Stormwind

this is not for your general car shopper but for some people I can see there are values to it, for example for those broke *** rappers ie, 50 cent, that wants to keep up his baller image he can then go for this kind of month to month rentals and keep his vanity going.

pbm317

I imagine with the Cadillac, Porsche and BMW programs now launched, it's really more for increasing purchase awareness and consideration for shoppers. Once you try one of the cars, they'll probably approach you with a specific lease offer, etc. I expect the avg customer duration in one of these "subscription" programs is not expected to be very long.

arentz07

+1, the XC40 program does seem tempting, especially considering it has maintenance and insurance built-in. It would be comparable to a 36-month lease payment, in my estimation, all things factored in. The BMW version seems laughable. For $2k a month you better at least get me into a 540i with all the options - I know part of the justification is the option of switching cars, but come on - a $1k deductible, on top of the high price? Idk...

BippuLexus

I agree the XC40 does seem okay. However, the other companies offerings is definitely not worth it to the average consumer with money or without money.

Its likely that the cars they'll let you switch around with will be no options - or if any, minimally packaged. I find it hard to believe they'll let you switch between fully loaded BMWs that have over 20K worth of options on it. These sub-based cars will probably be treated like rental beaters.

corradoMR2

MM, short answer no, not for Kia, nor any mainstream brand for that matter since they don't really appeal to me at this time.

I'd pay the "25%" premium for a premium brand especially one with a variety of vehicles that I can actually make use of or just plain have fun (coupes, SUVs, sedans, sportbacks, convertibles, etc). Lexus, Audi, BMW, MB, even Jag, fit that bill nicely. A Z5 convertible in the summer, a GX in fall and winter for hauling reno materials and handling snow with ease, heck maybe even a new ES FSport or Hybrid for a couple months... but again no more than a couple hundred dollars more over the most expensive vehicle in that group, to pay for the luxury of having "variety".

mmarshall

Fair enough answer. I wouldn't want to get a relatively new Stinger, even with AWD that could handle at least some slippery roads, full of sand, salt, and abrasives (or hit winter potholes wth those low-profile tires) either.

geko29

Price is beyond absurd. $3700/mo for the membership that lets you choose from an M4 convertible, X5/X6M, M5. Put another way, $200 more than leasing all of them at the same time.

M4 Convertible: $969
X6M: $1259
M5: $1299

Grand total: $3,527. And you can switch vehicles as many times per day as the mood strikes you. Or let a friend/family member drive one (or two!). You'd never get a car that had been ragged out by someone you never met. Yes, insurance is not included, but I have better coverage than they're offering, and cost-wise would likely still come pretty close to the subscription total. And maintenance and car washes are included.

No, I'm not seriously suggesting someone would actually do this. Just underscoring the ridiculousness of the whole thing.

arentz07

Wonder if some major auto mag will end up trying the program out and reporting on their experience? Or, doing both things side-by-side? Seriously though, I could totally see one of the major ones, like MT or C&D, doing a year subscription and long-term updates on it.

sorptd

BippuLexus

+1 I agree.

Good thought. I actually wonder if an auto mag will review the sub-base program too. They can do a long-term type review like how they do on some cars.

If I were to guess, I think auto mags might end up doing it because there is a bunch of people curious about these sub-based car programs.

MattyG

When you see what BMW is doing here, it isn't as insane as it may sound on first look. Any sane car leasing consumer knows that you don't go this route for a luxury premium car with its associated benefits. Maybe this service is being offered to potential short term customers who want a short term rental. There might be a reason why Nashville is the test market (and that's all it is - a test).

Nashville is the country music capital of the US. You have some really, really big money there and it's a cultural center in many ways. It's a sophisticated place, not some hick backwater. What if you wanted to have a wedding, reception and a month of festivities there? Wouldn't someone maybe go all the way and subscribe to these cars for that whole month?

If it were to succeed then the company would expand to LA or Miami. But for people who don't run in big money and big prestige circles, this is a gouge. You can actually lease a BMW Alpina B7 and its 600 hp for $2000/month. Of course you pay insurance etc, but still a far better deal than this. If you have the credit rating for this service, you have the ability to lease a high end car too.

wasjr

To follow up on your comments about Nashville, from the Friday edition of our local paper: "Phil DiIanni, a BMW spokesman, said Nashville was chosen for the pilot because of its dealer partnerships, demographics and cultural profile, underscoring the city's growth of affluent residents."

To give you an idea of current Nashville from a business perspective on what has come here in the past several years, in addition to healthcare we have the Nissan North America headquarters and the Bridgestone headquarters among others, and recently Warner Music has moved their accounting and operations for all of their labels and distribution here from Burbank and NY. We just had the Davis Cup tennis quarterfinals at Belmont University this past weekend. To your wedding comment, apparently we are the number one destination for Bachelorette parties. On the downside, being here since 1975 I believe too many out of state developers have come in, and IMO we are getting overbuilt in the condo, apartment, and hotel sectors.

situman

Someone's going to do it to show off and dense enough to not realize people are laughing at him behind his back.

wasjr

Well, we are going to get a little competition here in Nashville. Mercedes has announced a pilot subscription service in Nashville as well as Philadelphia to start in June.

geko29

Maybe they can charge $5000/mo