Bmws I guess are great vehichles for the most part. I could only assume so since sooooooooooo many people ave them. I live in the D.C. metro area, Northern Va to be exact, and I swear, everybody has some sort of Bmw, with the 5 series leadind the way. Last wednesday, my friend and I while standing in a parkinglot of a major shopping center counted 22 beemers in about 15 minutes. To me, as good as a beemer may be, I would never get one because its really on honda accord or toyota camry level around here. My m45 however, turns plently of heads and is really way more exclusive than even a 750!! I don't know if thats so good for Infiniti, but I hope they never get that much market saturation. Also, the money issue. I think a 3 series would be a great mid 40k's car. NOt a decent 54k car as a fully loaded 335 runs if you deck it out. A fully loaded 550i runs over 74k! For 64, I admit, great car, but almost 80 comeon. As long as Infiniti can bring comparable performance with similar luxury and decent looks (no bmw really sets me on fire) then they win. The new M50 will probably not be quite as quick as the new 555, but for 14k cheaper I'll take it. Its like this to me. Infiniti seems like I got more car for the money, like I got a bargin. A car that gives you more for less, but still nice. My m45 sport feels like a more expensive car than what it is. I find it hard to believe that a 550 would feel that much better and have me feel like I got more than the potential 70+k price I paid. For example in my humble opinion:

3 series= great low 30's-mid 40's car
5 series= great low 40's-mid 50's car
7 serires= great mid 70's-low90's car

I agree with both of you regarding the price 55K is way too much for 3-er
However, most people are missing one thing, which is never available for Infiniti or other Japaneese brands
You can do european delivery with BMWs and save 6-7K or more, depending on the model
I paid 45K for my fully loaded 335i
My friend just brought his nicely (almost fully) loaded 335i for 43K, he didnt take active steering and couple of other options that most ppl would even know about

And guess what i will get for my car when i sell it in 4-5 yrs?
That's right, good chunk of $$, koz residual on bimmers is great
BTW my friend just sold his 2002 330i for 17,700, that's just amaizing

Think what the car is gonna cost you in the long run, not what you pay at the moment

Okay so I went to travelocity and looked at a 3 day trip to pick up a car from Europe. On average it was $2000 just for 3 days total time with 1 day in the hotel and a roundtrip flight. Car shipping was averaging $2300. If I don't eat I could potentialy save 6k on a Beemer.

Actually the "delivery" (not shipping... but delivery) of the car to the dealership you have chosen to receive the car at is whatever it usually costs... 750 or so I think.  The 6k in savings is all because they don't have to pay the dealer incentives for selling the car.  As for the travel... yes it will probably offset any discounts you receive on the vehicle... BUT its a nice deal.  Can you get a free vacation from Infiniti or Lexus or whoever for that matter, no.  So its cool... its not for everybody, but I think it would be an awesome trip (as evidenced by the stunning pics seen in the other thread).

i think Rippling Hurst beat me to the post... but i'm too lazy to change mine

Thank you, I have been properly educated on the process now. Thats not a bad deal at all and certainly would make any beemer purchase worth a look.

we could probably post up bmw's link to their ED info as well:

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Experience/Events/EuropeanDelivery/Default.aspx

6k is average price discount on a 3-series, but there are even larger reductions possible on other (more expensive) models right?

Its a nice process, the problem is you still end up coming home with a BMW.