate $1000 over ED invoice which is significantly lower than US Delivery MSRP.

doug_999

unfortunately not.

GFerg

335i is such a good look for BMW. Not like the 330i's engine was anemic, but this makes the 3-series that much more enticing(especially the coupe) IMO.

akhbhaat

Xenon, moonroof, upgraded sound system (Logic 7) and even power seats are standard in the US-spec 335i. The only necessary and truly desirable option is the $1600 sport package. Everything else is useless fluff. To be quite honest, I'd really like to delete the power seats and get cloth interior material in place of leather or vinyl (precisely how the car is sold in Europe), but it would probably be difficult to find a dealership willing to jump through the paperwork hoops and still deal on the car.

Anyhow, if I were to buy the sedan, it would price out at $40,995 before tax. Since I'd be negotiating for an ED delivery, I'd likely end up paying about $1000 over ED invoice (definitely possible, I've done it before). ED invoice on the 335i is $33,110. Therefore,

$33,110 + $695 (destination) + $1455 sport package (invoice price) + $1000 dealership profit - $500 BMWCCA discount = $35,760 before TTL and trip expense.

Round-trip airfare is $1000 for two people via the Lufthansa BMW special. One week @ $250/day for lodging, food and gas/misc expenses is $1750. Final price is $38,510 including a "free" week long European vacation (if you budget heavily or keep your stay to a couple days, it'll cost even less than that). Same deal on the coupe version would run just around $40,000 (base price is $1900 more, but sport package is $500 less). ED comes highly recommended by virtually everybody who tries it.

Quite competitive with the IS350, I'd say.