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

magilla895

It's not AWD. I don't think the 335i is coming out in an AWD configuration. If so, I haven't heard about it. The only xi I've heard of is the 328.

rayainsw

My understanding is that BMW has notified dealers that the Coupe 335xi = AWD will start production late this year & the Sedan 335xi AWD early next year.
- Ray
Just my understanding from various sources - I could be wrong...

sdso

Hi,

Does anyone know how the 330i handles on icy / winter roads? I live in So Cali but may move to the east coast next year. Is the 330i handling safe? I'm deciding between 330i and the 330xi (AWD).

Also in general, how has people's experience been with the AWD 330xi? Better road feel?

Many thanks,
- Sa

stl540

RWD will go fine in the snow equipped with 4 snow tires. My exp w/ a 2002 540i in snow is very good with my snows on. Forgot about going anywhere in snow with summer tires, even as little as 1/2". I bought a separate wheel/snow tire set from Tire Rack so I can easily change out whenever I want (25 min using tools in trunk). I have been as deep as 7" of fresh snow without issue. I do not have exp with all-season tires on my 540i in the snow, but suspect they will be average. All-season tires do everything ok, but nothing great.

mathew1

I would definitely recommend 330xi if you are planning to move East. If you are like me, obtaining good performance while having to worry about changing tires twice a year is too much for the incremental perf/price differential for an i. Also note that in MA at least some times it snows unexpectedly early in Nov and as late as April and it will be a bit of a chore to schedule the tire change and if you get hit with unexpected snow i is in definitel trouble even with minor slopes. Hope it helps your decision making.

bobshiftright

I live on the East Coast, and I'd go for 4 winter tires and 2WD long before AWD.

The AWD cars are heavier, slower and there's a lot more to break once the warranty expires. Just AWD will get you rolling in evil weather but it won't get you stopped any faster. If you want a real snowmobile, get the AWD with 4 winter tires. Just my $0.02.

kad153

Can someone please give me the new lease MFs and residuals (september) for a 330xi?

24month 10k, 12k, 15k
36month 10k, 12k 15k

sam_cowhan

I'd also like the 36month residuals and MFs on the 2006 325xi and 2007 328xi sedan (if available). Thanks in advance.

home6113

hello magilla895,
first congratulation on the new 335i, it seem like a very good deal, where did you get this deal? because I am interested in the same deal..
thanks in advance

jayluf

Hi all-

Very excited to join the BMW community! Wondering if you could all help me out with my offer price here.

I am going to buy a 2007 328CI from a NJ dealership with the following options:

PREM PKG, 6-SPD AT, HTD FRT STS, NAV SYST, VOICE ACTIVATION, SATEL RADIO

MSRP is $44,090.

I was thinking of coming in at 42,500. Is this too low for the '07's? How much negotiating room do I have with the fact that the 328's just hit in the past few weeks? Any help would be great, thanks!!

Jason

eds1300

I've sent out 7 e-mails to various dealers in the San Francisco/Bay area BMW dealers, wanting lease breakdowns to include MSRP, sales price, money factor, down payment, residual, acqusition fee, and other back door fees. Only 2 have responded with monthly payment. None would include money factor with their internet quote.

BMW San Francisco - Sent out 3 e-mails and 2 phone calls for request and they completely ignored my request. I would never do business or recommend them to anyone.

Others have stated that in order to get BMW's current advertised base rate of .00225 you have to be a previous BMW customer (East Bay BMW). I've never heard of this logic before.

Weatherford BMW - Sales person tells me a money factor of .00195, then when I request it in writing over e-mail he changes to .00265, with at least $1,200 in back door fees.

Couple of Acura dealers are willing to sell a 06 TL at cost or $250.00 below, which includes 2.9% financing, or I may wait till when the new G35 and the C-class come into market, which will surely increase the competition and lower many of the BMW sale staffs ego.

sam_cowhan

Anyone know the Sept'2006 BMW lease rates? I need the MF & Residual for 2006 325xi, 2006 330xi, and 2007 328xi sedan. Thanks.

cybermaster

If you are willing to travel to southern California, you can get much better deal. Usually, so cal dealers would sell a car for $400 to $500 over invoice without haggling. Just look at the inventory of so cal dealers vs. northern cal dealers. Typically, Fremont BMW has 40-50 3 series in stock, but Crevier BMW (santa ana, ca) has 110-130 3 series in stock. The TMV is very high on Edmunds.com. So, you can haggle much more off the TMV price.

ajfinoak

My experience recently is that No CA dealers are pushing to clear out the '06's. I purchased a 2006 BMW 325 for dealer invoice, including MACO 2 weeks ago. That was $1000 off of Edmunds TMV. Fremont and Concord BMW were willing to haggle quite a bit. Keep in mind that Edmund's TMV does not include MACO which is $400 additional in No CA so my car deal was $1000 less than TMV plus add the $400 to that for MACO. I am sure that the dealer still made $ on my car but a lot less than it started at. LOVE THE CAR and the deal was $1000's less than an '07 328 so I decided not to wait for the extra 15 hp.

rayainsw

“ . . . the deal was $1000's less than an '07 328 so I decided not to wait for the extra 15 hp.”

From BMW: “328i engine: 3.0-liter inline 6-cylinder producing 230 horsepower, a 46 horsepower improvement over the 2006 325Ci.”

Another 46 HP sounds "useful" to me. . .
15 extra - not so much . . .
How many $thousands more was the 2007?
[ edited ]
- Ray

kyfdx

On the sedan, the 325i uses the new engine that gets 215 hp. The '06 coupe is the old body style with the old engines...

rayainsw

Ah.
Gotcha.
Seems an odd marketing decision by BMW.
Thanks,
- Ray
HP \ TQ addict - with blind spots . . .

kyfdx

BMW tends to lag a year between sedans and coupes/convertibles.. They did the same thing in '99, though they didn't change engines at the same time, in that case..

rayainsw

"BMW tends to lag a year between sedans and coupes/convertibles.. They did the same thing in '99, though they didn't change engines at the same time, in that case.. "

But the 335i sedan does receive the same 300 \ 300 TTI6 as the Coupe.
Why?
Odd, methinks.
- Ray
Not a Marketing Genius . . ( clearly )

ajfinoak

The extra 15 hp would have cost at least 1500 more for the '07 vs '06 base price plus I got $2900 off of MSRP which I am sure dealers are not going to do for a while on the new model.

kyfdx

Plus... since they are both 3.0 litre engines, it is possible that the actual horsepower isn't any different at all....

Everyone said that the '06 325i horsepower numbers seemed overly pessimistic, considering the performance..

rayainsw

"Everyone said that the '06 325i horsepower numbers seemed overly pessimistic, considering the performance.. "

I have now seen 2 dyno test run printouts for the 2007 335 TTI6.

One from Automobile magazine & one from a tuner shop in CA.
It appears that the published HP \ TQ numbers for the 335's twin turbo are ( ahem ) conservative. Meaning LOW. Meaning pessimistic.

Automobile saw 275 HP and 300 TQ at the wheels.
And the Tuner saw 276 \ 277 HP and 287 \ 288 at the wheels - meaning there is well over 300 \ 300 at the crank - despite BMW's official ratings....

- Ray
HP \ TQ races - like 'em.......

celkan

I have bought four new cars in my life. This was by far the worst experience.

I live in California, but the only car with the options I wanted happened to be at Chapman BMW on Camelback in Phoenix, Arizona. All the local dealerships were friendly and reasonable with me. The one that located this car said they could get it for me on a dealership trade, something that is quite routine. After several days, they apologized that the car was unavailable because it had been sold by Camelback BMW. This was a plain lie--the story continues.

I called Camelback BMW and spoke to the Internet sales manager. He admitted the car was *not* sold, but then the best word to describe his attitude is "toxic." I felt like I had to hold the phone at arm's length from my ear, to mitigate his spewing rudeness. He was impossible to negotiate with reasonably.

Next, I called a contact at a different BMW dealership near me. Again, he said he could get the car for me. Again, he apologized a couple if days later that Camelback BMW had said the car had been sold. Again, this was a lie.

I called Camelback BMW again on a different phone number. This time I reached a perfectly friendly salesman, and I reached a deal with him to buy the car. I gave a credit card deposit and he faxed me written confirmation of the deal.

The salesman told me I would get a special Arizona three-day permit and I would have three days to drive the car back to California and register it here.

What happened next? The salesman called me back and reneged. He said his manager thought the price we had negotiated was too low (This was not true; it was $1000 over invoice) and they would try to sell the car to someone else before me.

Of course, they did not succeed in selling the car at a higher price, so I arrived two days later to buy the car. The car was fine, but the finance manager surprised me by asking me to pay Arizona sales tax. The salesman had failed to mention this. I assumed registering it in California meant paying tax there.

The finance manager was unpleasant and unapologetic. So was the general manager. Both men looked me in the eye and assured me I would not have to pay tax in both states. However, both cynically refused to put their statements in writing. They lived up to the worst car salesman stereotype: making promises but refusing to be bound by them.

At the time I am writing this, I still don't know if they were telling the truth. Certainly, the salesman was wrong about the "three day permit." I t turns out I have a 90 day temporary Arizona permit, and I can't register the car where I live until Arizona sends me the title; the sales people couldn't say when this will happen.

Camelback BMW claim to do frequent out-of-state sales, but they don't know what the laws regarding them are, and they don't care. Good customer service requires good knowledge and makes customers feel comfortable; the Camelback general manager (whom I spoke to at length) and his staff don't care about this.

Two final negative notes: The car I bought had pre-installed low-quality window tinting, which is not recommended by BMW, for which Camelback BMW wanted me to pay $289. They still live in the old days of dealer-installed garbage addons that are just hidden profit for them. Similarly, they add on a "junk fee" of $259 for so-called documentation to the final price that they say is non-negotiable, another lie.

rayainsw

http://www.automobilemag.com/features/news/0609_2007_bmw_335i_dyno_revised/

minniemouse1

I want to get the 335i space gray paint with everything in it! Navigation, sports package, premium, etc etc. The total cost comes up to be about $49000. I work in medical sales and drive a lot but need a new car every three years for company policy. I talked to the dealer and he said that they do $20,000 mile leases. My question is I know the car is new but is the MSRP negotiable when ordering it from the dealer. He wants me to put almost $5000 down to get my payments at $760 (my max payment is $700). Is it doable to get my payment lower than $760, zero down and $20,000 miles a year? Or am I SOL? THANKS!

blueguydotcom

Minnie, you're the perfect candidate for an ED lease. If you're in the midwest or on the east coast it's a really good deal for you as the car will ship to you in about 4 weeks from drop-off.

Consider this - ED price will be about 5-6k lower than the MSRP. Lease residuals and lease payments are judged by your MSRP. 49k * 50% residual = 24.5k. You'll have to pay 24.5k plus interest/money factor and taxes. Go ED and you'll pay for 19.5k+ MF, taxes on that amount. That's big savings on a lease.

BMW pays month 2 of the lease (when the car is on the way to you).

Consider this - fly out Saturday during the off-season (November-Feb) for less than $500. Land Sunday AM. Take the lufthansa shuttle ($15) to Marriott Munich for ~$50 (use priceline, look for 4 star hotels near the delivery center). Get a cab to the delivery center in the morning, early monday ($20). Drop the car off for re-delivery. Take a cab back to the airport (~$50) and fly home. Be home Monday night and back at work Tuesday.

For less than $650 (not incuding food, which is really cheap in europe) and one day off from work you can pick up your car and save probably several thousand more than just doing a normal lease.

Just a thought.

eds1300

They were adding MACO ($400) and Training fee ($180), while selling for $500.00 over invoice, a $1,080 profit. What's next, dealer diaper changing fee? LOL....

None of the dealers wanted to go below .00255 in money factor.

cincycarman

Blueguydotcom,
How much can you actually save by going over to germany to purchase a car to bring home to the States? Including shipping.
And if this would be a good savings how would you go about setting this up?
Thanks

wco81

Food cheap in Europe?

Maybe sauerkraut in Bavaria. Or maybe if you drive over to Prague or something.

But it's worth going, ED or no ED.

stl540

Couple websites to review Euro Delivery.
http://www.bmwusa.com/bmwexperience/europeandelivery/
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX/?14@@.ef0f82e/1169

You can find ED invoice pricing on bimmerfest.com.

I estimate I would save ~$4500 picking up in Europe vs. paying MSRP for a 335i doing ED. If I spend $1K to travel, I will still be $3500 on the plus side.

stl540

Drove the 335i coupe w/ auto & SP and the 335i coupe w/ manual & SP. I was very impressed.

I currently have a 2002 540i w/SP. With the larger backseat in the e90 (vs e46), I am seriously considering leasing a new 335i sedan to replace the 5. Tough call since I own the 5 (i.e. no payments). The lighter weight of the 3 is very appealing. It is more fun to drive on the back roads. The new 335i with the 300HP/300 ft lbs torque gives me similiar punch as the 540i, in a lighter weight car.

I am going to talk with the sales guy tomorrow about price. I will keep the ED as a viable option, depending on how close to invoice he will sell the car. I am not too optimistic that the price will be where I want it to be, so it may be ED for me.

blueguydotcom

shipping is the same whether you do ed or not: $695. that price is included in every bmw, regardless.

blueguydotcom

Yes, food is dirt cheap in europe. Soda is expensive but food in general is crazy cheap. I'd have 9 euro plate of fresh salmon and veggies, plus appetizer for lunch. When I worked in Paris last year we'd have 3 course lunches for 7 or 8 euro. Dinner was alway several courses in france and almost always under $16 American.

In munich you can go to bavarian restaurants and get great, huge dinners for under $15 American. To me that's dirt cheap...especially given the outstanding quality of the food.

I'd love to find fresh tuna for lunch in San Diego for less than $12 american. that simply couldn't happen. A typical lunch here is $7-9 and it's half the quality and half the size of a French lunch. I look at the food here and laugh at what we get for our money...

briono

I am currently looking at purchasing a 1995 BMW M3 with 99k miles on it, it has been kept in good condition, what is the usual life span on that vehicle?

kyfdx

If you want to do the maintenance, you can easily get 200K out of it... but, they are fairly maintenance-intensive (which means you'll spend a lot of money).

If you post your question here: http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX/.ee9e7b1/29554, you might get more responses to your question..

Or, you can look through all of the BMW 3-series discussion here: BMW 3-Series

By the way.. how much are they asking?

wco81

People finding deals or just moving on to the 2007 models?

pked

Hello,

How close to invoice can I get a 06 325i with premium package? BTW, is all-wheel drive worth having in southern california?

Thanks.

Kirstie_H

A nationwide publication is looking to interview car buyers who were hit with, and noticed, high documentary or paper processing fees from dealerships in the past two years. If you are interested, please send an email to ctalati@edmunds.com no later than Wednesday, September 20, 2006 by 2:30 PM PT/5:30 PM ET containing your daytime contact information.

sdso

Hi,

Any idea how the 330i with sports package (lower suspension) does on steep ramps into garages / parking spots? Anyone seen damage from under carriage?

-Sa

ullal

I am looking at a 328xi sedan with fold down rear seats and bluetooth as the only options. I understand that most people at least want an automatic with their cars but I am looking at a base car with just those two options. How much above invoice is a reasonable expectation. What about something like $700?

Anybody know a good dealer in the NJ area? Most people I have spoken to do not want to deal at less than $1400 or $1800 over invoice.

reloprincess

Can someone please explain where I would expect to get the real info on actual invoice vs. something the dealer makes up?

kyfdx

Right here: 2006 BMW 3 Series: Pricing

lbiggie2

Hey all,

I'm looking to buy a 2006 325xi and I need some advice. Right now I have one priced with these options from Carsdirect:

Sparkling Graphite metallic
Terra leather
premium package
cold weather package
comfort access
automatic
xenon headlights
satellite prep

They're quoting me a price of 38,840. It still seems kinda high to me but does anyone know if that's a good deal considering it's getting really hard to get ahold of the 06 xi's? They're ordering this one from another dealer. And is it possible to haggle price with carsdirect? It's my first time purchasing so any advice would be much appreciated!

cokaer

Looking to purchase or lease 2007 328i in Western New York State (Buffalo). Any experience or suggestions as to fair dealer profit above invoice in this region would be greatly appreciated. Really only one dealer in the area. Is $1,000 dealer profit reasonable? Should dealer profit vary depending upon whether US delivery or European Delivery?

THANKS!!

gosavip

nm
Thanks

alphyn

2006 325i for $1200 above invoice in seattle. :confuse:

Premium Package
Automatic
Xenon lights
Heated seats
Metalic paint
MACO
Some BS fee.
Invoice: 34,780.00 incl dest

Good deal? Bad deal?

Thanks

mathew1

Alphyn

I would say you can do at least 500-750$ better than what you have. Not sure of supply/demand in Seattle but 325i is a higher volume car to dealers than 325xi and the 330 series. So all dealers should if you believe in basic micro-econ target lower than that and that too when it is the last month of the model year. but again it is an individual thing and everyone has a balance between enjoying the purchase process vs saving a few 100$s.

Good luck.

--Mathew

eds1300

Looks like they added back-end fees (MACO and Training Fee), all pure profit for BMW dealers. I would shoot for min. of $500-to-$750 over true invoice. Deduct those pure profit fees when negotiating. Ask for the cheap mats too, the suppose $120.00 ones that look like $19.99 from Pep Boys. If you can't get get between $500-to-$750, just walk away.

ajfinoak

I was able to get a 2006 325i with auto, sport, premium, xenon, satellite prep and fold down seat.last month in Concord, CA for Dealer Invoice which included 400 Maco and 695 Dest and Handling with no training fee. They are dealing to get these off the lot as '07's are being ordered (and not nearly as discounted). They threw in the floor mats as well which I figure is non negotiable if you are spending over 30K for a car!

wrightrd

Has anyone on this forum been looking in the Chicagoland area for the new 328i coupe or the 335i coupe? I have a 2004 325Ci coming off of lease next month and the dealer that I have leased 2 cars from in the last 6 years (the new coupe will make 3) is giving numbers of $700 off MSRP. I shopped one other dealer and found a similar story. Has anybody had a better experience in the Chicago area on the new coupe? Thanks.