[Nedmundo]

Originally Posted by CurlyFatAngry

Although Canada is a prime market for xdrive I see quite a few F30s here in Toronto, on a weekly basis I spot 3-4 cars

Strangely enough, the only F30's I've seen on the road were in Toronto last week. Even though Philadelphia often has mild winters, most BMW's seem to have X-Drive, which probably explains why I haven't yet seen any F30's on the road here.

[TheObviousChild]

Here in Boulder they are few and far between most likely due to the lack of xDrive.

The salesmen jumped when I said I wanted a RWD. Of course I then told them I was wanting to special order...still waiting for my current lease to expire. 4 more months to go.

[BigKutta]

Originally Posted by Yobyot

Today, I was at a local Boston dealer to pay for my MY12 ZSL 335i that I am picking up next month in Munich.

There wasn't an F30 in the showroom. There wasn't an F30 in the demonstrator parking lot. There wasn't an F30 among the cars on display outside the store.

Last week I was at this dealer's Boston store; they had two F30s. Both were original launch vehicles (with the bulbous front plate holders). Neither was in the showroom. Both were buried behind rows of other cars and didn't look like they'd been driven in some time.

Plus, it's been several months now and I haven't seen an F30 anywhere on the road around where I live in suburban Boston.

I realize the big sellers here are the xDrive models (though I think that's a waste of gas and weight). And, when I bought my MY06 330i, I didn't see many E90s the first year, though they became ubiquitous about a year later.

So, what do you think? Is the F30 a bomb? Or am I just in an F30 wasteland (which is fine by me. I'd much rather be the only one with one around here. And my RWD model pretty much assures that anyway.)

I dont understand your post. You say it bombed because you don't see them on the road and there are NONE at the dealer?!?! Are you suggesting that BMW knew the F30 would bomb before they even hit the dealerships, and so they never shipped any to the US?? Because that would explain the lack of F30s anywhere

What you see tells me the opposite. The cars are selling very well (hence none at the dealer), and there just aren't enough on the road yet to see them everywhere since the car has only been on sale for a couple of months. Give it a year and the F30 will be everywhere like the e46 and e9X is now.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by JamesMA

Isnt that because neither are actually available in the US yet?

Sorry. I was speaking of M-sports and M-cars of yore. Over the years, I have rarely seen that color BMW on the road. I see mostly dark grey, black, white, silver, brown, red, etc. Almost never Estirol Blue.

[AWF30MSPORT]

So far, I've seen 4 in Cincinnati- one 328i Sport parks every day in a lot near my townhouse downtown, I've seen 2 different 328i Sports on the road, the fourth was a 328i Modern parked in the airport parking garage...complete with driftwood trim... :-\

They will be all over the place here once the X-Drive models hit the dealers.

[patrice03]

wait for the sales stats.. no point in judging whether flop or not on the basis of number of cars seen in the street.... only few months after production.. non sense

[r3dbimmer89]

I've seen quite a few over the last past few weeks here in Orange County, CA. I actually saw a Melbourne Red 335i sport line with looked like the BMW performance wheels fly by on my way to work this morning. I have stalked every dealership here in OC and all the guys are saying that they are selling out before they hit the lots. There are only two 335i left in all of OC and we have 4 dealers all within a 30 minute drive. I haven't been keeping up too much with LA dealers but its probably the same.

[ede92]

Originally Posted by jtuds

Why is the drive version so popular in snowy areas when everyone says you can get through the winter with RWD and a good set of snow tires?

I have had the same set of snow tires on first an xDrive E92 coupe and now an E93. I can get around with the E93 but the E92 was a dam snowmobile. So predictable and actually fun to drive in the snow.

[JustinTJ]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

Sorry. I was speaking of M-sports and M-cars of yore. Over the years, I have rarely seen that color BMW on the road. I see mostly dark grey, black, white, silver, brown, red, etc. Almost never Estirol Blue.

Yep, Lemans is a rare color to see on the road.

[Yobyot]

Originally Posted by lem144

I am in Boston too, and your point on the lack of xDrive is spot on. Dealers here don't push RWD cars because buyers don't want them. They are hard to re-sell around here, so why push them on the new sale/lease?

This fall they will be EVERYWHERE.

Actually, it took me all of 10 days to sell my RWD MY06 330i in May for near my asking price.

I agree around here people think they need AWD. I think that's a perversion of the 3 Series.

Truly, even if your 3 is a daily driver, there are only a couple of days when you really need AWD. And even then, if you delay by a couple of hours, you don't even need it then.

[Yobyot]

Originally Posted by JoeyO

Because it's more of a hassle to purchase separate snow tires, get new wheels( or pay labor to transfer wheels), and labor to put off/on tires at fall time and spring time. After a few years of doing that, it's just easier to pay the $2000 extra for xDrive and don't worry about it.

The other option, popular here in Boston, is called a wintah beatah. Ideally, a rusted out 1979 Chevy with a bent frame.

I use a Honda Civic instead.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by TreDirtyFive

I've been told by my local dealership they are actually not selling well based on typical sales of new body launches. Maybe not enough mainstream advertising? Either way, I pick up my ED Msport 335 shortly and can't wait.

Don't know about your dealer and market area, but my dealer had over 12 F30's on the lot about a month ago.
I think they are down to 2 or 3, and are now waiting on the 2013's.
Plus, they've sold a number of special ordered 2012 F30's.
That's just one dealer in the greater Chicago area.

From what I see at my one local dealer, seems the F30 is selling quite well for a "premium" automobile in a slow economy.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by emtrey

Very few on street or at dealers in metro Chicago now 2012 production was low not ready to call a flop yet however the car had gotten pricey and competition is tough time will tell I ordered a 335 anyway don't care what anyone else thinks its a great car

Yes.
Plus, another major factor, when the F30 finally to to dealer lots, there were still more E90's on many lots than there were F30's.

Also, BMW was offering great incentives on E90's, and dealers were offering big discounts to move the remaining E90's.
For people who wanted a 3 series and didn't like the prices, many were happy to get an E90 3 series for the big discounts offered.
Of course they choose the E90 over the new F30.
They got a great 3 for much less money.

The fact that there are few F30's on lots shows how well they have sold.
And, it's nearly impossible to find an E90 anywhere.
If anything, BMW may have underestimated how well the F30 would sell.
It had to compete with majorly discounted E90's, and yet, at least at my local dealer, they've sold the E90's and have very few F30's.

[Maz335i]

Here in Toronto I always see an F30 somewhere. It's amazing. There are days where all of a sudden I see like 4 driving by me.

For sure the new F30 is NOT a flop. It definitely sold well and will sell even better once the X Drive versions come out.

At work alone, there are now three F30 parked in our underground parking. One SL MG 335i, LL MG 328i and LL BSM 328i! Soon there will be a fourth one AW 328i (that's mine )!!!

[ric124]

you guys are lucky to live in areas that are not flooded. Today alone I prob saw over 10 f30's and one being a white 335i like mine. Last wkend I was driving to south beach which is 5 miles from my house and I counted 3 white 335i on my way. My dealer has tons of F30 on their lot but I havent been there in like a month so dont know how it looks today but they had a lot.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by KneeDragr

They must be selling well for BMW to increase the base price by $2000.

BMW increased the base features, that were part of mostly the "prem pkg" before. Once you include those features, that were priced as options before, the actual increase is about $700 for the 328i and only $100 for the 335i.

The items BMW decided to include are features that most people end up optioning anyway.

There's a thread on this very issue where the costs and items are broken down so you can better see what happened.

The price increase was not $2000, and the increase for the 335i is less than for the greater selling 328i.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by Yobyot

Actually, it took me all of 10 days to sell my RWD MY06 330i in May for near my asking price.

I agree around here people think they need AWD. I think that's a perversion of the 3 Series.

Truly, even if your 3 is a daily driver, there are only a couple of days when you really need AWD. And even then, if you delay by a couple of hours, you don't even need it then.

In every X drive review, the performance is not up to par with the RWD.
The only greater performance area is 0-60 where the pull of all the wheels helps it jump out of the hole.

There was an AWD review in one of the car mags during the E90 era.
The RWD E90 pretty much wins every comparo it's in.
In the AWD comparo the 3 series X drive come in like 4th or 5th.
It was beat by the A4 2.0T quattro sport and Subaru Legacy Bspec, and I think a Volvo.
The biggest criticism was the handling and ride, described as disconnected and not very BMW like.

The following is must my opinion. I'm sure others will disagree. That's cool. It's all about choice.
I too don't understand the appeal of Xdrive.
If I HAD to have an AWD automobile, I'd get an Audi no question.
Xdrive in a BMW 3 is like getting the FWD Audi A4.
RWD is what makes the BMW.
Quattro is what makes the Audi.

[BMWinGE]

Its only been a few months so you really shouldn't expect to see many (if any) on the roads in such a big city.

[Propagator]

Originally Posted by RPM90

BMW increased the base features, that were part of mostly the "prem pkg" before. Once you include those features, that were priced as options before, the actual increase is about $700 for the 328i and only $100 for the 335i.

The items BMW decided to include are features that most people end up optioning anyway.

There's a thread on this very issue where the costs and items are broken down so you can better see what happened.

The price increase was not $2000, and the increase for the 335i is less than for the greater selling 328i.

Which features do you have in mind? I get that the basic bluetooth and iDrive sans nav are included, but they weren't parts of the premium pack on E90. What else?

[ric124]

Originally Posted by RPM90

BMW increased the base features, that were part of mostly the "prem pkg" before. Once you include those features, that were priced as options before, the actual increase is about $700 for the 328i and only $100 for the 335i.

The items BMW decided to include are features that most people end up optioning anyway.

There's a thread on this very issue where the costs and items are broken down so you can better see what happened.

The price increase was not $2000, and the increase for the 335i is less than for the greater selling 328i.

I used the configurator on BMWUSA.com and my build ended up being $250 more.

[Chris_F30_335]

Here in Australia they are selling off the lots faster than they can resupply them. The one I test drove sold two weeks after the got it, and they had one left on the ship coming into Australia that hadn't been bought yet.

Supply limited here.

And here, they're twice as exxy.

[gcreese]

When I talked to my Boston-area dealer, he told me BMW NA was giving him RWD allotments and he was refusing them because his customers buy AWD. At the time (several weeks ago), he had no F30s in the showroom, but had several in the back lot. His issue is he still has a lot of E90s, so he's giving great discounts on those.

I have yet to see an F30 on the road, and I've been looking.