BMW 1 Series Coupe Forum / 1 Series Convertible Forum (1M / tii / 135i / 128i / Coupe / Cabrio / Hatchback) (BMW E82 E88 128i 130i 135i)
 





 

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      08-08-2013, 10:42 AM   #1
pendragn
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Why doesn't everyone use a car buying service?

Just ordered a new 128i Convertible from Cartelligent...they collected their $300/$500 fee (which ever service you want) and they do all of the calling and researching and give you a a price.

For me, that price was about $1200 UNDER invoice on an ordered car.

I have had similar luck in the past...of course it is all about availability and what deals they can find, but they do give a guarantee that if you can find a better deal, they will refund their fee....
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      08-08-2013, 11:46 AM   #2
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Originally Posted by pendragn View Post
Just ordered a new 128i Convertible from Cartelligent...they collected their $300/$500 fee (which ever service you want) and they do all of the calling and researching and give you a a price.

For me, that price was about $1200 UNDER invoice on an ordered car.

I have had similar luck in the past...of course it is all about availability and what deals they can find, but they do give a guarantee that if you can find a better deal, they will refund their fee....

serious question: do you work for them?
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      08-08-2013, 12:00 PM   #3
pendragn
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Not at all...this thread is for pricing and dealer discussions....I just got what I think to be a good price at a 'dealer' ...it seemed to be apropos to help others find a good deal.

I am not sure if my profile has my public name or not, but a search for my name will show I certainly do not work for them.

Does an endorsement of any given dealer make someone employed by that dealer??? I just joined this board and hopefully people are trusting and nice here, I certainly want to be.
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      08-08-2013, 12:05 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by pendragn View Post
Not at all...this thread is for pricing and dealer discussions....I just got what I think to be a good price at a 'dealer' ...it seemed to be apropos to help others find a good deal.

I am not sure if my profile has my public name or not, but a search for my name will show I certainly do not work for them.

Does an endorsement of any given dealer make someone employed by that dealer??? I just joined this board and hopefully people are trusting and nice here, I certainly want to be.
haha. just checking. you never know with someone who has 7 posts!

i had a friend start a service like this last year, but then he went out of business. apparently there are good deals to be had, it's just that i think most people just feel iffy about using a 3rd party to find them a deal or thinking it may be a scam.
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      08-08-2013, 12:12 PM   #5
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I will post more! The 90-120 day wait might will be lethal to me, but I hope to find the strength somewhere :-)

I am techie so I will be posting in forums on my grand plans to integrate a Nexus 7 tablet into the car.... Just gotta get the car :-)
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      08-08-2013, 12:14 PM   #6
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I can't justify paying $300-$500 for something I can do with 30 minutes of work, especially with free services such as truecar, which takes 2 minutes to fill out and then shows you the best deals with participating dealers within x miles. And the dealers contacted me with even bigger discounts, no hassle, and no paying fees to anyone. $600 under invoice for a custom ordered 135is and I was happy.
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      08-08-2013, 12:16 PM   #7
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Awesome, congrats!
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      08-08-2013, 12:21 PM   #8
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It's the George Costanza approach to cars, parking, and sex. Why pay for something when with just a little bit of work, you can get it for free. =)
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      08-08-2013, 12:26 PM   #9
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It's the George Costanza approach to cars, parking, and sex. Why pay for something when with just a little bit of work, you can get it for free. =)
LOL!
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      08-08-2013, 01:37 PM   #10
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I just call the 5 closest dealers to me. ask to speak with a sales consultant. I get their names, phone numbers, fax numbers, etc.

I then proceed to compile all of their information on a single fax, with the car I want and all the specs, and then fax it to all them. I put on there: Here is what I want, the one who calls me first with the lowest price TTT OTD gets my business".

I let them fight over me. I got tired of going to each dealer and making a 6 hour ordeal out of each trip. My method seemed to have worked the last three times.
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      08-08-2013, 08:01 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pendragn View Post
Just ordered a new 128i Convertible from Cartelligent...they collected their $300/$500 fee (which ever service you want) and they do all of the calling and researching and give you a a price.

For me, that price was about $1200 UNDER invoice on an ordered car.

I have had similar luck in the past...of course it is all about availability and what deals they can find, but they do give a guarantee that if you can find a better deal, they will refund their fee....
Honestly because negotiating for me was really easy. I went online saw the invoice for my car, saw what other were paying and went in to the dealer I test drove at and said "This is the price I am paying, you guys gave me a good test drive so you can either do that price or I will call one of the other dealers in the area (I live in LA so there are a bunch) and will order it from whoever will meet that price. Either way I am leaving in the same car today so it doesn't matter. So you can either take the price and get to say you sold a car today or I am going. Which is it" He proceeded to go to the manager who agreed to the deal and it was drawn up.

When I leased my car before I basically went in and said I want this car (which I found online at the dealer) and will pay this price or I am walking and that deal was done quickly. So I guess I have not seen a need for a car buyer service. Just FYI I paid under invoice as well and the price we agreed on for my prior lease was done with a value under invoice so I don't think I lost anything. Dealers don't expect to make much anymore on new cars. Its the service and used cars that they roll in dough on.
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      08-29-2013, 11:44 AM   #12
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Some still buy direct from dealerships because they want to ensure they receive the current incentives, promotions and rebates. Buying from 3rd party might exclude you from such kickbacks.

For others, it might because they have a good history with a particular dealer or CA so there's no need to haggle or that dealer will work with them on special requests (getting certain accessories pre-installed).

Another reason could be 3rd party buying services won't handle a trade-in, so rather than selling privately you'll just work with a dealer.

And of course, the last reason might be to custom order the car the way you want and/or arrange ED!
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      08-29-2013, 11:49 AM   #13
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Yep! To each their own! You would be able to save the car buying service fee if you had a good relationship with the dealer, absolutely!

The service I used got me all incentives from BMW (and if the incentives get better when I get my car, I will get those, but they will never go down), and they shop around to get the best deal for trade-in and handle that for me (drop off the old car and drive off in the new one), and they would do ED or PCD for me as well if I wanted that (I ordered the car, but did not go for those cool delivery options).
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      08-29-2013, 10:53 PM   #14
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I paid a little more than I should for both my '09 and my '13 1ers.

That said, I am treated like a king at my dealer. Their service is top-shelf.

I went in for a post break-in oil change, knowing that such an oil change would be on my dime.

They pointed out that they had a "special" going on on oil changes, and charged me the lower rate.

I'll take that kind of attention over a couple of hundred more off the selling price of the car.
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