Anyone else notice in the recent Car and Driver that the price of the 530i (without auto or navi) was $56K? Impressive. Friend of mine with a 745 who wants out went in and priced a 545. Not sure what all he put on it (said it wasn't very loaded) but it would sticker at $68K before dealer markup, tax, license, etc.

Should be interesting to see what Lexus does with the pricing on the 05 GS when it gets here.

 

$68K for a 545i???? Holy smokes. Not the same kind of car but I'd take an LS430 instead.

 

A strong Euro doesn't help much, either. I read that a loaded 645CiC (softtop convertible) will sticker around $75K, which is more than the base model 7 Series sedan...

 

A fully loaded E500 should break 70k i believe. Overpriced IMO, especially in 03 when NAV wasn't even an option.

James

 

Ought to be interesting to see what that new M5 stickers at. I have a feeling that getting one for that extimated $78K is going to be impossible. I guess bimmer and MB are glad that they report sales figures in dollars and not units. With the prices on the new five, even with a good drop in volume, they should still get well into double digit increases. Won't hurt resale on the current gen either - might be where the bimmer deals are at.

 

It was an option in 03 - it just didn't work!

Many of the cars today can really hit serious dollars - but the dealers are not ordering them that way. Most 530s are coming in at $50K and $52K with sport package. You don't get all the fun goodies, but then again the price doesn't seem as bad as $56K.

I have an RX330 loaner right now (very impressive I might add) and the sticker is $41K. Not bad considering my wife's was $39.5K with the main difference being that she has the NAK stereo. However, add in the rear view camera, NAV, HID headlights that turn, etc. and you are at $45K.

 

Don't know if I have seen any 545's yet but the 530's on the lot here with automatic were all over 55K. Pretty serious for the 530.

My wife got an RX330 as a loaner when her GS was in for service and I have to agree, very nice, although she wasn't crazy about some of the redesign details over the RX300. Also think the RX seats, especially the rear seats, are about the nicest in this price/size range.