07-11-2014, 08:25 AM | #1 |
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Question about BMW Military sales in Germany
I'll be stationed in Germany in Sep. Contacted the "Biggest BMW dealer in Germany" yesterday. And they only offer me less than $4000 off the MSRP. No discount on package or options. But it seems pretty easy to get a $4000 or $5000 or even more in the states. And they only pre-install either EU map or US map. I told them I would put $25000 down payment. But they said "We don't care how did you get your money. We only sell at fixed price.". I don't see the benefits of military sale except sales tax. Not sure if it's just this "Biggest BMW dealer" or it's the situation in Germany. So frustrated now. Any suggestions?
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07-11-2014, 09:24 AM | #2 |
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This may be my lack of understanding regarding the military (and thank you). Why would a German dealership provide discounts to US military personnel?
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07-11-2014, 12:59 PM | #3 | |
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07-11-2014, 02:56 PM | #4 |
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Stationed here in Germany just under 3 years now and got my Bimmer from Cars International about 2 years ago.
http://www.cars-intl.com/ Highly recommended. Owner is Pam Ewell. Great sales support and price discount. Located in Stuttgart. Took European Delivery (ED) and picked up my car from Welt (V-elt) Munich. I've worked with a few other so call military sales programs with mostly disappointing results. Cars International was by far the best to work with. |
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07-11-2014, 04:12 PM | #5 |
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Similar to the ED program, the diplomatic and military sales program is a great way to get a bigger discount off of a new car. The prices aren't hugely different than the ED program, but every bit counts. As for your reception by the dealer, I'd probably ignore it and brush it off as 'culture' differences. I've bought four cars while stationed overseas, and the service/relationship with the dealer was excellent, no major issues. Last point, the dealer was right in that it's not a commission based sale, so negation on price is somewhat pointless regardless of how much you put down. You'll end up wiring the money direct to BMW, not to the dealer, so it really doesn't matter. Good luck!
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07-12-2014, 03:38 AM | #6 |
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Military Sales
I just bought my car from Pentagon Car Sales this spring, but sadly BMW has ended a long standing Military car sales program with them. They were at pretty much every US base in Germany, but now it looks like they're selling BMWs only in Italy and Spain: http://www.pentagoncarsales.com/bmw-italy-spain/
My price was about 10% off MSRP with the option of delivery at the Welt or local (Germany) shipping. As to benefits of the Military Sales, it really is just like an extended European Delivery program (if you pick your car up in Munich you can even get the European maps on a USB thumb drive). While you're stationed in Europe you will be on an European warranty - 2 years - but you will pickup the duration of the 4 year warranty when you return to the States. I've heard that you can come close to matching the price of Military Sales by negotiating with a stateside dealer and ED, since you have not moved yet it may be worth looking into. I think that since Pentagon no longer does BMW sales in Germany, you have to go through a local German dealership to buy one here, which may be fine, I just don't know anyone who has gone through that process yet so I can't speak to it's ease. |
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07-12-2014, 11:45 AM | #7 | |
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As of 1 July BMW military/diplomatic sales in Germany is through the regular German dealer network. As you've discovered the discount is on the base price and not option prices, and they are not open to negotiation. Besides the whole factor of being lucky enough to drive a new BMW on some of the best and most interesting roads in the world, another plus is not having to pay sales tax (at least not in Germany - you may or may not when you rerun to the USA depending on the State you call home). On the down side wait times for delivery are sometimes considerable, and if you want a well optioned car and you have good contacts or negotiating skills you could work a lower price in the USA. It isn't some unbelievable deal and might not be the right answer for you. But you can get low option car for under the ED price, with no sales tax, without having to negotiate or having an insider connection at a dealership. Good luck |
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07-12-2014, 12:20 PM | #8 | |
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07-12-2014, 12:20 PM | #9 | |
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07-12-2014, 12:26 PM | #10 | |
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07-12-2014, 09:22 PM | #11 | |
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BMW generally offers about 10% off of MSRP. Not an amazing discount compared to ED negotiation or even stateside prices if you know what you're doing. The real advantage I can see for the consumer, is that when a car is brand new and demand is high, the discount is a set amount rather than up to negotiation. A good example being the M3/M4 right now, good luck getting much of a discount through negotiation, but through the overseas military program it's a set discount without that hassle. |
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07-12-2014, 09:26 PM | #12 | |
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07-12-2014, 11:53 PM | #13 |
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07-13-2014, 12:01 AM | #14 |
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07-13-2014, 06:37 AM | #15 |
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07-13-2014, 08:31 AM | #16 | |
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To my knowledge BMW does not offer a discount on packages/options through any of their overseas military programs. |
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07-14-2014, 01:57 AM | #17 |
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