DrLev99

Hello all,

I am currently in negotiations (not really, but he thinks I am...testing the waters) to lease a new 335i coupe. I have a pretty down to earth relationship with my salesman (younger guy), but that doesn't mean I trust him. I noticed that his "trick" to make me think I am getting a good deal is to say, "I'll sell you the car at $500 over cost." Notice he doesn't say dealer invoice. I may not even have caught on to this phrase had I not been an informed buyer.

He quoted me $1275 over invoice, stating he'd have to charge $500 over dealer cost, which means $775 in misc. fees stated below. Is it a scam to expect to pay for PDI, advertising fees, floor mats, etc.? I never paid for this crap on any other car in my life. I always work up from invoice and have never heard of being charged for the dealer's pre-delivery inspection.

Check out the salesman's email below and tell me if he's full of it:

"PDI includes floor mats, state stickers, prepping the car for U.S. roads (removing the shipping block in the suspension, powering up the car, setting air pressure in the tires, charging the battery, and doing a 300 point inspection on the car. The other training and advertising fees get billed to the car once it hits port... There's no way to waive those fee's. If we only charge you $500 over dead invoice we lose all that $. I even have to pay all the fees when I buy a car! All dealers have prep and other fee's."

Rudy

The miscellaneous fees have been discussed a bunch of times before and I think you'll find that they vary by dealer and by location. (Do a search on the term 'maco' to see what I mean.)

The bottom line is that the dealer has dozens of ways to charge you for things. They could agree to some small number over invoice then add on extras or they could charge a higher number over invoice and "waive" the extra fees to make you think you're getting a better deal. You just have to shop what you're interested in getting across multiple dealers to get a good apples-to-apples comparison...

DrLev99

I have no expectation to get a BMW for invoice, but I'd rather he just say, "All I can do is $1000 over invoice in order to make a reasonable profit." Even if he explains those fees, it doesn't really matter to me since I will pay what I feel is reasonable, regardless.

I am sure BMW dealerships incur these costs mentioned for the training fee, advertising, PDI and maintenance, but don't expect me to believe it's $750 per car It's all about the art of the sale and being able to back up where the costs came from if you ask, even if half of it's B.S.