[shenanigans16]

Hey guys, it's my first post here, I've been lurking for a while but figured it might be worth actually asking some questions! I'm currently a senior in college and have a pretty nice job lined up after I graduate this spring, and since I'm car obsessed, I've decided to get a 228i M-Sport.

Ideally, I'd like to do European Delivery and pick it up after I graduate so I can vacation before I join the working world. It'll be my first time buying a car, let alone doing European Delivery, so I've got quite a few questions and issues that I hope some of you guys might be able to resolve! I plan on visiting a dealership soon, but would love it if I could go in with a decent amount of knowledge to back me up.

1. When should I start looking, and where? I'm in the LA area (Will also be working here) so I've got a lot of choice.

2. When should I aim to order? Assuming late May delivery

3. How can I get the best price? This is the one that probably worries me the most, I'm not a particularly good negotiator, and I'm kinda worried I'll get fleeced. I know I can use the college program for 1000 off and the ED discount, but I'm still not sure if that discount applies only to the base car or to options as well. Additionally, would you guys have any tips on how to potentially drive the price down beyond these two discounts/how much wiggle room I can expect? I have a lot of time and don't really care about the dealership I order from, so I'm hoping that'll work to my advantage.

Sorry about the wall of text, hopefully it's coherent and thanks in advance!

[wlfkfilms]

Originally Posted by shenanigans16

Hey guys, it's my first post here, I've been lurking for a while but figured it might be worth actually asking some questions! I'm currently a senior in college and have a pretty nice job lined up after I graduate this spring, and since I'm car obsessed, I've decided to get a 228i M-Sport.

Ideally, I'd like to do European Delivery and pick it up after I graduate so I can vacation before I join the working world. It'll be my first time buying a car, let alone doing European Delivery, so I've got quite a few questions and issues that I hope some of you guys might be able to resolve! I plan on visiting a dealership soon, but would love it if I could go in with a decent amount of knowledge to back me up.

1. When should I start looking, and where? I'm in the LA area (Will also be working here) so I've got a lot of choice.

2. When should I aim to order? Assuming late May delivery

3. How can I get the best price? This is the one that probably worries me the most, I'm not a particularly good negotiator, and I'm kinda worried I'll get fleeced. I know I can use the college program for 1000 off and the ED discount, but I'm still not sure if that discount applies only to the base car or to options as well. Additionally, would you guys have any tips on how to potentially drive the price down beyond these two discounts/how much wiggle room I can expect? I have a lot of time and don't really care about the dealership I order from, so I'm hoping that'll work to my advantage.

Sorry about the wall of text, hopefully it's coherent and thanks in advance!

I ordered my car on July 4th, and I got it the first Monday in September of this year. So, it was about 2 months on the nose for me. I bought my car at BMW of Temecula. As far as negotiations go, I would look at two things... Figure out the invoice price and offer invoice + $500 to start with. They might just straight up say no, but should come back with an offer. I would say $1,500 - $2,000 off a 228i is definitely reasonable. My negotiated price was in there.

This might not always fly, but it's a good place to start. So, invoice is 'what the dealer pays' (not really, but it sort of is...) and you want to pay not much more than that. Another option is to go online to somewhere like TrueCar, put in your exact model, and see what deals people are getting. I ended up paying a little more to get a 2016 with the exact options I wanted, but I still got a decent amount off.

What I did was test drive. Walk out the first time and consider your options ESPECIALLY if you are ordering. Call around. Go to BMW.com or somewhere like Cars.com and see what's in the area. You can search all available cars in your price range. If you are like me and want bright colors without a bunch of tech options, you'll have to order. Most of the cars on the lots will be at loaded with options to make the dealer and BMW money.

[AlpsRider]

There are two invoice prices, MSRP and European Delivery (ED). If you do ED, you should be able to negotiate a deal around $750. above ED invoice or 12% or more below US MSRP. Check the forum for the pricing thread. There are several dealers in the LA, Santa Barbara areas that specialize in ED purchases.

[lisbethb]

I ordered mine on June 24th, and I got it on August 31st. I got 1500 off the US MSRP with USAA car buying service.

[overcoil]

My advice - where will you be living and where will you be parking the car both at your residence and at work if applicable. If your concerned about keeping the car pristine that's to me is more portent then price. I figure unless your really naive your pricing will be within a range in that you won't be getting ripped off.

In some periods of your life it's best to have a run of the mill car/appliance that it won't really matter if it gets banged up or towed.

[shenanigans16]

Thanks for the responses guys! Knowing invoice price will help a lot. I'm not too worried about where I'll be keeping it, as I'll be living in the tony part of LA and it should be parked in a secured garage both at home and at work. The one question that I then do have has to do with stuff like a college discount (which says it's 1k off). If I got the ED invoice price, and negotiated a price that was 500-1000 above that, and then asked for that $1000 college discount, would it just come straight from BMW and not irk the dealership, or would they consider that as part of the discount to get me to my desired above invoice price? (If that makes sense, sorry if I'm being a bit dense here).

Thanks again!

[moveswiftly]

Originally Posted by shenanigans16

Thanks for the responses guys! Knowing invoice price will help a lot. I'm not too worried about where I'll be keeping it, as I'll be living in the tony part of LA and it should be parked in a secured garage both at home and at work. The one question that I then do have has to do with stuff like a college discount (which says it's 1k off). If I got the ED invoice price, and negotiated a price that was 500-1000 above that, and then asked for that $1000 college discount, would it just come straight from BMW and not irk the dealership, or would they consider that as part of the discount to get me to my desired above invoice price? (If that makes sense, sorry if I'm being a bit dense here).

Thanks again!

Unfortunately college discount does not apply to ED cars.

[MegaMatt3]

Originally Posted by shenanigans16

Thanks for the responses guys! Knowing invoice price will help a lot. I'm not too worried about where I'll be keeping it, as I'll be living in the tony part of LA and it should be parked in a secured garage both at home and at work. The one question that I then do have has to do with stuff like a college discount (which says it's 1k off). If I got the ED invoice price, and negotiated a price that was 500-1000 above that, and then asked for that $1000 college discount, would it just come straight from BMW and not irk the dealership, or would they consider that as part of the discount to get me to my desired above invoice price? (If that makes sense, sorry if I'm being a bit dense here).

Thanks again!

He's right. Seems like BMW isn't keen on stacking discounts. Also remember that the ED discount drops from 7% to 5% on 1/1/16. Someone here might be able to give you a specific cutoff date to get the better discount.

I'm doing an ED in 2 weeks and paid $500 over invoice plus invoice pricing on all options. I'd be happy to relay numbers if you're interested.

My tactic was to say, nearly verbatim, over email, "I'd like to pay $500 over invoice, including any dealer markup (doc fees, etc). No further negotiation. Let me know if that's something you can do." First dealer said yes. Maybe I got lucky, but I think they probably appreciate the cut-and-dry as much as we do sometimes.