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

kennynmd · July 2005

I think th incentive was $4200 when it was available, I might be wrong. Anyways, the dealer probably bought the car themselves with the incentive thusgot it for $34,345. Therefore, although it seems like a good deal, they are still making $2200.

tksung · July 2005

> Price = $1500 over ED invoice + all options at retail msrp.
>
That's a rather screwy way of pricing an ED. I'd convert it all to invoice to figure out the true profit, so that you can compare your deal with deals reported here and ED forums. Makes me wonder if you are dealing with a straight guy.

tksung · July 2005

> Do you think I can get a better offer going into a dealership?
>
Or, just pick up the phone and call them.

Personally, I think this method works better than faxing method:

1. Research the fair deal range using this forum and others.
2. Decide on your invoice+ price.
3. Call your local dealer's internet/fleet/ED manager and tell them exactly what you are looking for, and ask for their best price. If the price is not acceptable, tell them you'll put down deposit on that day if they can do your invoice+ price.
4. If they can't meet your price, note their best price and move on to the next dealer.
5. Repeat 3 and 4 with the next dealer. Also tell him you have an offer for $$ and you are looking for your invoice+ price.
6. Continue till you find a dealer who will accept your price, or go with the best price so far.

ddas · July 2005

I missed the car I was talking about. The seller sold it for 20K to another buyer (i had offered 19K).

However, I am looking at another car at the local BMW dealer. It's a dark blue, grey interior, 02 325i, CPO with 49K miles on it. It has premium package, cold weather package, auto. He is asking 25K out of the door( taxes, tittle, fee,.... ~1.2K, here in VA). I have offered 24K out of the door.

Is this a good price?

Thanks a lot,
ddas

amt7565 · July 2005

I got my 2005 330i 2 months ago. MSRP was $42,250. But I got it for $35K. This was when the incentives were still On. You can ask for the same cost of $35K.

Great car! Love it! This might be your best opportunity to get a really fine tuned car! for a steep discount. So grab it while you can.

AMT-

0audilicious0 · July 2005

So I got the guy to very quickly agree to $1500 over ED invoice including all options priced at ED invoice. I'm starting to think that maybe I could have gotten even cheaper. I haven't put a deposit down yet, but feel like an [non-permissible content removed] for asking for even more money off when I'm the one that proposed $1500 over invoice to begin with.

It just caught me off guard because I'm buying out of area and am used to the local SF bay area dealers not budging.

davidd3 · July 2005

Today I ordered a 2006 BMW 330i. Here's the skinny on it:

MSRP: $42,040
Invoice: $38,545
Selling Price: $39,370
Sparkling Graphite Metallic
Black Leather Upholstery with Aluminum Trim
Automatic Transmission
Premium Package
Heated Seats
Satellitte Radio

I will lease it for 36 months, 15,000 miles per year. I locked in the July lease program (money factor of .0025, residual of 59% of MSRP, and NY acquisition fee of $900). I will take delivery on or about Sep 1. If the lease program is better then than now, I can take advantage of it. I am not making any down payment. I will capitalize the acquisition fee ($900 in NY) and the sales tax (7.375%). Based on the July lease program, my monthly payment would be $643.71. Total amount due at lease inception is $1,733.71. The breakdown is $643.71 for the first month's lease payment, $650 refundable security deposit, $165 NYS DMV fees, and $275 dealer conveyance fee. The dealer would not waive the conveyance fee, but I was able to get them to effectively waive it by further reducing the selling price.

Another dealer would have done a deal at $900 over invoice with no dealer fees. But I went with the selected dealer instead because I took a lot of their time and I have a friend in their service center. I will end up paying perhaps $5 or $6 more per month than my best deal.

Soon they will give me a VIN or some other number that will enable me to follow the progress of my car's production and shipment on the BMW website. They will designate for me a car that the dealership already has on the production line. It's just a matter of changing the specs from their stock order to my custom specs. This way my car will get built before the factory shuts down for August vacation.

It amazes me how much they are discounting this car only a couple of months after its launch. I anticipated that I might have to pay close to MSRP, certainly much closer to MSRP than to invoice. While I initially set out to get the less expensive 325i, the surprisingly hefty discount enabled me to splurge on the 330i. Now I'm hoping that BMW will reduce the money factor on the lease program before I take delivery. It would be great to end up with a lower monthly payment than the one I locked in at.

baekho · July 2005

Hey AMT,

I recently placed an order"mod" for 2005 330 coupe it is being built and shipped so have to wait until september to pickup.

I am surprised by this deal you got....For my car I got MSRP 46,695 and sell price for $43,895

I am leasing for 3 year/15K

Wow, I placed a deposit since the car is not here, so can you tell me more about the discount price?

What is this incentive they talk about? Man, I thought i got a deal, now i feel i got ripped off!

Thanks :mad:

ddas · July 2005

I am looking at another used car from a bmw dealer...

03 325i , 20K miles on it. Certified Pre Owned (Full warranty till 2009/100k miles)
Orient Blue with Natural Brown interior
Automatic, Premium Pkg, Cold Weather Pkg

The dealer is asking for 26.8K out of the door. What is a good price? Also, I have not seen the car in person, is orient blue with natural brown interior a good combination?

Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot in advance,
ddas

tksung · July 2005

> I haven't put a deposit down yet, but feel like an [non-permissible content removed] for asking for even more money off > when I'm the one that proposed $1500 over invoice to begin with.
>
That's why you should do the research and decide on your price first. If you asked $1500 and the dealer agreed, I'd honor that deal. The deal range appears to be $1000-$1500 anyway, and a few hundred bucks may not be worth being a "bad customer". If the dealer is far out of the area, however, that could be a justifiable reason to renegotiate a bit. (You'd know that you shouldn't have problem getting a similar deal in sf bay, if you've done your homework).

nmrt · July 2005

as far as the color combi goes: orient blue is a nice color and the natural brown is AMAZING! you will have to see it to believe it. i have an alpine white with natural brown. while the white is just a normal plane jane color, i must say, everytime i sit in the car and look around, the natural brown blows me away. so, go for it i would say. as far as the price, look for more opinions from other people.

adp3 · July 2005

I like the dark blue with the brown interior - very classy

not sure about the price, as I've only been looking at convertibles

ddas · July 2005

Yeah, everybody I have spoken to seems to like the color combo, though I have to see it myself. The only thing now is the price.
I forgot to mention that in addition to CPO, low miles( 19, 334 miles), CP, PP, auto, and a CPO till 2009/100K miles, it also has xenon lights! I have checked edmonds and KBB and both of them indicate the out of the door price of 26.8K is really good.
Just that I am in a dillema whether I should wait some more or go for it. I think if i wait a little more, the dealer will agree to 26K out of the door with an ipod adapter( which is what I have offerd). But i have already lost a good deal this week trying to play this wait and watch game......

Please let me know what you guys think about the price....

Thanks,
ddas

lschweitzer · July 2005

Anyone have experience with Hahn Bank. Dealer quoted me $544 for a 39month lease on a 325 with PP, SP, Xenons, Heated Seats, Automatic, Satellite. tax included in lease, only thing up front is the bank fee, first month and DMV. (I presently have a BMW so there is no security deposit required). My concern with Hahn is at lease end. Thanks,

virtualbmw · July 2005

a 2800 discount on a coupe is a smokin' deal. The new body style coupes aren't going to be out until fall of '06. There has not been any incentive on the 05 coupes. You didn't get ripped off at all. In fact, the dealer was quite generous with the discount.

I wouldn't buy that '05 330 sedan even with the big discount. The dealer put the car in demo service when they bought it. They bought it so that they could get the $4200 incentive. There is a demo service extension to the warranty so you don't lose anything there but in my mind the E90 is such a far superior car that for the 35 range I'd get a 2006 325 over that 2005 330 in a heartbeat. It's a far superior car.

virtualbmw · July 2005

wow, david, that's a killer deal. I agree, one wouldn't think that such a deep discount is possible. Who did you get your deal from?

adp3 · July 2005

so, are the deals on the 06s so good, that it makes less and less sense to buy a used 04?

nyccarguy · July 2005

2006 325i
6-speed manual transmission
Sirius Satellite Radio
Metallic Paint
Cold Weather Package
Sport Package
Destination Charge

MSRP: $34,665
Invoice: $31,805
Selling Price: $32,805
61% residual
.00250 money factor
Leasing for 36 months with 15K miles per year $0 Cap Cost Reduction
8.375% Westchester County (NY) Sales Tax rolled into the payments

1st Month, Security, Bank, & DMV fee due at signing

$504 per month

kyfdx: Can you run this through your lease calculator?

All I have to do is go an test drive the car and give a deposit.

blueguydotcom · July 2005

leaseguide.com everybody has access to the same calculator.

davidd3 · July 2005

Thanks, virtualbmw.

I was able to accomplish this killer deal thanks in large part to my preparation. I started following this and other forums (in particular the lease forum) well in advance of commencing negotiations. From posts on this forum, I knew the general range in which sales were being made in my area and I knew the difference between a good price and a great price. From posts on the leasing forum, I knew the ins and outs of leasing. I was familiar with the terms of the current BMWFS lease program and I knew to look out for dealer markups of the base BMWFS rates. I knew to question fees such as document fees, conveyance fees, dealer prep fees and the like. I knew not to put money down on a lease. I knew to capitalize the acquisition fee and the sales tax. Yada yada yada. Presenting myself as a well-prepared customer made for much easier negotiations. I knew when to keep pushing and I knew when to stop and sign. Not a single doubt what to do at any moment.

The dealer is BMW of Greenwich. They are located in CT, just over the NY border. Their initial offer was 1,500 below MSRP, a fair price but not a great price. They moved quite a bit off of that in the end, as you could see from my initial post. They were very good people to deal with.

I still can't believe that I will end up with the 330 instead of the 325. A dream come true. I am sooooo looking forward to this car. Amazing!

mayberryguy · July 2005

I like the dark blue with the brown interior - very classy

I agree, that is my favorite combination too. It seems to be the most classy out of all the combinations IMO. Have only ever seen one in person and fell in love. I tried to locate one when I was buying back in March but no new '05 325i or xi's with that color combo.

mayberryguy · July 2005

I've done some searches of similarly equipped CPO's here in my area (Indiana), and this seems to be a very good deal. I would maybe try for 26k but if you really want the car don't let it get away. I found out the hard way back in March when I was looking for my '05 325xi with Manual. Good Luck.

sender1 · July 2005

We signed a purchase agreement for a 2005 330xi about a week ago and put down deposit of $1000. We were supposed to pick up car yesterday. My husband's calls to salesman who sold him car went unreturned all week. The day before we were to go pick up car, the sales manager calls my husband and tells him that "by mistake" the car was sold the day before to someone else. How they can do this when we have a purchase agreement with the VIN # of the car and a deposit on it is beyond me but all the guy says is that mistakes happen. Their stories change with whoever gets on the phone. The biggest problem is that we spent weeks looking for this car, there are NO 2005 330xi's equipped like that in basically the country. ( I did a search with BMW). Major problem, my husband's lease on his Volvo is up in 2 weeks and new 2006s not out until Oct. Angry doesn't even begin to describe how we feel. Oh, by the way the dealership is Wide World of Cars Bmw in Spring Valley New York. What recourse do we have

kyfdx · July 2005

You have no recourse...

Did the dealer offer to find you another car?

kyfdx · July 2005

$1500 over ED invoice + all options priced at invoice (there is no ED invoice on options.. all are same price, US or ED) is a good deal.. That wouldn't keep me from asking for $1000 over, though...

regards,
kyfdx

kyfdx · July 2005

No cash incentives on the coupes.. AMT was referring to '05 sedans...

kyfdx · July 2005

The price looks pretty good... If I were negotiating, I'd ask for the 6yr/100K maintenance extension.. (value: $1K)..

Natural Brown is really nice looking.. reminds me of leather furniture.. I'm not fond of Orient Blue (like that should matter to you), but it contrasts nicely with the NB.

regards,
kyfdx

kyfdx · July 2005

I get $458.75 + tax.. If NY just taxes the lease payment, then that comes to about $497/mo...

So, I'm getting $7/mo. less... That could be explained by a different tax calculation than the way I did it... If they multiply the total payments by the tax rate, then add it to the cap cost, that brings it up to about $500.. Tax on the acquistion fee? If not paid upfront and rolled in, that is another $2/mo...

As you can see, we're talking minuscule differences.. $7/mo at most....

regards,
kyfdx

baekho · July 2005

Thanks for your reply. Ok sounds like i got a great deal.

I think the coupe is still better than the 06 sedan simply because the coupe is sportier and has the performance package. Also, mine isn't the demo model. I had it custom ordered they are making it in germany so can't be demo. They are shipping it over here so I assume it isn't a demo?

I wish the coupe 06 came out but can't wait that long!

nyccarguy · July 2005

That's really crummy that they sold the car out from under you. I can tell you that my parents bought 2 cars from wide world last year (an '04 X5 3.0iA and an '05 530iA) and the buying experience was quite good. I'm actually using the same guy again if I decide to go ahead with an '06 325i. If you email me I can give you the name of the salesman I worked with. I'm not sure where you live (Rockland, Westchester, NJ), but they came out to be the cheapest both times. I called many dealers for pricing in the city, Jersey, Westchester, CT...

If you're leasing, ordering an '06 might be cheaper considering the residuals will be higher. You can extend the lease on your Volvo for a few months. You really don't need the AWD in our area (the car mfrs. make you think you need it) Honestly we get maybe 5 days a year where the roads are bad. Go with a 330i and get a set of snow tires for it.

officecubed · July 2005

That link to the European Delivery forum does not work. Can someone re-post it?

THanks,

amt7565 · July 2005

That's terrible. They might have sold it for a higher profit. I am not sure what kind of recourse you have. You paid a deposit and that makes it an agreement. If I was in your position I would be very angy too! You will have to look into your rights as a consumer.
Good luck.

Kirstie_H · July 2005

European Delivery: Experiences, Advice & Info

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poldim · July 2005

If you signed a legally binding agreement saying a certain VIN is your car I'm sure you can go after them for car rental fees until you can get a 2006.
Possibly talk to a lawyer...

poldim · July 2005

2006 330i Sedan
$36,300 MSRP
$695 Destination Charge
$475 Sparkling Graphite Metallic
$1,000 Cold Weather Package
$2,200 Premium Package
$1,600 Sport Package
$575 Power Rear Sunshade/Rear Manual Side Window Shades
$350 Park Distance Control (rear)
$2,000 On-Board Navigation System w/iDrive
$45,195 Price as configured

$3,825 Difference between invoice
$661 Difference between TMV

In addition I will be adding the Comfort Access option, thus pushing my build date into September.

Currently I'm talking to a sales rep from another dealership (BMW of Towson) who is extremely help. Another sales rep from that dealship said they are the biggest BMW dealer & have #1 Customer Service in Maryland and #5 in the Nation. I dont know how true this is but they do have a large size lot, twice as big as the next largest one I've seen.

What do you guys think is a reasonable price to pay for this. The dealer gave me about a 640 dollar discount off invoice and said will call to talk the next day and never did. So I wont be going back to that place unless they give me an amazing deal.

Thanks

kyfdx · July 2005

At that level, I'd want $1500 off MSRP.. .even if it is a brand new model....

Prices go up about $500 for cars that arrive after September 1st..

I've never heard anything good about Towson... especially their service department...

Have you tried Passport?

regards,
kyfdx

kmg68 · July 2005

I would shoot for $800-$1000 over invoicce. I am looking at a very similar configuration and that is what I am going to ask for.

poldim · July 2005

I have but the person that sent me an email is on vacation for 10 days.
I forwarded the email to the two individuals that he listed as being his back ups.

Northwest was the dealership that didnt call back.
My mother is friends with the general manager at Russle BMW, so I'm going to see if that connection can make some kind of deal out of itself.

Are there any websites that have dealership ratings and so on?

poldim · July 2005

Passport BMW just replied with this:

"Your cost would be $43,840 based on the items on the attachment."

About $2500 above invoice.

kyfdx · July 2005

$1350 off MSRP... well.. better than the other quote..

I get the feeling, that if you would get them on the phone, or make an appointment to drop by, that there might be another $500-$1000 to work with....

Good luck!!

davidd3 · July 2005

TMW is way off base on this car. Don't go by that. Information posted on this forum is a much better real time indicator.

I think that you should be able to do a transaction in the range of $1,000 to $1,500 above the invoice price. I placed an order on a new 330i last week. You can go back a few pages to find my July 13 post.

poldim · July 2005

Does it matter that you are taking yours for lease rather than purchasing on the final outcome of the price? Is the dealership making more money on the lease than on the regular purchase?

davidd3 · July 2005

No, it shouldn't matter at all that I am taking mine as a lease rather than a purchase. First I negotiated the sales price and then I asked them to work up lease numbers based on the negotiated sales price. My lease will result in a sale by the dealer to BMW's financing arm at the negotiated sales price. My dealer is not making any backend profit on my deal by marking up the rates on the BMWFS lease program.

poldim · July 2005

It seems like a lot of the New York guys are getting pretty good deals on their 06's. I wonder if there's a chance of getting one of my dealers locally to price match to that...
I would be extatic if I could get it at $1500 above retail.

ddas · July 2005

Thanks for the info. I closed the deal on Sat for 26K out of the door. I have put in 2K downpayment but have not yet signed the dotted line, plan to do it sometime this week.
I am working with VOB BMW in Rockville, MD. Does anybody have any feedback on this dealership?

Thanks,
Dipanjan

mjfloyd1 · July 2005

Perhaps kyfdx or corvette can help me out. I am looking for a reasonable bmw dealer in the midwest (I live in Bloomington, Indiana). I have bought at Isringhausen in springfield, IL and D&R in indianapolis. Neither are very "price friendly", but I do live just 45 minutes from the southside indy store. Any ideas??
I did just figure out that corvette did a PCD via passport bmw - perhaps that might be a fun option.

Thanks,
Mark

kyfdx · July 2005

The midwest is a pretty crappy place to get a great deal on a BMW...

Not that I've bought there, but the guys at Voss BMW in Centerville (Dayton), OH seem to be straight shooters... Other than that, Chicago has eight dealers..

I wouldn't consider going that far out of town unless it will save you at least $1000.. Buying at the local dealer is always preferable...

That said, D&R sure doesn't have a reputation for great deals... Alternatively, you could try Swope in Louisville... There are dealers in Bowling Green and Paducah, KY as well... I'd guess both of those are as close as Chicago.. (maybe not).

regards,
kyfdx

kennynmd · July 2005

I'm in MD also. Have you tried Tischer? I got a car from there a couple of years ago was great. Not sure about their service dept. If you want to contact the salesman I dealt with, make your email public. Whe I was thinking about the new 3 a couple of months ago he told me he would split the difference between the invoice and MSRP so in your case it would be about $1900 off.

tzdon · July 2005

Dealer is trying to push the premium option on me for the added hp. Its nice - but I wonder if I just wait 1 more year - won't the new convertible come with that standard?

Here's the deal - I own (outright) a 2002 TT Quatro 225hp bought new in 2003 (2 years old - 30k miles) with all the fixin's. (Baseball optic leather, etc.). Dealer wanted to give me 21k on a trade in. I thought that was pretty low - but can't find really good data.... someone here seems to have access to wholesale pricing.

Would like another convertible - but want back seats for the dogs. Not people - dogs - one beagle - one boxer.

However, seems like no matter how I do the math - getting a car on a lease costs me about 10k over just keeping my TT and buying it seems like a bit early (maybe I should wait a year).

The car I wanted is 51,650 - they want to give me one off the lot (obviously and get all hemmed up when I suggest ordering). My point - this is the last year of a body style - I ought to get a pretty significant discount.

What do people think?

tzdon · July 2005

actually - I'm in Miami

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

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