How I Scored a Fabulous Deal from the Comfort of My Easy Chair

[Dave]

Congrats ! Great deal...I would still be holding my breath about the production #. Once you have that you will prove all of us non believers wrong.

Goore this works out for you

[buckwheat986]

Originally Posted by robert.payne

Yeah, what he said. Many of the dealers would hand write their counter offer on my fax then send it back to me. Now I have hard-copy in their hand writing so there is no room for dispute.

-robert

Will you be posting it?

It will save us time and you hassle in seeing which dealer and stuff you are working with.

[AchtungF80]

Kudos on doing the "rizzo" method - I did the same myself to about 25 dealers in and around the tri-state area.

Only 1 responded saying that they would deal only at MSRP. I ended up just walking into a dealer with my sheet and agreed price I'd pay and I got a similar deal myself, but $1500 over ED invoice.

[AchtungF80]

Originally Posted by buckwheat986

Will you be posting it?

It will save us time and you hassle in seeing which dealer and stuff you are working with.

No offense, but why should he or anyone do that? Both robert.payne and myself went thru a lot of trouble using methods to get the deal we both got and got the payback we deserved, a great deal.

Do the homework, do the footwork, and you'll get the best deal too. Don't give up.

[robert.payne]

Originally Posted by buckwheat986

Will you be posting it?

It will save us time and you hassle in seeing which dealer and stuff you are working with.

Sorry, but no. I'll teach you to fish, but won't just give it to you. That burden rests squarely on your shoulders. If you'll notice earlier in the thread, I provided CA name and dealership where a great deal can be had.

respectfully,

-robert

[robert.payne]

Originally Posted by AchtungE30

Kudos on doing the "rizzo" method - I did the same myself to about 25 dealers in and around the tri-state area.

Only 1 responded saying that they would deal only at MSRP. I ended up just walking into a dealer with my sheet and agreed price I'd pay and I got a similar deal myself, but $1500 over ED invoice.

Thanks, Frank. And congratulations on the ED. That should be the trip of a lifetime.

[buckwheat986]

Originally Posted by AchtungE30

No offense, but why should he or anyone do that? Both robert.payne and myself went thru a lot of trouble using methods to get the deal we both got and got the payback we deserved, a great deal.

Do the homework, do the footwork, and you'll get the best deal too. Don't give up.

No offense...but I don't think your deal is too great....good but not great.

you have like a six month wait....and when your car gets here the 09's will be on the horizon and you will take another depreciation hit...

as far as payne i only asked because he was kind enought to post his fax and he seems to be in the helping all of us mood.

[buckwheat986]

Originally Posted by robert.payne

Sorry, but no. I'll teach you to fish, but won't just give it to you. That burden rests squarely on your shoulders. If you'll notice earlier in the thread, I provided CA name and dealership where a great deal can be had.

respectfully,

-robert

didn't think so...great deal...good luck with the car.

[AchtungF80]

Originally Posted by buckwheat986

No offense...but I don't think your deal is too great....good but not great.

you have like a six month wait....and when your car gets here the 09's will be on the horizon and you will take another depreciation hit...

as far as payne i only asked because he was kind enought to post his fax and he seems to be in the helping all of us mood.

well buckwheat - I actually have a 4 month wait and a trip to the Nurburgring, Autobahn and Stelvio Pass coming. Last I checked, I got a deal on a car and you're petitioning others for help to get yours. I didn't ask for any.

Talk is cheap, unless you can beat my deal and get it direct U.S. delivery. Sorry to flame you but that's how you came off. I'm just a little tired or receiving PMs from people trying to undercut hard work and my research to get an equal or better deal.

Depreciation hits only affect people who sell their cars within a year or two of buying. Mine's a cash/finance deal and a keeper.

[buckwheat986]

Originally Posted by AchtungE30

well buckwheat - I actually have a 4 month wait and a trip to the Nurburgring, Autobahn and Stelvio Pass coming. Last I checked, I got a deal on a car and you're petitioning others for help to get yours. I didn't ask for any.

Talk is cheap, unless you can beat my deal and get it direct U.S. delivery. Sorry to flame you but that's how you came off. I'm just a little tired or receiving PMs from people trying to undercut hard work and my research to get an equal or better deal.

Depreciation hits only affect people who sell their cars within a year or two of buying. Mine's a cash/finance deal and a keeper.

Didn't you order on 3/25 ====> so to labor day is nearly six months...

I disagree with you on your depreciation thoughts...but thats neither here nor there..


good luck with your car and your trip....

[hayabusa55]

Originally Posted by spdrcr

For something as important as a new car, I personally prefer to pay a little more knowing that I'm dealing with someone who is good at what they do.

You want someone that's good at selling cars or servicing them?

[AchtungF80]

Originally Posted by buckwheat986

Didn't you order on 3/25 ====> so to labor day is nearly six months...

I disagree with you on your depreciation thoughts...but thats neither here nor there..


good luck with your car and your trip....

I placed my order early on to guarantee I had an allocation slot and to give me enough time to sell my 350Z which has a soft market to begin with.

3/25-8/25 = 5mo not 6

And just about everyone in here is going to experience depreciation hits since we're all buying new cars regardless if we placed our order in 2004 or if we placed our order on 3/25 and taking delivery in 5mo.

I don't see where you're really going with this depreciation argument.:iono: Perhaps you should be looking at CPO E46 M3s instead? :iono:

[buckwheat986]

Originally Posted by AchtungE30

I placed my order early on to guarantee I had an allocation slot and to give me enough time to sell my 350Z which has a soft market to begin with.

3/25-8/25 = 5mo not 6

And just about everyone in here is going to experience depreciation hits since we're all buying new cars regardless if we placed our order in 2004 or if we placed our order on 3/25 and taking delivery in 5mo.

I don't see where you're really going with this depreciation argument.:iono: Perhaps you should be looking at CPO E46 M3s instead? :iono:

Sorry. you original posts had labor day as the delivery time...that's in sept....so march to sept...6 months...anyhow...


buying a car at the and of the model year is one way to get a lower price...ask any Z4 owner who buys in october or later in the year...

IMO...and others may disagree...your deal is good but by waiting so long for delivery you forfeit some of the value of the deal...now since you are keeping the car for a long time it does not really matter....but if you decide to sell for any reason sooner than you wanted too the scenerio changes.......

there is no way I would buy an 08 135i in sept or later unless I got a great deal...i rather wait a while and pay more for an 09....


just my opinion but like I said...good luck with the car and trip

[crzy4135i]

Originally Posted by robert.payne

Crazy,

My local dealer, who wouldn't even consider my offer, said that the benefits to me for buying at MSRP from them were multiple 1) I'd get quality service 2) I'd have a loaner vehicle when mine came in for service and 3) a contact to assist me should the need arise.

My wife and I have owned four BMWs over the past few years, none of which were purchased from my local dealership. However, all have been serviced from my local dealership. Each time I've received good service and have never had a problem getting a contact to assist me when needed. As for the loaner, sometimes I get one, sometimes I don't. But we're a two car family so not that big a deal. Alternatively, with the money I saved on this deal, I could just get a rental and still come out ahead.

Just my two cents,

-robert

Yea, that makes sense. I'm going to my dealership after work tomorrow with $2500 deposit money in hand. I'll let him know I have the down payment cash ready but need $1500 off msrp, especially if they have a $500 paperwork fee. If not, I'll give valley auto bmw a call. I'm not that far from North Carolina. I'm sure my local dealership would still be happy to sell me the $2k dinan upgrade even if I bought the car from NC. I'm interested in ordering the car pretty much loaded so it should be easier for them to deal with $1500. I'm not sitting in there for 5 hours like I did the last time. 45 minutes and I'm out.

[robert.payne]

Hey Crazy, best of luck with your negotiations tomorrow. Looks like you will be getting on kick-ass car; especially with that Dinan tune. :w00t:

[AchtungF80]

Originally Posted by crzy4135i

Yea, that makes sense. I'm going to my dealership after work tomorrow with $2500 deposit money in hand. I'll let him know I have the down payment cash ready but need $1500 off msrp, especially if they have a $500 paperwork fee. If not, I'll give valley auto bmw a call. I'm not that far from North Carolina. I'm sure my local dealership would still be happy to sell me the $2k dinan upgrade even if I bought the car from NC. I'm interested in ordering the car pretty much loaded so it should be easier for them to deal with $1500. I'm not sitting in there for 5 hours like I did the last time. 45 minutes and I'm out.

Why are you putting down $2500 towards a deposit??

[pltek]

Originally Posted by mateo

I would have given you the deal too, given your last name.

[pltek]

can you host this file so i can downloaded it; i hate typing.

Originally Posted by robert.payne

Yes... great deals can be had on the 135i with very minimal effort. I just ordered mine for $2,795 below MSRP + tax & title, $0.00 doc prep fee, and no trade in. Like most people, I also got the floor mats free.

Here's how:

1. Know What You Want

It is imperative that you know exactly what you want and what the invoice price should be. How will you know you've gotten a good deal if you don't know what you should be paying? I've seen this exemplified on eBay many times when people bid more for an item than they could have gotten it for at the store because they didn't research what the cost of the item should be.

This very forum is a great source of information. Invoice prices are stickied. You can also go to websites such as edmunds or kbb.

2. Decide How Much You are Willing to Pay

Don't ask the dealer for his "best offer" or what kind of deal he can make. You control the deal. You decide what price you want to pay -- up front.

3. Prepare Your Offer and Fax it to the Dealerships of Your Choice

When you submit your offer to the dealer, make sure you are specific about what you want (remember step 1 above?) and what you want to pay.

You can get the fax numbers for your chosen dealers from BMW's website under "Dealer Locator".

Send your offer to several dealerships. Cast a wide net to enhance your chance of success. In my case, I faxed EVERY BMW dealer in the southeast region of the U.S.

Since I'm wanting to take delivery at the BMW Performance Center, I really don't care which dealer places my order.

Once you've gotten your chosen fax numbers, the process of faxing doesn't really have to take very long. I faxed all 53 dealers on my list in about 4 minutes. I signed up for a free 30 day trial account at myfax.com This allowed me to send faxes through email. Since I could address a single email to 9 different fax numbers, I only had to cut and paste to 6 emails; which as stated, took about 4 minutes.

Total time I have invested at this point: about an hour and a half.

As an example of what to say, below is a copy of the offer I sent out.



4. Relax in Your Favorite Easy Chair and Wait for the Dealers to Respond

About a third of the dealerships I sent my fax to chose not to respond at all. Guess they weren't interested in my offer. No big deal, that's why I cast a wide net.

Several dealerships let me know that they would not entertain any offers below MSRP since the 1 series is new, in high demand, in short supply... words, words, words. Again, wide net.

Other dealerships told me that my offer was unreasonable and that I had incorrect information on pricing. However, they would be willing to do me a favor and offered anywhere from $500 to $1200 off MSRP. No thanks... back to the net analogy.

In the end, though, I had one dealership come within $500 of my original offer, while two dealership's accepted my offer as proposed. The difference between the two was that one was willing to waive the $499 doc prep fee while the other wasn't. Guess who got my order?

So, to recap: I expended minimal effort and scored a fabulous deal all from the comfort of my easy chair. It took about 7 hours from start to finish and I never had to sit across from anyone at the negotiating table arguing back and forth while my blood pressure steadily rose.

Happy shopping,

-robert

[MVF4Rrider]

Originally Posted by robert.payne

I'll tell you that the dealership in Fayetteville, NC was very agreeable. Valley Auto BMW.

-robert

That explains it. I used to be stationed there and although I never bought from them, they are a pretty agreeable bunch (very low volume dealer). I can see why they would accept a deal that low, especially when they pre-sell it with probably none on the lot.

Hopefully they can actually get an allocation.

[happywalmartcustomer]

I imagine deployments aren't helping sales in Fayetteville either. I will certainly be taking a drive out to Valley Auto when I'm ready to buy. I can very much relate to the inprecise answer Robert received from Schaeffer. It reminds me of when I asked them whether they were doing Euro Delivery.

[WishBone33]

Originally Posted by happywalmartcustomer

I imagine deployments aren't helping sales in Fayetteville either. I will certainly be taking a drive out to Valley Auto when I'm ready to buy. I can very much relate to the inprecise answer Robert received from Schaeffer. It reminds me of when I asked them whether they were doing Euro Delivery.

Can you tell me more about your experience with Schaeffer and who your CA was?

[NY SLC 93]

Ever hear of a $350 maco and $180 training fee? A dealer I am working with says that these are on his invoice.