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

gotrojan

#5584
"have you tried new century BMW in Alhambra? they are pretty good." - therapy

aphall

1. No way you'll get below invoice, did you read my post on getting several internet quotes?
2. New prices? Likely dealers will be willing to go less on the 4-door as the coupe is introduced, but who knows? Maybe they will keep things the same. I doubt they will increase.
3. Ordering your car should only take 6-8 weeks. Not sure where you got the 2-3 month estimate, but dealers never told me it would take that long. They also never mentioned a fee for ordering, though kfdx has mentioned it could happen in the future.

gotrojan

Nick Alexander Imports in LA told me that it will take 2-3 months for me to get *my precious* (manual).

May be they wanted me to go for the ones they had so that they can move their metal.

saigonboi21

I would suggest calling him or emailing him. If you fax it anyone could get it and they might not give u as good of a deal. We're buying another car from him today...

hamajicky

I just bought a 2006 325i, with premium package, xenons, heated seats, metallic paint, and comfort access. The dealer (one of two in arkansas) had to make a trade with a dealer in Dallas and drive a flatbed down to get it. I paid $37,900 which also includes their BS "doc fee" of $198 and floor mats.

rroyce10

.... What was the MSRP ........?

Terry.

hamajicky

MSRP: $38,120 with:
Sparkling Graphite
Premium
STEPTRONIC
Comfort Access
Heated Seats
Xenons
Satellite Radio Prep

Plus their "doc fee" of $198 and the floor mats for $125, comes to $38,443. I paid $37,900. But they had to drive that truck to Dallas to get it. Did I get ripped off?

ckm1515

I think you got jacked! Could've done better my friend.

rroyce10

..... Depends on the distance from Dallas .. figure $2.00 a mile round trip .......

Terry.

soonerman9

Looking to purchase my first BMW. Looking at the 330i. What would be a good deal on a 330i with the following specs. Purchasing the car in Dallas, TX. Thank you for your responses in advance. Metallic black with beige interior. Automatic with navigation. Premium and Sports packages with heated seats. MSRP/invoice 45345/41550. Most likely will have to be oredered.

hamajicky

so if it was 300 miles each way, 600 miles round trip, that cost the dealer $1200. including that $1200, did i still get ripped off keeping in mind that there are only two dealers in Arkansas (where i live) and competition for sales of BMWs is pratically non-existent?

saigonboi21

MSRP: $38,120 with:
Sparkling Graphite
Premium
STEPTRONIC
Comfort Access
Heated Seats
Xenons
Satellite Radio Prep

Plus their "doc fee" of $198 and the floor mats for $125, comes to $38,443. I paid $37,900. But they had to drive that truck to Dallas to get it. Did I get ripped off?

THat's a pretty good deal. Figure invoice is $27755. Adding in all the options and you get about $33,650. Plus tax, license, doc fees, all that stuff and you'd come out about $37100. So i would say it was a pretty good deal. That's about $700 profit for them...

doodledee

For an average price the general rule of thumb seems to be taking the MSRP and the invoice price, then splitting the difference. In your case, the MSRP was $38,120 and the invoice was $34,985 - splitting those gives a price of $36,553. Adding transport costs of $1200 brings the total to $37,753. Throw in the doc fee and floor mats and the final price is $38,076. You paid $37,900 including the doc fee and floor mats. Not a great deal and not a rip-off.

Do not let the price you paid keep you from enjoying your new BMW.

poppak

First, thank you all for contributing to this forum. The posts have been very helpful and amusing to say the least. I have been following the posts for about two months, prior to finally ordering my dream car today. Here is my experience:

I emailed 9 dealerships in NJ my preferences and price. I wanted to pay - $700 over invoice. It's probably not the lowest and I'm sure it's not the highest one would pay for this car but bottom line is I am happy with this deal, and will not second guess it.

2006 BMW330i
Jet Black w/ Terra -Poplar
Manual Trans
Premium Package
Sport Package
Navigation
Fold Down Rear Seat
Carpet Mats
promised to throw in all weather mats for free
Total MSRP:$43,695 / Invoice $39,985 - Paid $40,700

Total Out The Door (tt&l, doc) - $43639.50

I should have the car delivered in 6-8 weeks and am supposed to get the BMW tracking number to see it's progress. The entire deal took about ten minutes which included a fax of docs from dealer to me and then back to him. I love buying a car this way and I think it's effiecient for the dealer as well (resulting in a lower cost for the customer). If anyone is interested in the dealer, feel free to email me and I can share that info. Thanks to all for sharing their thoughts.

wco81

Did they at least give you a tissue?

agbasher

I am trying to justify pulling the trigger on a new '06 330xi -- I live in Minneapolis. If '05's with the same configuration I am looking for are selling for $35-37k, this suggests a 10-thou$$ hit after just one year.

Help me understand why buying new makes any sense at all? -- Other than having to wait another year to give up my ailing '97 Acura Integra.

Thanks!

kyfdx

The '05 and '06 are two completely different cars.. They don't even have the same body or engine..

You can't really compare the last year of the outgoing model with the first year of the new one....

mace242

I just purchased an '06 325xi with automatic transmission, metallic paint, heated seats and satellite radio prep. MSRP $35820, bought for $33,805. I'm in the Boston area where there are at least 4 dealerships close enough to deal with. This price was the result of some back and forth between me and two dealers. Did I get ripped off?

soonerman9

Just made a deal on my first BMW. Purchased a 330i from a dealer in Dallas, TX. 2006 black sapphire metallic with beige interior. Automatic with navigation, premium and sports packages. Heated seats and satellite prep. The car has to be ordered. Invoice price $41,620. MSRP $45,420. Purchase price $43,500. Is this a fair deal or could I have done better. Any responses would be greatly appreciated. Also would like to know from anyone who has purchased a BMW recently in the Dallas area, how the buying experience was, i.e. negotiations on price, etc.

gotrojan

Hi all,

I want to know what all charges do I need to pay for, other than TTL?

On the forum I heard a few:
1. MACO (if yes, does anyone know how much it is in Los Angeles California?)
2. Documentation fees?

thanks!

gotrojan

Had a question about negotiating the car price through fax/email with the *fleet manager*(according to the article about the disguised car salesguy.)

1. Should I fax my config and pricing to dealers or email them?

2. If I get a real low price (say invoice price) from one of the dealers but one who is not reputed for quality of service, can I bargain another dealer based on that price? If yes, how can I make the second dealer believe that I am getting the car for the invoice price?
Should I show him the fax reply?

3. Should the entire dealing be done electronically? Or after getting the price I want from one of the dealers, I should visit his office personally for the paperwork?

4. Should the car mats etc. be negotiated right at the very beginning or later on?

I appreciate your comments....this forum is a fun to read

(The trojan is waiting for the Rose bowl now!)

zebra_base

can you tell me which dealerships you contacted? I am in central NJ and I am interested in getting a 325xit with auto trans, premium package with heated seats. Thanks you very much for sharing your experience.

dl7265

No, Dallas dealer's typically only give $500 off. Who gave you that quote ?

Boomer!

poppak

I am in central NJ as well. I first contacted the dealership closest to me DeSimone BMW. Very nice staff, but didn't even come close to what I wanted to pay. Then I emailed - PrincetonBMW, BMW of Turnersville, BMW of Flemington, King BMW, JMK BMW, Prestige BMW, Park Ave BMW, and DiFeo BMW. The last three are northern Jersey close to family I visit often.

Difeo BMW was the first to respond and agreed to my price. It was a done deal in 10 minutes, and I just got my BMW tracking #. The guy I dealt with is great, I ended up changing from the terra interior to the beige (i just can't make my mind up on this :confuse: ), no problems. He quickly confirmed my change via email, and its done.

Best of luck.

gotrojan

so you completed the deal through email itself?
You did not visit the dealer for signing any papers?

poppak

Yes, I completed the deal via email and fax. The dealer faxed me the final contract with all the options and final prices taxes doc fees etc. I signed and faxed back to him. I also left a $1500 non refundable deposit on my credit card. And yes, I actually have never even been to this dealer. My first time will be when I pick up the car.

I actually bought my wife's car the same way. We ordered it over email with the dealer, and the first time we stepped into the dealership was when we picked up the car. Great experience and very fast.

I personally don't like to play games with dealers, meaning trying to pin two dealers against each other and beat them down on price. I try to figure out what I want to pay ($700 above invoice for this particular 330i) and first dealer to agree gets my business. Otherwise, I would ask for their best offer, letting them know that you will take the best offer given and that's it.

By the way - GO PENN STATE!!!!

gotrojan

kewl, so what fees did they charge you other than TTL and how much were they roughly?

poppak

Reading off my contract:
Total Price of Vehicle: 40,700
NJ Tax: 2,442
Registratio/Title Fee: 324
Doc Fee: 173.50

Total OTD: 43,639.50

I think fair.

I don't have any MACCO fees people have been talking about. Good.

streetwise

Yes you can lease the car. Just go and ask for a tourist delivery pricing, take off a few bucks discount and there you are below US dealer invoice.

dc_dave

Anyone recently purchase a new Bimmer in the DC metro area; if so how would you rate your buying experience? I'm leaning towards driving up to Maryland to shop because most of the dealers in Northern VA want to charge a $399 "processing fee", no way!

Dave in VA

agbasher

I am a complete rookie with a couple of questions:

1. How did you get the invoice pricing?
2. How did you arrive at $700 over invoice? Arbitrary?

Thanks.

buynewbimmer

The MSD program has changed for the worse...

The new program only allows five extra deposits, and the discount is .00005 for each one.. for a total discount of .00025... Hardly worth the trouble..

A couple of questions:

1. How much is each security deposit, or does it vary (I'm looking at a 2006 330i Sedan)?

2. I'm a leasing newbie who has learned just about everything he knows about leasing from reading posts (mostly from you, kyfdx, thanks!) on these forums for the last couple of months. I've made some calculations and wanted to know if they look correct:

If base MF is .00195, that's equivalent to a 4.68% interest rate (.00195 x 2400).

With the discount for the 5 security deposits, the MF goes down to .00170 (.00195 - .00025)

That comes to 4.08% interest rate. (.00170 x 2400 = 4.08%).

So the difference is that you're paying .6% less. Is that accurate so far?

Then, if you're financing about $32k (I think I read you’re financing an amount about midway between the capital cost and the residual value, so roughly between $40k and $24k), are you saving about $192(.6% x $32k = $192) each year for three years, or about $576 total ($192 x 3 = $576)? Or am I way off?

Thanks for your help.

Jim

kyfdx

The security deposit is always the payment, rounded up to the next $50 increment.. So, payment of $526/mo... security deposit is $550..

You took the long way to get there, but your calculation is correct.. Just add the cap cost + residual, and multiply by the difference in money factor...

($40K + $24K) X .00025 = $16/mo. X 36 mo. = $576

regards,
kyfdx
Host-Prices Paid Forums

polyn

I sent a couple of emails offering to pay $1000 over invoice for 2006 325xi. These offers were pretty much accepted. Anyone got better price than $1000 over invoice in this area?

buynewbimmer

OK, thanks. They are a lot better than the numbers in October.

Jim

poppak

agbasher

1. Look up the MSRP/Invoice here on edmunds new car prices.

2. The $700 above invoice I was willing to pay is a bit arbitrary. I've followed the forums here for about 2-3 months and seems like the lowest price anyone's paid was $500 over invoice. I think $700 is a fair price to pay a dealer for filling out some paperwork. At least one dealer thought it was fair too.

By the way, out of the 9 dealers that I emailed, 2 simply replied that they could not do it for that price. So it seems like the $500-700 above invoice is their cut-off for making deals (currently)

salraf

I am sure people who frequent this message board get tired of this but here it goes....

I have no idea what I should expect to pay for the following:

2005 325 convertible...titanium silver, gray leather, blue top.

steptronic...2 yr/24k lease...0 down..
I have heard conflicting reports about residual and money factor..
I am looking to buy in the next 2 weeks so any help is appreciated..

kyfdx

What is the MSRP?

buynewbimmer

A few weeks ago, I requested a quote from a dealer for a 2006 325i through the Costco program. I got an email back saying "$750 over invoice," and literally nothing more. I since got advice from posts here NOT to get a price by asking for a certain margin over invoice (e.g., $750 above invoice), but rather to get a specific price for a specific vehicle (thanks kydfx!). This way, you avoid misunderstandings and shenanigans. So, I emailed a new request (this time on a 330i), and set forth the base invoice price of the car I wanted, plus the invoice price of the few options I wanted, plus destination charge, plus dealer profit. My email said that the total was the amount I wanted to pay.

The invoice price, with options, came to $35,820, plus $695 destination, plus $750 dealer profit, as that amount seems fair to the dealer and still a good deal for me.

He emailed back saying that my numbers were "missing the $330 maco fee - the manufacturer's advertising cost."

Isn't that already part of the invoice price they're paying the manufacturer for the car? Or do they really pay that as extra? If so, isn't that really just an overhead of doing business, like paying the lease and heating the dealership facility, paying office staff,
etc.?

Even with the extra $330 (a total of $1,080 over invoice), I think it is still pretty good deal, but I wonder about the legitimacy of his claim. I sent the same email to about 6 dealers in my area, and his is the only response I've gotten so far.

Anyone have any insight on this?

salraf

Hi kyfdx.

edmunds lists MSRP as $42,895 TMW $41,101..

I appreciate your help..

bsloane

Am planning to buy 2006 BMW 325xi wagon w/premium pack, steptronic, park control etc. MSRP is $40,295. Local dealer wants $39,000. Does anyone know of better deals?

Thanks,

Burt

hate2haggle

I hadn't bought a car in 9 yrs, so internet dealing was new to me, but dealing seemed the same. Using Edmunds detail report I estimated invoice costs as below:

BMW 2006 325xi base 30030
Steptronic 1210 Satellite Radio 540
Split fold down 430 Destination 695
Total invoice 32905, MSRP 35840 TMV 35045
My final price: 34,079.15 (1,174 over invoice, 1,760 under sticker)

I submitted requests to 4 dealers in Pittsburgh and only got one e-mail reply. The dealer did try to throw in 179 "dealer prep" and 265 "advertising" but this got negotiated out, as I didn't believe they were real. Seems from this forum I did OK, though not as well as some in NY/NJ. I was surprised to find that I was lower than TMV by almost 1000. Do you think TMV is a bit high, or maybe that the buyers on this forum are fairly savvy negotiators?
Gotta love that 15 cents. I guess that's supposed to make it look nonarbitrary.

Mike

driver17

anybody have the dec money factor for the 3 series? what should it be in the boston area?

nyccarguy

TMV usually is on the high side.

buynewbimmer

I recently posted the same question on the "BMW 3-Series: Lease Questions" forum. See post numbers 304 and 305. kydfx, who is among the most frequent, thoughtful and knowledgeable posters on these forums, said the numbers are the same for December as they were for November. The actual numbers vary depending on which 3 series you want. I was interested in the 330i, and the numbers were:

Money Factor: .00195
Residual: 64% for 12,000 miles/year or 62% for 15k miles/year

Jim

jackz

Hi all,
I am in central NJ. Here is the quotes I get from Flemington BMW, which I think it's way too high. Basically I have to choose between 325xi and 330xi.

1. How's this dealer?
2. Any other decent dealers should I contact?
3. How low (reasonable) can I get?

Thanks for any comments regarding price/my options!

*********************
2006 330xi
Metallic $475
Leather Upholstery $1,450
Aluminum Trim
18" Star Spoke Alloy Wheels (Styling 162) $600
Sport Package $900 ( must select for the wheels you want)
STEPTRONIC Automatic Transmission $1,275
On-Board Navigation System w/iDrive $2,000
Heated Front Seats $500
MSRP $38,500
Options and accessories $7,200
Destination charge $695
Total price as built* $46,395
sell for $44,995
***********************
BMW 2006 325xi
All-wheel drive
4-Year/50,000-mile Warranty
Full Maintenance
Metallic $475
Dakota Leather Upholstery with Burl Walnut Wood Trim $1,450
STEPTRONIC Automatic Transmission $1,275
On-Board Navigation System w/iDrive $2,000
Heated Front Seats $500
Xenon Adaptive Headlights $800
MSRP $32,800
Options and accessories $6,500
Destination charge $695
Total price as built $39,995
Sell for $38,995

jackz

BMW 2006 325xi base is 30030?

ckm1515

I recently purchased a 2006 330xi from Hunterdon BMW. Great dealership given their small, family owned size. Lots of attention, rec'd almost $2,000 off car with SG, Terra, Prem, Cold, Comfort Acess....36 months/15K at $640 per.

mwhitt

i think the 325xi is definitely too high. is this on the lot or a build. looks like a build too me. in any event calc the invoice price on edmunds and offer them $700 to $1000 over and be prepared to walk if they don't give it to you.

you're not gonna get great deals on these cars, but I would still go for something lower than a grand under.

jl30

Just ordered a 325xit wagon with ZSP, auto and xenon last weekend at Open Road, $1,500 under MSRP. Not a really great deal, but got the base lease rate and no advertising fees or Maco. 3yr/12k lease for $520/mo included NJ 6% sales tax.