[JAYHAWK]

I don't know if anyone has asked this recently, but should we expect to get a better deal on a car (particularly the 335 coupe or convertible) when we order it or buy one off the lot? I can imagine that if a dealer has many on the lot, meaning that the supply happens to be higher than the demand at the moment, we, the buyer, should have more power to "take a car off their hands." But if the dealer has a limited number of cars on the lot or doesn't have the color/transmission/options we want and we want to order, I would think that we should also be able to negotiate the price down because we are buying a vehicle they normally wouldn't have sold anyway (not one of the cars among the dealer's allotment). Or is there an allotment of how many cars a dealer can order as well? Thanks for any input you guys can give me!

[!Xoible]

best deal is European Delivery, otherwise it doesnt matter ifyou buy it on the lot or order as long as you do the same negotiation. Buying off the lot, i'd imagine, can get you a better deal normally since they want to get rid of the car they have, but that's not the case with 335's

if you do ED you might save 5 or 6k, i heard.

congrats in advance!!!

[raleedy]

I think 5 or 6K savings for ED is ambitious, and you have to factor in the cost of the trip and the time value of the car on the water. You also have to factor in what kind of discount would be available from the dealer without ED. Aside from ED, a special order car is probably the best deal for the dealer, since there isn't any flooring cost. But if they have what you want on the lot, and the terms are reasonable, why not take it?

[samwoo2go]

special ordered cars come out of their allotment as well as a car on the lot. Only ED cars don't come out of their allotment

[AZ-BMW]

Originally Posted by raleedy

I think 5 or 6K savings for ED is ambitious, and you have to factor in the cost of the trip and the time value of the car on the water.

Yes, I saved at least $6K on ED, but as you noted, spent most of it on the mini-vacation in Southern Germany. Would I do it again, Absolutelty

[davewolfs]

How does ED work? I want to save 5-6k where do i sign up

[akack79]

Originally Posted by davewolfs

How does ED work? I want to save 5-6k where do i sign up

Gona keep this nice and simple:

ED invoice pricing : http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=427

How ED works : http://www.bimmerfest.com/wiki/index...opean_Delivery

[John 070]

Originally Posted by mantis

best deal is European Delivery!!!

As long as you don't mind $5 bottled waters and getting laughed at every time you exchange US$. All kidding aside, wonder if anyone has actually taken the time spent and money factors into consideration. Lately, I would think the exchange rate would matter. Is the Europe trip really free when all is said and done?

[samwoo2go]

Originally Posted by davewolfs

How does ED work?

you would have to be at least 50 years old.

[davewolfs]

Originally Posted by John 070

As long as you don't mind $5 bottled waters and getting laughed at every time you exchange US$. All kidding aside, wonder if anyone has actually taken the time spent and money factors into consideration. Lately, I would think the exchange rate would matter. Is the Europe trip really free when all is said and done?

1) I have a ton of rewards with both hotels and airlines.
2) My wife and I were planning on going to Amsterdam in the spring

So given that we were planning on going anyways, it only makes sense to take advantage of something like this. Besides, I think part of the fun is driving across Europe in a hot new ride

[davewolfs]

Originally Posted by samwoo2go

you would have to be at least 50 years old.

Lol!

[raleedy]

Originally Posted by davewolfs

1) I have a ton of rewards with both hotels and airlines.
2) My wife and I were planning on going to Amsterdam in the spring

So given that we were planning on going anyways, it only makes sense to take advantage of something like this. Besides, I think part of the fun is driving across Europe in a hot new ride

That's a good set of conditions for doing the Euro delivery thing. Another one would be: you can get along without the car for the six weeks or so it takes to get it to the US dealer.

One more thing to think about: 08 BMW MSRP is low against our weak dollar. I'm willing to bet that, by spring, that will have changed at least a bit.

[samwoo2go]

Originally Posted by raleedy

That's a good set of conditions for doing the Euro delivery thing. Another one would be: you can get along without the car for the six weeks or so it takes to get it to the US dealer.

One more thing to think about: 08 BMW MSRP is low against our weak dollar. I'm willing to bet that, by spring, that will have changed at least a bit.

I don't think so, its not just the BMW MSRP is low against the weak dollar, its all European car makers. BMW will not dramatically raise their price (not until after the current E9X generation anyway) if their competitors don't raise prices.

[Seth_Horwitz]

To the Original Poster, I got a better deal from the dealer by ordering. (A 535xi, not a 335i) Anyway, he wouldn't budge on the BS "Inventory Fee" for a car that was on the lot, or even at port for that matter, but he did take it off for an ordered car. We have to wait an extra week to get the car, but saved about $500 if I recall.

[VIZSLA]

Originally Posted by samwoo2go

special ordered cars come out of their allotment as well as a car on the lot. Only ED cars don't come out of their allotment

Allotment yes but an ordered car is not part of the dealer's "floor plan" so he pays less (or no) interest on it.

[garyhgaryh]

Originally Posted by raleedy

I think 5 or 6K savings for ED is ambitious, and you have to factor in the cost of the trip and the time value of the car on the water. You also have to factor in what kind of discount would be available from the dealer without ED. Aside from ED, a special order car is probably the best deal for the dealer, since there isn't any flooring cost. But if they have what you want on the lot, and the terms are reasonable, why not take it?

I saved about 6k doing ED not factoring the trip into the equation and basing the savings off retail MSRP. I need a vacation anyways and it was perfect timing.

Can you get $1k off coupes in CA? If so, then let say $5k. Still significant.
Gary

[John 070]

When one looks at a 3 Series in an absolute way, it's rather expensive. If BMW had raised the prices 11%, I'd say 90% of the cars would be leases, and the lots would be filling up. My dealership has two 2k8 M5's on the lot both discounted 6k. Why discount when the USD is weakening? I'd say lack of demand. There was a time when 38K bought a loaded to the hilt M3 (1996'ish).

[VIZSLA]

Originally Posted by John 070

When one looks at a 3 Series in an absolute way, it's rather expensive. If BMW had raised the prices 11%, I'd say 90% of the cars would be leases, and the lots would be filling up. My dealership has two 2k8 M5's on the lot both discounted 6k. Why discount when the USD is weakening? I'd say lack of demand. There was a time when 38K bought a loaded to the hilt M3 (1996'ish).

My guess is that there is a lot of room for discounting on an M5. Since the margins are bigger on the M's. The M5 is not a new model and demand is bound to slack off.
Aside: It would be interesting to see the curve of the sales prices for the M's. I'd bet that more start off above list and drop further and faster than the rest of the line.
That having been said, discounting is never a good sign for a retailer. But it is for us consumers. Wonder how long it'll take the M3 to drop. And an increase in leases mean a better used market.