PeterK

Hi everybody,

I've been lurking here for a couple of months. Great forum - I've learned a lot and now I'm ready to order a car. I talked to a dealer today about ordering a car, and he offered me the following discounts:

2005 545 -- $2000 below MSRP
2005 530 -- $1800 below MSRP
2005 525 -- $1600 below MSRP

After reading the FAQ, I get the impression that I should be able to do better than this, but I'd like to hear from some recent buyers. If I were buying a 2004 model, I'd definitely want a better deal since it's so late in the year, but maybe these discounts aren't so bad for a 2005?

Feedback much appreciated!

-Peter

alohalc

welcome aboard ! i've heard so many of other members here talk about european delivery. you might want to give it a shot. it's a lot of fun and a lot cheaper than you get it from your local dealer. i can almost guarantee you'll save at least the trip. you can also meet up with some of the members while you are there. new car, free trip, nice group of people, why not ?

PeterK

European delivery sounds fun, but the timing is bad for me, since I just finished a long vacation.

firewired

I am still negotiating on a 2005 545. First dealer I asked was willing to take MSRP - $2500 without batting an eye. So I think that you may be low.

I haven't seen the actual invoice numbers for 2005 just 2004. In 2004 the difference between the invoice and the MSRP on the car I speced out was $6000. I thought splitting it and $3000 seemed a reasonable number for discount for me, and profit for the dealer. I just faxed all 15 dealers in my state a purchase proposal this evening offering to buy if they would meet the $3000 off. I'll get back to you on Monday when dealers open up if I get any bites. If not, worse case I look at it that $2500 is still not that far off.

alohalc

i've heard from many people and read many magazines saying $1-1.5k profit for the dealers is more than enough for cars in this price range. don't give them $3k. i don't think they deserve that much, especially when the service guys giving you hard times later on .

PeterK

Thanks! I'd love to know who offers you the best deal. I assume you're focusing your search in Texas? Maybe they'll even give you an extra discount if you tell them you may be bringing them another buyer!

I've attached the retail and wholesale prices for the 2005 5-series. (Somebody else posted this here a few weeks ago.) Hope it helps you!

alohalc

oh, forgot to let you guys know, this forum is so good that you can go to the information and see the 2005 us wholesale and retail price list.

firewired

Thanks for the numbers, in calculating it with the car speced like I want it:

Invoice: $60,875

Retail: $66,720

Difference between MSRP and invoice is about where it was for the '04s (about 6K) $5845 in my case.

Your responses make me think that the +$3K above invoice I put in my proposal letter that I faxed out today isn't unrealistic, I should get a good idea by the responses I get on Monday. I would be happy with $3k, and if I get a lot of positive responses that just leaves an additional 1 to 1.5K to negotiate off the price. Either way I would be satisfied.

I'll let you know how it goes.

PeterK. If you are serious email or PM me the specs of what you are looking for and I will see if they are interested.

alohalc

if you do get a lot of responses, play the same old game again. tell them the other dealer/dealers are willing to take another $1.5k off, can you match the price. if yes, go and sign the papers. if not, ask what's the bottom price. but don't make a decision yet. use the same way to talk to another dealers. make sure you have the best deal out of them, then you call them back one by one. tell them sorry, although i like your service a lot (nice words won't hurt . you might go back for other cars in the future), i have to be realistic. that particular dealer has the best deal. if you are lucky, they might drop the price a little more . the game will go on and you are always the winner since you have so many dealers to choose from. good luck and please keep us posted .

punto

I got mine $1500 above invoice.