[Aalfred]

I wanted to share my experience for those who missed out on the preorders and looking to order an I4 soon.

I always dreamt of owning an M3 and was looking forward to getting one last year when the chip shortage threw a wrench into my plans. I finally decided to order an M3C last month but was put off with the ridiculous market adjustments and inability to test drive one. I then test drove an I4M50 and was very impressed. After debating between my heart and my head, went with the head this time due to me needing a daily commuter.

I looked at multiple dealerships in the milwaukee, madison and chicago area and emailed SA and was able to get a rough idea about the wait lists AKA order bank. Those who pre ordered hot an allocation but for those of us who were late, we get a wait list where the pre orders are filled first and then those on the wait list are given an allocation which is a commitment to build your car by BMW. ONce you get an allocation you will soon get a production number

Most of the I4M50 i was able to get at MSRP (as of April). A few dealers were asking market adjustment between $1800-2500. I have a costco membership and my costco negotiated dealer was offering $1000 under MSRP. if you live in a bigger metro, i would def recommend Costco auto program. I went with the largest dealer in IL but was 28th on the wait list. Seeing so many people getting their I4 delivered and the delays, i was concerned that i might not get my car until next summer as none of the dealerships were able to tell me how many allocations were given as they itself didnt know how it went. If you were conservative and each of them got 2-3 allocations a month, you could do the math. So i found another dealer who was a large dealer in WI with a wait list of 5 and at MSRP and placed another deposit today. I thought i would go with whoever gets the car first but common sense prevails i prob might get it sooner with a wait list of 5 vs 28 !!! Either ways im looking at 6-9 months of wait but hoping im wrong and it comes sooner

Below is my build
I4 M50, Portimao Blue, Black vernasaca with blue contrast stitching, 860M wheels, red calipers, HUD, drive recorder, carbon fiber trim, driver assistance pkg, parking assistance pkg, premium pkg, icon Adaptive LED with laserlight.

[ypk]

wait list of 5 vs 28

did you ask how many allocation they tend to get? They vary based on dealerships and may give you an indication on when you get an allocation.

Good luck, it's just a waiting game now

[Aalfred]

@ypk The crazy part is no one knew how many allocations they r getting and how its decided. Its always presumed that high volume dealers will get more allocations but with I4, they r not sure. The large dealership with the 28 wait list told me it went off the date the order was put in. It didnt make much sense the dealer with the 5 wait list have all their pre orders in production. So im hopeful they will get into their order bank in the next 2-3 months if they get 2 allocations per month

[jeff2.0t]

All those theories of allocation and occult method of distribution is bulshit in my opinion. We are no longer in a era of manufacturing then sending in concessions randomly based on the wind direction. The supply must be 4 times lower than the demand. BMW knows very well who wants one and since when. Very easy for them to make a rule of three or apply a first in to order first out. I don't think there is an advantage to choosing one dealer vs another

[Aalfred]

The first in and first out theory may not work as efficiently esp in the smaller markets. In more populous cities, there are going to be more orders and if BMW focuses on FIFO options, the rest of the smaller markets will be waiting a long time to fulfill their orders. I think allocation based on sales volume is time tested but in this day and age, getting an allocation itself might be an issue. I dont think putting all your eggs in one basket approach is going to be a wise choice esp when the wait is 9-12 months. Hopefully when June hits and there is a good understanding of how many pre-orders r fulfilled and how many vehicles r produced, we might have a better understanding but FIFO is not a viable option. I wouldnt be sitting at #50 hoping that ill get a car in 6-9 months. It just doesnt make sense

[jeff2.0t]

Originally Posted by Aalfred

The first in and first out theory may not work as efficiently esp in the smaller markets. In more populous cities, there are going to be more orders and if BMW focuses on FIFO options, the rest of the smaller markets will be waiting a long time to fulfill their orders. I think allocation based on sales volume is time tested but in this day and age, getting an allocation itself might be an issue. I dont think putting all your eggs in one basket approach is going to be a wise choice esp when the wait is 9-12 months. Hopefully when June hits and there is a good understanding of how many pre-orders r fulfilled and how many vehicles r produced, we might have a better understanding but FIFO is not a viable option. I wouldnt be sitting at #50 hoping that ill get a car in 6-9 months. It just doesnt make sense

I do not see how a dealer who sells less would be disadvantaged in FIFO. He runs a business like anyone else and can take orders like anyone else and book them as customers come.

it's not as if there were 1 million orders per day and that the dealer in NY filled the yankees stadium with 5000 clerks to register the reservations faster than the others. Each dealer has the same infrastructure as the others to let BMW know that a reservation is taking place.

[Raille]

In a FIFO system I'd think the customer who buys from a larger dealer has a potential advantage. If someone were to cancel their order ahead of you, it's possible you might get their order place or at least the person ahead of you. That's not to say how it works, they might just remove that order from the overall line unless already in production, but as stated above none of us know.

[techwhiz1]

Originally Posted by Raille

In a FIFO system I'd think the customer who buys from a larger dealer has a potential advantage. If someone were to cancel their order ahead of you, it's possible you might get their order place or at least the person ahead of you. That's not to say how it works, they might just remove that order from the overall line unless already in production, but as stated above none of us know.

If it's FIFO and everyone is in the same queue then a cancellation at a large or small dealer doesn't necessarily give the larger dealer an advantage.

It depends on what's feeding the pipeline and if the following car in the pipeline after an cancellation is at the same dealer.

Your assumption is that all the queues are independent and that is as far from reality as you can get. The queues all are the same queue just interleaved with a large funnel feeding parallel builds and deliveries but a dealer that gets 20 cars does not mean it's not behind a dealer that only gets five.

This is a problem I see in computer design and queueing theory.

[Aalfred]

Originally Posted by jeff2.0t

I do not see how a dealer who sells less would be disadvantaged in FIFO. He runs a business like anyone else and can take orders like anyone else and book them as customers come.

it's not as if there were 1 million orders per day and that the dealer in NY filled the yankees stadium with 5000 clerks to register the reservations faster than the others. Each dealer has the same infrastructure as the others to let BMW know that a reservation is taking place.

If you are in a smaller market and sell 1-2 cars a day and expect to compete with someone in NY who sells 20-30 cars a day, the next order that the small market dealer gets will be at #31 instead of 3 if you want all the BMW orders for the US to be in a common order bank and go with FIFO. So yes, now add the rest of the states with the orders and with the big cities having way more orders (say LA, NY), you cannot tell the person ordering a car the next day that the list has gone exponentially up and that now he may to wait 18 months instead of 6-9 months !!! I dont think, many buyers will be willing to wait that long and just go with a competitor. Having allocations based on states and volume may be the best solution we have. What algorithm BMW uses to get them into production is not known but FIFO is definitely not the answer

[techwhiz1]

Originally Posted by Aalfred

If you are in a smaller market and sell 1-2 cars a day and expect to compete with someone in NY who sells 20-30 cars a day, the next order that the small market dealer gets will be at #31 instead of 3 if you want all the BMW orders for the US to be in a common order bank and go with FIFO. So yes, now add the rest of the states with the orders and with the big cities having way more orders (say LA, NY), you cannot tell the person ordering a car the next day that the list has gone exponentially up and that now he may to wait 18 months instead of 6-9 months !!! I dont think, many buyers will be willing to wait that long and just go with a competitor. Having allocations based on states and volume may be the best solution we have. What algorithm BMW uses to get them into production is not known but FIFO is definitely not the answer

But the way you have explained, small dealers will never get cars and we know that isn't the case.

[Aalfred]

Originally Posted by techwhiz1

But the way you have explained, small dealers will never get cars and we know that isn't the case.

I was explaining the scenario where you have a FIFO as the option for allocation. We all know thats not the case. A lot has to do with dealer size, sales volume within their local market and number of dealers available within a defined area. Thats why the smaller dealers are still able to compete with the big guys even within the same market coz its in the manufacturers best interest to keep them in business. So they do get their own allocations however crooked or weird their system is designed.

[Garycoral]

Hey Aalfred - I'm in Wisconsin too... Just too delivery of an M4 after a proloooooooonged wait - Not really thrilled. Agreed on you summary - No test drives available but I will say I got very good pricing (Sub-MSRP) and a fair trade for my C8.

I'm flipping a coin now between adding a 2nd X545e (We're picking up my wife's '22 tomorrow to replace her '21) which I really enjoy driving or the i4M50. The M-Car is just so much more capable than I'm using daily I can't really see it making much sense.

Where did you end up ordering your i4 from?

[Aalfred]

Originally Posted by Garycoral

Hey Aalfred - I'm in Wisconsin too... Just too delivery of an M4 after a proloooooooonged wait - Not really thrilled. Agreed on you summary - No test drives available but I will say I got very good pricing (Sub-MSRP) and a fair trade for my C8.

I'm flipping a coin now between adding a 2nd X545e (We're picking up my wife's '22 tomorrow to replace her '21) which I really enjoy driving or the i4M50. The M-Car is just so much more capable than I'm using daily I can't really see it making much sense.

Where did you end up ordering your i4 from?

Hey Garycoral, i think you will like the I4M50 esp since you already have a X545e. The ride is much smoother and it has an insane pickup ( may not be as good as an M4) but good enough for most driving scenarios. Have you test driven one yet? I went to International Auto - Phan Vanhsy was my agent. She was very nice. Got at MSRP and i was 5th on the list. I also placed a deposit at Bill Jacobs in Chicago. Was 28th but since they r the largest in IL thought ill take a chance. They were 1K under MSRP under the costco auto program and were very nice and honest. No pushy sales tactic etc. Joshua was was SA.

Bmw north was crazy. Wanted 2500K over MSRP and had 11 waitlisted. Even madison was giving at MSRP with 8 on the list. Dont know if BMW north is aware that most of their competitors r giving at MSRP. I would strongly test drive one. You will like it.

[Garycoral]

Originally Posted by Aalfred

Hey Garycoral, i think you will like the I4M50 esp since you already have a X545e. The ride is much smoother and it has an insane pickup ( may not be as good as an M4) but good enough for most driving scenarios. Have you test driven one yet? I went to International Auto - Phan Vanhsy was my agent. She was very nice. Got at MSRP and i was 5th on the list. I also placed a deposit at Bill Jacobs in Chicago. Was 28th but since they r the largest in IL thought ill take a chance. They were 1K under MSRP under the costco auto program and were very nice and honest. No pushy sales tactic etc. Joshua was was SA.

Bmw north was crazy. Wanted 2500K over MSRP and had 11 waitlisted. Even madison was giving at MSRP with 8 on the list. Dont know if BMW north is aware that most of their competitors r giving at MSRP. I would strongly test drive one. You will like it.

I'm going to drive a 40 today up at Enterprise in Appleton... Picking up our 2nd vehicle this month from them and a friend is picking up his X3 tomorrow - He saved $10K from BMW North. I got $6K off MSRP on my M4 there.

I wouldn't really know how quick the M4 is since I'm in breakin till 1200 miles - I know it'a about the same as my C8 - But the trauma launching an ICE vehicle causes seems almost not worth it.

Do you have an allocation at International? I'll report back where I sit at Enterprise and the pricing which I'm sure will be better than the Milw. Dealers. What spec did you decide on for you i4??

[Zamorskii]

I'm in a similar boat ... put my name on M3CX waitlist and now thinking if i4 M50 might be a more attainable and useful option for me, especially as a daily driver. M3 that I eyeballed is $20k more compared to i4 when I factor in $7.5k tax credit, and I've never been to a track in my life with no such plans (at least not more than a couple of times, if that). All I want is an instant torque and ability to outrun whoever when I feel like it.

[Garycoral]

Originally Posted by Zamorskii

I'm in a similar boat ... put my name on M3CX waitlist and now thinking if i4 M50 might be a more attainable and useful option for me, especially as a daily driver. M3 that I eyeballed is $20k more compared to i4 when I factor in $7.5k tax credit, and I've never been to a track in my life with no such plans (at least not more than a couple of times, if that). All I want is an instant torque and ability to outrun whoever when I feel like it.

Got a chance to drive the i4 40 and it was OK... This unit was a "Tester" so it was a little dirty and not my spec - It was VERY quick and quiet but a little bland on both the inside and out. I thought I'd like the Idrive 8 more than I did - But it was a short test drive...

[motzus]

Originally Posted by Zamorskii

I'm in a similar boat ... put my name on M3CX waitlist and now thinking if i4 M50 might be a more attainable and useful option for me, especially as a daily driver. M3 that I eyeballed is $20k more compared to i4 when I factor in $7.5k tax credit, and I've never been to a track in my life with no such plans (at least not more than a couple of times, if that). All I want is an instant torque and ability to outrun whoever when I feel like it.

The high road noise in my F80 (bad roads in DC metro area) got old fast. For short drives by myself I didn't mind the noise. Driving with my wife in the car was annoying because it was hard to talk over the road noise.

[Aalfred]

Originally Posted by Garycoral

Attachment 2870878

I'm going to drive a 40 today up at Enterprise in Appleton... Picking up our 2nd vehicle this month from them and a friend is picking up his X3 tomorrow - He saved $10K from BMW North. I got $6K off MSRP on my M4 there.

I wouldn't really know how quick the M4 is since I'm in breakin till 1200 miles - I know it'a about the same as my C8 - But the trauma launching an ICE vehicle causes seems almost not worth it.

Do you have an allocation at International? I'll report back where I sit at Enterprise and the pricing which I'm sure will be better than the Milw. Dealers. What spec did you decide on for you i4??

Both IA and BMW North have the M50. You should test drive that too and see the difference. Ive not test driven the 40 as i was very satisfied with the I50. IA didnt have an allocation. Just a short waitlist at 5. They did do MSRP. I think i was told i was 8th at Enterprise BMW when i enquired 3 wks ago. I went with the M50, portimao blue. The full build is in the first thread i posted here. They were saying prob 6-9 months for delivery. If you do go with IA, beware of their finance guy. He is a bit pushy. I would just hold ur ground and try to get rid of unnecessary fees. They still wanted me to run a credit app but were the only ones that did the purchase order and signed a contract which might be worth it as it prevents them to raising the cost when the car is delivered.

[Aalfred]

Originally Posted by Zamorskii

I'm in a similar boat ... put my name on M3CX waitlist and now thinking if i4 M50 might be a more attainable and useful option for me, especially as a daily driver. M3 that I eyeballed is $20k more compared to i4 when I factor in $7.5k tax credit, and I've never been to a track in my life with no such plans (at least not more than a couple of times, if that). All I want is an instant torque and ability to outrun whoever when I feel like it.

I hear you. I was torn between the M3C and I4 M50. If i had a comfortable daily driver, i would have gone with the M3C. But the instant torque and ability to outrun the folks on the road with the M50 and comfortable ride made it all the more appealing. I do soend a considerable amount of time driving for work and chose comfort and low maintainence over my passion. Hopefully in 4-5 yrs, ill get that M3C