[Legion5]

The 2 series has been out for several months now. When it launched each dealer had 7-20 models in stock after the first few weeks. There are 10 dealers in my area and each have over 200 or more 3 series but only one or two 2 series models in stock.

In fact dealers in my area have more i8 supercars than 2 series.

Why is the stock situation on these so absurd? It seems shocking that an entry level car would have fewer models available than supercars.

[alz0rz]

Bargain car.

[bimmerbuff]

Only available in coupe or convertible.

3-Series Sedan is what most buyers are looking for.

[doublevanosrc]

Originally Posted by bimmerbuff

Only available in coupe or convertible.

3-Series Sedan is what most buyers are looking for.

This^

[golf_234]

Originally Posted by doublevanosrc

This^

What's next for you, doublevanos? 235? Pardon threadjack.

Also, not really putting this out as an answer, it is just a thought, but sometimes I wonder if the margins on the 2 are a little lower for them. This just comes from the intuition that you seem to get a lot of bang for your buck in the car.

[Cyberdemon]

It's not much different than the 1 series. I expect once next summer rolls around and you start seeing more convertibles pop up stock will increase. The 3 series is still the volume seller though, so it makes sense to keep a ton of 3's in stock so you can move them quickly. 2 series owners if they don't like the 5 cars on the lot can always order one.

[doublevanosrc]

Originally Posted by golf_234

What's next for you, doublevanos? 235? Pardon threadjack.

Also, not really putting this out as an answer, it is just a thought, but sometimes I wonder if the margins on the 2 are a little lower for them. This just comes from the intuition that you seem to get a lot of bang for your buck in the car.

Ha, good question. Currently leaning towards another 135i manual however the closest one that I like is like 4 states away. THe 235i has intrigued me quite a bit and is growing on me however I'm just having a hard time caving in. The car just lacks that connection that the 135 has. Of course used pristine 135s are becoming more rare each day so it's possible that I will have no choice but another GTI(MK7) or the 235i. I really like my current GTI(MK6) alot I really do its almost perfect however it does have a weak a/c(Texas heat is no joke) and I do miss that rear wheel propulsion feeling.

[BD_F22]

I believe a lot of the inventory on 235's stems from the fact that it is a "specialty" car in the sense it is packaged more towards the enthusiast crowd opposed to the "normal" buyer. And a dealership will always carry less "specialty" cars in stock opposed to their hottest sellers. Also like others have stated it is a small two door coupe that does not attract everyone like a 3 series sedan. I am not one to complain, the less of them on the road the better in my eyes it will keep the car a little more rare. I personally love the reactions from a ton of people lately that see my car and take pictures and ask which car it is because they never even heard of it.

[DanG]

Originally Posted by Legion5

The 2 series has been out for several months now. When it launched each dealer had 7-20 models in stock after the first few weeks. There are 10 dealers in my area and each have over 200 or more 3 series but only one or two 2 series models in stock.

In fact dealers in my area have more i8 supercars than 2 series.

Why is the stock situation on these so absurd? It seems shocking that an entry level car would have fewer models available than supercars.

Around here, each dealer was lucky to have one M235i in stock for the first 3 months. Right now he has 3.

[golf_234]

Originally Posted by doublevanosrc

Ha, good question. Currently leaning towards another 135i manual however the closest one that I like is like 4 states away. THe 235i has intrigued me quite a bit and is growing on me however I'm just having a hard time caving in. The car just lacks that connection that the 135 has. Of course used pristine 135s are becoming more rare each day so it's possible that I will have no choice but another GTI(MK7) or the 235i. I really like my current GTI(MK6) alot I really do its almost perfect however it does have a weak a/c(Texas heat is no joke) and I do miss that rear wheel propulsion feeling.

M2? I wish I had more seat time in the 2, I did a test drive but that was about it. Is it really that much more disconnected? Could it be resolved with more agressive suspension, coils, wheels? I mean it is a pretty similar platform...? I have read several accounts where people grow to prefer the EPS over the HPS. I am open to it. So many cars, so little time, and so much $ ha ha.

[golf_234]

Originally Posted by BD_F22

I believe a lot of the inventory on 235's stems from the fact that it is a "specialty" car in the sense it is packaged more towards the enthusiast crowd opposed to the "normal" buyer. And a dealership will always carry less "specialty" cars in stock opposed to their hottest sellers. Also like others have stated it is a small two door coupe that does not attract everyone like a 3 series sedan. I am not one to complain, the less of them on the road the better in my eyes it will keep the car a little more rare. I personally love the reactions from a ton of people lately that see my car and take pictures and ask which car it is because they never even heard of it.

Agreed

[doublevanosrc]

Originally Posted by golf_234

M2? I wish I had more seat time in the 2, I did a test drive but that was about it. Is it really that much more disconnected? Could it be resolved with more agressive suspension, coils, wheels? I mean it is a pretty similar platform...? I have read several accounts where people grow to prefer the EPS over the HPS. I am open to it. So many cars, so little time, and so much $ ha ha.

An M2 would be awesome but it's probably going to be out my budget and to be honest 320hp is plenty of power for me. I'm getting a little older and finally starting to learn that it's better to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow, it really has sunk in. I don't track my cars so any M would be serious overkill, as far as modding very unlikely. I tend to do very light modding to my cars so it's really important for the OEM setup to be just right. BMW used to have the formula nailed down a few years(E46, E90) ago but not now. I just have a hard time modding a car that i just dropped serious coin on. I love the ride and handling on the 235, its just the steering and brake pedal that disappointed me. My test drive of the 235 was pretty long about an hour however I would request for an overnight test drive before signing any paperwork.

As far as the inventory issue my current dealer has had the same 5, 2 series models for the past couple of months. They do have a sweet estoril blue II that keeps grabbing my attention(great color). But let's be honest sporty 2 door luxurious cars that cost close to $50k are not at the top of everyone's list. That's were the 3 series comes in however i see it as a good thing since it keeps the 2 series a little more rare/exclusive.

[doublevanosrc]

Originally Posted by BD_F22

I believe a lot of the inventory on 235's stems from the fact that it is a "specialty" car in the sense it is packaged more towards the enthusiast crowd opposed to the "normal" buyer. And a dealership will always carry less "specialty" cars in stock opposed to their hottest sellers. Also like others have stated it is a small two door coupe that does not attract everyone like a 3 series sedan. I am not one to complain, the less of them on the road the better in my eyes it will keep the car a little more rare. I personally love the reactions from a ton of people lately that see my car and take pictures and ask which car it is because they never even heard of it.

Roger that!

[hyperzulu]

Originally Posted by golf_234

I have read several accounts where people grow to prefer the EPS over the HPS.

I'm one. After over 1300 miles of driving the M235i, I miss the steering feel (I'm waiting for the car to come back to me). I was skeptical as hell, but after coming back from Europe and into my 335is again, what the 2 lacks in overall feel it seems to make up for in absolute precision and proper weighting. While the hydraulic provides heavy steering at high speeds, it lumbers at low speeds. On top of that, it also isn't as tight as the EPS of the 2 at high speeds. And again, at any speed the 2 has super sharp steering with no play at center, unlike my 3 which has enough to be noticeable compared to the 2.

Anyway, this isn't a topic about EPS, so whatever. I am pretty sure that the Leipzig factory (which is apparently one of the largest BMW operates) is busy producing parts and iSeries cars. The 2 series apparently isn't entirely unique either. According to a guy I spoke with, the 328d is also super hard to come by. I was at the dealership the other day and saw several M3/4s and only one 2 series on the lot. I'm guessing BMWNA wants these to sell out, rather than having them sit on the lot.

[doublevanosrc]

Originally Posted by hyperzulu

I'm one. After over 1300 miles of driving the M235i, I miss the steering feel (I'm waiting for the car to come back to me). I was skeptical as hell, but after coming back from Europe and into my 335is again, what the 2 lacks in overall feel it seems to make up for in absolute precision and proper weighting. While the hydraulic provides heavy steering at high speeds, it lumbers at low speeds. On top of that, it also isn't as tight as the EPS of the 2 at high speeds. And again, at any speed the 2 has super sharp steering with no play at center, unlike my 3 which has enough to be noticeable compared to the 2.

You're probably right, I have comed to terms with the EPS in my current car and it's not bad. I got a feeling deep inside that after a week in a 235 I will probably be head over heels with it.

[jskrilla]

Originally Posted by BD_F22

I believe a lot of the inventory on 235's stems from the fact that it is a "specialty" car in the sense it is packaged more towards the enthusiast crowd opposed to the "normal" buyer. And a dealership will always carry less "specialty" cars in stock opposed to their hottest sellers. Also like others have stated it is a small two door coupe that does not attract everyone like a 3 series sedan. I am not one to complain, the less of them on the road the better in my eyes it will keep the car a little more rare. I personally love the reactions from a ton of people lately that see my car and take pictures and ask which car it is because they never even heard of it.

Completely agree on every point you spoke about here. Not everyone knows about the car. Which I like.

Makes it more special in my eyes that not everyone has the same car as i do...It's AW prob one of the most regular cars on the road here in NY

Going from a 328 xdrive to an m235 should be

[3.0L]

I spent 23 years as a consumer electronics retailer and I did my best to only stock inventory that moved. Specialty items were either special order only or very limited stock quantities. Also, most specialty items were higher priced than the mainstream inventory. I think the same principles apply to auto dealers.

[chaswyck1]

Originally Posted by doublevanosrc

An M2 would be awesome but it's probably going to be out my budget and to be honest 320hp is plenty of power for me. I'm getting a little older and finally starting to learn that it's better to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow, it really has sunk in. I don't track my cars so any M would be serious overkill, as far as modding very unlikely. I tend to do very light modding to my cars so it's really important for the OEM setup to be just right. BMW used to have the formula nailed down a few years(E46, E90) ago but not now. I just have a hard time modding a car that i just dropped serious coin on. I love the ride and handling on the 235, its just the steering and brake pedal that disappointed me. My test drive of the 235 was pretty long about an hour however I would request for an overnight test drive before signing any paperwork.

As far as the inventory issue my current dealer has had the same 5, 2 series models for the past couple of months. They do have a sweet estoril blue II that keeps grabbing my attention(great color). But let's be honest sporty 2 door luxurious cars that cost close to $50k are not at the top of everyone's list. That's were the 3 series comes in however i see it as a good thing since it keeps the 2 series a little more rare/exclusive.

Best of luck getting an overnight test drive in what may be the only 2 Series car a dealer has on the lot.

[Lucky13]

Each dealer had 7-20 WTF are you smoking? My dealer had an allocation of 16 2 series for the entire calendar year, 228 and M235 total of 16. They launched the i3 which is built in the same factory and there not gearing up until the convertible is available since it will probably be their top selling convertible. The factory is maxed out on capacity and they are going to produce high profit cars and the i3 to meet CAFE numbers. 7-20 per dealer to start makes the OP lose instant credibility.

[chaswyck1]

It's true that the 2 Series is something of a specialty car, but I think they significantly underestimated demand. MY CA suggested that they were very conservative with production numbers on the 2 Series because of the not very favorable sales experience of the 1 Series it replaced but I'm sure that was just speculation on his part. Someone mentioned profit and margin on the 2 Series being low, but with discounts being hard to come by on 2 Series cars, simply because there aren't any on the lots, I would guess that the dealer margin on 2 Series cars is pretty healthy.

[MikeG12]

Dealers don't have inventory because they aren't selling very well. My dealer on Cape Cod has only sold a couple(including mine).

[wjones14]

Originally Posted by MikeG12

Dealers don't have inventory because they aren't selling very well. My dealer on Cape Cod has only sold a couple(including mine).

Same in southeastern CT. Dealer there has had 2 xDrive M235i cars on their lot for several months now. Melbourne Red and Alpine White - both optioned over $50K.

In the print issue of Car And Driver Jan 2015, the 10 Best Cars list has a graphic for sales numbers, and of the 10, guess which car is at the bottom of the list? Actually, the Porsche Boxster/Cayman and M235i tied for the honor. The data is for calendar year 2014 through September.

Here's the list:

Honda Accord: 406,000
Mazda 3: 107,000
Ford Mustang: 80,000
Mazda 6: 56,000
Corvette: 35,000
Cadillac CTS: 31,000
VW Golf/GTI: 28,000
Tesla Model S: 24,000
BMW M235i: 7,000
Porsche Boxster/Cayman: 7,000