# 325iT Discontinued



## DCC (Apr 16, 2002)

after the 2003 Model Year...is it true?


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## PhilH (Jun 7, 2002)

...to be replaced by the X3??? :dunno: 

This is how rumors get started... :eeps:


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## Jon Shafer (Dec 15, 2001)

PhilH said:


> *...to be replaced by the X3???
> 
> This is how rumors get started... *


Actually, this rumor has been floating around for a while
now...

What we don't have is any **official** word from BMWNA.

Frankly, I wouldn't expect to hear a confirmation regarding
this until almost all of the 2003's have been retailed....

:dunno:


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## Dr. Phil (Dec 19, 2001)

PhilH said:


> *...to be replaced by the X3??? :dunno:
> 
> This is how rumors get started... :eeps: *


That is my guess, the X3 will sell more to the general population than the 325 iT. Its a SUV.....errr .........SAV thing

My wife for one likes to sit up so she would go for one:dunno: :eeps:


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## ·clyde· (Dec 26, 2001)

PM 325xiT said:


> *
> That is my guess, the X3 will sell more to the general population than the 325 iT. Its a SUV.....errr .........SAV thing
> 
> My wife for one likes to sit up so she would go for one:dunno: :eeps: *


I'm still afraid that I'm going to want one.


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## IndyMike (Dec 19, 2001)

PM 325xiT said:


> * My wife for one likes to sit up so she would go for one *


Be careful what you wish for, Phil!

We had the same thoughts so we got an '01 Ford Escape XLT 4x4. What we discovered is that SUV's or SAV's just aren't for us. Plus, the gas mileage really bites on these things.

We found the Sport wagon gives us everything we effectively need, and should have got one last year. I was holding out hoping we'd get the 330 engine in one, but when it became evident that it was a pipedream we had to pull the trigger on another option.

Do what you gotta do, but make sure it's what you really want and can live with.


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## Dr. Phil (Dec 19, 2001)

IndyMike said:


> *
> Be careful what you wish for, Phil!
> 
> We had the same thoughts so we got an '01 Ford Escape XLT 4x4. What we discovered is that SUV's or SAV's just aren't for us. Plus, the gas mileage really bites on these things.
> ...


Oh I agree with all your points and really want to put my with in the xiT full time. But she is the ultimate decider and comments regularly on how she prefers to sit higher up in van.

She normally drives less than 100 miles a weeks so mpg is not a big factor but still a valid consideration.

--------------------

Clyde - I fear too that I may "like" the styling. But X3 and touring combo is too much for one garage IMO.


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## MikeW (Dec 20, 2001)

This is a female thing, and it drives me crazy. Can we show all the women out there who like SUVs pictures of the mangled bodies of people flung out of rolled over SUVs. Maybe this would cure them.

I have a sister like this. Every time there's a news show on TV about how unstable and dangerous SUVs are, I make her watch it.


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## Jetfire (Jun 20, 2002)

MikeW said:


> *This is a female thing, and it drives me crazy. Can we show all the women out there who like SUVs pictures of the mangled bodies of people flung out of rolled over SUVs. Maybe this would cure them.
> 
> I have a sister like this. Every time there's a news show on TV about how unstable and dangerous SUVs are, I make her watch it. *


I like being able to sit upright in a van/SUV as well. It's a very comfortable way to spend a few hundred miles, or even a trip to the offie. And if you realize that you're driving an SUV, not a car, you won't roll it. I prefer cars, naturally, but SUVs have their place and knocking them on their driving position/rollover ability is sort of like saying that cars are too low to the ground.


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## Desertnate (Mar 11, 2002)

Jon Shafer said:


> *
> 
> Actually, this rumor has been floating around for a while
> now...
> ...


What about Europe? Will the Tourings still be availble there if this rumor comes to pass?

I can't image the Europeans giving up a sport wagon for a SUV. In my part of England I see more iT's than coupes and the numbers are almost on par with the sedans.

There is this jet black 330d Touring with the sport package and type 72's that I have been lusting over for a while....


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## Nick325xiT 5spd (Dec 24, 2001)

Europeans won't give up the iT. But sales numbers in the US suck.


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## ·clyde· (Dec 26, 2001)

Nick325xiT 5spd said:


> *Europeans won't give up the iT. But sales numbers in the US suck. *


But do they suck because that's all that they can sell, or becuase that's all that they've been willing to sell. When I ordered my wagon, my experience was that the allocations for iT and xiTs went very quickly. My salesman said that he could give me a better deal on either a 325 or 330 (i or xi) than the wagon (a few hundred less over invoice). The impression that I went away with was that the Tourings moved easier than the sedans.


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## IndyMike (Dec 19, 2001)

Desertnate said:


> *
> 
> What about Europe? Will the Tourings still be availble there if this rumor comes to pass?
> 
> ...


My opinion is that Europe will continue to have access to Tourings. The SUV hysteria there hasn't taken off anywhere near to the degree that it has here in America.

Besides, what with the price of gas in Europe being 3 to 4 times what it is here in the U.S. it's likely Europeans will continue to opt for relatively energy efficient vehicles as opposed to the gas pigs that SUV's generally are.

They (Europeans) also get a much broader variant of Tourings, whereas AG & NA have only decided to give the States the underpowered 325.

One can only moan about what might have been had they opted to market the 330iT. But they screwed up in their marketing scheme and the price for that error is that we will lose the 3er wagon option, at least for the foreseeable future.


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## Jetfire (Jun 20, 2002)

[email protected] said:


> *
> 
> But do they suck because that's all that they can sell, or becuase that's all that they've been willing to sell. When I ordered my wagon, my experience was that the allocations for iT and xiTs went very quickly. My salesman said that he could give me a better deal on either a 325 or 330 (i or xi) than the wagon (a few hundred less over invoice). The impression that I went away with was that the Tourings moved easier than the sedans. *


Based on the facts you give here, I would actually conclude that the allocation for wagons is simply tighter than allocation for sedans. So BMWNA would predict a certain sales volume and adjust allocation to reflect their prediction. It doesn't necessarily mean that the wagons are popular: if 1% of all 3-series being produced are wagons and 2% of the 3-series buying market want wagons, you're going to run into the situation you described. It doesn't mean that wagons are easier to sell, just that BMWNA may be slightly underestimating the size of the market.


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## JPinTO (Dec 20, 2001)

To you guys who are glum about adding a SUV to the family... cheer up. 

This past weekend, I added our ML to the small percentage of SUV's that actually go offroad. We were in Ontario's cottage country and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful fall colors and find an offroad trail. 

I found a unmaintained snowmobile trail that went for about 20miles. I didn't have a map, and spend time exploring side trails that ended up being heavily mudded logging routes.

Half way in, I reached a closed off bridge going over a stream. The stream was shallow < 12" but the problem was the boulders that were in the middle and the steep banks on either side. I almost turned back, but decided to just do it.

The 2 hours of driving solitude with challenges was some of the best driving I've done in the last year. I'm hooked and ready for more.


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## Dr. Phil (Dec 19, 2001)

[email protected] said:


> *
> 
> But do they suck because that's all that they can sell, or becuase that's all that they've been willing to sell. When I ordered my wagon, my experience was that the allocations for iT and xiTs went very quickly. My salesman said that he could give me a better deal on either a 325 or 330 (i or xi) than the wagon (a few hundred less over invoice). The impression that I went away with was that the Tourings moved easier than the sedans. *


When I got mine the dealer had no sedan xi slots for Nov or Dec production left. That was one of the reasons he did 1500 over with no hassle at all. Although we had decided to seriously consider the wagon, the rep thought I was set on a sedan:angel:

I remember when in the decision process, the "other" internet guy told me to expect the same situation as Clyde. Wagons tight so expect to pay a few hundred more over invoice.


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## ·clyde· (Dec 26, 2001)

Jetfire said:


> *
> It doesn't mean that wagons are easier to sell, just that BMWNA may be slightly underestimating the size of the market. *


I agree, but to what extent that market is being underestimated? BMW is out to make money and they've been reasonably good at it lately. I doubt that they're understimating by much. If selling the 325(x)iT here wasn't profitable, I don't think that they would be selling it at all. How long did it take them to remove the 318ti from the US lineup? I suspect that if they remove the 325(x)iT it will be because they expect the X3 to canibalize Touring sales to the extent that it will no longer be profitable to sell Touring here.


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## Jetfire (Jun 20, 2002)

[email protected] said:


> *
> I agree, but to what extent that market is being underestimated? BMW is out to make money and they've been reasonably good at it lately. I doubt that they're understimating by much. If selling the 325(x)iT here wasn't profitable, I don't think that they would be selling it at all. How long did it take them to remove the 318ti from the US lineup? I suspect that if they remove the 325(x)iT it will be because they expect the X3 to canibalize Touring sales to the extent that it will no longer be profitable to sell Touring here. *


Exactly. My point was that I think sales "suck" because few people in this country really want a wagon. In other words, BMW is selling almost as many as they can here.

OTOH, Americans love SUVs. A mini-ute would bring in some new customers who have previously looked at things like the Escape, RAV4, CR-V, and so on. BMW might also determine that most or all potential 3-wagon buyers would also be itnerested in a BMW compact SUV, in which case it would no longer be profitable to bring in that 1% of E46s.


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