Stevens Creek BMW unpleasant experience

[mastermav]

The dealership has nice showroom and friendly sales people but don’t let this distract you - they are sharks and squeeze you out of every penny they think they could.

I wish my experience was pleasant, but it wasn’t.

I think of myself as an experienced buyer, I love cars, I research about cars, and when I come to a dealer I know exactly what I want and how much people generally pay for that.

I prefer ordering cars from the factory, and Stevens Creek BMW happened to have soonest allocation (production slot) within the area for the car I’m looking for. Last two BMW I ordered from a different dealer, the whole process including price negotiation and submitting an order took about 30 min.

With Stevens Creek BMW, it took 3 different visits after which I just gave up.

Each visit was special in a different way:
1st - I was explained that not a single dealer would do the order for anything less than MSRP, after 30 min they agreed to give $1500 off regardless of me showing them people are getting $4k-$5k off the same car. Severely disappointed, I went to the other dealer who gave me $2500 off and we finished paperwork within 30min.
2nd - I was offered $2800 and an allocation, so I came back to give $500 deposit, but no one could give me a letter that deposit was indeed refundable. I was told - “sit tight” - in exact words, while they sort out some kind of papers.
3rd - that is the most exciting - after we had a verbal agreement and I’m about to sign papers, the bigger boss - Petar - requests $2500 non-refundable deposit, because the car is very special and they just absolutely have to do it - unacceptable.

I was tried on every dealer dirty trick one can come up with. I don’t understand why the sales person has to go to “talk to manager” every 3 min.

Anyhow, I have wasted over 5 hours total of my time, while all could be simply done in 30min. I’d rather wait for the car an extra week or two and pay more money than try working with this dealer again. I’m surprised people actually still buy cars here.

P.S. They may sell 50 cars a day there, but they only have a single person who plugs in orders, everyone has to wait for him.

[Thescout13]

Should always ask around on here for contacts at dealers. This, unfortunately, is the likely experience for most people. When you have a contact or know someone with a contact, the whole process can be done over email and many times without a deposit. I'm sorry this has happened to you.

[mastermav]

Perhaps

I actually knew a sales person there personally. They absolutely insisted on me being there at the dealership to hand over the check. And I had to match my schedule, the sales person schedule, and the person who plugs in the order schedule - tough.

I think the management could do a better job at organizing things.

[BMV///M3]

Originally Posted by mastermav

The dealership has nice showroom and friendly sales people but don’t let this distract you - they are sharks and squeeze you out of every penny they think they could.

I wish my experience was pleasant, but it wasn’t.

I think of myself as an experienced buyer, I love cars, I research about cars, and when I come to a dealer I know exactly what I want and how much people generally pay for that.

I prefer ordering cars from the factory, and Stevens Creek BMW happened to have soonest allocation (production slot) within the area for the car I’m looking for. Last two BMW I ordered from a different dealer, the whole process including price negotiation and submitting an order took about 30 min.

With Stevens Creek BMW, it took 3 different visits after which I just gave up.

Each visit was special in a different way:
1st - I was explained that not a single dealer would do the order for anything less than MSRP, after 30 min they agreed to give $1500 off regardless of me showing them people are getting $4k-$5k off the same car. Severely disappointed, I went to the other dealer who gave me $2500 off and we finished paperwork within 30min.
2nd - I was offered $2800 and an allocation, so I came back to give $500 deposit, but no one could give me a letter that deposit was indeed refundable. I was told - “sit tight” - in exact words, while they sort out some kind of papers.
3rd - that is the most exciting - after we had a verbal agreement and I’m about to sign papers, the bigger boss - Petar - requests $2500 non-refundable deposit, because the car is very special and they just absolutely have to do it - unacceptable.

I was tried on every dealer dirty trick one can come up with. I don’t understand why the sales person has to go to “talk to manager” every 3 min.

Anyhow, I have wasted over 5 hours total of my time, while all could be simply done in 30min. I’d rather wait for the car an extra week or two and pay more money than try working with this dealer again. I’m surprised people actually still buy cars here.

P.S. They may sell 50 cars a day there, but they only have a single person who plugs in orders, everyone has to wait for him.

If you are still in the market. P.m. me and I can set you up with who I used

[mastermav]

Thank you for the help, I just got production number with 112 status for 27th week for new 2019 M4 ZCP with another dealer. The car should be here Aug/Sep

[brody8877]

I stay away from, they lied to get me come in just to get ridiculously offer for an allocation. They told me come in and will give me a price that beat rest of the bay area dealership. I was quoted $76,845 before tax and fees and that is with a supposed $4000 discount for a 2018 M3 in Alpine White with competition package, executive package, manual transmission, and wireless charging. That was the exact same price as the MSRP. I asked, is this the price before additional incentive is apply, the CA flat out said there is no incentive for M model vehicles and said that was their invoice price and not willing to go any lower. They are complete waste of time. I ended picking my car up in socal last month.

[trendy26]

I don't know why you even bothered walking into a dealership in the first place. For my (2) E92 M3's and F82 M4, I did everything through email and got invoice pricing each and every time. All cars were ordered as well. Takes a lot less time to send out emails with your offer than it does to deal with all the back and forth BS....

All deposits left on the cars were refundable as well. Didn't think it was even legal to make a deposit non-refundable.

Rule of thumb: only go to the dealership for (3) things: test drive, sign papers, or Service the car. All negotiations should be done on your time and at your convenience. This eliminates the back and forth BS

[marvinp]

the bigger boss - Petar - requests $2500 non-refundable deposit

I thought deposits had to be refundable in California?

[Arcades]

Originally Posted by mastermav

The dealership has nice showroom and friendly sales people but don’t let this distract you - they are sharks and squeeze you out of every penny they think they could.

I wish my experience was pleasant, but it wasn’t.

I think of myself as an experienced buyer, I love cars, I research about cars, and when I come to a dealer I know exactly what I want and how much people generally pay for that.

I prefer ordering cars from the factory, and Stevens Creek BMW happened to have soonest allocation (production slot) within the area for the car I’m looking for. Last two BMW I ordered from a different dealer, the whole process including price negotiation and submitting an order took about 30 min.

With Stevens Creek BMW, it took 3 different visits after which I just gave up.

Each visit was special in a different way:
1st - I was explained that not a single dealer would do the order for anything less than MSRP, after 30 min they agreed to give $1500 off regardless of me showing them people are getting $4k-$5k off the same car. Severely disappointed, I went to the other dealer who gave me $2500 off and we finished paperwork within 30min.
2nd - I was offered $2800 and an allocation, so I came back to give $500 deposit, but no one could give me a letter that deposit was indeed refundable. I was told - “sit tight” - in exact words, while they sort out some kind of papers.
3rd - that is the most exciting - after we had a verbal agreement and I’m about to sign papers, the bigger boss - Petar - requests $2500 non-refundable deposit, because the car is very special and they just absolutely have to do it - unacceptable.

I was tried on every dealer dirty trick one can come up with. I don’t understand why the sales person has to go to “talk to manager” every 3 min.

Anyhow, I have wasted over 5 hours total of my time, while all could be simply done in 30min. I’d rather wait for the car an extra week or two and pay more money than try working with this dealer again. I’m surprised people actually still buy cars here.

P.S. They may sell 50 cars a day there, but they only have a single person who plugs in orders, everyone has to wait for him.

lol

I pretty much laughed at the "not a single dealer would do the order for anything less than MSRP" part. My initial thought was the same when I ordered my M4 back in 15' but the 2015, 2016 cars had way less APR which evens out. However the 17-18 cars APR has skyrocketted. My M4 was 2.97, my M3 is 3.97 (a bit less than this I can find out but i'm lazy)

My F80 is full individual, exterior color isn't BMW's color, interior is requested and after signing I was under invoice, under MSRP. Never, ever listen to what the dealership tells you unless you know their general manager on a personal level (family, family friend etc).

Allocations for the M4 are still plenty around so it's much easier to shop for a price. SoCal high volume dealerships are much more willing to help you with price if you know how to speak with them. Other dealerships who float around BS like what you been told, walk away immediately. Don't go to a single one just because it's more convenient. That generally means the dealership has an upper hand in trying to get you to pay more for the convenience.

P.S. I noticed Stevens Creek is basically in SF. Dealerships in SF are basically the most hard to work with. You order from LA dealerships and I can pretty much guarantee your ordering experience would be much better and they won't tend to play around with you. (Don't do Beverly Hills BMW though)

[paliknight]

Originally Posted by brody8877

I stay away from, they lied to get me come in just to get ridiculously offer for an allocation. They told me come in and will give me a price that beat rest of the bay area dealership. I was quoted $76,845 before tax and fees and that is with a supposed $4000 discount for a 2018 M3 in Alpine White with competition package, executive package, manual transmission, and wireless charging. That was the exact same price as the MSRP. I asked, is this the price before additional incentive is apply, the CA flat out said there is no incentive for M model vehicles and said that was their invoice price and not willing to go any lower. They are complete waste of time. I ended picking my car up in socal last month.

Dude, I bought an M3 and leased another M3 from SF BMW and Weatherford BMW (Berkeley) for $1k below invoice before incentives last month. I dont know why you were shopping somewhere else!

[paliknight]

Originally Posted by Arcades

lol

I pretty much laughed at the "not a single dealer would do the order for anything less than MSRP" part. My initial thought was the same when I ordered my M4 back in 15' but the 2015, 2016 cars had way less APR which evens out. However the 17-18 cars APR has skyrocketted. My M4 was 2.97, my M3 is 3.97 (a bit less than this I can find out but i'm lazy)

My F80 is full individual, exterior color isn't BMW's color, interior is requested and after signing I was under invoice, under MSRP. Never, ever listen to what the dealership tells you unless you know their general manager on a personal level (family, family friend etc).

Allocations for the M4 are still plenty around so it's much easier to shop for a price. SoCal high volume dealerships are much more willing to help you with price if you know how to speak with them. Other dealerships who float around BS like what you been told, walk away immediately. Don't go to a single one just because it's more convenient. That generally means the dealership has an upper hand in trying to get you to pay more for the convenience.

P.S. I noticed Stevens Creek is basically in SF. Dealerships in SF are basically the most hard to work with. You order from LA dealerships and I can pretty much guarantee your ordering experience would be much better and they won't tend to play around with you. (Don't do Beverly Hills BMW though)

No its in San Jose. Different city despite the whole bay area thing. Ive purchased and leased multiple M cars from SF and their deals were literally unbeatable. Its all about how you negotiate and with whom.

My most recent M3 was purchased for $79k OTD and MSRP was 87k. I wasnt even in the same state. everything was done thru phone calls and email.

First time I saw the car was when it was delivered to me in Austin.

[mastermav]

Originally Posted by marvinp

I thought deposits had to be refundable in California?

That’s the interesting part - the deposits are refundable if you are purchasing the car. If you end up not purchasing the car for whatever reason, the car was damaged, they screwed up something, etc. The deposit is held until the dealership sells the car and the difference in sell price is deducted from it. Their explanation was long and convoluted.

Since it’s obvious no one sells those cars at MSRP, and they have to discount the car to sell, one ends up essentially without the deposit. So it’s kind of refundable but not really. I had no time to play those games.

They said refundable - I asked for letter. No letter - no deposit.

[HPIA4v2]

Originally Posted by paliknight

No its in San Jose. Different city despite the whole bay area thing. Ive purchased and leased multiple M cars from SF and their deals were literally unbeatable. Its all about how you negotiate and with whom.

My most recent M3 was purchased for $79k OTD and MSRP was 87k. I wasnt even in the same state. everything was done thru phone calls and email.

First time I saw the car was when it was delivered to me in Austin.

Interesting, the first time I saw a Texan buying car in high-demand market ala Bay area

[brody8877]

Originally Posted by paliknight

Dude, I bought an M3 and leased another M3 from SF BMW and Weatherford BMW (Berkeley) for $1k below invoice before incentives last month. I dont know why you were shopping somewhere else!

Originally Posted by paliknight

No its in San Jose. Different city despite the whole bay area thing. Ive purchased and leased multiple M cars from SF and their deals were literally unbeatable. Its all about how you negotiate and with whom.

My most recent M3 was purchased for $79k OTD and MSRP was 87k. I wasnt even in the same state. everything was done thru phone calls and email.

First time I saw the car was when it was delivered to me in Austin.

LMFAO, cause they worked with you?

I am not sure what are you implicating or assuming that I didn't bothered to contact other Bay Area dealership. Here is the TL;DR version

-SF BMW did not have an allocation when I contacted them, never got back to me if have any allocation for the month of March.
-Weatherford, Concord BMW, and San Rafael never responded to my email
-Peter Pan not willing to work with me on the pricing
-Steven Creeks (As I mention up top) + few nasty email exchange.

+ You being out of state (You don't have to pay California new vehicle registration which is pretty damn high).

BTW I bought my F30 328i at bmw sf few years back (IF THIS MATTER AT ALL)

Currently my experience with Bay Area dealership isn't pleasant.

[mastermav]

So it seems like a trend - the majority of SF Bay Area dealers are way too greedy and difficult to work with.

I know of two people who ordered their cars from the remote dealers and had them shipped to their houses

[NorCalAthlete]

Mountain View BMW > Steven's Creek BMW. Actually, pretty much any BMW dealer > Steven's Creek.

[HPIA4v2]

BMWNA needs to open PCD on the West-Coast, but most West-Coast dealers may revolt against BMWNA if that happens.

[paliknight]

Originally Posted by brody8877

LMFAO, cause they worked with you?

I am not sure what are you implicating or assuming that I didn't bothered to contact other Bay Area dealership. Here is the TL;DR version

-SF BMW did not have an allocation when I contacted them, never got back to me if have any allocation for the month of March.
-Weatherford, Concord BMW, and San Rafael never responded to my email
-Peter Pan not willing to work with me on the pricing
-Steven Creeks (As I mention up top) + few nasty email exchange.

+ You being out of state (You don't have to pay California new vehicle registration which is pretty damn high).

BTW I bought my F30 328i at bmw sf few years back (IF THIS MATTER AT ALL)

Currently my experience with Bay Area dealership isn't pleasant.

I'm just saying it depends on the approach. I would be on top of them harassing them to make sure they get me what I want and to stay on top of things. I never said their customer service was great lol. I just stated that deals can be had at these dealerships. Allocations are tricky since if there aren't any then there's pretty much nothing that can be done in most circumstances.

But I did have to pay California registration since California won't let a car be sold without being registered. I received a registration, plates and paid their sales tax (on the lease) since I was driving it out of the state.

[paliknight]

Originally Posted by HPIA4v2

Interesting, the first time I saw a Texan buying car in high-demand market ala Bay area

Lmao no dealership in Texas would negotiate at invoice (before incentives) and none of them had the exact build I wanted. Ironically weatherford had the exact car I wanted if I were to order it so I decided to harass them

[seis-speed]

There are some great dealers out there. Ask and we will lead, generally in PM communication. The right CA makes all the difference.

[mastermav]

The car just hit 150 status and I got VIN number. I'm so happy. Sooner than I expected.

The funny thing - Stevens Creek BMW didn't bother updating their own allocation, they changed it to my spec and put "Priority 1" order, to something else. That car went into production as well.

So much for that - we cannot sell your custom car - BS, lol.

[Thescout13]

Originally Posted by mastermav

The car just hit 150 status and I got VIN number. I'm so happy. Sooner than I expected.

The funny thing - Stevens Creek BMW didn't bother updating their own allocation, they changed it to my spec and put "Priority 1" order, to something else. That car went into production as well.

So much for that - we cannot sell your custom car - BS, lol.

Priority 1 just means customer ordered.

Congrats!