Haggling with BMW Car Dealership

matthab · 15 Sep 2019 at 17:59

I had the same kind of experience when trying to haggle with Seat for my Ateca. I went to a dealership I have bought 4 cars from in the past with no issues. Said what my limit was and would happily put a deposit down now as my daughter had just arrived.

Salesman came out looking happy and told me the price of the car (which was the rrp) and my Leon had no equity (end of pcp), he actually looked like he had produced a good deal. Walked away went on Carwow and got a sizeable discount off the car and a good trade in meaning I put just a £500 deposit in.

For me it's a case of finding dealers who haven't hit their quoter for the quarter. Also your buying just a new reg has come out, if you can wait till March/April when they want to get the books full for the 20 reg.

wndsr · 15 Sep 2019 at 18:07

I did think about waiting, but I'm in a pretty bad situation with regards to timing. My current car is due to be returned in 4-5 weeks as the PCP has come to an end, meaning I will be left without a car (or buying a cheap one for a few months - not ideal as I drive a lot for work).

Annoyingly I'm also in the process of buying a house and have just received my mortgage offer, so would like to get a car settled to allow my credit report to settle before completion in December/January time.

tamzzy · 15 Sep 2019 at 18:11

[TW]Fox said:
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.

ah true. and not the monstrosity of a nostril on the new 4 series...

wtf were the designers smoking...it aint good stuff

AiiR · 15 Sep 2019 at 18:20

tamzzy said:
ah true. and not the monstrosity of a nostril on the new 4 series...

wtf were the designers smoking...it aint good stuff

That's not real, surely?

Edit: looks like it's a concept car. Well hopefully they sack the chap responsible for that hideous front end and redesign.

tamzzy · 15 Sep 2019 at 18:30

@AiiR it is I'm afraid

The radical BMW Concept 4 is 85 per cent representative of what the new 4 Series will look like when it arrives in 2020
A concept version of the all-new BMW 4 Series has been revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and it's said to be 85 per cent production-ready. The BMW Concept 4 dazzled show goers with its radical design, sleek silhouette and polarising front end. As with all two-door coupes, the firm will focus on design and image for the upcoming 4 Series Coupe, previewed by this new BMW Concept 4.

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/bmw/4-series/107867/new-bmw-concept-4-is-next-4-series-in-all-but-name

wndsr · 15 Sep 2019 at 18:32

And I thought the new 7 Series and X7 were pushing it...

tamzzy · 15 Sep 2019 at 18:33

Well...if the new 4 series really does look like that...Audi are getting my money when I get my next car...

Drumroll · 15 Sep 2019 at 19:13

matthab said:
I had the same kind of experience when trying to haggle with Seat for my Ateca. I went to a dealership I have bought 4 cars from in the past with no issues. Said what my limit was and would happily put a deposit down now as my daughter had just arrived.

Salesman came out looking happy and told me the price of the car (which was the rrp) and my Leon had no equity (end of pcp), he actually looked like he had produced a good deal. Walked away went on Carwow and got a sizeable discount off the car and a good trade in meaning I put just a £500 deposit in.

For me it's a case of finding dealers who haven't hit their quoter for the quarter. Also your buying just a new reg has come out, if you can wait till March/April when they want to get the books full for the 20 reg.

Carwow. Bought about 5 cars using them. Let the dealers fight for your money. Them offer the local dealer the chance to offer similar deal.
Haven't used the local dealer's car for test driving, though.
And after all, the car will be provided by a authorized dealer, and will be serviced at your local dealer.
The profits now aren't that great, simply because no one is paying RRP for anything, except electric.
The main income is from overpriced GAP insurance, "paint protection" (was a fool to pay for some ceramic protection applied to the not so clean paintwork. Ages to rectify) and "insurance" for tyres/wheels, paintwork (but unless it's small enough and at bumpers, will be useless, as a bonnet, door or roof would require a full spray for a proper repair, so not covered).
And buying locally, you won't be doing any favors, as quite often the dealer won't look after it's customer, no even bothering to reply when you request info/price for a peculiar wiperblades, as it was on my Mazda CX-5 2018.

Drumroll · 15 Sep 2019 at 19:15

Forgot to mention, using carwow, or similar (but haven't used others yet), all the options for payment/finance deposit contribution from manufacturer are available, as a local dealer. Some accept part-exchange, delivery and few perks included.

Journey · 15 Sep 2019 at 19:56

wndsr said:
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

Are there some options that are must haves?

I've seen PCH deals of 320i M Sports in stock for delivery within 2 weeks for ~£2k upfront and ~£345pm on a 6+35 deal. Heck you can get the 330 M Sport for ~£387 on the same deal. If you look at that against the cost of the your great PCP deal you were looking at ~£24k for 4 years, and these are ~£14.1k and ~£15.8k which is almost a £10k saving, albeit it a year shorted (no MOT etc. however).

You best bet is to call up the dealers/lease agents to see what options are fitted, and what colours the stock is in you will sometimes get lucky, especially if you are not overly fussy about the colour.

EDIT: If you prefer 4-years there is cars starting at ~£320pm on a 6+47 so ~£17k for the whole term.

Drumroll · 15 Sep 2019 at 20:05

Got a very attractive lease now, as similar ones are about 120/150 more per month, as it was a vehicle in stock, few weeks before the 69 number plates rolling out. Went leasing this time as I was changing cars too often and a PCP, despite a big deposit was costing me more, but now I won't change, as the contract is 36 months. Lesson learned.
You can search for car in stock for PCP too, but what annoys me is the fact that when you look for an ex demo or a car in stock and the discount is less than ordering exactly the same car, but new.
Few months ago got quotes for PCP on C-Class. About 7k discount. And it was my local dealer.
Can't bother to go only to the dealer and play the mental game of "I'll talk to my manager" back and forth for 10 times, etc.

Drumroll · 15 Sep 2019 at 20:07

wndsr said:
I did think about waiting, but I'm in a pretty bad situation with regards to timing. My current car is due to be returned in 4-5 weeks as the PCP has come to an end, meaning I will be left without a car (or buying a cheap one for a few months - not ideal as I drive a lot for work).

Annoyingly I'm also in the process of buying a house and have just received my mortgage offer, so would like to get a car settled to allow my credit report to settle before completion in December/January time.

I think a lease won't be as bad as a PCP on your credit report. As the whole balance of the finance will be showing there. Not now with my lease.

wndsr · 15 Sep 2019 at 20:08

Journey said:
Are there some options that are must haves?

I've seen PCH deals of 320i M Sports in stock for delivery within 2 weeks for ~£2k upfront and ~£345pm on a 6+35 deal. Heck you can get the 330 M Sport for ~£387 on the same deal. If you look at that against the cost of the your great PCP deal you were looking at ~£24k for 4 years, and these are ~£14.1k and ~£15.8k which is almost a £10k saving, albeit it a year shorted (no MOT etc. however).

You best bet is to call up the dealers/lease agents to see what options are fitted, and what colours the stock is in you will sometimes get lucky, especially if you are not overly fussy about the colour.

Very interesting indeed - I've just gone on Carwow again and seen there are some good prices for the 330i. There aren't really any options that are "must haves" as I think the standard car is pretty well equipped. If I was to have anything, it would be the M Sport Plus pack (£1900)... though I would double check as I think the fancy blue brakes are included as standard on 330i models.

Journey · 15 Sep 2019 at 20:12

wndsr said:
though I would double check as I think the fancy blue brakes are included as standard on 330i models.

BMW state "M Sport brakes are also available on 320d models only already standard on 330i M Sport models"

There are some good deals on the PHEV 330 version too, if you do a lot of short journeys it would save you a great deal in fuel costs.

wndsr · 15 Sep 2019 at 20:19

Michael Marini said:
I think a lease won't be as bad as a PCP on your credit report. As the whole balance of the finance will be showing there. Not now with my lease.

That's a good point. I'm working on the basis that my mortgage amount is a good chunk (more than the car value) less than the maximum available amount, so hopefully my mortgage adviser is correct when he said affordability all checks out if I was to increase car spending from 220 to c.450.

Journey said:
BMW state "M Sport brakes are also available on 320d models only already standard on 330i M Sport models"

There are some good deals on the PHEV 330 version too, if you do a lot of short journeys it would save you a great deal in fuel costs.

I was very interested in the 330e also, only issue is that where I live currently has no charging functionality, but when I get my house I will be able to charge it on the drive. I'll likely do two types of driving when I move: driving to the supermarket and getting on the M6 to drive to the airport and/or to see family back closer to Manchester, so the 330e would be ideal.

Journey · 15 Sep 2019 at 20:27

wndsr said:
I was very interested in the 330e also, only issue is that where I live currently has no charging functionality, but when I get my house I will be able to charge it on the drive. I'll likely do two types of driving when I move: driving to the supermarket and getting on the M6 to drive to the airport and/or to see family back closer to Manchester, so the 330e would be ideal.

Yeah, it's not a bad deal really with a 12kWh battery pack, sensible driving in normal conditions will get you 38-42 miles on a charge. As for charging it, you only really need access to a 3-pin socket, but that is still impossible for a lot of people sadly, although saying that if you have an understanding workplace they could accommodate your request to be able to charge.

wndsr · 15 Sep 2019 at 20:36

Journey said:
Yeah, it's not a bad deal really with a 12kWh battery pack, sensible driving in normal conditions will get you 38-42 miles on a charge. As for charging it, you only really need access to a 3-pin socket, but that is still impossible for a lot of people sadly, although saying that if you have an understanding workplace they could accommodate your request to be able to charge.

Aye sadly I work away from home so don't have an office I go to. When I'm not away I work from home (soon to be my new house where I can charge). Sadly the 330e has been ruled out this time but I'm definitely interested in going hybrid next time once I have better facilities.

Journey · 15 Sep 2019 at 20:39

wndsr said:
Aye sadly I work away from home so don't have an office I go to. When I'm not away I work from home (soon to be my new house where I can charge). Sadly the 330e has been ruled out this time but I'm definitely interested in going hybrid next time once I have better facilities.

Well do some calling around then tomorrow or when you get time, then call your local dealer back and give them a single chance to meet the offer (if you are feeling generous). At the end of the day, it is your money if they don't want it and feel they can secure more money for the same vehicle then so be it.

wndsr · 15 Sep 2019 at 20:42

Journey said:
Well do some calling around then tomorrow or when you get time, then call your local dealer back and give them a single chance to meet the offer (if you are feeling generous). At the end of the day, it is your money if they don't want it and feel they can secure more money for the same vehicle then so be it.

Certainly will do that. I've got a bit of time before my current car goes back, so I can make a name for myself amongst the UK's BMW dealers...

Journey · 15 Sep 2019 at 20:52

wndsr said:
Certainly will do that. I've got a bit of time before my current car goes back, so I can make a name for myself amongst the UK's BMW dealers...

Good luck

Last two cars I did over the phone/internet, since not a single dealer could get close to the big fleet leasing prices of in stock vehicles.