BMW Sales strong but E89 -16%

Having owned both e86's & e89's I would be the first to agree that they are different cars , but better than each other ? , no just differant for the 20% of the time that I really wanted to try (you know what I mean) the Z4mc was fantastic but did the interior feel special not really whereas the 35is push on its good but not brilliant but it does feel special to sit in , so as others have said the cars were aimed at differant people if I had to choose it it would be e89 as I guess im not a spartan car type , what i really want is a car that handles like a caterham but feels like RR phantom inside dont think it exsists though :) . I guess the real truth is that market for this type of car is declining due to costs/green issues neither of which get on my radar much but I suppose im in the minority. If you believe Autocar this week there isnt going to be another Z4 as such it will be replaced with the result of the link with Toyota , the details didnt do much for me
 
chasBMW, I agree with your first line: they are different cars, and that is what I think this discussion is about. They made the E85/E86 with a certain level of success and target audience, then they made the E89 targeted at a different audience with a small group of E85/E86 being attracted to it.

That implies that they got it wrong though as if they got it right, the sales would be up compared to the E85/E86 so the formula change was perhaps not the best choice.
 
matsmith749 said:
lol - seems everyone who has an e89 really wanted a boxter.

Why did they not just go buy a boxter then?
Click to expand...

:lol: I did, then I got a 911. AND, I liked the E89 and would love a Z3MR (still looking for one).

My E89 was a cruiser, bullet fast with a Dinan remap and decent on a long drive (1300 miles each way to my condo), My wifes E85 did nothing for me, didn't like the interior, no guts in a 3.0 and looked boxy to me. I preferred the classic style of the Z3 and the updated style of the E89. Sold them all because BMW pissed me off one too many times. Needed that sports car ride again so I tested a Boxster S and bought an oldie to see how it was in the long term. Still want a Z3MR ......it's all a matter of personal choice... I love my 911, the Boxster S is great in the sunshine but I would give it up for a Z3MR... :thumbsup:
 
I was in Bluebell in Cheshire yesterday - not a single E89 in the Showroom - in another large BMW dealer in the north the salesman said they sell about 14 E89s a year - I don't think they'll be another - not a sales success and not a halo car . if there is not an appetite for this kind of car why are there so many TTs around ? and showing increased sales of the TT in the US at the end of the Model life.

a lot of E85 Z4s are bought as 2nd or 3rd cars and the Z4 E89 does not feel or look sufficiently different from a lot of the target markets daily drivers or offer the day to day practicality of a TT - it falls between two stools.
 
In the N. American market, where a huge number of cars are sold, remember that the TT is a quattro, the Box is mid engine and the Zeds are rear wheel drive front engine ...and we get winter in half the country so a Zed is a toy for the summer. (in most cases) while the TT is an all year car, most boxes don't get winter driven here but some do and I've yet to see a Zed out on the snow here. Just this alone makes a big barrier to large sales. It has to, the big choice for the 7 months that are driveable......." Do I get a Harley and pretend to be hard guy or do I get a 2 seater sports car for twice the money and and what? Get called a hairdresser .... :?
 
The TT has 4 seats in coupe guise. The rears may not be very usable but this makes the car a much more common sight on corporate company car lists. That has influenced sales in the UK at least.
 
original guvnor said:
The TT has 4 seats in coupe guise. The rears may not be very usable but this makes the car a much more common sight on corporate company car lists. That has influenced sales in the UK at least.
Click to expand...
I was just about to make comment re the TT being a coupe and 4 seats be it almost unusable for most adults in the rear. You don't see too many TT convertibles doing the rounds and it would be interesting to know what the sales figures were/are on those. I did say to my other half that having the option of the XDrive in the Z4 would be great.
 
Angie4m said:
original guvnor said:
The TT has 4 seats in coupe guise. The rears may not be very usable but this makes the car a much more common sight on corporate company car lists. That has influenced sales in the UK at least.
Click to expand...
I was just about to make comment re the TT being a coupe and 4 seats be it almost unusable for most adults in the rear. You don't see too many TT convertibles doing the rounds and it would be interesting to know what the sales figures were/are on those. I did say to my other half that having the option of the XDrive in the Z4 would be great.
Click to expand...

I bet I see 25 TT Coupes for every (two seat) TT Roadster.
 
ZermattV said:
a lot of E85 Z4s are bought as 2nd or 3rd cars and the Z4 E89 does not feel or look sufficiently different from a lot of the target markets daily drivers.
Click to expand...

E85's are bought as 2nd or 3rd car purely because they are older and cheeper to buy.

PMSL when I read the bit about not looking sufficiently different from target market daily drivers....what fuc#ing planet are you on?

:roll:
 
My mrs had a Mk1 TT Roadster years ago but she didn't reckon that much to it yet she loves her TTS Coupe, agree though the rears seat are hopeless for adults but fine for our 5 year old.

There is a good chance we will replace the TTS with the MK3 TTS so its certainly got under my other half`s skin...I would prefer she got a BMW but like me she thinks most Beemers are ugly...but they don't half drive well! :driving:

I would say out of the current line up only the Z4 & 6 series for me are nice to look at but I have always thought people don't buy a BMW for the way it looks its the way it drives that sells it & its the other way around for Audi they get bought because of the way they look & not the way they drive.
 
Why do you have a problem with that as that is what BMW did with the e89, ie it is targeted to be very similar to the rest of the range.
 
I don't think it has a lot to do with price - the below is not far of Z4MC money with great 0-60 times and i don't see many of the MC boys swapping for it anytime soon....

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/bmw/z4-roadster/bmw-z-series-e89-z4-sdrive35i-roadster-2009/2171593?isexperiment=true

If i was driving one every day - this e89 would be a better car than my M and in a similar colour scheme but for weekend use - no thanks.
 
ZermattV said:
I don't think it has a lot to do with price - the below is not far of Z4MC money with great 0-60 times and i don't see many of the MC boys swapping for it anytime soon....

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/bmw/z4-roadster/bmw-z-series-e89-z4-sdrive35i-roadster-2009/2171593?isexperiment=true

If i was driving one every day - this e89 would be a better car than my M and in a similar colour scheme but for weekend use - no thanks.
Click to expand...

You can't compare any of the E89 range to the old Z4Ms its a different segment and market, what the current Z4 does is move the game on from the old Non M Z4 range which I think it does perfectly whilst feeling more upmarket, it should do, its a newer model. Whilst I quite liked the old model Z4 I was never tempted to swap one for my Z3, the interior was its biggest letdown for me, so sympathise with the ragtop owners :P

Tim.
 
I think BMW have always been great when bringing out new models because they generally make big improvements whilst maintaining the identity of the former model but I guess they haven't really managed that with the z4. I think someone has said this already but maybe the e89 should have been a z6 instead. There was talk of a smaller roadster coming out and that it would be the z2, which makes sense in the same way that a z6 would have.
 
Seems the TT isn't faring a whole lot better according to Autocar. Oh and before the jokes....roadster sales are just as bad (if not worse).

"But despite its high profile and a relatively affordable starting price of £25,000, the TT sold just 18,353 units last year (down from 21,880 in 2012) - a tiny fraction of the 1.6 million cars that Audi sold globally in the same period.

Sales of coupés in general are suffering in today’s market. According to figures from automotive analyst JATO Dynamics, coupé sales fell by 31 per cent in Europe last year, making it the worst-performing segment. Premium coupé sales were also down by 21 per cent.

By contrast, sales of cars in compact premium sector rose by 24 per cent in Europe last year, second only to small SUVs and crossovers in the major market niches.

Global sales of the Audi A3 jumped from 164,666 in 2012 to 221,097 last year, while sales of the Q3 compact SUV jumped from 106,466 to 152,163 over the same period"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom