No Recovery in Sight for BMW and Other Sports Cars

Bloomberg News reports the slumping sales of sports cars since 2008 and "no recovery in sight." BMW, Audi, and others are hit hard. Rich people have other vehicle choices that are more appealing than a small convertible.

Comments

[Rob]

Well, when you can get a "driver's car" like some of the recent Mustang/Camaro/Charger options for under $30k, why screw around with over-priced, over-refined cars? I dumped my 3-series 2 years ago when a simple AC compressor fix turned into a $3,000 nightmare, and replaced it with a very drivable Mustang. It handles nearly a well, accelerates better, and garners much more favorable attention. And the parts... oh man, are they ever much cheaper. Not that it's needed any work yet, but that day will come.

But I'm not so sure it's actually that true sports car sales are slumping, it's more that BMW's offerings have move from sports into pseudo-sport luxury.

[herculodge]

I think repair costs for BMW are scaring people away. It costs 2.5K for a routine anti-freeze flush; 200 dollars for a routine oil change, and the list goes on.

[Angelo]

I have several cars, including a '93 BMW 325i. That car has been pretty reliable over the years. When repairs are needed, yes, they can be expensive. I think that's true of most higher end European marques. But I can tell you that on my old BMW, oil changes are the same as any other car and so are coolant flushes. Even taking the car to a BMW specialist----getting synthetic oil change with filter is the same as me bringing my Chevy to Jiffy Lube for the same service. Coolant flush, ditto. Transmission fluid flush would cost a lot more----but it's a sealed unit, the car is going on 22 years old----and going with the manufacturer's recommendation, it's never had new transmission fluid. I have less than 100,000 miles on the car and they claim the fluid is "lifetime." The joy of driving my 3 series outweighs the expenses though. It's such a pure drivers car.