The car that's got American propellerheads in a spin just got a bit more desirable. BMW's announced that the 230-horse 128i will start at a modest $29,375. The 300-horse money-shot 135i will begin at $35,675. For reference, the base price of a 328i sedan is $32,400 and the 335i sedan starts at $38,900. Most of BMW's base prices are deceiving since you have to pay extra just to look at them for leather seats, metallic paint and automatic transmissions. Interweb rumors say the 135i may come with lots of standard sports kit (suspension, brakes, etc), so the baby Bimmer could turn out to be a better value than it seems. Still, comparing the 1 to the 3, who's gonna complain about saving $3000? Rich sorority girls and penny-counting petrolheads will be able to get their hands on their own 1-Series in the spring.
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For reference the 135 is $35 more than a base 2008 STI and less than a 2008/9 Evo X MR.
Unless, BMW drop their prices to zero and throw in a ticket to the Bahamas, I can’t see why anyone would buy this car over a VW Golf/Rabbit?
With the 1 series and the 3 series so close in pricing I have to wonder what is the point? Do they want the 1 to fail in the US?
When you are look at a $3k difference in starting prices and you are most likely financing the thing anyway why not just step into the 3 at that point?
Anyone who picks VW Golf/Rabbit over 1-er must be either a VW dealer or someone who is making a living as VW mechanic.
Unless, BMW drop their prices to zero and throw in a ticket to the Bahamas, I can’t see why anyone would buy this car over a VW Golf/Rabbit?
We are talking about the same car right?
This is great news, except I still can’t afford one :( especially when you factor in that dealers will add on a 3-5000 premium in spring because everyone will want one.
I for one would prefer the smaller chassis, cars have gotten so bloated in the last 10 years, and saving money makes it even better. I guess I will be looking at a CPO in a few years.
I agree with Orian here…. a 3k price difference is not much difference per month. Unless you’re comparing a loaded 1 to a stripped 3 (which no dealer stocks anyway), this is a disappointment.
Why wouldn’t someone simply pick up a 1 or 2 yr old 3 and pocket thousands??
I expected it to be priced a bit more than the C30 and competitively with the A3. This is just nuts. Is the base 128i really a better car than a well-loaded C30? And the A3 3.2 is a fantastic car too.
Shouldn’t we drive it before we start calling it crap compared to other cars. No offense but Subaru is not on par with BMW anymore and I love Subaru and own a Legacy GT which I chose over a used 328. Maybe after they go through this Toyota Camry period their driving dynamics will be back on par with BMW. Until then I will lust for a 1-series I wont be able to afford.
I wonder if this crazy pricing has something to do with the dollar being tossed off a cliff.
If you take weight and size off a 335i but leave the engine I think that makes it a better car.
No doubt with Euros now costing $1.40 versus $1.20 a year ago its not rocket science to understand why anything coming imported from Europe would be less expensive now. In fact you can count on prices of imports going up.
If the people that work at the BMW dealerships weren’t so damn arrogant I would consider buying one of these cars, but as long as they have that we are better than anyone else attitude I will let my dollars go elsewhere.
Its just too ugly to drive
There – I said it.
KatiePuckrik :
November 16th, 2007 at 11:27 am
Unless, BMW drop their prices to zero and throw in a ticket to the Bahamas, I can’t see why anyone would buy this car over a VW Golf/Rabbit?
Simplistically, because last I checked the VeeDub’s you mentioned don’t come with Rear Drive and a twin turbo inline 6 putting out 300 hp. The 135 will by all acounts be a fantastic drivers car. I personally can’t wait to try one and if it lives up to billing it may replace the RS4 as the daily sled.
Not that I can really afford it, but I do agree with rprellwitz. In my opinion, rear wheel drive is better all around. Daily commuters can be powered by the front wheels, and unless you like rally driving, AWD should be left to those who need it for weather conditions. Not that I am saying AWD is bad from a performance stand point, but AWD cars can be driven stupid and fast at the same time (or at least longer) while those with RWD who drive stupid are not fast and are not around that long.
I can see how some would like this car, but to me, the value isn’t there. It’s within spitting distance of the more spacious 3-series. The performance image is lackluster; the car has a heavy understeer bias, soft suspension, no limited-slip, and a surprising amount of pudge.
And it looks funny, in part because of the front end, and because people driving it appear unusually large relative to the size of the car. That wouldn’t be the case if it had hatchback proportions, but to me, it looks more like a 3-series that spent too much time on spin cycle.
Competitors?
1) The 3-series. Why buy the mini-car when you can have the cream of BMW’s lineup? Or a G37, and a half-dozen other luxury sport coupes that also compete with the 3-series.
2) The Evolution. Which isn’t really a competitor, because it would leave the 1-series for dead on a wet road, or one with turns. It also costs less with a hell of a lot more standard equipment.
If they could dump 300 lbs from the car and sell the TT at an out-the-door price of around $32K (as opposed to the base price, which won’t include seats or a steering wheel), it would be an absolute world-beater. But at an as-tested price approaching 40K? No way.
The weight difference between the 135 and 335 is a lot less than you might expect — only about 90 pounds, not enough to make a dramatic difference in any dynamic respect.
135i with the usual options is $42,345
Base w/destination – 35675
Premium Pkg – 3300
Sport Pkg – 1000
Auto Trans – 1275
Paddle Shifters – 100
Ipod Adapter – 400
Satellite Radio – 595
335i with the same options is $47,495
$5250 less for the 135i
I was hoping for at least an 8k difference to get a decent optioned 135i for under 40k. NOT
@ Argentla, where did you get that information? According to the technical data the 135i weighs 3373 lbs unladen (unladen = with 150lb driver and full tank of gas) vs 335i @ 3571. All test data I have seen reports the actual weight to be less than this.
With normal options its around 5k cheaper than the 335i. Kind of odd as I was expecting at least 8k lower than the 3 series.
A normally equipped 135i (sport/prem/auto/sat/etc) is over 42k.
The 328i coupe with same options is the same price as the 135i. Go figure.
I have a feeling the convertible, using a cloth top and shorter roof, may both price-, and performance wise be closer to the coupe than its respective 3 series counterpart. That’s the one I’m waiting for. The 3 is just too complex and heavy, and nobody except surfboards and bicycles rides in the back seat of a convertible anyway.
I knew BMW would do this but $50k is quiet steep for a car of that size. I know BMW wants to keep the premium brand image but I would rather they drop the turbo and only have three packages; base, sport, and luxury with price range of $30 to maxed out price point of $40k.
The 1-series is the entry BMW and options should be limited.
While I like the turbo six I don’t think it should be in the entry level segment.