but jeff,
Mustang, i can get the GT with perf pkg and recaro seats for 42k out the door. and when i say out the door, i mean you pay NOTHING ELSE.
bmw, with taxes and freight fees, it's realistically a 50+k car.
Fair enough, there are big discounts on the Ford, I get that. One could also get a few grand off the BMW if they tried.
The point I was trying to make is that if you compare apples to apples, there need not be a $20k difference between the two that was causing all the belly-aching earlier in this thread. When ALL costs are factored in (maintenance, insurance, fuel too), the price gap isn't all that great.
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Interestingly -- and I realize this isn't for everyone, but leasing works for me as a small business owner -- I ran the online calculators and built a Stang GT perf/pk with Recaros (because they DO fit me and the base seats are less than great) and worked out a 48-mo lease at 20,000 kms. Taxes in (and with all the Ford discounts applied) it works out to $673/month. The BMW under the same parameters = $701/mo.
Let's say maintenance on the Mustang costs $400 / yr (probably low), divided by 12 months would put the Mustang cost to $706/mo. Add on higher fuel and insurance costs too maybe?
I love the Stang GT, I really do, but I don't accept that it's going to be wildly, massively cheaper than the BMW.