135 Owners Income?

[Denon]

I know this is kind of a personal question and I'm not asking anyone to get into detail or anything like that, just looking for a general answer.

So i had an interesting experience today at a dealership. I went to look at a 135 msrp was about 42 and some change. I wasn't there to buy the car today just looking and asking some questions. (I had no intention of ever buying my car at this dealership).When we got to talking about finance options and what not i asked him how much do i need to make to get approved on a loan for this car with 10k down. Wow was i shocked by his answer. He said bmw financial wants younger people to be making 8k a month to get this car.... I said there is no way, i really didn't believe the stuff he was saying but he swore thats the way it is...

He ranted and raved about how hard it is to get approved with bmw and that if i was approved how my credit score would jump so much in 6 months that every credit company would be offering me credit cards and i would have such a high score lol.

Now from what i have understood and been told at dealerships is that they want your car payment to be 20% of your income. 20% of 8k is way more than enough to afford a 135.I thought he was insane, someone making 8k a month i would think could afford a lot nicer car than a 135.

My question to people on the forum is was i wrong in thinking that i could afford this car, do all 135 owners make around 8k a month?

I'm just having a hard time believing this, i think its complete bs.

[Oregon]

Bravo Sierra.

[Riss Racing]

They can't just say 8K a month. Theres a lot that goes into it. Fico, DTI, assets, and so on.

[amybang]

Originally Posted by Denon

Now from what i have understood and been told at dealerships is that they want your car payment to be 20% of your income. 20% of 8k is way more than enough to afford a 135.I thought he was insane, someone making 8k a month i would think could afford a lot nicer car than a 135.

He was playing you. If you don't do your research into other financing options, you won't know what a good rate is or not. And if he scares you into thinking you might not get approved for financing, then you'll take whatever inflated rate they give you because you are "lucky" enough to be approved.

Don't buy the crap about what it will do to your credit rating either. It takes more than one loan to affect it. Not that having a loan you are paying on time won't help your score, but it's not an automatic ride to the top of the heap either.

amy!

[atr_hugo]

Talk to your bank - get a loan for the balance pre-approved on the best terms you can. Then wander back to the dealer and say, "Here's the best I can do, top it and you've got my business."

[HPADDICT]

Its a entry level BMW. I make about 43k a year but have perfect credit. Was not hard to get approved at all.

[ptack]

I'm not sure why he would want to discourage a sale so he probably thinks he knows what he's talking about. That's not to say that he does know. Clearly it behoves you to go and research your finance options. Every institution has been tightening credit, especially to new borrowers. Different companies may use different methods to assess the risk of loaning you money. You need to see if it's just BMW or if you have a problem in general. I checked several institutions before deciding that BMW Finance would be OK (might still change my mind by Friday if my Credit Union lowers the rates (unlikely)).

[JB135i]

Very old jokes and you can vary them to many professions, but it does apply here.

Q. How can you tell if a car salesman is lying?

A. He is talking........

Another.

Q. What do you call 1000 car salesman at the bottom of the ocean?

A. A good start.......

One more.

Q. What is the difference between a car salesman and a bag of dog crap?

A. The bag.......

PEOPLE do your research, no matter what you are buying (I know the OP was not there to buy...that day).

Whether it's a toaster or a car or up to real estate. You WILL get ripped off in some manner if you go in there naive!

[gargoyal]

You SHOULD be able to afford it , but it depends on a lot more than what you make. It sound like this guy was playing the “your not worthy” game on you to get you to prove him wrong by buying the car now. In So Cal I have found two types of BMW dealerships : 1) the ones for driver enthusiasts and 2) the ones that sell to the exclusiveness and eliteness of owning a BMW( I find these guys to be @$$es like the CA you meet).
BMW does not keep as tight of quality control of their dealerships as Audi, Lexus, and Infinity. You really need to find a dealer that fits you.
I strongly recommend Long Beach BMW. They are car people. Ask for Robby. He is up front, honest and won’t waste your time.
Here are some threads on dealer reviews
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=65
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3336

[rocketpop]

8K a month.... LOL

I make about 1/2 that and I qualified for my 43K 135.

[jbenington86]

I bought a 128i and I make 1/4 of what that guy says you needed for financing...(I was approved for the 135i)

[3toM]

As others have said, it depends alot on more than just your monthly salary. Credit score, and debt load most notably. There are some people who at 8K/month would still have trouble affording this car, due to their fixed debt load (student loans, mortgage, etc.). Others at 5K/month with no large debts could easily do it. Go to a bank and check around. Also the internet have many sites that allow you to plug in a few numbers, and see how much car you can afford.

[mdynamics]

well based on the income polls we had before I think its above 8k a month

poll for 135i owners, the majority are above 80k
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...ghlight=salary

annual income poll, the majority are in the 80-150k
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...ghlight=income

net worth poll
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...ghlight=income

:

[jbenington86]

those polls make me feel really poor

[imported_Shawn]

Originally Posted by gargoyal

You SHOULD be able to afford it , but it depends on a lot more than what you make. It sound like this guy was playing the “your not worthy” game on you to get you to prove him wrong by buying the car now. In So Cal I have found two types of BMW dealerships : 1) the ones for driver enthusiasts and 2) the ones that sell to the exclusiveness and eliteness of owning a BMW( I find these guys to be @$$es like the CA you meet).
BMW does not keep as tight of quality control of their dealerships as Audi, Lexus, and Infinity. You really need to find a dealer that fits you.
I strongly recommend Long Beach BMW. They are car people. Ask for Robby. He is up front, honest and won’t waste your time.
Here are some threads on dealer reviews
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=65
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3336

I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that BMW owners fall into the same two categories as you mentioned that dealerships fall into. One probably begat the other. Enthusiasts would generally believe that they have no use for the image buyers. Enthusiasts find that BMW produces cars they are looking for in styling, interior, quality, performance, balance, engineering, driver dynamics, etc. and if any other marque (say Pontiac) produced vehicles to the SAME level (remember styling is subjective), enthusiasts would buy it. Enthusiasts buy BMWs because they are performance cars, with just the level of luxury the buyer is looking for, and in some cases more, as demonstrated by the number of buyers who choose leatherette. The unfortunate aspect of this enthusiast vs image buyer dynamic is, those who are enthusiasts must tolerate the image buyer due to the fact that the image buyer brings BMW sales to the level that keeps price as reasonable as they are. Without the volume that the image buyer brings, BMWs would likely be one of the most, if not THE most, expensive vehicles on the market. So as enthusiasts, we have to seek out those CAs who understand and treat enthusiasts as such, and network those CAs to each other.

[Crowley]

Originally Posted by amybang

He was playing you. If you don't do your research into other financing options, you won't know what a good rate is or not. And if he scares you into thinking you might not get approved for financing, then you'll take whatever inflated rate they give you because you are "lucky" enough to be approved.

Don't buy the crap about what it will do to your credit rating either. It takes more than one loan to affect it. Not that having a loan you are paying on time won't help your score, but it's not an automatic ride to the top of the heap either.

amy!

[mdynamics]

Originally Posted by jbenington86

those polls make me feel really poor

same here

[Steve135i]

I make about $5k a month and have an 800 credit rating, have NEVER been late on a payment. I just go to my bank and fill out a car loan sheet for a $45k loan, within 2-3 hours I get approved, then I go look at cars knowing I already have the money available. I am going to put $10k down and finance about $35k on a mostly loaded 135i manual. Forget about BMW financing.

Hes just being a JERK.

[JME]

Originally Posted by atr_hugo

Talk to your bank - get a loan for the balance pre-approved on the best terms you can. Then wander back to the dealer and say, "Here's the best I can do, top it and you've got my business."

^^

I walked into the dealership with a pre-approval for 45k. They asked, and I told them if they could go a full point lower than the pre-approved loan I'd go through them. They did

Just a heads up for people fighting for the best rate.

[3toM]

^^ This is true. I did the same thing we a prior car purchase. Brought in the rate sheet from my credit union. After price was set and we were dealing over finance, trade-in, etc he offers the rate from the dealer. I show my rate sheet, say no thanks my bank will do better. He goes to the finance guy, comes back with a lower rate than the bank.

[blklacker]

Im more curious about everyones intrest rates??? what intrest rate are you guys locked in at??? To me the intrest rates are the deal breaker for me. I never settle for a auto loan unless the rate is superb. BMW auto loans has high intrest rates IMO, Im locked in right now at 3.9% intrest from my local credit union and im satifyied

[imported_Sam]

Damn, I'm amazed at what some of you are saying you make while purchasing $30 to $40k cars. I guess living in one of the most expensive areas in the US outside Cali and NY eats up most of my income I hope you guys are quoting net income...