Thinking of Getting a BMW Subscription? Expect to Mercifully Pay Less
BMW is trimming some of the fat off its car subscription program after the media collectively realized that paying twice what you would on an average lease didn’t constitute a good deal. Frankly, most car subscription services that exist right now are an incredibly poor value. Bavarian Motor Works was the rule, not the exception.
However, most of these programs are in their infancy and cater to wealthier individuals who get a kick out pestering automakers to submit to their whims by occasionally delivering a new vehicle. It was presumed that those lofty fees would come down as competition ramped up and mainstream automakers entered the fray. That, along with some public criticism of the subscription model, seems to be helping push automakers away from astronomical prices.
That’s not to say the German manufacturer is suddenly offering a bargain alternative to leasing. But if you love the idea of having a car for every occasion and don’t want to deal with insurance agents, Access by BMW has become more affordable.
According to Automotive News, BMW has reduce the price of both of its existing packages by a significant amount. The $2,000 per month package, which yielded customers models like the X5 M and M2 Competition, now runs $1,399 per month. Meanwhile, the $3,700 top-tier plan that could have you swapping between several six-figure models is now $2,699 each month.
There’s also a new basic plan that gets you into just about every BMW with a starting MSRP under $50,000 for just $1,099 — which is priced suspiciously close to the Mercedes-Benz Collection plan’s opening bid.
Again, these aren’t the best deals we’ve ever heard of, but insurance and maintenance are included. The company will also let you hop between vehicles. For example — if you’re a member of the cheapest plan and spend most of your time in an M240i convertible, but need something bigger to take the whole family out of town for a week, you can swap into an X3 without much trouble. Want to see how you like a pint-sized electric? Ditch the SUV and hop into an i3.
The pricing still isn’t low enough for us to endorse any of these programs as financially sound. But, if you absolutely love the idea of car swapping and have some money to burn, we suppose there is little harm in jumping in and seeing how you like it — other than normalizing the practice of factory-owned rental cars masquerading as your own personal vehicle.
[Image: BMW]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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"Again, these aren’t the best deals we’ve ever heard of, but insurance and maintenance are included. " Why does Days of Thunder suddenly come scrolling across my consciousness?
I don't find these prices outrageous, either. No more so than BMWs in general. Now, make the $1099 plan $799, but stipulate at least 50% of the time in either a "stripper" 1/2 series or on a BMW bike, and we're really talking........ Going off-BMW, payments on a CX-5, a Miata AND a Japanese bike probably don't combine to much more than $1099, so you're obviously still paying for the roundel...