2013 and earlier BMW 3-Series Prices Paid and Buying Experience

kyfdx

The residual is always figured off of MSRP. The bank doesn't care if you got a great deal or a bad deal, the car is going to be worth the same at the end of lease, either way.

The base MF for a 325i in July was .0022, although the dealer can mark that up by up to .0004, resulting in .0026

I don't know the August numbers, but that info will be floating around by the end of the week.

regards,
kyfdx

kc001

I lived in houston, when I talked to the local dealer, they told me it was too good to be true.

does anyone has any advice to buy from them? I really want to drive the 300 miles and save that much money.

thanks in advance.
Kevin

htownpimp786

Hey

I also live in houston, and also am dealing with that company in ftworth dallas as wel. My friends told me about them, they have a good reputation, and the price theyre giving is really the price theyre giving. The houston dealerships do NOT want you to go there. I am trying to get a car from there this week....hopefully in the next few days. What type of deal are you getting? Lease or financing, what numbers are you looking at. Im making a deal with them as we speak, and they are very good people. let me know thanks

Kirstie_H

A reporter is hoping to talk with a recent BMW buyer who traded in a VW, Toyota, Honda, Ford or Chevy when buying the BMW.
Please respond with your daytime contact info and a few words about your experience to jfallon@edmunds.com asap no later than Tuesday, August 3, 2004.
Thanks,
Jeannine Fallon
PR Director
Edmunds.com

kc001

I lived in houston, when I talked to the local dealer, they told me it was too good to be true.

does anyone has any advice to buy from them? I really want to drive the 300 miles and save that much money.

thanks in advance.
Kevin

jiggy

Hi
I bought my 330i Titanium with ZHP, Cold, Auto, and Sunroof from Cars Direct.
I walked out of a local Bay Area dealership one Sat after the salesman told me that the pricing on the internet were 'lies' and he will not even negotiate with that as my starting point.
I went back to my house and went to the CarsDirect web site and configured the car I wanted and submitted the order. They are not open on the weekends but someone called me at work Monday morning to confirm my interest, asked if I need financing, etc.
They then found the car with my specs and emiled a PO for me to sign and fax back. After I did that, they told me which dealer had my car and when it would be ready to pick up.

I picked mine's up that Wednesday. Price was as on the web site. They do charge a small paper workfee...$30 or $50 dollars i think. All in all, a easy experience. I would rec'd.

kc001

I did not bargin with them, just take their promption, to me that is more than good enough. the one MSRP is aroud 36k, the drive out is probably $33k.

livinbmw

I would like this deal A LOT if it is a car that you want. Here's what's tough to figure; that's sort of an odd configuration which might explain why the selling price they offered is further behind invoice than what the dealer incentive is. It has sport and premium which would usually be accompanied by Leather but it's black sapphire instead of jet black which would be less. I can't imagine ordering a car like that if I were ordering BMW inventory.

I know that for model year 2005 BMW is not going to offer the SMG on the 325. I think that the average days in dealer inventory of that configuration must not be that good. And it sort of makes sense that someone that's wanting the performance of the SMG would be more likely to want a 330. I dig the SMG but that car is configured oddly. I hope that you've tried the SMG because it is quite different, very cool in my book.

The lease is a good program as long as they don't pump the back end with profits and I'd be careful of that since it doesn't look like they will be showing any real front end profit because of the discount you've been offered.

htownpimp786

Well i do love the deal alot, i just wanted to double and triple check to make sure im doing everything right. The configuration is odd in the sense that....it has the premium and sport package...but it doesnt have leather....usually when you go for both the premium and sport package you get leather too. This one just has metallic paint, sport and premium package, xenon lights, and the SMG. I got a feel for it a little bit, but ill work on it when i get the car. The dealership im dealing with is offering 5500-6000 dollars off MSRP on the 04 325i's in ANY configuration! so my price is 35970 msrp....and 30595......plus taxes and stuff. The money factor they gave me is .00260.......but ima try to knock it down on to .0024 or so but well see. ill let you know thanks for all the help. Let me know if you have any advice for me. thanks

kyfdx

The "buy rate" on a 36 month lease for a 325i is .0022

That extra .0004 will cost you about $20/mo on a lease.

Also, the "base" acquisition fee is $525.. I'll bet they try to mark it up to $725.

The "buy rate" on 60 month financing is 1.9%. If you can swing the payment, that is the way I would go. I think the way sales tax is figured in Texas favors buying also. However, if you are worried about re-sale with the SMG, leasing solves that problem.

It really isn't a strange configuration, except for the SMG. I was on a dealer's lot last week and saw many premium package equipped cars without leather.

regards,
kyfdx

htownpimp786

Do you think that im going to have a problem selling the car later on with the SMG? It seems like a good option to me, but i mean its not something im in love with and care if its there or not. I just saw it as something that was neat, and so i decided to get the car with that. Should i not get it later on, because i do want the value of the car to be high when i try to sell it. thanks

djsway

Buendia,
any news on your purchase, please let us know!

djsway

PLEASE HELP! Rookie buyer
Ok I'm looking to purchase
2004 white 325ci
sandleatherette, automatic, sport pckg, and moonroof.
Edmund's invoice is around 32k, at what number do I start negotiating? What do I use to level myself?

kyfdx

There is a buyer for every car, but the more potential buyers, the higher the price received. It is my own personal feeling that the SMG would be a hard sell as a used car. I could turn out to be completely wrong. I think you would be better off with the steptronic or the manual. If you are leasing, with no intention of buying the car, then it really doesn't matter.

regards,
kyfdx

kyfdx

There is a buyer for every car, but the more potential buyers, the higher the price received. It is my own personal feeling that the SMG would be a hard sell as a used car. I could turn out to be completely wrong. I think you would be better off with the steptronic or the manual. If you are leasing, with no intention of buying the car, then it really doesn't matter.

regards,
kyfdx

kyfdx

1) Do some window shopping.. see if the car you are interested in is even available.

2) There is no dealer cash incentive on the coupe, but a good starting price is always dealer invoice or a couple hundred over. At this time of year, you should be able to buy for within $1000 of invoice.

3) I hear there are lease incentives on the coupe, but I'm not familiar with what they are.

regards,
kyfdx

ksharma01

Okay... how did you get $5,685 below the MSRP??? Is this including the $2400 cash back? Plus some??? I a close to walking into a Seattle BMW dealer and start negotiating on a 330i.

djsway

Thanks Kyfdx!!
Is true that since it is close to the end of the year and plust that BMW 3 series are coming out with new body type, that the dealer want to sell 2004 models fast?

jazevedo

I don't understand how that person got such a great deal...they paid $180 over cost....

Go to carsdirect.com and put in the options you want. It will tell you the msrp, and invoice price. Subtract $2400 from the invoice price to find dealer cost (due to incentive on 330's). Then go from there...anything higher than that is profit for the dealer...of course they have to make some money or they wouldn't be in business, but at least you will know how much profit they are making. A broker is looking for a car for me right now....I'll post details once I make the purchase....

vtau

What price did you get your car for? I tried carsdirect and it listed target price only $400 less than invoice price. With the $2400 rebate on 330i, what is the negotiating price? I have seen listings on this forum where individuals have bought their cars for $1700- 1500 less than invoice with the low 1.9% financing. Is this true?

joephish

On the special lease incentives on the 325i, what is the going money factor. I've seen some information that says .00125 Most of the leases on here however, suggest a money factor or .002 Also, what are the credit score qualifications for the special lease rate. Another quick question. What is the residual on the 325i?

vtau

referring to #1310 posting:
Please clarify the pricing. Invoice on this car is $38,776. I am looking for the exact car. $38,776 - $37,555 = $1,221 below regular invoice for the car.

When you say "taking into account the $2400 incentive" do you mean your invoice is $36,376(new invoice)= $38,776 - $2,400

buendia

First of all, thanks to everyone who provided some guidance, your opinions are appreciated. Now let me tell you that I have been out all day driving my new BMW, I took delivery this morning The dealership called back yesterday afternoon and asked if I was still interested in the vehicle, i of course was and was able to negotiate over the phone a price of 39,600 including all fees (except tax,title,and registration) and 1.9% financing, MSRP was 44,395. I guess they saw that I was willing to walk away and would not be pressured into buying it, the guy I talked to over the phone this second time was very helpful and polite so I didn't mind giving them a fair profit, and I got a good deal. Overall it was a good experience and very exciting since it was my first time negotiating the price of a new car. I am really enjoying my new car!

jiggy

All the CarsDirect prices are dependant upon your zip and floats up and down...basic supply and demand. Over in the SF bay area when i bought my car, the price from CarsDirect was 1000 below invoice. So basically CarsDirect and the dealer split the remaining 1400 incentive. I guess I could have gotten more off by negotiating directly with the dealer but I didn't want to spend another weekend looking. My car new came with 5 miles on the odometer with the options I wanted. The cars the dealers here wanted to deal with are the ones with over 100 (HARD test driving miles) or with colors or options i did not want. Hope this helps.

vtau

I got on CarsDirect as you said and tried a couple of bay area zip codes as well as Sacramento and Modesto areas. Most of which gave only $700 below invoice, Sacramento and Modesto around $300 below invoice. I know one dealership who has the car that I am ready to buy. What should my negotiation price be? I was thinking about $1700 below invoice-$2400incentive, which would give them about $700 profit. Is this too much to ask for? From all the postings on this site, this is the number I came up with. Am I in the ball park? Is there a dealership you recommend? Can anyone tell me what to expect for asking price on the '05s if I decided to wait?

buendia

First of all, thanks to everyone who provided some guidance, your opinions are appreciated. Now let me tell you that I have been out all day driving my new BMW, I took delivery this morning The dealership called back yesterday afternoon and asked if I was still interested in the vehicle, i of course was and was able to negotiate over the phone a price of 39,600 including all fees (except tax,title,and registration) and 1.9% financing, MSRP was 44,395. I guess they saw that I was willing to walk away and would not be pressured into buying it, the guy I talked to over the phone this second time was very helpful and polite so I didn't mind giving them a fair profit, and I got a good deal. Overall it was a good experience and very exciting since it was my first time negotiating the price of a new car. I am really enjoying my new car!

glaker

Actually, when you figure in the cost of the mats, I calculate that the dealer made about $400 on my 330. Yes, it was a good deal. I got it by doing my homework here in the Edmunds forum and the Edmunds pricing guide, contacting dealers who had inventory via the internet, and having some dumb luck!
I used the BMWUSA website to locate dealers in my area, linked to the dealer web sites thru BMWUSA and looked at inventory. As you probably know, some dealer web sites are great while others give virtually no info. I decided not to waste any time on dealers who didn't provide inventory info (I think they just want to get you to call them up so they can better "reel" you in). I e-mailed those dealers who had an inventory of 330s and it went from there. Frankly, the response I got was not overwhelming as the inventory is getting close to depleted in our area (especially 330 sedans with the performance pkg). Originally I was going to forego my interactions with small dealers as I assumed they would not be willing to deal due to their small volume. On the other hand, sometimes a small dealer, especially one who handles other lines next to the BMWs, just wants to clear out a high priced vehicle.
I found what I wanted in NJ (Prestige), but they wanted to make $3000 profit ($400 over invoice plus the $2400 incentive). I e-mailed Carbone Cars (which is Don's Superstore) in Utica. They had 3 cars meeting my needs and they offered this teriffic price right off the bat. I believe they wanted them out of inventory FAST.
P.S. I used CarsDirect yesterday and found no inventory in my area. I think if you find a good deal on 330 sedan, you might want to take it sooner rather than later. And Incidentally, Carbone has one 330 with performance pkg left in Imola Red with tan leather, moonroof, cold weather, 6 speed manual.

kyfdx

The new body style doesn't come out until next summer as an '06 model. I can't really tell you what a dealer's motivation might be to make a really good deal, but August is usually a tough month, and they will try to clean out inventory.

Just from following the boards, it seems a lot of people are paying $500-$1000 over the Invoice minus the incentive. The incentive is $1200/325i and $2400/330i. (sedans only) This doesn't mean that YOUR dealer will make that kind of deal. It might take some shopping around. Also, before getting excited about a hypothetical car that you built on Edmunds or KBB or BMWUSA.com, go shop the dealers and find out if they actually have any cars equipped that way.

regards,
kyfdx

jiggy

The discount was higher 3 months ago. You are right, I justed checked...700 off invoice is what CarsDirect has right now for the bay area. The highest volume dealer here in Steven's Creek BMW. Thats who had my car and responded first when CarsDirect sent out the bid. You can try them, ask for Steve Hill..he is their internet dealer...very professional. If you know that a dealer has your exact car then you could go and try to as them to sell it to you at the same price as what they would have sold to CarsDirect. (pocket CarsDirect's profit, I don't know how much that would be...maybe 1-2% or a few hundred dollars). Good Luck.

ctk4949

i leased a 2002 BMW 325Ci in Black Sapphite Metallic, Auto, Sunroof, and Power Seats.
Final price was about $34G we put about $4000 due at signing.
My lease is 36 months 12,000 miles and my monthly payment is $460...so did i get screwed??

oh and South Moters BMW sucks!!

kyfdx

It's hard to compare deals from then to now... BMW really never started laying on incentives before the '03 models. If you go to swapalease.com, and look at 3-series, you'll see that most have lease payments as high or higher than yours. So, at the time you got your car, it was probably a fair deal. Water under the bridge, now.

So, when is your lease up? There might be really good deals next spring on the '05s, with the new body style coming next summer.

ctk4949

thanks for the reply
my lease is over March 05 and the new 05 4-series aint coming out till the end of the year so im thinking of selling my 325Ci now and getting a 05 Infiniti G35 with the updated interior

kyfdx

March is a great month to lease... lots of good deals then.. I would ride the lease out till then, and see what you can get.

ctk4949

thanks for the reply
my lease is over March 05 and the new 05 4-series aint coming out till the end of the year so im thinking of selling my 325Ci now and getting a 05 Infiniti G35 with the updated interior

ctk4949

hehe i have 33,750 miles on the lease
so i will most probably be waaaay over my miles by the time March roles around.

djsway

Thanks again Kyfdx,
this make sense, one more question. How do you figure how much the dealer makes of your sale? Is it anything above invoice?

kyfdx

Technically, its anything above invoice minus the incentive.. But, I don't concern myself too much with how much the dealer is profiting. I'm more concerned with paying the least they will accept. Knowing what their cost is can certainly help in negotiations, but it doesn't mean they will agree with you on what is a "reasonable" profit. As I posted earlier, the really good deals seem to be about $500-$1000 over invoice - incentive. That doesn't mean you will be able to get that..

regards,
kyfdx

corvette

I don't have the paperwork with me, but I know the payments are $464 per month plus tax on a 36 month lease with 0 down and 15,000 miles per year. I placed 5 security deposits of $500 each to buy down the money factor. The selling price reflected MSRP - the $1200 incentive - $500 dealer contribution. I know I left some money on the table, but I really love the car. It has the cold weather package, metallic paint, and sunroof.

Having said that, here is my log of events surrounding the car's purchase...

7/29/2004 – I sign documents to lease the car and agree to pick it up July 30. I am offered gap insurance for $395 and a tire protection plan for $495. I only want the gap insurance, but am offered both together for $495, which I agree to. However, the $495 is listed only as “tire protection plan” on the lease. Later, I obtain information noting that they marked up the money factor and failed to inform me that I could significantly lower my payment by placing a security deposit. I also discover that all BMW Financial Services leases include gap protection at no additional cost (my lease was a BMWFS lease). Upon reviewing the tire protection plan, I discover that the plan is fully refundable within 45 days. I decide to obtain a refund of the $495 charge through the insurance company instead of telling the dealership I no longer want it.

7/30/2004 – I inform the sales manager that there is something awry with the rent charge on the lease, and quote the 0.0022 BMWFS lease money factor from Edmund’s. He admits that the lease charge was marked up, that’s how the finance department makes money, etc., and that the rate I noted would require one security deposit of $500. I reply that the *dealership* has made *plenty* of money on this sale, and I would be willing to provide a security deposit but not a down payment. They agree to change the terms of the lease if I agree to pay the retail charge for acquisition fee instead of them giving it to me at cost. Because this is a significant net savings for me, I agree. I get all the paperwork necessary for my father to cosign the lease, and agree to return it by Monday.

7/31/2004 – My father comes into town to sign the paperwork (they wanted it notarized if he didn’t do it there), and all seems well. I note that I did not receive a copy of the lease paperwork, they retained all the copies.

8/2/2004 – I receive a call from the sales manager explaining that they did not include sales tax in the lease due to a computer error. The docs need to be signed again, and he wants to send a courier to do it. I explain that I will be returning to town Tuesday night, and offer to handle all the transportation of paperwork myself. He explains that they will only count the sale in last month’s sales for my salesman if I don’t have to handle it, supposedly to minimize my inconvenience. He offers me a free tank of gasoline. I reluctantly agree, and he says that my salesman will be in touch. I tell my dad about the paperwork fiasco, and he says he has no problem meeting the courier as long as it’s not tomorrow. I promise him not to have the courier sent tomorrow.

8/3/2004 – I receive two voicemails from my salesman and return them within an hour. He explains that he has already spoken with my father (the cosigner), and a courier is already on the way to obtain his signature at his place of work, and estimates his arrival at my house at 1:00. At this point, it is prudent to note that I never agreed to have the courier come on this date, nor was I asked if I was available, just told that he was on the way, and I then agreed that I would be home around 1:00. At 2:30, my dad calls and tells me he has not yet seen the courier. I tell him not to wait up, he has to leave work by 3:00 and it’s not his problem. At 3:00, he calls and tells me that he just met the courier. I explain that I have somewhere else to be, and am walking out the door. He obtains the phone number of the dealership so that they can tell the courier to go back to Lexington. He calls the dealership and rips the salesman a new orifice after finding out that they sent a geriatric courier on a ~300 mile roundtrip with no cell phone, also informs the salesman that he hopes they aren’t counting on a favorable satisfaction survey. I receive a voicemail at work from my salesman and return his call, agreeing to come sign the papers before lunch tomorrow. He doesn’t tell me what transpired on the phone between Dad and himself. Later, I receive another voicemail from my mother, who informs me that she has signed the paperwork because the courier got all tee’d off that he had driven all that way for nothing. My father and I discuss the situation that night, and agree to do nothing until we think about it. As far as I’m concerned, I am not (yet) a lawyer, but they have a falsified contract on their hands right now, possibly signed under duress or coercion.

8/4/2004 – I have received no communication from the dealership, presumably because they have written off my satisfaction.

Did I mention that one of the worst things you can do to me is lie to me? And the two most common lies I am told which really, really get under my skin are that someone will call, and doesn't, or that they will show up at a certain time, and they don’t.

I could have played dirty with them like they did with me. I could have tried to grind the price down after the fact by saying that my dad wouldn’t cosign because he says I paid too much. I could have done any number of other things that would land me a subject of discussion in the “Inconsiderate car buyers” topic. I suppose I could still, like telling them that I no longer want the car due to their incompetence and deception.

I might have expected this from a Hyundai dealer, but I expect better of BMW, the world’s greatest car company, and its dealer network. The selling dealership was Don Jacobs BMW in Lexington, Kentucky. They say they pride themselves on customer satisfaction, but as far as I’m concerned, they’re just another sleazy car dealership. For those of you who have made it this far, thanks for listening. What should I do?

vtau

Thanks for the feed back. I went to the local dealership that had the car with all the options I wanted. When asked if I wanted to leave an initial offer, I mention the $1700 below (normal invoice) which would leave them with roughly $700 after $2400 incentive. This is the price I see most people on this site getting the 330's for. Am I right? The salesperson said it was a "ridulous offer"- alittle rough. They told me to call back if I had a more realist # in mind. They could of been a little more tackful. I don't think I will be calling them back any time soon. Luckily I found the same car at another local dealership close to me, but now I am hesitant to approach them until I know for sure what my initial offer should be- the bitter taste of the first dealership has me thinking about waiting for the 05's to come out, since it is roughly $2000-$3000 that I might save 04' vs 05'(doses this seem right?).
I'll look into Stevens Creek if this doesn't work out.

jiggy

I feel your pain. That's exactly what happened to me when I went in and offer them what I thought was a fair price. Its ironic..the dealership that laughed and me and the dealership in which I ended up buyin gmy car was the same. SCBMW. You should have seen the look on the original sales person that laughed at my offer when he saw me a few days later signing the papers( he lied and said they didn't have the car..when he knew that exact model was coming in Monday)......priceless....If you can...next time pull out a CarsDirect printout and tell them you WILL get the car for this price and if they wanted to do some business tell them to work with you so you can split the CarsDirect cut. Otherwise it will be their Internet salesman and CarsDirect that will make their quota and commission. Good Luck!!

jazevedo

Anybody know if they've stopped production on these cars (2004)? I'm guessing they won't take an order for a 2004 now, but does that mean they are done building or that they are still building but not taking NEW orders.

I'm just curious if more will arrive in my area since there aren't many around with the options I want.

kyfdx

I hear all August production is '05s.. But, they may still be getting some '04 cars in, as it takes 4 to 8 weeks for transportation from overseas..

brislance1

I think all BMW production in Germany stops during the entire month of August for worker vacations.

vee

Hi All,

Well, I passes on that ED 325it that I was asking you folks about a couple weeks ago. I am now considering a 2004 executive demo with 10K miles. Any advice on buying an executive demo?
Also, I live in Hawaii and the dealer here only has one 325it and I don't care for. I heard there was one pretty close to my specs at the VPC but it went out to a dealer in So. Cal. Does anyone know of anyway to track these vehicles? Or to search the whole So. Cal data base for 325xit or 325it that might fit my criteria short of trying to contact each individual dealership?
Any incentives on new wagons?
Thanks for your help.
Aloha,V

kyfdx

Treat this as basically any low-mileage used car. If it was titled to BMWNA, it doesn't necessarily mean it was driven by an "executive", it could have been a short-term lease by an assembly line worker in the Spartanburg plant.

It might even be a service loaner or demo. If you ask them to pull the BMW vehicle history report, you can see the in-service date and the warranty expiration. If it has a 55K mile warranty, then it was put in the service loaner/demo program.

I don't know what the market is like in Hawaii, but I'd want to pay at least $4K less for a car with 10K miles, than a comparable new one.

regards,
kyfdx

garevels

I don't think production closes for the entire month of Aug anymore. My 330Ci just finished production on Aug 5.

mookie

Does anyone know if there are any August incentives to purchase or lease a 330ci? I keep hearing about a $2400 incentive but am not sure if it applies to the coupe.

Thanks for the help!

kyfdx

They have lease incentives on the coupe (low MF), but no dealer cash.

mookie

Does anyone know if there are any August incentives to purchase or lease a 330ci? I keep hearing about a $2400 incentive but am not sure if it applies to the coupe.

Thanks for the help!

m4d_cow

the $2400 incentive applies only to the 330is and xis, ends august 31st.
no incentive on the coupe unfortunately.