[ianbiz]

lol. Employee leases are DIRT cheap anyway

[Manos]

To be fair, not all vehicle types one might need are available from BMW, so there are exceptions. But in general I agree that the employees should drive the make for which they work. This only applies as long as the company subsidizes the cars for employees of course.

I work for Ericsson and we don't subsidize phones or equipment for our personnel so many use other brands, which I find is a shame. With 20% off on anything we'd all be walking commercials for our products.

[Mark M]

Makes sense to me.

Over the last 8 years I have toured the Greenville SC facility about 4 times.

During one visit I asked about the employee ownership / lease plans. I was told that BMW encourags employee leasing. The company offer very lucrative lease deals but require the employee keep the car below ~10,000 miles. The intent is to get employees in BMW cars, while also creating a stable predictable crop of BMW certified pre-owned for East Coast dealerships.

Imagine getting a killer deal on any new BMW, driving it for 10k miles, then getting to do it all over again? What is not to like?

[kyleb350]

Remind me not to get a job at Kia then, lol.

I'm assuming BMW pays their employees halfway decent, but I just looked up the price of a 116i in Germany, and they're 22,000 Euro ($30,000) wtf.

[scott@bmwhn]

+1 for employee programs. It's the only reason i can comfortably afford to drive one

[Robo Squirrel]

when i worked at chrysler there was alot of pressure on employees to buy chrysler vehicles, but there were also alot of cars in the "competative vehicle" lot....including my own, haha. people that drove competative makes are the people that didnt feel like driving pieces of junk. not the case with this situation

[Hammam]

here in germany BMW are MUCH more expensive than in the Us.
It's a shame to pay more for a german car in germany than for mostly the same car in the us (imagine transportation...).
Reason for that is the harder competition in the us. Furthermore, americans are not willing to pay the same amount for a bmw like germans would do...

Most new BMW's in germany are leased for business purposes, because you get a financial advantage regarding your business taxes...
Buying a new bmw for private usage is to expensive for the most people.
It's a development of the last years.
Because some years ago, private buyers bought much more bmws than nowadays

I'm still hopping to get the possibility to sell a factory-new BMW for my own company someday
Until then, I'll have to drive used bmws...

[ebeem]

exactly!

I highly doubt that a ordinary BMW mechanic(not a Senior with 10+ years at BMW) can afford even just a 1er and still live halfway decently
and if you have family and think of a new Bimmer, you should be somewhere else at BMW than on the production line in the plant
They should flyer at the BMW HQ or the Development Centers because there people are commonly academics and earn much more money.

[E90SLAM]

I'm not sure about the CPO market in Germany...but what about a fleet of dirt cheap lease 120i or something diesel for employees for day to day drive?
Similar to the employee lease program here in SC plant....

[ptack]

Here's the real question - do they offer employees a discount? That's usually all it takes at most car companies. What if you need a large car, but can't afford a 5 or 7 series? Remember, BMW has a plant in S. Carolina. Are they going to make the guy pushing a broom buy a BMW?

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by ptack

Here's the real question - do they offer employees a discount? That's usually all it takes at most car companies. What if you need a large car, but can't afford a 5 or 7 series? Remember, BMW has a plant in S. Carolina. Are they going to make the guy pushing a broom buy a BMW?

+1

Let's say the janitor who needs a family van or something....but apparently the X5 is too expensive from his salary.....other than getting a cheap Dodge van (or Opel? or Vauxhall....watever) cheap van to meet his need?

[TopDown]

Originally Posted by CPSOX

Why is this a bad thing? I have my bank accounts at the bank I work at. I went to the school district my mom taught at. If I worked for a car company, I'd drive one of their cars.

And these are all a matter of your personal choice. I thought that employer presumption of employee lifestyle choices had ended with IBM's practices in the 1960's.

[LyriCeZ]

Originally Posted by Hammam

here in germany BMW are MUCH more expensive than in the Us.
It's a shame to pay more for a german car in germany than for mostly the same car in the us (imagine transportation...).
Reason for that is the harder competition in the us. Furthermore, americans are not willing to pay the same amount for a bmw like germans would do...

Most new BMW's in germany are leased for business purposes, because you get a financial advantage regarding your business taxes...
Buying a new bmw for private usage is to expensive for the most people.
It's a development of the last years.
Because some years ago, private buyers bought much more bmws than nowadays

I'm still hopping to get the possibility to sell a factory-new BMW for my own company someday
Until then, I'll have to drive used bmws...

Not completely correct!.. Blame Germany's 19% tax on everything. I bought my U.S. spec 325i here in Germany brand new.. it cost me 28K $.. roughly 20000 euros (Granted it was an '06 model when '07s just came out, think it was 33-34$ before the 07s)

In America we don't pay anything near that in taxes! That's the main reason BMW's cost so much more in Germany than in the U.S... actually that's pretty much why everything in Germany cost more.. I know because I'm stationed in Germany at the moment.

[The Cthulhu]

They should just offer to pay people in cars at a severely reduced employee price.

[TheDarkone]

they drive the competition because the pay SUCKS and cant afford anything else

[carrabassett786]

the figure $250/month rings a bell inclusive of insurance for a company lease. If you look in the parking lot at Plant Spartanburg, or drive around Greenville, you see hundreds of 328is with sport pack and without the "Century BMW" tag on the trunklid, these are the company cars. People who work there get them for their kids even, and there are some more (albeit much fewer) higher end models, as well as minis. You'll also see your fair share of beaters and pickup trucks.

[BRDHNTR]

Most of the time it makes sense to buy from the company you work for. If you need a minivan for the 5 kids you have, then BMW isn't your kind of car. That said, if that's you, you probably shouldn't be working at a BMW factory either.

Other exceptions would be halo brands like Lamborghini, Ferrari, Maybach, Rolls Royce, etc. No excuse for showing up to the BMW factory in an Audi A5 however.

[URBAN LEGEND]

Has the flyer has been found yet?

[rothwem]

Originally Posted by BRDHNTR

If you need a minivan for the 5 kids you have, then BMW isn't your kind of car. That said, if that's you, you probably shouldn't be working at a BMW factory either.

Huh? People with kids shouldn't work at a BMW factory?

[E90SLAM]

I don't think the janitor cleaning bathroom in Germany factory would really care if he's driving a BMW "representing" the company......

[vgame64]

I think I have waited long enough...where are the flyers?