The BMW Car Subscription Service Is Dumb And Wasteful

If you really love the BMW brand yet you can't decide on a single model and you have too much cash laying around, the new BMW subscription service may be the thing for you.

Launched in Tennessee, the German auto maker's subscription service starts at $2,000 per month. Named the "Legend" tier, it gives you a choice between the M2, 4-Series, 5-Series, and the PHEV. Step up the to "M" tier at $3,700 per month and get access to the M4 convertible, M5, M6, convertible, X5M, and X6M. Prices include insurance, maintenance and roadside assistance, and a concierge service that delivers the chosen vehicle to a user's location fully detailed and fueled.

At an MSRP of $55,495 at $0 down and 3.99 APR over 60 months, a BMW M2 can be owned for $1021.77 per month. It's out of reach for most, but it's certainly more feasible than $2,000 per month. If you're willing to deal with insurance and maintenance, owning a M2 could make a lot more financial sense than subscribing to one. Under the same terms, an M4 could be financed at $1228.17 per month. Naturally, this all depends on the amount of cash you can put down and how strong your credit is. Alternatively, lease agreements start at $839/month and $929/month, respectively.

Some may argue that such a plan would be business-friendly. It could be, based on a line of reasoning that states that a business will want to pay a fixed rate lease for a company vehicle while offering a certain executive flexibility in his car lifestyle. However, again, the value is simply not there. The company would be more likely to lease an executive sedan at half or less the cost. Also, in certain instances, some companies may choose to own an asset outright and amortize the cost in order to reap the benefit of capturing depreciation. In a word, car subscription is expensive.

The financial component aside, BMW takes too much of a risk in this program by assuming responsibility for maintenance. Think, for a minute, on the price of a rental car. Leasing an executive sedan can cost hundreds of dollars per day - when added up over a month, the cost is astronomical when compared to leasing or buying the same vehicle. The reason for this is that the rental agency assumes nearly full responsibility for the condition of the car. After looking after maintenance, registration, and insurance, it becomes difficult to be competitive with a private ownership experience. But that's the point, isn't it? High-cost convenience versus low-cost commitment.

In the same vein, the high cost of providing a service like BMW Access simply must be pushed onto the end user, you. The leaseholder ends up footing the bill for maintenance, because otherwise, BMW would lose money with their fun service. And when people don't own a car, it's safe to say that they don't treat it like they have to pay for maintenance and tires. Thus, the price of subscription services will always be higher than the price of ownership. Think living in a hotel versus renting an apartment.

Bottom line: we don't want subscription plans to expensive cars, or even a subsidy to the cost of ownership. We want better value and an undiluted experience in the pursuit of private ownership. You just can't mod a car that you don't own.

Check out our YouTube channel!

#shiftinglanes #bmw #access #subscription #m2 #m4 #x5m