I'll tell you what I'd do if a car dealer pulled this on me. After all the normal haggling was done: "$80 a year? Fine. I plan to hang on to this car for 10 years. If you don't take an additional $800 off the price, no deal. Period"
The mere fact that you believe there is a point where "all the normal haggling" is done means you probably don't negotiate very well.
Car salesmen who last at their jobs have been through the wringer with every stripe of hostile customer, and they ain't dumb, although seeming dumb may be part of the game.
It has been more than once that I actually enabled pre-heating using that fucking app from within the car. I just want the car to remain warm when I grab groceries #ultimatelazyasshole
Since the dealer doesn’t get part of that $80, it is unlikely they will reduce your price by $800 as that will reduce or even eliminate their profit. Especially BMW as I’ve seen pretty aggressive margins to keep their high volume.
That's a pretty strange thing to do. Most BMW customers won't care.
Let’s flip it around: I’m buying a $42K car (the 428 I’ve had my eye on), and BMW is going to nickel-and-dime me on it?
The $80/yr... turns a boolean from false to true. One that much cheaper cars give away.
How would you feel if BMW decided to start charging $80/yr for heated seats? There is absolutely no reason that should have a yearly fee attached to it.
Btw it's not like the BMW is the only one charging for the mobile connection in the car... it's basically another cell phone + monthly plan, they are not free.
I would like a company that just takes the old Apple approach - you’re going to pay more, but you get everything for two different prices. Now even Apple has lower prices and then extra for stuff.
I thought Tesla would be this cool company, but they mega upcharge you. My friend signed up for the “35k” model and got $15k in options, one is entirely software based.
CarPlay is some firmware, and whatever it costs to certify the unit through the Made for iPhone program. After that, everything comes off my phone including any data. IOW, the Pioneer head unit that has CarPlay I bought for one of our cars doesn't even have a slot for a SIM, because the phone takes care of all that.
So once the R&D is paid for, which I'm happy to pay for (with a suitable margin for BMW) once, CarPlay is essentially free of ongoing costs to the manufacturer.
Um, have you looked at the BMW website? Gone to configure a car? The answer is a resounding YES!
A $40K car loan at 60 months is $600/month.
You could have got a Honda or Toyota for half that amount with the same features but without the prestige of owning a BMW.
Pay to play.
Pay to play.