lawguy

I think I have the dealer offering me the 2010 at invoice. Does BMW pay a "holdback" fee to its dealers so they make money even if selling at invoice?

And, is invoice about the best I can expect to pay, or is it negotiable under that figure?

Thanks!

sdg1871

BMW does not have a holdback program.

I do understand that BMW offers bonuses to dealers based on factors such as scores on the consumer satisfaction surveys (which is why everyone and their brother at the BMW dealer encourages you to rate them as a "5" on the surveys) (CEI results), sales volume, the mix of cars being sold and other factors. One CA I know told me it is called AV money.

GL with your purchase Peter. You should check Edmunds.com and bimmerfest to see if BMW is offering any marketing support or trunk money on the particular model that you are looking at prior to agreeing to a price. If there is such support, you should negotiate your price up from that number as that becomes the true "invoice" price (plus MACO and training fees, of course).

But if there is no marketing support or trunk money, I would not expect to be able to snag a car for under invoice unless it is a demo or last year's model that is still unsold after months and months.

pipper

if you can wait, the closer we get to the F10, the lower the prices are gonna get. when the e60 came out the previous 5 series was getting ridiculous discounts. same this summer when the new MB e-class came out...$10K+ off sticker was very easy to get.

JeffNNJ

Right now is not a great time to buy if you want something specific right away because inventories are very low and dealers are looking to make money on what's in stock. It's also the reason why we are reluctant to pull cars from other dealers. No one wants to give up what they have and if so, they want something similar in return. I have had more then one person in my office wanting to buy 328xi sedans but they're simply not available and we are pretty much sold out of everything except demos. Fortunately, we can still order cars but if you're looking for something specific now, expect to pay for it. As far as zero deals, we do them rarely and always for a specific reason like the car has mileage or disclosure. If someone in this market at this time of year offers you anything under $1000 over invoice, it's going to be at least a decent deal. It always cracks me up when someone wants to buy a car from me at cost. This is literally the only business where people expect the seller to make nothing but to bend over backwards to make whatever accommodations they feel are appropriate.

I recently quoted a car to a friend of my sister. He has a 530xi with almost 80K miles and wants us to do a pull ahead. For those of you what are unfamiliar, that is where BMW will forget remaining lease payments on any '07 or '08 BMW lease that matures between now and December. There is, however, a catch. The dealership has to buy the car and in his case there was no way we were going to buy a car with that kind of mileage so it simply wasn't eligible. I had quoted him a $500 over invoice price which was more then fair on a new car. When I spoke with him today he told me that he found a local dealer that would take his car on a pull ahead and the lease price was only $67 more a month then I quoted him. Since his current lease payment is $602, he is paying over $1200 more during the term of the lease for the privilege of turning his car in early. Moral of the story: If it looks too good to be true, it always is.

sdg1871

I agree.

I got a killer deal on my 2003 E39 540i Sport, which I got right as E39 production came to a halt in anticipation of the E60.

sdg1871

Jeff, you are on the money about BMW dealer inventories being low. I recently had to take my car into the dealer where I bought it (Circle BMW in Eatontown) and I walked their lot. I was stunned at how paltry the inventory was -- no X5s, no X6s, no 550s or M5s (no surprise there), very few 3 Series cars, a couple of 7 Series cars, one M3, and a very small smattering of 5 Series cars, virtually all of which were either 528xi's or 528s or 535s with M Sport packages.

When I got my car there in March 2009, there were a million new BMWs on the lot. Not so now. I guess that the reports of BMW cutting production in the wake of the poor economy are accurate.

JeffNNJ

It's not a question of production being cut. Allocations are allocations. It's that typically in August/September inventories are low. Happens every single year

sdg1871

I've been told by folks I know at BMW dealers that production was lowered this year in response to the economy. Yes, your are right that this time of year inventories are lower as one model year transitions to the next. I used to do my leases in the summer but I changed them to the winter for that reason.

DrLev99

I, too, did not believe BMW had a holdback, but when I mentioned it during one of my negotiations to a dealership around here, the guy said to me, "Everyone has a holdback, regardless of whether it's advertised or not and so does BMW."

He had no reason to lie about that since it was to his disadvantage that I knew that. I believe he said it was 2-3%.

banglenot

So, Jeff: you're a dealer. Yes or no on the holdback? 2-3% or not?

Thanks,

Terry