Quote:
Originally Posted by RinconHeat
A tech company that sells cars? Whatever happened to the Ultimate Driving Machine? Everyone ok paying forever for what were once standard features? No sweat? Are you all so confident you can defeat their security? I'm really shocked that no one cares that they will continue to have a "car payment" despite paying cash for their vehicle. Furthermore, new customers who may have scrimped to buy their first used Bimmer are going to be saddled with an extra payment just to keep relevant. I can see the advantages as well but this is very thinly veiled gouging- and frankly crass and unbecoming of a luxury brand.
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Yes, a tech company that sells cars. Most companies today are a tech companies that sell some product, and BMW is transitioning into that direction as well. That transition started when they released their first car with iDrive 7, and what's happening now is just a natural evolution on that strategy.
I understand what you say about having to pay forever for features, and it's a fair concern. I imagine that for customers planning to keep their cars long-term, BMW will still offer to pay for the features up-front when buying the car, so whatever you buy later on is really because you decided it was an optional feature for you.
For people leasing cars, I think this model works great. You can reduce the monthly payment (or get a better one if it's a company car), and then add features as you go. I think it's just awesome.
Personally, the model doesn't bother me (maybe because I work in a tech company myself and I've been seeing this tendency across industries for a while now), but I understand some people may feel unpleased with this new sales strategy.