LexFather

Huh, it is civil. Maybe you are not aware but the Bangle 745 was the first 7 to ever have a lease deal. Free maintenance came next. We have the article stating BMW HQ in Germany is very concerend with the highest rebates of all luxury carmakers BMW has in America.

BMW is selling better than ever, that IS a fact. Their tactics to get there:
1-Series in Europe
Lease deals galore
Huge Discounts
Free Maintenance 4/50k

Have to HELP them achieve these goals and for anyone to argue against that is ridiculous.

Its not a negative spin and I cannot help if you take the comments negatively. Maybe b/c when GM offers rebates its the worst thing in the world but when BMW offers them "its okay" has you feeling weird.

LexFather

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=276129

Wow, I'm shocked at BMW and Audi having that many fleet sales!!

OC 335d

I don't see anything wrong with a 7 having a lease deal or free maintenance.

All these means good to the consumer. And where are these "huge discounts" you see? People across the country are still paying MSRP for new BMWs.

I've never said anything about GM rebates. I actually don't know anything about them because I'm not the slightest bit interested in a GM. What exactly is wrong with things to help you achieve your goal? I'm confused.

LexFather

^^ I didn't say there was anything wrong with it. What I am pointing out is we are begining to truly see how their sales are made and some of the tactics other luxury brands simply do not use. Now we can add HUGE fleet sales in Germany.

BTW, this is about their sales methods. BMW makes fantastic cars.

OC 335d

Ahh I see now.

Yes, this would inflate their sales number quite a bit. Personally, I don't see anything wrong in this. BMW makes more money, they have more money to put into technology (hopefully). I'm all for it and competition!

Lexus makes fantastic cars too. Give me the reliability/price of a Lexus and the driving characteristics of a BMW and I'd be one happy camper!

Iceman

You must LOVE all the new Lexus cars, then!

doug_999

As you can probably guess - NO WAY!

Free maintenance with BMWs was out at least in 1999 - not sure when it exactly began however - but way before the current gen 7-series.

BMWs are rarely discounted - the money factor (interest rate) is given support, but rarely are there discounts. I'm almost positive there were lease deals on the previous 7 as well. As I've pointed out, even with all of these "tactics" the cars tend to be more expensive then their Lexus counterparts and yet they still sell pretty well....

No wonder they handily outsell Lexus worldwide!

You missed the driving characteristics part.

JessePS

lmao BMW BAHAHHA ****ing rip off, $1k for an oil change when I had a BMW.

KevinGS

Damn, what were you driving, a BMW Formula 1 car?

I wish Lexus maintentance was cheaper, especially since they're using mostly Toyota parts. I've had the chance to walk in the back of a Lexus parts room...and almost none of the engine/brake/transmission/suspension parts had Lexus on the box. They were all just Toyota parts.

Only Lexus boxes I saw were for cosmetic over-the-counter items.

So, now, I'm considering just taking my car to Toyota for maintenance. Free coffees and snacks costs ALOT of money in the long run. What is it, about $99/hour labor?

None of these cars are inexpensive to maintain, not Bimmers, Mercedes', Lexus' nor Audis. And let's not even talk about Porsche maintenance prices.

So if ANY of these high-end manufacturers offer a 10-year warranty or free maintenance for like 4 years or something, I think that's a distinct advantage. Lexus REGULAR maintenance aint cheap, so just imagine if you bought a new Lexus and you didn't have to pay for any maintenance for 4 years? That saves a lot of money, especially if you drive alot.

flipside909

Hey that's a win win situation for you and those who keep their cars in that period of time only.

KevinGS

I have driven all my cars until they die, and the Lexus will probably be no different. Once I start modding, the car's a keeper for me...unless the car becomes a maintenance hassle. Knock on wood, I've been lucky.

So long term reliability is critical.

My 1993 Nissan 300ZX Turbo had 375,000 miles on it when it died, and I never had to replace the turbos. The interior and body was in such mint condition even at 375,000, that I sold the car for $5k with a dead engine.

My 1995 Mazda Millenia S has 230,000 miles, and it's still going.

I expect my 2001 GS to hold up just as well over the years.

VVT-i

The free maintenance is 4yrs/50K which ever comes firsts. If you drive 50K miles in one year that mean your free maintenance will be out after your car hit 50K or vise versa.

The free 4yrs/50K maintenance program is added on to the price of the vehicle. For example, the same Lexus may cost you $40K compare to BMW at $42K with free maintenance. The $2K different in price that what you have to pay for the free maintenance
. Some people thinks it's great because they can roll the extra $2K for free maintenance into the loan and the differences in the monthly payment will be about $50.00 for the 48 months loans. Basically they just pay about $50.00 extra a month on the what they called the free maintenance.

BMW need to give customers another choice such as, if they don't want a free maint. program they will knock out $2K of the selling price. This way the customer can put that $2k into something else that draws interest, put into saving, buy some stock or don't do anything about that $2K instead give it to BMW dealer before you even drive the car...

It just like you're buying a house with no money down, no closing cost with all the upgraded...you will pay for that for the next 30 years for sure...
I

KevinGS

Uh, then that's not 'free maintenance' then. That's mortgaged maintenance. BIG difference.

Do any manufacturers offer TRUE free maintenance (price of the car doesn't change)?

VVT-i

.
I don't think any manufacturer will do that. I mean, somebody have to pay for the parts and labor(even you DIY you still have to buy parts),but they just make the package so attractive to the buyers.

At least Lexus give you the choice to save the big $2K up front and then you decide to bring it to the dealership, take it to the Toyota dealer, take it to the independent shop or DIY.

With the free maintenance program you got not choice but to bring it to the dealer at their convenience because you're already paid for it. So, you're pretty much stuck with the program....

flipside909

None that I know of.

Great point that was brought up about mortgaged maintenance. I like that term. There's really nothing "Free" about the maintenance deal when you do pay more for the car in comparison to the competitor car. But then again it all boils down to what brand is of value to you, regardless of it's perks and what not.