Haggling with BMW Car Dealership

wndsr · 15 Sep 2019 at 13:17

Today I made my second visit to the local BMW garage, having been invited back after previously walking out after being shown their extortionate PCP and PCH deals compared to what is available online.

Second meeting was slightly more productive - we identified a 320i M Sport with a few options, coming to about £36,000 OTR price. I was keen that any agreement had 10,000 miles and minimal deposit from me (in this case £2000), ideally for a 36 month period.

After lots of back and forth between the room we were in and the back office, he came out with a PCP deal of £460 per month, 10k miles, 48 month on the car, colour and spec that I was after. Interest rate was 4.9%.

I told him this was more than I was prepared to pay each month and asked him to get closer to 400 to compare with what I was seeing online. Out comes the Sales Manager who shook my hand and said it is his very best price and there is absolutely nothing he can do. I shake his hand again, thank them both for their time and walk out.

My situation is that I do actually really like the car and would be disappointed to lose what is essentially not a terrible offer (I don't think?!). I'm by no means an expert car buyer but was practicing my tough negotiator routine.

Do you think they will get back in touch with me with a better offer or have I got to make an awkward phone call? My view is that if they reduced the 4.9% interest we would be looking at a much more palatable quote.

tamzzy · 15 Sep 2019 at 13:25

36 grand on a 320i is bleh.

Try emailing TRL and see what he can offer instead?
https://www.babybmw.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=80

Eg:
BMW 440i M Sport 5Dr Gran Coupe.
Sports Automatic
(std spec inc metallic, leather, heated seats and Pro media package)
Options chosen for the figures below;
M Sport Plus Package £1500

List Price £48,905 OTR
Dealer contribution £6655
BMW contribution £4000
Customer balance £38,250
Customer deposit £4000 then 47 x £497. plus GFV £15,701.

Haze · 15 Sep 2019 at 13:35

What interest rate did your bank offer you?

[TW]Fox · 15 Sep 2019 at 14:13

tamzzy said:
Eg:
BMW 440i M Sport 5Dr Gran Coupe.

This is a completely different car, it's a hatchback version of the old model 3 series originally released back in 2011. Hence why there are enormous discounts, it's an old end of life car.

The OP is looking at the new 3 series which is an all new and considerably better car.

wndsr · 15 Sep 2019 at 15:02

Haze said:
What interest rate did your bank offer you?

I didn't look before going in, but I see now on the Bank website that the rates are higher than what was offered in the dealership for cars of that price. In my naive head, I'd just assumed they would lower the APR to make the sale there and then but clearly not.

Journey · 15 Sep 2019 at 15:11

What options were selected and what colours?

DarrenM343 · 15 Sep 2019 at 15:13

wndsr said:
I didn't look before going in, but I see now on the Bank website that the rates are higher than what was offered in the dealership for cars of that price. In my naive head, I'd just assumed they would lower the APR to make the sale there and then but clearly not.

Can't you put more £ down to get a better rate?
First direct were offering 2.9% APR recently on loans up to £30k although noticed they've raised it to 3.3% recently. Over £30k however it's 6.7%

wndsr · 15 Sep 2019 at 15:17

Journey said:
What options were selected and what colours?

Off the top of my head it included a Technology Pack (£1900), 19" Wheels (£750), Metallic Blue Paint (£670). There may have been a couple of other minor things. I was led to believe that they "only had" cars with options coming into the country and didn't have any basic spec models.

DarrenM343 said:
Can't you put more down to get a better rate?
First direct were offering 2.9% APR recently on loans up to £30k although noticed they've raised it to 3.3% recently. Over £30k however it's 6.7%

I could in theory put more down, but I'm quite reluctant to put too much down. I was looking at leasing previously which meant a smaller deposit and at times smaller monthly payment. I'm not massively sure on the differences between PCP and PCH other than PCP I have the option to buy the car at the end.

Journey · 15 Sep 2019 at 15:33

wndsr said:
Off the top of my head it included a Technology Pack (£1900), 19" Wheels (£750), Metallic Blue Paint (£670). There may have been a couple of other minor things. I was led to believe that they "only had" cars with options coming into the country and didn't have any basic spec models

Based over 48 months that's adding £70 a month to the cost. Hence why the desk maybe worse then you've seen online.

wndsr · 15 Sep 2019 at 16:01

Journey said:
Based over 48 months that's adding £70 a month to the cost. Hence why the desk maybe worse then you've seen online.

Indeed.

I just got an offer on Carwow for the below spec. £2k upfront at £449 per month with 10k miles for 48 months. This feels like a better offer than what I was being offered in the dealer this morning.

-320i M Sport Saloon
-Mineral Grey
-Black with Grey Contrast Stitching Vernasca Leather
-Loudspeaker system - harman/kardon surround system
-M Sport Plus package

chaparral · 15 Sep 2019 at 16:18

Am I right in thinking you're looking at putting down 2k and paying £450 per month for 4 years and after 4 years you got give the car back and have nothing

So it be like paying £23,600 to just rent a car for 4 years

[TW]Fox · 15 Sep 2019 at 16:22

chaparral said:
So it be like paying £23,600 to just rent a car for 4 years

Correct, but it's a near £40,000 car so what are you expecting? It's going to lose value over the term and be worth far less at the end.

Rroff · 15 Sep 2019 at 16:27

chaparral said:
Am I right in thinking you're looking at putting down 2k and paying £450 per month for 4 years and after 4 years you got give the car back and have nothing

So it be like paying £23,600 to just rent a car for 4 years

More or less though if you are lucky there might be equity in the car that means you can continue with a new PCP deal on a new vehicle cheaper (in reality from what I've seen that generally doesn't really work out).

Personally in that situation I'd rather just buy a second hand low mileage version though not so easy to do if it is a car that has recently been released.

wndsr said:
Do you think they will get back in touch with me with a better offer or have I got to make an awkward phone call? My view is that if they reduced the 4.9% interest we would be looking at a much more palatable quote.

In my experience very situational depending on the car market, etc. for a new release vehicle right now I doubt they will be chasing you, if it was older stock they need to clear to make room for the new arrivals you might have more joy - they'll also be much more inclined IMO at this point to throw in some extras if you twist their hand enough rather than any reduction in price.

200sols · 15 Sep 2019 at 16:39

chaparral said:
Am I right in thinking you're looking at putting down 2k and paying £450 per month for 4 years and after 4 years you got give the car back and have nothing

So it be like paying £23,600 to just rent a car for 4 years

That’s how leases work, you basically pay the depreciation.

booyaka · 15 Sep 2019 at 16:57

They will call you tomorrow or the day after. Been going through this with Land Rover as the wife wants an Evoque. They offered us a stock new car, with 20" alloys that I didn't really want and various other options I'd never add.

Started at £448 best price (with £3k down from me) - a week later, they are down at £420 now. Still stalling them as I want £400 a month. The 20" alloys are overkill and a £1600 extra which I said I really don't want to pay for for them to shift a stock car. He'll be on the phone tomorrow for sure with his next £5 a month off offer.....

Wait it out - don't call them

DereksDontRun · 15 Sep 2019 at 17:17

your location says manchester - was it rochdale bmw? they've put me off bmw enough to never get one again (well, anytime soon and/or needing to use them).

When I got my M135i 4 years ago, the best online price was with coast2coast cars, so check them. You've already mentioned carwow, so it's always worth knowing what other dealers would offer - can you extend the area wider, to get more offers?

I went with a guy called TRL on the babybmw site - he works for heathrow bmw and offers some models at a v v competative price. Whether he can do anything on a new 3 series, dunno, but no harm is asking him (but, if you're after a brand new model which is likely to be in demand, massive discounts might be unlikely for a few months). To show how bad Rochdale were, I took the train down to Heathrow and drove back from there... Here's his contact post: https://www.babybmw.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=80&t=87981

chaparral · 15 Sep 2019 at 17:22

[TW]Fox said:
Correct, but it's a near £40,000 car so what are you expecting? It's going to lose value over the term and be worth far less at the end.

Maybe it just that am that kind of person that likes the feeling of owning my own car and also being able to tell people that I own my car and not rent it..

wndsr · 15 Sep 2019 at 17:32

booyaka said:
Wait it out - don't call them

Definitely will do that now, especially as I've had a number of more competitive offers from Carwow. Good luck with the Evoque.

DereksDontRun said:
your location says manchester - was it rochdale bmw? they've put me off bmw enough to never get one again (well, anytime soon and/or needing to use them).

I was in the Stockport BMW today. I couldn't fault their service but just a shame that everyone has their time wasted today.

I've dropped an email to the TRL chap so will await his results, if anything

chaparral said:
Maybe it just that am that kind of person that likes the feeling of owning my own car and also being able to tell people that I own my car and not rent it..

I'll be honest I have absolutely no interest in owning my car, I'd rather change it and get a new one.

chaparral · 15 Sep 2019 at 17:43

wndsr said:
I'll be honest I have absolutely no interest in owning my car, I'd rather change it and get a new one.

I admit I did sometimes think if I would have been better if I leased my car instead of buying it as I would have been able to of kept about 10k to 12k more saving in the bank if I of just leased it

Even now I sometimes think should I sell my car for around 14k to 15k and put that in the bank and just lease a car for around 365 p/m

AiiR · 15 Sep 2019 at 17:51

chaparral said:
Maybe it just that am that kind of person that likes the feeling of owning my own car and also being able to tell people that I own my car and not rent it..

I mean I don't tell people I own nor rent it. It's just the car I drive.

Absolutely no sense owning a brand new car, better off leasing and letting the dealership deal with it at the end of the term.

OP you just need to tell them your price and ask them to call you if they have a slow sales month or find a car that meets your target price. They will call you within a week or 2.