Buying a new BMW/Negotiation tips

[rsk111]

I'm planning on buying a new BMW 535xi sedan. I'm under the impression that when buying this type of car there is less room for negotiation than one would have when buying a Honda (for example). If anyone has experience in this area, I'd appreciate answers to the following questions:

1. Is the negotiation process really any different than when buying a "regular" car? The main problems that I see are that there is a fairly high demand for these cars relative to the supply and there is only one BMW dealership within 50 miles, so the dealership has to worry less about competition.

2. How much below MSRP (or above invoice) should I shoot for?

3. Dealers often have these "administrative fees" preprinted on their forms that they never tell you about before. I always get them to drop these sorts of fees and I'll try to do the same with this purchase, but I'm wondering if it is not a reasonable expectation for them to get dropped since it is less of a buyer's market.

4. Does anyone have any experience with the European Delivery Program? Do you just go through the same negotiation process and then pick it up in Europe for a fixed discount or is the discount negotiable also?

5. Are their any other good websites with the type of information I'm looking for. I've looked at bimmerforums, on which I couldn't find great advice about the actual negotiation process. Other sites about buying cars don't really have information specific to this type of car (but maybe it's not that different).

Thanks for any advice you can give.

[TiK]

A few years ago, I accompanied a friend to the BMW dealership because his lease had just run out and he wanted another one. He had leased one years earlier, and his father, having driven the car and having loved it leased one from the exact same dealership. Apparently just around that time, demand had picked up for the cars, and when my friend went to lease another one, and asked him for a lease like his father got a couple of months prior, they didn't even hesitate to turn him down and would not negotiate whatsoever from their initially established point. This was about 4 years ago and the dealership was in NJ, so your mileage may vary depending on region, current demand, etc.

Anyway, my friend took his business to Volvo (his mother had a Volvo) and they offered him a great deal on at S60 complete with a fairly nice discount for being a return customer. Granted, the car definitely didn't drive as well as the 3-series my friend wanted, but still. They treated him quite nice. Definitely a 180 from the BMW dealership we went to earlier in the day. My friend signed the papers that day.

[Chief911]

Here are some answers:

1. No...its not any different. Although the dealer may not have many slots left..so they may not be as incentivized to deal...they still will.

2. You should shoot for whatever you want to. Read the bmw 535 forums over at bimmerfest, and see what they are paying. But DEFINATELY find out what INVOICE is on the car and options you want, and start there.

3. Yes its reasonable to get those dropped.

4. I will be doing ED next time I purchase a BMW. You can read alot more about it at the wiki....but you can get HUGE discounts in that program..if you use the right bmw dealer that understands ED. Otherwise you can use the buy who runs the site edbmw.com Here is the wiki: http://www.bimmerfest.com/wiki/index...opean_Delivery

5. Bimmerfest is another good one.

Nick

[RR]

[ QUOTE ]
2. You should shoot for whatever you want to. Read the bmw 535 forums over at bimmerfest, and see what they are paying. But DEFINATELY find out what INVOICE is on the car and options you want, and start there.


[/ QUOTE ]

Find out the true price the dealer paid for the car. Often these things are set up so they still make a decnt profit if they sell at "invoice."

[rsk111]

[ QUOTE ]
Here are some answers:

1. No...its not any different. Although the dealer may not have many slots left..so they may not be as incentivized to deal...they still will.

2. You should shoot for whatever you want to. Read the bmw 535 forums over at bimmerfest, and see what they are paying. But DEFINATELY find out what INVOICE is on the car and options you want, and start there.

3. Yes its reasonable to get those dropped.

4. I will be doing ED next time I purchase a BMW. You can read alot more about it at the wiki....but you can get HUGE discounts in that program..if you use the right bmw dealer that understands ED. Otherwise you can use the buy who runs the site edbmw.com Here is the wiki: http://www.bimmerfest.com/wiki/index...opean_Delivery

5. Bimmerfest is another good one.

Nick

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks! This was quite helpful.

[guids]

if you have any connection with anyone in the car industry ask to borrow the black book to get an idea on what dealers are paying for cars, negotiate from there

[rsk111]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
2. You should shoot for whatever you want to. Read the bmw 535 forums over at bimmerfest, and see what they are paying. But DEFINATELY find out what INVOICE is on the car and options you want, and start there.


[/ QUOTE ]

Find out the true price the dealer paid for the car. Often these things are set up so they still make a decnt profit if they sell at "invoice."

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought that invoice was the same as what the dealer paid. It sounds like that is not true. How do I find what the dealer paid? I use Edmunds to find the invoice price.

[RR]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
2. You should shoot for whatever you want to. Read the bmw 535 forums over at bimmerfest, and see what they are paying. But DEFINATELY find out what INVOICE is on the car and options you want, and start there.


[/ QUOTE ]

Find out the true price the dealer paid for the car. Often these things are set up so they still make a decnt profit if they sell at "invoice."

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought that invoice was the same as what the dealer paid. It sounds like that is not true. How do I find what the dealer paid? I use Edmunds to find the invoice price.

[/ QUOTE ]

Consumer Reports sells the info for $12 per car model (well it was $12 the last time I bought a new car). I don't know if the info is available for free some place or not. I forget the term for it but on some cars they get a payment from the company when they sell a car so if they sell "at invoice" they profit by the amount of this payment. When I bought my last car (not in high demand) I was able to capture about 40% of this payment for myself.

[slim]

make sure u wear ratty old grey sweat shirt and pants when u go. And don't tell them you're a doctor. Ever watch the Cosby Show?

[FatalError]

This is pretty simple as far as BMW goes, pick all your options price your car out at MSRP and invoice, you can usually get bmw to knock 50% of the markup off, i got both my bmws at about that