Question for those who special order bmws

[StumpyPete]

The biggest issue with a special order is having to wait! I had to wait over 6 months for both my E53s and about 5 for my E70. But I'm guessing it's not so bad in the current economy.

[DWill]

I've never bought a BMW off the lot; always ordered.
Never paid more to order.

[jackie]

Originally Posted by DWill

I've never bought a BMW off the lot; always ordered.
Never paid more to order.

So you paid invoice or MSRP?

[Kloogy]

Originally Posted by ard

Agree with everyone saying special order is bascally thesame.

Dealers like a few on the lot to sell to people with poor impulse control, or those that are math-impaired.

A

I have not special ordered any of the BMW's I have owned. I check inventory on what they have periodicaly when I'm in the market. I can usaully find what I want. With my X5 , the exact vehicle I wanted was 20 miles away. They brought it down and I bought it. So I guess I have poor impulse control, and have poor math skills, even though I am a Project Engineer.....

[jackie]

Originally Posted by Kloogy

I have not special ordered any of the BMW's I have owned. I check inventory on what they have periodicaly when I'm in the market. I can usaully find what I want. With my X5 , the exact vehicle I wanted was 20 miles away. They brought it down and I bought it. So I guess I have poor impulse control, and have poor math skills, even though I am a Project Engineer.....

I'm still willing to bet you got a better deal.

[Thunder22]

I've never bought a car off the lot, always custom ordered, never ever paid a premium, price was always the same either way.

[Kloogy]

Originally Posted by lemon

I'm still willing to bet you got a better deal.

I'm sure you can get a good deal either way. But if you see what you want on their lot, and it has been there for a bit too long, you're going to score. My E92 was a special order that was cancelled when the buyer upgraded to an M3. It was in the showroom. I guess not many people were looking for a Crimson Red E92 6MT that was loaded. So I scored on that one too. It's all about timing. I'm not going to wait months for a car unless I'm ordering an Aston Martin DBS.

[asnpcwiz]

My original X5 was special ordered. Paid $800 over invoice, and only waited a whole 6 weeks for it. I don't think it gets much better than that.

I would special order though if you are going to buy brand new. It's nice to know someone else hasn't test drove it, put additional unnecssary miles, and farted in it .

[kck7]

Originally Posted by asnpcwiz

My original X5 was special ordered. Paid $800 over invoice, and only waited a whole 6 weeks for it. I don't think it gets much better than that.

I would special order though if you are going to buy brand new. It's nice to know someone else hasn't test drove it, put additional unnecssary miles, and farted in it .

All good replies, esp the farting.

When I worked as an assistant sales manager in a dealership long ago and far away, it was generally true that the special order got a somewhat better price. But this was often mitigated if the customer happened to be interested in a 'dog', ie a vehicle that had been in stock for a while and hadn't sold yet for one reason or another.

I recall a 'chop-shop' special, a coupe that an aftermarket company removed the top from and put the most god-awful cloth top on. It looked great topless (so it stayed in the showroom), but put the top up and it was barf city. Not even Stevie Wonder would buy that car if the top was up. We got fed up of looking at it for months on end, pretty though it was with the top down.

It eventually sold to a little old lady for $5,000 off sticker (bought it off the floor without even driving it or raising the top, clearly was a bucket list item for her), the salesman made a $2,000 bonus, and the manufacturer's finance arm made over 6 months of interest. This on a $25k car. Needless to say, no more cars were ever chopped at this store.

When a dealership special orders, their only cost of business is writing the order, doing the paperwork and paying the salesman. When they keep a car in stock, they usually pay floorplan (interest) as well, even if for only a few days. They usually have to detail the car at least twice. This raises the effective cost of the car to the dealer and therefore to the buyer, ceteris paribus of course.

(Note: if you order a really odd color or option combination they may require a non-refundable deposit. This depends on the dealer).

[onefish2]

I just special ordered as well. Paid $200 over invoice and the car came up to NY in 3 weeks. Dealer threw in rubber mats as well as carpeted mats. Not a bad deal at all.