[iconoclast]

Originally Posted by nürburgring

Fingers crossed, we'll get the 2017 A4 Avant for more variety.

nope. only the watered down allroad. no s-line package, no s-line+, nothing fun except for a plain jane a4 avant on stilts with textured flares (or painted in two different colors to match the body... if that is your thing.) audi has no plans to evolve the avant line up into what it once was and can you blame them? nearly every other comment below the write up was talking about cost. for some reason people cannot wrapped their head around a premium wagon or hatch but a sedan with the same sticker is acceptable. bizarre... same reason why the x1 35i was discontinued. great sav paired with a great engine but people didn't want it at that price. put that 35i in the f31 and i would've paid $65k for it. put real a real m badge on it and i would've paid $80k.

[BavarianFanatic]

Originally Posted by nicknaz

3er owners community could have prevented/minimized risk of losing wagons in USA by ordering a TON of E91 328 M sport package 6MT and F31 328 M sport package 6MT

but instead orders many more orders were for base 328 with no sport package, no xenons, auto transmission, or X1/X3

The majority's $ voted wagons off the island with

F31 was never offered with manual or RWD in any configuration in the US. The F31 is THE SINGLE REASON I even considered buying a brand new BMW. I usually pick up more mature models or CPOs to stay on the right side of the depreciation curve.

Unfortunately, once it was formally announced that we would only see automatic AWD 4 cylinders I wasn't as motivated since I knew of (and eventually ended up buying) a 6 speed E61 535xiT. I still ended up ordering an F30 though so I could at least do my part to put another manual M Sport on the road for future generations to enjoy once I'm done with it...

[BimmerMat135]

Originally Posted by BavarianFanatic

F31 was never offered with manual or RWD in any configuration in the US. The F31 is THE SINGLE REASON I even considered buying a brand new BMW. I usually pick up more mature models or CPOs to stay on the right side of the depreciation curve.

Unfortunately, once it was formally announced that we would only see automatic AWD 4 cylinders I wasn't as motivated since I knew of (and eventually ended up buying) a 6 speed E61 535xiT. I still ended up ordering an F30 though so I could at least do my part to put another manual M Sport on the road for future generations to enjoy once I'm done with it...

How long did you search before you were able to get a manual E61 535xi? They are terribly rare.




I know that a new version of the F31 would require some more testing and certification, but would it be that expensive to bring a F31 340xi here? This configuration already exist on the F30 with a 6MT.

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by BavarianFanatic

F31 was never offered with manual or RWD in any configuration in the US.

Yea you are right. Obviously I didn't look very closely at F31 at all

[ynguldyn]

Doing my bit - just drove it home from the dealership after a 6 week separation.

[BimmerMat135]

Originally Posted by ynguldyn

Doing my bit - just drove it home from the dealership after a 6 week separation.

Congrat! Is it a 328i or d?

[ynguldyn]

Originally Posted by BimmerMat135

Congrat! Is it a 328i or d?

i - track package is your clue.

[M-Sport Wagon Funnnnnnnnn]

To be honest... the A4 was the reason I even started loving wagons. Now that I am stationed in Europe for a few years, I get to see A4 Avant and the beautiful A6 Avant multiple times a day. But, since I could only get an Allroad in the US or pay about $10K to convert an Avant from Euro-spec to US-spec, I am looking at BMW. I bought a Euro-spec 520d Touring to play around with while I am here but will order my 328d Touring this winter for a summer delivery.

Being in Europe is completely different than the states. To Europeans, the wagon (aka Touring) is their SUV. Why? The parking lots are ridiculously small and the roads are even narrower. I counted one time the amount of wagons/hatchbacks versus sedans one time and the number was a not-so-shocking 18/20. Everything is a wagon out here. They pull campers and horse trailers and everything under the sun. Why? These Diesel engines are workhorses. They pull things with little diesel sedans that I couldn't do in my GMC Acadia. We missed the boat on wagons in the states but that's ok. We have big roads, big parking lots, and big garages - Europeans normally don't. What they do have is an autobahn with certain parts that are unrestricted where I've taken my wagon at 200 kph (120 mph) and that's the flow of traffic. Can you imagine seeing a car doing that in the states? If so, it better have OJ in it.

[iconoclast]

you're going to be paying a lot more than $10k. the cheaper alternative would be to buy a banged up b8 s4 and purchase a super clean b8 a4 avant or b8.5 allroad and swap the 3.0t and transmission.

[spuntyb]

Originally Posted by Cegledi

To be honest... the A4 was the reason I even started loving wagons. Now that I am stationed in Europe for a few years, I get to see A4 Avant and the beautiful A6 Avant multiple times a day. But, since I could only get an Allroad in the US or pay about $10K to convert an Avant from Euro-spec to US-spec, I am looking at BMW. I bought a Euro-spec 520d Touring to play around with while I am here but will order my 328d Touring this winter for a summer delivery.

Being in Europe is completely different than the states. To Europeans, the wagon (aka Touring) is their SUV. Why? The parking lots are ridiculously small and the roads are even narrower. I counted one time the amount of wagons/hatchbacks versus sedans one time and the number was a not-so-shocking 18/20. Everything is a wagon out here. They pull campers and horse trailers and everything under the sun. Why? These Diesel engines are workhorses. They pull things with little diesel sedans that I couldn't do in my GMC Acadia. We missed the boat on wagons in the states but that's ok. We have big roads, big parking lots, and big garages - Europeans normally don't. What they do have is an autobahn with certain parts that are unrestricted where I've taken my wagon at 200 kph (120 mph) and that's the flow of traffic. Can you imagine seeing a car doing that in the states? If so, it better have OJ in it.

$10k to bring one here? That's not possible.

[woggledog]

Originally Posted by Cegledi

Being in Europe is completely different than the states. To Europeans, the wagon (aka Touring) is their SUV. Why? The parking lots are ridiculously small and the roads are even narrower.

And we enjoy driving. We have single lane roads everywhere, with many curves. Using the extra torque a d gives you when powering through a corner is always fun. Something you just can't do in a wallowy SUV.

I don't get SUVs. Don't shout just yet, hear me out.... There's no more space, apart from head space, they all come with road tyres, making them equally useless off road. The only real benefit I see is ground clearance, which, I'm guessing is important at the mall or something

I ordered my f31 320d (190bhp) and enough torque to pull Mars out of orbit yesterday. I can't wait......

[robbiep]

Got to agree with you, woggledog .
We live in quite a rural area, and get quite a bit of snow in winter here. However, that's why my wife's daily car is a Mitsubishi Shogun, with good A/T tyres fitted.
My 325d (218bhp), on the other hand is a fantastic drive. The only reason I didn't get a 330d was because I wanted a manual box (something else the colonials don't get - and also, don't 'get'). I've heard it said that a manual gearbox is the tech security equivalent of having a rottweiler sleeping in the car over there !
But I don't get SUVs generally. As you say, they have virtually no more space, they handle worse ... but mummies seem to think that the rugrats will be more safe in them, so they keep on buying them.

[BavarianFanatic]

Originally Posted by BimmerMat135

How long did you search before you were able to get a manual E61 535xi? They are terribly rare.




I know that a new version of the F31 would require some more testing and certification, but would it be that expensive to bring a F31 340xi here? This configuration already exist on the F30 with a 6MT.

I found one relatively close to home several years ago. But, before I had a chance to make arrangements to check it out (less than 4 hrs. by the way), it was already sold. Ironically, a good friend of mine is the person who bought it. So I just waited patiently until he was done with it. I picked it up in late 2013. Based on a brief amount of research it appears that a total of roughly 300 535xiT 6 speeds were built. Rare indeed.

[M-Sport Wagon Funnnnnnnnn]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

you're going to be paying a lot more than $10k. the cheaper alternative would be to buy a banged up b8 s4 and purchase a super clean b8 a4 avant or b8.5 allroad and swap the 3.0t and transmission.

You must really think I have some automotive skill iconoclast. I know it would be a lot and I know it isn't worth it either when we got some beautiful 3 series wagons.

[iconoclast]

no my point is that it would be cheaper than trying to import a wagon that was not federalized for NAR even if you're paying a shop to do it.

[M-Sport Wagon Funnnnnnnnn]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

no my point is that it would be cheaper than trying to import a wagon that was not federalized for NAR even if you're paying a shop to do it.

That $10k was just an off-the-shelf dollar amount I heard. It figures to be a lot more or we would probably see more Europe-only vehicles coming over to the states.

[iconoclast]

gotcha... much more. sadly most are not even eligible for importing and would have to wait for the 25yr mark. b5 rs4 is eligible now despite not being 20-25yrs old but it is much cheaper than it used to be. so if you're looking to do something that's where i would start. otherwise the b8/b8.5 conversion would be your best bet or save yourself the headaches and just buy an w212 e63. in the end you'll spend just about as much as you would on a conversion but when you sell it you won't have as difficult time converting the vehicle back to cash.

[spuntyb]

Originally Posted by Cegledi

That $10k was just an off-the-shelf dollar amount I heard. It figures to be a lot more or we would probably see more Europe-only vehicles coming over to the states.

Here's a good primer on what it takes to import vehicles here. See his example of trying to import an E60 M5 wagon.

http://jalopnik.com/here-are-the-fou...uni-1682067632

You could likely spend less time and money just converting a US spec F31 328i into an 'F81', for example.

[iconoclast]

exactly my point. there are better ways to waste your money on cars. believe me i went down this road before. it was fun, it was a learning experience but i am not sure it is something i would undertake again.

[BimmerMat135]

I just read that the W213 wagon will be available in North America. Mercedes, Audi, VW and Volvo are brigning wagons. Why BMW have to kill them in here( in reference to the G21)?

[iconoclast]

low sales, high price, and market cannibalization? the x1, x3, x4, 3gt, and a 3series wagon.

it's a shame that some people think that $60k for a fully loaded three series wagon is "high" but a sedan optioned the same way at $58,600 is fine.

[BimmerMat135]

Originally Posted by ynguldyn

i - track package is your clue.

That must be an american thing I guess. Seem like it is available with the 328d in Canada.