[Brooklyn M240i]

This might sound stupid but this is my first custom order car ever and I was wondering what an allocation is?

[LivingInSalt]

BMW AG has a capacity to produce xxx amount of Y cars per month for the entire world

BMW AG divvies those xxx Y cars up to each country

BMW <Canada, in your case> takes the amount they are going to be receiving from BMW AG and divvies them up to each <Canadian> dealership every month, based on sales volume and other mysterious criteria we're not sure of

every month, BMW <Canada> notifies each <Canadian> dealership what amount of Y cars that dealership will receive from the following month of production

[LivingInSalt]

I edited a bunch as I went

So, basically, each dealership is notified every month how many cars of each model they will be receiving. Those are the dealership's allocations

some dealerships might receive 5 G42 M240i's every month. Some dealerships might only receive 1 every 3-6 months

[Brooklyn M240i]

Originally Posted by LivingInSalt

I edited a bunch as I went

So, basically, each dealership is notified every month how many cars of each model they will be receiving. Those are the dealership's allocations

some dealerships might receive 5 G42 M240i's every month. Some dealerships might only receive 1 every 3-6 months

Originally Posted by LivingInSalt

BMW AG has a capacity to produce xxx amount of Y cars per month for the entire world

BMW AG divvies those xxx Y cars up to each country

BMW <Canada, in your case> takes the amount they are going to be receiving from BMW AG and divvies them up to each <Canadian> dealership every month, based on sales volume and other mysterious criteria we're not sure of

every month, BMW <Canada> notifies each <Canadian> dealership what amount of Y cars that dealership will receive from the following month of production

Originally Posted by LivingInSalt

I edited a bunch as I went

So, basically, each dealership is notified every month how many cars of each model they will be receiving. Those are the dealership's allocations

some dealerships might receive 5 G42 M240i's every month. Some dealerships might only receive 1 every 3-6 months

Interesting.. thank you for the clarification it's much appreciated.

[jpcoop]

The allocations are for specific vehicles and production weeks, so they know approximately when that car will be build

To order a car for you, your dealer needs a customizable allocation for the correct vehicle. Once a vehicle enters production it is no longer customizable.

If your dealer doesn't have an allocation, you don't have an order. They should be able to give you a production number. Here in the USA we can use that to track the order on BMW's web site.

[Brooklyn M240i]

Originally Posted by jpcoop

The allocations are for specific vehicles and production weeks, so they know approximately when that car will be build

To order a car for you, your dealer needs a customizable allocation for the correct vehicle. Once a vehicle enters production it is no longer customizable.

If your dealer doesn't have an allocation, you don't have an order. They should be able to give you a production number. Here in the USA we can use that to track the order on BMW's web site.

Originally Posted by jpcoop

The allocations are for specific vehicles and production weeks, so they know approximately when that car will be build

To order a car for you, your dealer needs a customizable allocation for the correct vehicle. Once a vehicle enters production it is no longer customizable.

If your dealer doesn't have an allocation, you don't have an order. They should be able to give you a production number. Here in the USA we can use that to track the order on BMW's web site.

So my car has a production number and the order has been placed/submitted to Bmw and I have a estimate delivery date. So does that mean I got an allocation?? My dealer said I was the first to order a 2023 M240i from them.

[apez]

Do dealers know their allocations before placing orders?

[jpcoop]

Originally Posted by apez

Do dealers know their allocations before placing orders?

They can’t really order a car from AG without one.

But shadier dealers are happy to put you on a list or in the order bank until they get another car, without making it super clear that they don’t really have a car to order for you yet and can’t guarantee any timeline for one.

[apez]

Originally Posted by jpcoop

They can’t really order a car from AG without one.

But shadier dealers are happy to put you on a list or in the order bank until they get another car, without making it super clear that they don’t really have a car to order for you yet and can’t guarantee any timeline for one.

So is this bullshit?

Delivery time for an order of this model is uncertain.
Once your order was assigned a production number we would know the estimated production week and could give you a guess on delivery time to the store.

Thanks for the insight!

[danallxt]

also make sure the dealer has an "open" allocation if you are interested in ordering. ie one that has not been filled.

[jpcoop]

Originally Posted by apez

So is this bullshit?



Thanks for the insight!

I would say it’s a lie by omission. Delivery time is “uncertain” because they don’t have an allocation. If they had one, you would get a production number immediately. I had mine printed out for me when I left the dealer.

What they probably did is submitted your order to the “order bank”, so BMW can see they have people waiting for cars. But you have no idea when they’ll get an allocation, how many people are ahead of you, etc.

[azuki]

As long as you have a production number that you can enter on track my bmw, you had an allocation filled correctly, from my understanding.

[Hap]

Allocation. Been waiting 3 months. So I checked yesterday just for the heck of it. Dealer said nope and thanks for your patience.
It's a great process to buy a car.

Hap

[Jonesymx29]

Originally Posted by Hap

Allocation. Been waiting 3 months. So I checked yesterday just for the heck of it. Dealer said nope and thanks for your patience.
It's a great process to buy a car.

Hap

My CA was upfront with me and said they weren't getting more 'til June, but since then they haven't received a single one (3 months running), so I'm still 2nd on the list... Will be tough to not try and pick something up lightly used or a more readily accessible model, like a 4 series.

Maybe we'll get our cars at the same time Definitely not ideal way to purchase a car but, it could be far worse. We could be trying to get a C8, a G87 M2, a GT86/BRZ, or a GR Corolla lol

[jpcoop]

Originally Posted by Jonesymx29

My CA was upfront with me and said they weren't getting more 'til June, but since then they haven't received a single one (3 months running), so I'm still 2nd on the list... Will be tough to not try and pick something up lightly used or a more readily accessible model, like a 4 series.

Maybe we'll get our cars at the same time Definitely not ideal way to purchase a car but, it could be far worse. We could be trying to get a C8, a G87 M2, a GT86/BRZ, or a GR Corolla lol

They have *no idea* when they’re getting more. They can guess based on previous months but it’s a guess. They won’t know how many they get until they actually get them.

This is why I wouldn’t even bother with a dealer that doesn’t have one. Work the phones and find somebody who does.

[Jonesymx29]

Originally Posted by jpcoop

They have *no idea* when they’re getting more. They can guess based on previous months but it’s a guess. They won’t know how many they get until they actually get them.

This is why I wouldn’t even bother with a dealer that doesn’t have one. Work the phones and find somebody who does.

What I meant was that they already had their allocations divvied out and BMW wasn't sending out more until that month, which is when July builds were meant to start. I wasn't promised a timeline or anything, my CA was clear from the get-go about the randomness of allocations for this car in particular.

[LivingInSalt]

Originally Posted by jpcoop

If your dealer doesn't have an allocation, you don't have an order.

Originally Posted by jpcoop

They can’t really order a car from AG without one.

This is not true. A dealership will send in an order and it will reside in BMW AG's order banks until that dealership gets an allocation. It is Status 047 - "Spec. released-no quota".

[LivingInSalt]

Originally Posted by Brooklyn M240i

So my car has a production number and the order has been placed/submitted to Bmw and I have a estimate delivery date. So does that mean I got an allocation?? My dealer said I was the first to order a 2023 M240i from them.

Yes, having a production number means you have an allocation and you should be able to find out your production date (or week, at least) from your Client Advisor, or from the BMW Genius line. An estimated delivery date is pure conjecture pulled out of thin air based on your production week and then projecting forward the average times through each step

[jpcoop]

Originally Posted by LivingInSalt

This is not true. A dealership will send in an order and it will reside in BMW AG's order banks until that dealership gets an allocation. It is Status 047 - "Spec. released-no quota".

Which guarantees absolutely nothing. You could sit there for a week or ten months or never get a car because they have no car to give. I mentioned the order bank in my reply, but this can just be an excuse for a dealer to keep stringing you along so you don't go down the road to another dealer that actually has a car to sell you.