I'm glad it's not just me! I've posted a similar comment on the American bimmerfest board and the views there are very different. Most seem happy with the ride. This seems very strange. During my many vists to the US I found their roads to be worse than ours. I can only assume that BMW use a differnet suspension set-up over there.
They also seem to be able to get a 3.0 with a manual transmission but we can't.
Residuals don't seem to be holding up as much as predicted. A quick glance at the Sunday Times Motoring section reveals quite a few low mileage, high spec X3's for sale at around the £30k mark. Dealers also seem to be struggling to shift their ex-demo stock. One dealer I spoke to has had a FULLY loaded car sitting on his forecourt for a couple of months priced at around £37k but with no serious offers.
I almost bought a low mileage 2.5 Sport that had a good spec (around £34K OTR) that was being punted for £29K. An inexperienced salesman brought up the "what they paid" part of the computer system and I saw they had bought it in for £28K four months earlier. According to my local dealer they had been offered the car but had bid about £27K. The first dealer had steadily reduced the price from around £32k.
I am sure residuals will settle down. I suspect there were quite a few speculators who ordered and bought cars when the prediction was for X5-like 18 month wait times. Due largely to the unfavourable reception from the motoring press the waitlists have vanished and with them the speculators expectations of large profits. Most will be cutting their losses and bailing out.
My local dealer reported 5 cancelled orders in the wake of Clarksons demolition job on Top Gear.
I suspect that BMW will be keen to avoid pissing off their customers and will try very hard on the "price to change" for those buying another BMW.
------------- 2004 X3 3.0SE Auto
Black Saphirre
Black Leather Interior
Professional SatNav with TV Option
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