[f30newguy]

Hey folks,

I'm planning to get an F30 328i xDrive sedan, and I'm trying to keep the price low by avoiding many options.

In general, are dealerships more willing to negotiate to a lower price for vehicles that they sell from their stock, as opposed to a special order?

The reason I ask is because I would like the Lighting Package, but most in-stock cars that have that package usually have more expensive packages/options that I don't want/need.

Thanks!

[openwheelracing]

don't settle

[nicknaz]

A colleague placed an order recently for a 2013 at $500 under invoice, so you can still get a great deal on an order.

My personal experience is with a little bit of luck and good negotiating you can get better deals than that off the lot.

I agree don't miss out on a key feature that is really important to you, such as the lighting package you mentioned

[Pauleebe]

BMW's ain't cheap. If you're going to shell out money for a vehicle, why not wait 2 months and get it perfectly the way you want it?

[JFREEZISM]

The problem he is experiencing with Dealer Stock is all so true...just to get that one thing you want you may have to pay $5K more SO ordering may be the best way to go.

Its the only way to get that 1 package you want while also trying to save by not getting a whole bunch of stuff you don't want. I was a value you shopper (I know who value shops for luxury vehicles), I had a SET amount I wanted to spend, wanted a certain color (mineral grey), real leather (not the leatherette vinyl), and nice looking stock 18" wheels.

Was able to find a leftover 2012 that met those demands and got it for the price of a nicely loaded Camry or Altima ($36K). No lighting package though, although I agree its cool and "halos" are now classic BMW...I just couldn't bring myself to pay that much more for lights, but to each their own!

[Frank_NJ]

Originally Posted by dwalls90

BMW's ain't cheap. If you're going to shell out money for a vehicle, why not wait 2 months and get it perfectly the way you want it?

Exactly! I have never bought a BMW out of dealer stock and I have been buying BMW's since 1989. If you are paying good money for a car mgiht as well be what you want!

[tony20009]

If you order a car and get a document from the dealer indicating they've agreed to a given price, you can take that document to another dealer and get them to beat it. Also, when a dealer orders a car for you, his inventory financing cost in not increased by having that car brought to his store, so he can afford to take a lower profit on such a car. (Google "car dealer floorplan" or "how do car dealers finance their inventory" to get the low down on the topic.)

That said, if you can get the price you want with a car that's on his lot that suits you, there's no point in ordering one. Moreover, given that that dealers have a carrying cost of inventory, try to pick one that's newer rather than older, for a newer car has less of the dealer's money tied up in it. So again, he can afford to take a lower profit on it.

Lastly, keep in mind the following:
1 - one never sees a business that only sells new cars
2 - one will find businesses that only sell used cars
3 - on will find businesses that only provide service and repairs of cars
There is a reason for that. There's no money to be made the dealer who is selling only new cars.

If you can't draw the appropriate conclusions and develop a suitable buying strategy from this info, the Internet will make it make it clearer to you if you but look.

Best of luck.

[1N54E92]

Originally Posted by tony20009

If you order a car and get a document from the dealer indicating they've agreed to a given price, you can take that document to another dealer and get them to beat it. Also, when a dealer orders a car for you, his inventory financing cost in not increased by having that car brought to his store, so he can afford to take a lower profit on such a car. (Google "car dealer floorplan" or "how do car dealers finance their inventory" to get the low down on the topic.)

That said, if you can get the price you want with a car that's on his lot that suits you, there's no point in ordering one. Moreover, given that that dealers have a carrying cost of inventory, try to pick one that's newer rather than older, for a newer car has less of the dealer's money tied up in it. So again, he can afford to take a lower profit on it.

Lastly, keep in mind the following:
1 - one never sees a business that only sells new cars
2 - one will find businesses that only sell used cars
3 - on will find businesses that only provide service and repairs of cars
There is a reason for that. There's no money to be made the dealer who is selling only new cars.

If you can't draw the appropriate conclusions and develop a suitable buying strategy from this info, the Internet will make it make it clearer to you if you but look.

Best of luck.

+1

[Jackson743]

Originally Posted by f30newguy

Hey folks,

I'm planning to get an F30 328i xDrive sedan, and I'm trying to keep the price low by avoiding many options.

In general, are dealerships more willing to negotiate to a lower price for vehicles that they sell from their stock, as opposed to a special order?

The reason I ask is because I would like the Lighting Package, but most in-stock cars that have that package usually have more expensive packages/options that I don't want/need.

Thanks!

Don't settle. Get exactly what you want. The color, the options, everything. Don't pay for options you don't want. That is a big savings right there. Go to bmwconfig.com. Build your car, print your build sheet and find a dealer willing to sell for $500 to $800 over US invoice. Guys here will help you in your area.

If you decide to order, don't even discuss options or anything else. Just the amount over invoice, and when the dealer willing to sell you one of their monthly allocated cars.

[BmwF30alpine]

+1 on everyone. Don't settle get what you want.

[f30newguy]

Thanks for the great replies! I was hoping to find one in-stock somewhere because BMW is also offering to pay the first two lease payments, but you can't do that with an order.

It will be tough to wait a few months for the car to arrive from South Africa, but it will be worth it.

[bavarianboar]

Where are u located?

In SoCal I can go to my dealer and ask them to search the cars on other dealers lots, they will still give me the same price, though I may not have that negotiating power of making a sweeter deal if I got something off their own lots.

I was once ready to pull the trigger on a car in Arizona and my dealer in SoCal was still giving $500 over invoice. They make money from BmW too for cars 'they' sell.


Might be worth exploring if u want your car sooner. Extra shipping/ flatbed cost is the only issue.

I ended up custom ordering mine and waited for roughly 3 months while the Germans were on vacation in August. It's worth it.

[StealYourFace]

^^^^

Tony... that's not how it works. Dealers give better deals on aged inventory rather that units that have been on the lot for less time, for two reasons. Number one, the older the unit is, the higher the interest the dealership is paying on that unit, as well as the fact that if a unit is aged, it must be aged for a reason- such as unpopular equipment, or a new model replacing the current one. Number 2, for the same reason, it makes even less sense to take a low margin deal on a fresh unit because that is going to bring the average days old for the entire lot up, therefor raising the cost of flooring the lot. (yes, in theory, a truck load of new cars will bring down the ave days old of the whole lot, therefor lowering the % as long as the store has the avail credit line. I was a sales mrg of a store before my current position). In theory the fresher unit should be more appealing because it should have been ordered correctly based on market trends. That's why our lovely dealer locally doesn't stock anything with a stick- they know it will sit there until the minority enthusiast buyer is in the market... and that buyer is also dramatically more unlikely to allow the dealer to make a profit because that buyer "knows what these things go for, because I read the forums." The rub, for the dealer, is that many times some faceless internet forum guy will post a fictitious deal that he got to look cool, or got a deal in a high volume region of the country that gets a different price structure to compete better with mb, Lexus, Audi, home prices, vacations, home improvements ect.

[jw30]

Originally Posted by openwheelracing

don't settle

+1