Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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P.S. 'ette would also be strongly preferred if you're planning on having small kids as passengers.
the scenario you point out in your last paragraph is NOT the scenario that you have, is it? you CHOSE to buy your car somewhere other than your local dealer. you didn't "relocate". you shopped on price. apparently, the cheaper price did not include little niceties like programming and explaining to you what could be done to your car. you also said that the guy got rude AFTER the salesperson that you were dealing with talked to him, he didn't start out rude.
you then expect your local dealer to do the "new car" stuff for you that you didn't get from the cheaper dealer. and then you "ding" them because they aren't really happy about doing that. but they DID do it, didn't they?
what you did is like going to the butcher and buying a steak and then taking it to the steakhouse and having them cook it for you because "the steak was cheaper at the store". you want it both ways, and that's unfair. THAT'S my point.
look, i don't want to fight or "attack" (to use your word). i just find it unfair when people pull the "the dealer did a bad thing to me" without looking at the other side of the story. apparently, you got what you paid for.
-Chris
LS
You are the victor. I am clearly in the wrong...you are clearly in the right. Have a nice weekend.
BTW, I GOT what I paid for -- a damn nice car.
hey, at least we all agree they are darn nice cars... that's a start...
-Chris
"So, buy your car at the best possible price...that's the smart thing to do."
oh, i've got a pretty good idea why you bought the car... but perhaps you'd care to enlighten me as to why you bought it out of state... maybe then i'll "see the light"...
i NEVER play devil's advocate. EVER. nothing annoys me more than people who do. i'm firm in my convictions and honest about them. if i make a statement, it's because i believe it, not to bait someone else.
-Chris
your capricious muse bids you bon weekend.
dave:
pain killers? Is that what you've had to resort to in my absence?
oh-oh, i guess that's further evidence that i might be a car dealer... lol...
-Chris
Unfortunately, the M5 is not available ED. Otherwise, I think I would have gotten it. At the nearly 15% under US MSRP that I could pick up a 530i at, the M5 would equate to $62k. If anything at that price point is worth it, it's the M5!
Best wishes.
-Chris
Good Luck with the negotiations!
You GOTTA love that.
325i sedan, steel blue, SP, cold weather package, moon roof, bi xenons, computer & HK upgrade (floor mats included).
MSRP = $33,045
Invoice = $29,960
My offer = $31,000 (purposely low ball)
Their counter = $32,045
I left saying I might consider their offer if they included the arm rest (probably a mistake, I should have left saying the price was too high) . Upon review this morning, I noticed they added up the MSRP wrong. It's actually $33,345! Knowing this, I went in wanting an additional $150 off and I would install the arm rest (from reading this forum, it sounds quite easy to do). They accepted. Here is the final deal:
MSRP = $33,345
Invoice = $29,960
Final Price = $31,895 + tax title and license with arm rest included, customer install.
I feel I could have played it a bit better by dragging it out another week, etc., but I left feeling I got a decent price on the car I wanted. I wonder if they'll try to get the $300 back when they realize their mistake.
I got to test drive the 2001 M3 on the lot. The ride was actually a bit rough for my taste, but Ohhh, the torque! I never did get to drive a 325 with the SP, but I did drive a 330, no SP which didn't feel nearly as rough as the M3. I hope my car is a bit softer than the M3.
It's going to be a long winter while I wait for my new toy!
-Murray
-Murray
I have a home in the north and also one in Arizona. I purchased my BMW in the north and I have also had it serviced in Arizona. Just yesterday I was in the Arizona dealership where I received outstanding service. The service manager thanked me for my business and urged me to come back. This service was under my service warranty.
A BMW dealer who is not courteous to you should be told so and further reported to BMW of North America. When you pay the price we all pay for the car we should expect no less than courteous, excellent service anywhere we go. If we all stood up and calmly, but firmly voiced our expectations, better service would result in all areas of our lives.
However,if that service can be charged to BMW, then I would fully expect them to provide it beyond excellent.
Oh, one more thing - Roadside Assistance would NOT tow the vehicle to any dealership whose service department is not open at that point. I thought it was weird and they were not able to tell me why. I am guessing it's some sort of liability?!? They told me that they would tow it to my home instead or to a secure storage location.
Brave. When I first got my car back in June, I had the Bosch put in b/4 any problems. A couple of weeks ago, my car ran hot and had it towed. This was on a Sunday and they brought it to the dealer which was closed? Oh well maybe it depends on the area. Im in Atl.
The new fan (according to BMWNA) has been redesigned to move the switch outside of the housing? Whatever. It works now.
drcr
I had it serviced at Global (not where I purchased). They didn't offer loaner and wouldn't even pay for a rental until I said I would voice my complaint to NA. I felt like a second class citizen. NA said that rental reimbursment was up to the individual dealer.
BMW should just offer a standardized level of service accross all dealerships. It seems to be a roll of the dice w/ service at BMW. Macon is amazing and Global was average to fair.
keks - in addition to being black, the Bosch fans' blades have the shape of a boomerang - you should be able to look through the kidney grill with the hood open for more light and determine which one you have. If you'd like, send me an e-mail and I will send you a front and back pictures of the Siemens and Bosch fans so you'd have a visual.
The 540i type power is great, no complaints here, but I think a lot of guys own cars like that more for the compliments they get from the mechanics who work on it and bragging rights than for the fun of driving them. People we know make a lot bigger deal about our car than we do. We simply wanted a car that was 1. Safe 2. good looking and therefore fun to own 3. handled well 4. Was reasonably practical and comfortable 5. reasonably reliable
We did NOT buy it for status and I'm married, so I can't use it to pick up chicks. I think there are a huge number of really great new cars around with much better performance and safety than 10 years ago. My "kick [non-permissible content removed]" '83 Toyota supra 5 speed got to 60mph in 8.1 seconds. The Porsche 944, the prototypical "sexy sports car" of the day, was about the same. Today's "slow" 325i will beat that number by a full second.
Be happy we've got great choices now, and realize that "fast" is in the eye of the beholder. To tell the truth, my '83 supra was just as comfortable and fun to drive as the '98 BMW 540i, in its own way.
- S40 - rattles, boring, rattles, pancake-syrup steering, cheap, did I say boring, basically, avoid it all cost. The Jetta 1.8T is built much better, is faster, and costs a lot less money.
- T5 - this is a FAST car. However, you hit the gas, then yawn for a second, then the turbo kicks in, then hold yourself tight and there you go. It does not have the firm but refined and relatively supple ride of the 325 and 330 SP and it is light years away in terms of handling. No rattles at all, though - the S60 seems much better built than the S40. However, it is too expensive for the rice crowd, too ricy for the luxury crowd, i.e. not much future in its sales. Oh, same pancake syrup with the steering - completely detached from the road and VERY light - it's like playing a Nintendo game.
- S60 197 HP AWD - by far the best one of the three we drove. There seems to be a good balance between power, lack of lag, and brakes. It also felt more sure-footed in turns because of the AWD and it has a more supple ride. At 36 grand, though, I can think of much better cars to buy.
BTW, the salesperson told us they do business at 2% over cost, i.e. about $600 over invoice. That's a plus and much better than German luxury car dealers.
So in the end, I am pretty sure that they ruled out Volvos and will stick with the A4 1.8T Q. Good choice, considering the 3-series was not in the running.
Pat
Host
Sedans Message Board
Any advice on what to tell them when they try to get back the $300? I figure I'll say I agreed on a purchase price, not a discount from MSRP.
How are your insurance rates, brave? I figure they shouldn't be too bad because there aren't too many high risk drivers driving Bimmers. It was interesting, my '85 RX-7 had much higher insurance costs than my '95 Miata despite similar HP (actually lower in the RX-7) and similar driving characteristics.
-Murray
Well, I get one speeding ticket a year average (that's one per 25K miles driven) and my insurance rates would be substantially higher than most other people's. In addition, I live right in Boston where insurance rates are about 25% higher than those in the nice suburbs. I'd be paying about $1,200 for good coverage with a perfect driving record. The A4 would be about 15% less. Also, at least here in Mass, the sedan is a little cheaper to insure than the coupe (the coupe historically attracts higher risk drivers), and according to my insurance company, both are almost as expensive to insure as the Mustang (other things equal).
Wife loved the looks and all it took was one nice long test drive. Only thing she didn't like was fact it doesn't have fog lights. Odd, at that price. But they do come with the Sport Pkg.
She can't wait to pick it up Thursday. In meantime, the dealer gave her a 2001 Volvo S60 loaner car so they could take her trade on-the-spot and clean up the 323. We live about 145 miles away from them (but only 25 miles from another BMW dealer).
I have some questions and wanted the board's opinion on these configuration. (These questions may make more sense after seeing the options for car & key programming.)
1.Does all the vent positions work if the AUTO is on? If you do not have the AUTO on, none of the vent positions work w/o your choosing the vents manually?
2. On the "vents position during warm-up", is that mean that you are idling and not moving, or while driving and the engine is not warm yet? When it is active does that mean you may get the warm/cold outside air into the car while driving? Can you always choose to let outside air in regardless of what is active?
3. What is the board's opinion on the settings for the vent positions, temp correction, A/C on, and the "Automatic blower on"? I think some of them can become annoying after a while?
Has anybody programmed these options? I would appreciate your opinion and comments.
I also read a while back about the alarm that would go off when the temp is freezing outside and how some people were annoyed by it. Is there any way to program the car so it would not operate? Also, how often the alarm would go off, if you can not disable it?
I recently ordered a new 318 my 2002 "valvetronic" (I'm based in Europe and test drive is a wishful thinking!)and I would appreciate some feed-back about the debated issue sport suspension (within the SP), handling, comfort etc.
I know that the US version of the 325 with SP comes with 205/45 r 17 tires, while my one will have 205/55 r 16 (with sport suspension), but nevertheless I'd like some info possibly in terms of comparison with other cars rather than personal feeling. I had an Infinity G20T and I wonder if it could be taken as reference to match the said characteristics (ride, comfort etc.)
Thanks
Also, I have the fog lights as part of the sp on my 330i and have been driving with them on in non foggy weather and find that they really light up the road better. Since no one has flashed me I figure it's ok to do. Is that right?
I might be able to offer you some perspective. I lived in Germany for a year and rented several 318 and 320s (pre-Valvetronic) w/o sport package. I currently own a 2001 325i w/ sp in the US. Even on the rough pot-holed roads of the Northeast US, the ride is never jarring. Its a little rougher than the 318s w/o sp I rented- but barely. In Europe, with its smooth roads, there is absolutely no reason not to get the sport suspension. What little harshness I feel is mostly due to the 17" tires. If you'll be getting the 16" tires-- you really have nothing to worry about. The car takes corners much, much better than the non sp cars I rented.
BTW, Why not rent a 3 series from Hertz or Sixt to try it out? If you live in the north of Italy, it might even be worth going to Munich to rent on (very easy there).
Hope this helps.
Also, someone mention something about the sirin mount can vibrate, so they put something between the bracket and the firewall mount area. Can someone clarify this?