[njc]

Asked for a quote from a well known dealership in London for a reasonably specd 340i Touring. Retail price was £43000 was offered a £9500 discount - is that about right or should I be pushing for more?

[subsy]

About right, did you spec up the same car on C2C for comparison?

[....,,,,..,,..]

About right, what are you getting for your £43k though?

[njc]

Originally Posted by subsy

About right, did you spec up the same car on C2C for comparison?

Yes - it came in just under C2C price.

[subsy]

Originally Posted by njc

Yes - it came in just under C2C price.

So you know it's about right

You could always try TRL see if he will beat what you have been offered

[njc]

Originally Posted by Brigand

About right, what are you getting for your £43k though?

Mineral Grey
Standard 18" wheels - Grey.
Protection glass
Tow bar
Heated seats
Professional Nav
Heated / Folding mirror
Folding rear headrest
Sliding armrest
Adaptive LED

[Rob 1267]

TRL offered me 9.5k discount on a 44k listed 340i with chosen spec. He didn't come back to me very quickly due to him having a virus so went through C2C and got 8.5k through them which none of my local BMW dealers would match. The OP could do worse than use Tony as a starting point. I certainly will next purchase.

[Mark1966]

Originally Posted by Rob 1267

TRL offered me 9.5k discount on a 44k listed 340i with chosen spec. He didn't come back to me very quickly due to him having a virus so went through C2C and got 8.5k through them which none of my local BMW dealers would match. The OP could do worse than use Tony as a starting point. I certainly will next purchase.

Is it a good thing just to use TRL as a bargaining tool though, especially after the loyalty he has shown to many of the guys on this forum

[njc]

Thanks for the responses.

It seems TRL is a good option. Will contact him and see what figures he comes back with. Obviously I checked C2C - but note their figures include dealer discount if finance is taken. Quote provided to me is a straight up discount regardless of payment type. I just wanted to see if it represented a decent price compared to what other have achieved lately.

[Apollocs]

Originally Posted by njc

Thanks for the responses.

It seems TRL is a good option. Will contact him and see what figures he comes back with. Obviously I checked C2C - but note their figures include dealer discount if finance is taken. Quote provided to me is a straight up discount regardless of payment type. I just wanted to see if it represented a decent price compared to what other have achieved lately.

That is a decent discount given that the price support and finance contributions all changed as of 1st April for the new quarter.

The BMW finance contribution has been removed and the BMW UK/Dealer discounts increased (not fully compensating though) as far as I am aware. The discounts from Coast2coast etc are for cash or finance now.

I ordered mine in March and managed to get my local dealer to within a few hundred quid of Coast2coast. Close enough for it to be worth the extra to not have to travel to collect and build a relationship locally if I have any issues. However, with the price support changes I am now about £500 up compared to current broker prices so happy to have signed in March!

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by Mark1966

Is it a good thing just to use TRL as a bargaining tool though, especially after the loyalty he has shown to many of the guys on this forum

If he offers the best deal then I'm sure he'll get the business, and if not then surely it's fair enough?

If you get business by undercutting others then surely one accepts that you live and die by that sword, so to speak?

[subsy]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

If he offers the best deal then I'm sure he'll get the business, and if not then surely it's fair enough?

If you get business by undercutting others then surely one accepts that you live and die by that sword, so to speak?

I think the issue is more about people (who seem to be fairly numerous from what Tony told me) who use him to do a quote for them to use as a bargaining tool for their local dealer and have zero intention of purchasing anywhere else but their local dealer.

Fine line I guess

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by subsy

I think the issue is more about people (who seem to be fairly numerous from what Tony told me) who use him to do a quote for them to use as a bargaining tool for their local dealer and have zero intention of purchasing anywhere else but their local dealer.

Fine line I guess

Well that does seem a waste of time given you can get a ball park negotiating figure from C2C or broad speed quicker.

However, I only have a limited level of sympathy as if ones given strategy is chasing large volume bonuses by doing lots of low margins deals then that's going to take a high level quoting.

There are reasons why not every dealer goes down this route, some choosing to satisfy fewer, mainly local customers at higher margins.

[subsy]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

Well that does seem a waste of time given you can get a ball park negotiating figure from C2C or broad speed quicker.

However, I only have a limited level of sympathy as if ones given strategy is chasing large volume bonuses by doing lots of low margins deals then that's going to take a high level quoting.

There are reasons why not every dealer goes down this route, some choosing to satisfy fewer, mainly local customers at higher margins.

Yep, agreed; that's why I said I think it's a fine line

[KS_340i]

Originally Posted by njc

Asked for a quote from a well known dealership in London for a reasonably specd 340i Touring. Retail price was £43000 was offered a £9500 discount - is that about right or should I be pushing for more?

As you say elsewhere, that's excluding finance. So, add in the deposit contribution of (currently) £2,250, and that's a great deal. My discount was slightly higher, but not much.

Now, you may be a cash buyer, but suggest you do a small amount of car on HP, keep it on HP a few months, then pay it off. the interest you will pay in those few months will be far less than the £2250 you get by taking the finance. That's what i'm doing.

[Rich9600]

Where is TRL based geographically?

[subsy]

Originally Posted by Rich9600

Where is TRL based geographically?

Just moved back to Berry Heathrow

[Mark1966]

Originally Posted by subsy

I think the issue is more about people (who seem to be fairly numerous from what Tony told me) who use him to do a quote for them to use as a bargaining tool for their local dealer and have zero intention of purchasing anywhere else but their local dealer.

Fine line I guess

That is exactly what I meant, thank you.

[Rich9600]

Originally Posted by subsy

Just moved back to Berry Heathrow

A bit far from Cumbria for convenience. c2c will be my stick to beat my local dealer with.
It worked well enough last time.

[jnismith]

Originally Posted by subsy

I think the issue is more about people (who seem to be fairly numerous from what Tony told me) who use him to do a quote for them to use as a bargaining tool for their local dealer and have zero intention of purchasing anywhere else but their local dealer.

Fine line I guess

I got a quote from C2C and asked Tony to see if he could better it. He did but by less than the C2C margin. He also quoted me "around xxxxx dependent on final mileage" for my trade in. I asked my local dealer to beat his price. They equalled it and gave me the same price for my trade-in but firm. I felt that this was all in all a better deal so took it. I believe I could have got a few hundred more off if I'd have really pushed harder.

Tony was very responsive but I didn't think his price was particularly special, if I could get it easily just up the road. If he can't compete on price, then I'm not sure what the advantage of going with him is?

[Shaleshifter]

Originally Posted by Rich9600

A bit far from Cumbria for convenience. c2c will be my stick to beat my local dealer with.
It worked well enough last time.

Most places are a bit far from Cumbria.

[Grant_7]

Originally Posted by subsy

I think the issue is more about people (who seem to be fairly numerous from what Tony told me) who use him to do a quote for them to use as a bargaining tool for their local dealer and have zero intention of purchasing anywhere else but their local dealer.

I am partially guilty of this although it wasn't intentional. I fully planned to use TRL and he quoted me his customary first price in the best price, however I did also go to my local dealer but to test drive the car only (I'd informed TRL of this beforehand).

After the test drive the dealer wanted to chat numbers so I sat through it while they proffered a rubbish discount. And that's how it was left. So I carried on with TRL working out the fine details right up until the point when my local dealer called back and said he really wanted my business and wanted to know what he'd have to do to get it. I let him know the discount I was already at (£10,995 - but without mentioning TRL) and told him he'd have to significantly beat it...and he did (by an extra £525!!!).

And I did feel bad letting TRL down. So much so that I wrote him a long apologetic email, however you can't ignore an extra £525 off.