beldredge

A local dealer has this on their lot:

2006 525xi - white/tan, with the only options being leather (no premium) and heated seats.

They've had it for a couple of months or so (I drove it when it first came in).

My guess is that this is gonna be a hard one for them to sell - manual trannie, very few options. But, it's very close to what I want. I definitely want the manual trannie; if I ordered one, I might get a different color (white is one of my top choices, not so sure on the tan interior, though), and I would probably like the premium and sports packages and HIDs.

But, if there's significant savings on this one, maybe it's worth sacrificing those things.

So, MSRP is $47,345, invoice is about $4,000 less. They quickly offered $2,000 off MSRP. I'm thinking I could get it for close to invoice, perhaps right around $44,000.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks!

dgjk

you should be able to do a little better - the 07's are just around the corner

as far as the manual trans - not that much of a hinderance on a BMW - there are many people out there - me included - that got the BMW because of the manual trans - which is not offered on many other cars

as far as the options - I did not get many and do not really miss them

Blackonblackonblack

All depends on what will make you happy in the long run. If you are satisfied with the options and color, it's a fair price...go for it. Have you driven one with the sports package to tell the difference? Do you really prefer 4-wheel-drive? But you could try to talk them into adding a couple minor options here and there...not that I asked for it, but my salesman gave me a free polo shirt, free key chain of my choice, free baseball cap, water bottle, pen, ...and, oh, wait...maybe that's why he's not there anymore!

beldredge

So how much better do you think? Invoice is $43,325. I'm aware of dealer holdback and other factors that may affect the "true" dealer cost, but nevertheless, I'm assuming the best I could do is that "published" invoice price, absent any incentives. Or is that just naive? Does BMW generally offer incentives on an out-going model year?

And I still think it's gonna be a tough sell for them because of the manual trannie. We are, unfortunately, in the minority, and I'm thinking most buyers who do indeed want the manual trannie would opt for the models with more power. For me, the 525xi is really the only model I can reasonably afford - I was thinking of a E90/E91, so I'm stretching just to get into the E60.

But, thank goodness that BMW does offer the manual trannie in the 5. Seriously, if you want a true mid-sized car with AWD, and you want to row your own gears, I don't believe there is one other choice out there, is there? Certainly not in the luxury segment, since Audi did away with the manual option with the A6 redo. And even going below the luxury segment, Legacy's and Mazdaspeed 6's are a stretch to call a mid-size.

This is my justification to the wife for my need for the E60 - how does it sound?

JFiRB

44500 should be achievable.

AMG Killer

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