F80 Discounts

[Hotrod99]

Hi Gents,

As the subject goes, i'm looking at buying new; either DCT or 6MT however need to drive both and then decide. I understand the best time to get discount is either March or September (in the UK) as these are half fiscal period for BMW and hence targets need to be hit.

I'm curious to know what discounts have been had by members on here as i'm only going to buy if the deal is right.

Especially interested in UK deals anybody has struck.

[mephiska]

I don't know if it's the same for commissioned sales in the UK, but in the US they have monthly targets that close on the end of the month, so they are more incentivized to deal as you get nearer the end of the month. But this doesn't apply to factory orders, only if you are accepting delivery near month end, so you'd want to try and time your delivery taking that into account.

[tn002]

My experience is play dealers against each other until you get the deal you want (or get close). In my situation I actually ended up going back to the first dealer I dealt with as they gave me the best deal.

[tdizzle]

Originally Posted by tn002

My experience is play dealers against each other until you get the deal you want (or get close). In my situation I actually ended up going back to the first dealer I dealt with as they gave me the best deal.

This is my current experience. I got my hometown dealer to budge a bit on the price ($2k off MSRP) but the delta between what I wanted with my trade (obviously low balling that too) and their numbers were too much even after a few 'trips to ask my manager'. In the end, I walked and he asked that if I talk to other dealers to let him know so that he can try to be competitive. Makes me annoyed that it would take showing another offer to get them to 'see what they can do'...

Side note: He even went as far as to say that I'd receive better service when the time comes if I bought the car there with respect to issues that may come up with the car or obtaining loaner cars when bringing it in for service. Customers who purchased cars with them get priority treatment was the idea. Makes me want to buy somewhere else just to spite them.

Sadly we're only talking about a few thousand off an $80k MSRP car...

[shortseller]

Originally Posted by tdizzle

This is my current experience. I got my hometown dealer to budge a bit on the price ($2k off MSRP) but the delta between what I wanted with my trade (obviously low balling that too) and their numbers were too much even after a few 'trips to ask my manager'. In the end, I walked and he asked that if I talk to other dealers to let him know so that he can try to be competitive. Makes me annoyed that it would take showing another offer to get them to 'see what they can do'...

Side note: He even went as far as to say that I'd receive better service when the time comes if I bought the car there with respect to issues that may come up with the car or obtaining loaner cars when bringing it in for service. Customers who purchased cars with them get priority treatment was the idea. Makes me want to buy somewhere else just to spite them.

Sadly we're only talking about a few thousand off an $80k MSRP car...

Bet BMWNA would love to hear this!

[shortseller]

Originally Posted by tdizzle

This is my current experience. I got my hometown dealer to budge a bit on the price ($2k off MSRP) but the delta between what I wanted with my trade (obviously low balling that too) and their numbers were too much even after a few 'trips to ask my manager'. In the end, I walked and he asked that if I talk to other dealers to let him know so that he can try to be competitive. Makes me annoyed that it would take showing another offer to get them to 'see what they can do'...

Side note: He even went as far as to say that I'd receive better service when the time comes if I bought the car there with respect to issues that may come up with the car or obtaining loaner cars when bringing it in for service. Customers who purchased cars with them get priority treatment was the idea. Makes me want to buy somewhere else just to spite them.

Sadly we're only talking about a few thousand off an $80k MSRP car...

Not counting BMW incentives for dealerships, the profit is a little over $4k depending on options for the dealer, thus $2k off is not bad. Where it sounds like they make out well is with the low trade offer. Always best to try and sell in the private market but then again dealing with the masses can have its own challenges.

[tdizzle]

Originally Posted by shortseller

Bet BMWNA would love to hear this!

That was my thought. I called him on it as he was going into detail about a lady who bought her car a few hours away and wanted help with the navigation system. "I asked her where she bought her car from and she should ask them for help, but told her I'd give her 15mins". Such a nice guy.

He sorta backtracked and said, well I'm not saying we wont help you, but obviously we cater to people who bought cars with us since it costs us time and money, etc etc. There are definite perks to buying with us when you have issues or come in for service. I mean we have Geniuses... I stopped listening around that time.

[tdizzle]

Originally Posted by shortseller

Not counting BMW incentives for dealerships, the profit is a little over $4k depending on options for the dealer, thus $2k off is not bad. Where it sounds like they make out well is with the low trade offer. Always best to try and sell in the private market but then again dealing with the masses can have its own challenges.

Definitely understood that going in. Not asking them to not make any money but we all know they're making money on both ends of the deal though and it would be a car they have to put little effort in selling, order > get car > sold the day it comes in. Even if they took my trade in to auction they'd make around $1k on it.

After all the bad info and 'car salesman nonsense', I've got a bad taste in my mouth about the whole thing right now. I dont NEED a new car... But I sure do WANT one

[Bmwguy11]

Find higher volume dealerships. They are the ones who are the most likely to have an allocation and give you a deal. In my experience, lower volume dealerships want to act like they are doing you a favor selling you the car at a small discount off MSRP.

[shortseller]

Originally Posted by tdizzle

Definitely understood that going in. Not asking them to not make any money but we all know they're making money on both ends of the deal though and it would be a car they have to put little effort in selling, order > get car > sold the day it comes in. Even if they took my trade in to auction they'd make around $1k on it.

After all the bad info and 'car salesman nonsense', I've got a bad taste in my mouth about the whole thing right now. I don't NEED a new car... But I sure do WANT one

I find this the best time to buy a new car, when you can easily walk away without reservation and the sales guy knows it.

[two+2]

I'm not sure how BMWNA has set their margins, but based on my last round of negotiations I was told BMW Canada is setting Canadian MSRP to be around 7.5% for MY2017 models. Excluding any promotions from BMW Canada.

[BavarianFanatic]

Originally Posted by tdizzle

This is my current experience. I got my hometown dealer to budge a bit on the price ($2k off MSRP) but the delta between what I wanted with my trade (obviously low balling that too) and their numbers were too much even after a few 'trips to ask my manager'. In the end, I walked and he asked that if I talk to other dealers to let him know so that he can try to be competitive. Makes me annoyed that it would take showing another offer to get them to 'see what they can do'...

Side note: He even went as far as to say that I'd receive better service when the time comes if I bought the car there with respect to issues that may come up with the car or obtaining loaner cars when bringing it in for service. Customers who purchased cars with them get priority treatment was the idea. Makes me want to buy somewhere else just to spite them.

Sadly we're only talking about a few thousand off an $80k MSRP car...

The policy regarding complimentary loaners for retail customers is very much the norm. That's all part of the overhead that's rolled up into each sale. It's also a reward for loyalty. Why would any business want to expend additional resources for a client that spends all of their money somewhere else?

I will say the fact that he tried using that as a justification for not giving you a more competitive price is a bit ridiculous though. It's a negotiation, not a poker match.

[Bmwguy11]

Originally Posted by BavarianFanatic

The policy regarding complimentary loaners for retail customers is very much the norm. That's all part of the overhead that's rolled up into each sale. It's also a reward for loyalty. Why would any business want to expend additional resources for a client that spends all of their money somewhere else?

I will say the fact that he tried using that as a justification for not giving you a more competitive price is a bit ridiculous though. It's a negotiation, not a poker match.

BMW makes dealerships whole on loaner vehicles in one way or another. So, no, that cost isn't built in to the overhead as there is no cost.

[BavarianFanatic]

Originally Posted by Bmwguy11

BMW makes dealerships whole on loaner vehicles in one way or another. So, no, that cost isn't built in to the overhead as there is no cost.

Maybe during the warranty period, but not post-warranty...

[Bmwguy11]

Originally Posted by BavarianFanatic

Maybe during the warranty period, but not post-warranty...

I don't think I've ever seen a BMW dealership keep a loaner past 2 years much less the length of the entire warranty...

[BavarianFanatic]

Originally Posted by Bmwguy11

I don't think I've ever seen a BMW dealership keep a loaner past 2 years much less the length of the entire warranty...

Not the loaner's warranty, the customer car -i.e. taking your car in post-warranty. There's no obligation to provide a free loaner for repairs and service done outside of the warranty period.

My dealer turns loaners after about 3 months. Often sooner depending on accumulated mileage.

[Bmwguy11]

Originally Posted by BavarianFanatic

Not the loaner's warranty, the customer car -i.e. taking your car in post-warranty. There's no obligation to provide a free loaner for repairs and service done outside of the warranty period.

My dealer turns loaners after about 3 months. Often sooner depending on accumulated mileage.

It doesn't matter what the customer's warranty situation is when it comes to BMW loaners and the dealership being made whole. The dealership giving a loaner to an out of warranty customer costs them no more or less than an in warranty customer.

[BavarianFanatic]

Originally Posted by Bmwguy11

It doesn't matter what the customer's warranty situation is when it comes to BMW loaners and the dealership being made whole. The dealership giving a loaner to an out of warranty customer costs them no more or less than an in warranty customer.

I'm not following your logic. Do you think it doesn't cost anything to maintain a loaner fleet? How about the fact that most dealers don't have a fleet large enough to support every client? If you have two clients asking for a loaner and only one car available, how do you decide which client gets it (if one purchased at the store and the other didn't)? Seems a pretty easy answer in my opinion.

The bottom line is that it is indisputable that dealerships carry overhead that is not compensated by BMW. Sure they get trunk money, floor plan assistance, survey bonuses, etc., but there's no obligation to use it towards overhead. It's not unreasonable for them (or any business for that matter) to maintain these resources as a benefit for their loyal customer base. That's how business works...

[Draper]

Originally Posted by Bmwguy11

It doesn't matter what the customer's warranty situation is when it comes to BMW loaners and the dealership being made whole. The dealership giving a loaner to an out of warranty customer costs them no more or less than an in warranty customer.

This.

The cost of the loaner, shuttle, waiting room, etc... is built into their service fees (labor + parts markup). The dealer doesn't care if it's you or BMW footing the bill for the repair, so they have little reason to treat warranty customers any different than non-warranty customers.