BMW 1-Series Configurator With U.S. Pricing

Although available on the German website for quite some time, the BMW 1-Series configurator has finally made it to the company's U.S. site.  Unfortunately, one of the major problems with the 1-Series still exists: high prices.

According to the website, 1-Series pricing, including a $775 delivery charge, begins at $29,375 for the 128i, and $35,675 for the 135i.

We took a stab at the configurator, and built a 135i that totaled at $41,670.  That's before taxes.  We added on the Sport Package for $1,000, which comes with sport seats, the M steering wheel, and Shadowline trim.  While we did not choose the premium or cold weather packages, we did pick off options from them to try and keep the price down.  Options we chose included Monaco Blue Metallic paint ($475), active stering ($1,400), power seats with driver seat memory ($995), heated seats ($500), the premium hi-fi system ($875), and BMW Assist with Bluetooth ($750).  Leather seats would add another $1,450 to the cost.

Our 135i Coupe comes with a 300 horsepower, 3.0-liter, turbocharged inline-six, and rear wheel drive.  The 128i is also rear wheel drive, and reins in 230 horses from its normally aspirated, 3.0 liter inline-six.

Even though this car is most likely a very fun ride, $42,000 still seems a bit much for this class.  Completely optioned out, we got this car up to $48,050.  This car may be cool, but many potential customers might look elsewhere if they are spending $50k.