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| 09-23-2008, 02:17 PM | #1 |
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First Lieutenant
 
30
Rep 362
Posts |
How I got a "good" deal in NJ on my 135i
Let me start by saying that I was not out for invoice. I wasn't hoping for invoice because I know how things work in the NJ/NYC/CT area with premium cars and their dealers. In most cases, you pay MSRP or sometimes markup.
That being said, I knew that I wanted to get a good value price for my 135i. I did my own homework, I knew exactly what I wanted to order, all the dealer would have to do was take the order and make a few bucks. I was doing ED and PD so they wouldn't even have to PDI the car. I started by visiting 2 of my local dealers for quotes. No negotiations, just to see what was out there. Both salesman gave me somewhat descent polite quotes, $1k off and $1.1k off MSRP. I went home to "think" about it. When I got home I went on bmwusa and pulled up all the dealers I could find in NJ. I called each one. The conversation went a bit like this. Me: Hi, I'd like to come in and order a 1 series this week for production with European and Performance Delivery. I was wondering if we could talk about a price over the phone so that I can be prepared for the cost of the car before arrival. I want to be honest, I will be shopping around for the best price, but I am wiling to tell you what price I want. This should make this easy without much guess work for both of us. The dealer on the other end usually fell into 3 categories. I also had a few that asked me to come in and wouldn't discuss price over the phone, but I politely told them that I would either let them quote me on the phone - or I would not come in. Dealer 1) Sure, lets find out what options you want, and I'll call you back with a price. Dealer 2) I'm sorry we don't have pricing information for 2009 yet, but I'll give you a call when I get it. Me: Really? I have it right here - do you have a fax/email I can send it to? Them: What? Ok cool! Wow. Dealer 2 - 20 min later) Sure this is very helpful, let me give you a call back in a little while. Dealer 3) I'm sorry we do not offer discounts at all on European Delivery cars, you know you are already saving $2500. I called 12 dealers in 1 afternoon. I got 7 calls back, and the rest I guess just decided to ignore me. The Dealer 1 style phone calls went rather well. Some were surprised at what I was looking to pay... ($1600 off MSRP) = ($1200 above invoice) A few of them called back to tell me that they thought I was being ridiculous and should look elsewhere. 2 of them totally came through. One called me back within an hour and said, that they could do that price, and that I should come by to meet their team. The other called and said that they would beat my asking price, and offered $1750 off of MSRP. The quick response was actually from a dealer ~ 20mi from my house down a very clear highway (rt 78). I was happy and placed an order from them last week. I am very excited to be joining the 1 community, and even moreso glad that I got to pay the price I wanted. I know some of you have paid a lot closer to invoice, and even some of you in NJ may have gotten a better deal, but I am happy that I shopped around and got the best I could. I was also not too quick to just choose a dealer based on price... My family has owned many BMW's before and has dealt a few times with 2 of my most local dealers. We have always been disappointed one way or another with both of these dealers - so I decided to give someone new a shot at our business. |
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