ECO Credit Extended?
 

Does anyone know if BMW extended the eco credit beyond Nov 2nd?

According to someone on Bimmerfest forum, it has been extended to 1/4. I was not able to validate it on bmwusa.

335d eco credit extension - bimmerfest - BMW Forums

I just spoke with my salesrep and they said both the ECOcredit as well as current finance rate of 5.9 has been extended for another month for the x5 35D.

Thanks, Armans and vpaul2 for your replies.

This probably indicates BMWs fear of not selling as many diesels in the US without such credit.

Does anyone know if this credit is taken from dealership's profit? I do not think so but one of the agents mentioned about their profir margin going too low due to this.

Extended to end of year and no impact on dealer profit. The rebate comes out of BMWs pocket.

This is not a big surprise since BMW gets most or all of the $4,500 eco credit back when people finance though BMWNA. The only time they lose the whole $4,500 is when people pay cash or finance somewhere else.

Funf Dreisig

I was just notified that the credit goes away on any car delivered after Dec. 31st. My car is on order and scheduled for production the last week of November, which mean I take delvery the first or second week of January.

In other words, I just got Fxcked!!

How do you figure that? I ordered 10/19, my salesrep said that the car is about to get scheduled for production this or next week. Then it takes 1 week to make and ~2 weeks for BS and he says that he still expects it to be delivered by the end of this month... Not sure if I believe this month but 1st half of Dec for sure. Also, he said that the eco credit eligibility is based on when you order and your paperwork is run through BMW NA not when the car is delivered.

And BTW, I am financing somewhere other than BMW FS :D

spacey :D

He's wrong.

Do you mind elaborating on who you were notified by and what makes you say that my sales guy is wrong?

spacey :D

I'm in a similar situation. My dealer has cleared me for eco so 12/31 does not appear to be a real deadline. In any case, I will not take the car if I don't get eco. BMW is in a tight corner. If they stop eco, their pipeline will go to hell. They just added 700 workers and extended the shifts from 80 hours to 100 hours according to the news. What do you think would happen if people like you and I just walk away from their orders? Right now, I would say BMW is fxcked if they try to mess around with eco. That's IMHO.

I'm in the middle of a huge ordeal with my dealer because my car will arrives in early January. No credit. They're trying to fight for an exception. If you have proof that they're wrong, I'd love to have it.

That's what I love about this forum...

Don't have proof, just never heard of this (the issue you are having) before and it sounds prepostrous. What I have heard, specifically in fact was as stated before, that eco credit is locked in at the time of order and is not related to the time of delivery. But, I plan to make sure my sales guy quadruple checks this info 1st thing tomorrow. He's been very straight w/me so far and seems very capable so I do not expect a run around. If this info exists he will tell me. OTOH, it may be impossible to prove it if this information is somehow bogus and/or specific to your dealer. Although I am not sure why your dealer would make something like that up - sounds farfetched for them to try to re-neg on a deal and get more $ or something.

I will try to get him to tell me how he knows whatever he tells me. A bulletin, web site, some other dealer info channel... whatever.

spacey :D

Let me perfectly up front. My sales guy has been a personal friend for 31 years, and the dealer, Rusnak is one of my largest clients. When they tell me something, it's typically fact.

I would not be surprised if the dealers have as much trouble getting straight information from BMW NA as we have had in trying to get clarification on the federal tax credit info they have on their website, e.g., dealers might be getting different info when they ask BMW NA.

agreed
 

I think you're exactly right. The primary reason it's hard to get a direct answer from your dealer is because they can't get a straight answer from BMW. The people who do know the answers won't take questions from lowly customers and sales people.

Now it's confirmed! ECO has been extended through 1/4. Just like before, you need BMW financing. Get minimum $7500 and pay off early. You can get better financing elsewhere as others have stated on this forum.

BMW North America

I'm getting the eco credit on a cash deal.

Hmmm... thats very interesting. I wondered the same thing when placing my order but was assured that I do NOT need to do BMW FS financing in order to get the eco credit, but the application needed to be run through BMW FS to lock it in. If that turns out to be not the case unless I can figure a way around it, it will be a deal breaker for me, just as disappearence of the eco credit would. The financing tho can be stepped around I think by refinancing (pen fed's rates are the same for new/used/refi's).

Actually you know, if either one of those things turn out to be true (eco credit axing and BMW FS requirement for eco credit if it isn't axed), I'd be so pissed that I think I would not only walk away from the deal but not look at another BMW for many years to come. I love the cars, but those plays are just so low that I don't think I want to do business w/a company that does stuff like that. If I were told otherwise to begin with that would be a different story, but at this point I wouldn't care who's fault/communication problem that would be - the dealer's or BMW NA's.

For now until told otherwise by my dealer I will try and keep those "possibilities" as purely hypothetical though as not to spoil the otherwise glorious event.

Now... how does the possibility of eco credit axing for deliveries after 12/31 jive w/eco credit being extended til 01/04 ? Doesn't make sense to me.

spacey :D

I got the eco credit on a cash deal too. BUT our dealer still required us to apply for BMW credit to "lock in the eco credit". We simply wrote a check for the full agreed price, including the eco credit, at delivery.

Funf Dreisig

I think BMW was making up the rules as this promotion went along... after all, it started-out as being only for 2009 models on the lot, and then in mid-August morphed into being good for 2010 orders, since people were complaining about "bait and switch," since the average number of X5 diesels on the lot at BMW dealers, at the time, was around 1 per dealer I believe.

In any case, I did my order just before the original deadline of August 31 (deadline #1... we are now up to Deadline #3), and they might have removed the credit requirement by then.

I suppose my dealer could have done a credit check on me for BMW Finance, but I didn't sign anything.

Between a web site that can't be believed and the changing rules, this better be the best built bimmer I have ever bought.

:iagree:We were one of the early suckers... errr, participants in the eco credit saga :)

We ordered in mid July and took delivery in mid Aug. At the time we ordered our 35d, most CAs at the dealers in Central Texas had barely even heard about the credit, let alone understood how it worked. But then again, BMW NA still doesn't understand how it works :yikes:

Funf Dreisig

Let's face it.. the "ECO CREDIT" is simply a price reduction... A correction to a pricing mistake... It will be extended until they find away to raise the price.. eg. making standard items optional... and maintain the sale boom they are seeing on the diesels.. I now want a 335d...

Here's the response I got from my dealer after telling him about the eco credit bye bye after 12/31 issue:

"No worries about your delivery time or Eco Credit. When we submit your info to BMW Financial and place your order everything that was available at that time is LOCKED in for at least 60 Days. I'm still hoping to deliver your car this month but at the latest it will be beginning of DEC. Take Care."

Granted there is a "at least 60 day" lock mentioned... but... otherwise sounds pretty specific. The lock in at the time of application for "at least 60 days" BTW is what I have always heard before on this car buying occasion as well as others - IOW, the position appears to be consistently stable.

spacey :D

Happend the same with me. Our CA applied for BMW credit, saying "just in case". He would take it out when I pay the full amt at the time of delivery.

Spacy, I don't know who you ordered from but there's a lot of erroneous info regarding the eco-credit. I suggest calling other dealers and comparing stories. I suspect your dealer is trying to pocket some of that eco money as profit unless you do the leg work to find out that they are mistaken.

If you want to go elsewhere I purchased from BMW of Arlington and would be happy to send you to my sales guy there.

I agree with everything I've read above. I hope in BMW's continuing effort to promote deisel sales, that they extend the ECO credit one more time, but as of right now, my dealer says the credit is gone if we don't take delivery after end of year (1/4/2010).

If anyones dealer has specifically confirmed something different, I'd love to know.

Thanks

Blair,

Well.. actually I am pretty happy w/the story from my deler so far, I think it's the cpiguy who is having a different experience. So while I appreciate the idea I am not sure I am going to start calling other dealers just because one guy on this board is having his deal implode for what seems like a prepostrous reason. If I start hearing more jacking reports from other folks w/X5ds on order getting notices from their dealers that they don't get the eco credit I'll start to worry. Actually, after just getting back from a meeting I had a voice mail waiting for me from my sales guy (Passport BMW in MD) saying that the car actually went into production yesterday and confirming yet again that all is good w/eco credit.

So far based on the fact that cpiguy is the only person who's dealer appears to be claiming that 12/31 delivery is the cut-off for eco credit, the fact that the eco credit has been extended till 1/4 (at least, who knows if they won't extend it even more), and the fact that my sales rep has so far been very reliable w/his information, in my book this means that it's Rusnak BMW that's confused. Despite the fact that cpiguy says they have been "one of his largest clients and his sales rep has been a personal friend for 31 yrs" I still say that other evidence suggests so far that it's his dealer that is confused, not mine (Passport BMW).

Not saying I won't get "notified" in a week or two, who knows :dunno:, but it just doesn't look likely at the moment.

spacey :D

My mistake - meant my response for CPIGUY but saw VA in your profile and thought you were him. Realize now he is in CA. Sorry for the mix-up.

Spacey:

I'm confused. I would think the reason you have no issue with the ECO credit concern is that your car is well within the time frame to be delivered by the 1/4 deadline, right.

In my case the car will most likely deliver the second week of January. I don't think Rusnak has bad information or is misrepresenting. This is just what they've been told by their region representative. We all know that BMW may extend the program. It's just an issue I'd rather not deal with. What is , is!

I plan to buy the car regardless, and enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed my other 18 BMW's.

Looks like someone is getting rich on these BMW financing approvals to "lock-in" eco! And I bet it isn't BMW. The dealer will certainly get a cut but it can't be that much:dunno: Like somone else said, all these loopholes and funny business is tarnishing the BMW brand.

Not a problem, I kind a thought so but decided to address your point anyway since it allowed for spelling out what I believe is the situation.

Hope Rusnak does turn out to be wrong, realizes it soon and doubles the eco credit for cpiguy out of their own pocket for jerking his chain.

spacey :D

I would LOVE to see THAT happen ROFL!!

cpiguy,

I suppose there is a possibility that their information is correct in absolute terms. You are correct, it looks like my timeframe may be shorter than yours for delivery, which may be the reason why there is no problem w/eco credit. I did consider that, but it still sounds very unlikely to me mainly because all financial offers by BMW have been (at least for the past 15 years) good as of the date of contract signing/lock in/order placing etc. NOT based on delivery date. They have had the 60 day (or longer) lock for as long as I can remember, and the few occasions that delivery has been stretched past that window - as is usually the case w/cars ordered from germany (90 days usually from order to delivery in US) - they have been more than happy to extend the lock if it takes a little longer for the delivery than the lock allows. So... its been a long standing policy to say the least. What Rusnak is saying would indicate a drastic change in that policy, w/very unpleasant effects for its customers at a time when auto industry is in the doldrums. While I am not saying it's not possible it just sounds not very likely to me. Another thing is, if what they say is true, people who place orders during December will all get excluded from the eco credit if they get deliveries (which is most likely) some time after 1/4... no?

spacey :D

cpiguy,

Spoke w/my sales rep again, got the VIN# for the car - sweeet. But also bounced some ideas off him about your predicament.

1st what appears to be happening lately is that a lot of dealers have been pushing back on their orders. Meaning that apparently everyone got as many allocations as possible in the beginning but now that they haven't sold enough cars to fill them they are delaying the production for unsold slots. This in turn results in shorter waiting times for production for the people who actualy want their cars. This would mean that your production date could possibly be closer than originally planned, thus speeding up delivery, thus resolving the problem w/eco credit.

2nd, he has confirmed yet again that the terms of an order (i.e. eco credit) is good for at least the lock in period (of 60 days) from the date of order/run through BMW FS (even if you pay cash). So that means that as long as you order the car by 1/3 or so you are locked in w/eco credit unless for some reason your car doesn't get delivered for a period of much longer than 60 days. That would put the delivery to be past the end of February for any shadyness to even be possible.

3rd... even if there is problem w/the eco credit due to the 60 day lock-in expiration, which as I said just sounds very fishy because they normally extend them to accomodate customers... how about this brainy idea - have them re-order the car now or in December... :genius: so you effectively re-set the 60 day lock-in clock. Say you don't want this car, you want a new order w/the eco-credit delivered within 60 days. It will just happen to have the same options as your previous one...

my $0.02... either way this should not be an issue...

spacey :D

from my dealer, (Paul Miller NJ).... states that as long as you get your car before 12/31... you qualify for the eco-credit...

My guess? BMW doesn't ever want to admit they made a mistake. So rather than reduce the MSRP price of the diesel, they will keep the credit and deals going until March, when the twin-turbo gasoline engine might become the base engine for the US X5's. At that point, they'll raise the base price, using the twin-turbo engine as a rationale, and leave the Diesel price alone, making the diesel premium lower.

Just a wild guess, but BMW really hates to "eat crow" and ever admit they are wrong about something, so they will be searching for someway to reduce the Diesel premium, while retaining "plausible deniability!"

Get the car as in order the car or actually take the delivery or buy one off the lot...? Hmmm... actually now I can start seeing a sinister reason for someone to say that you have to get it before 12/31 ... they might want to try to get you into one on their lot... sounds exactly like something a car dealer would do, especially if they ordered too many for stock and can't sell them all now.

In any case... I am more than happy to share my sales guy's contanct info if anyone is interested in ordering a car and not having to take a delivery before 12/31.

spacey :D

Thanks for all the feedback guys. My problem still remains the delivery date, which fall into January. Rusnak is sold out on every single deisel, and has been for several months. I had to wait 3 weeeks for allocation to open to get my name on an order. BTW, I've bought 10 cars from them in the last 6 years. 4 of them were for my kids. So I realy know these guys.

I guess we'll see how it plays out, but I think people talking delivery in January may be in trouble.

My case could be a proof point for your first category. I ordered in late October. Got build # and all. The dealer told me delivery in Mid-January. I called BMW a couple of days ago. They told me my car is likely to get built next week and will likely be delivered by mid December. It does appear that the production lines are moving faster.

Allright you guys, now I am confused.

If I acquire financing elsewhere (and well under 5.9%), can I officially still get the eco credit?

Obviously I can show up to close the deal with a check in hand from another bank, but I want to make sure I will still get the $4500.

$4,500 is all yours.....bring em a check from anywhere........it's not linked to BMW finance

Its all yours as long as you order before 1/4 as of current offer status, and based on my information and BMW's long standing policies (which cpiguy will dispute based on his dealings w/his dealer of many years) you get 60 day lock for all terms including the eco credit. They will probably still want to run your info through BMW FS, not sure why that is but they do even if you tell them that you have your own financing. At least my dealer did. But the eco credit is not dependent on financing through BMW FS. IOW, you can finance the car however you want and you still get the credit.

spacey :D

cpiguy,

Out of curiosity, I don't remember you mentioning and I am too lazy to go back and re-read all the posts, sorry... when did you place your order? I placed mine on 10/19.

spacey :D

no, 12/31 is the date you have to pick the car up by.... Paul Miller doesnt have any 2010 on their lot.... you have to order it.... Im not sure about the other dealers that have the 2010 on the lot though...

Well here's my eco-credit story...

Today I spoke with the CA that sold us our Build to Order 35d in Aug (i.e. during eco-credit round 1). He says that they had already sold all their 35d allocations through the end of 2009. Now they have been told the eco credit has been extended though 1/4/10 and provided with a sales video instructing them to keep selling build to order 35Ds right up to the end of the year. His interpretation is that this means that the order must be placed, not built, not delivered, just ordered.

His take on the requirement for applying for BMW Financing is just to be sure the people ordering 35Ds are serious and able to pay for the X5. As I have already posted, we applied for BMW financing to 'lock in the eco-credit" but actually paid cash at delivery. We were upfront about this. He new at the time of the order that had no intention of financing the 35d.

He also says that the eco-credit has really increased interest in the BMW diesels by people who he wouldn't ordinarily think of as a likely diesel buyer.

BTW they had several 2010 X5s on their lot -- but not a single 35d in the foreseeable future :)

If I were BMW I would keep the eco-credit going as long as this keeps working. The more diesels they sell, the better their CAFE gets. And the more likely that they can introduce more diesel models to improve their CAFE even more. For BMW building diesels is a lot easier, and less risky, than building hybrids, since they have been building diesels for decades.

Funf Dreisig

Within a day of you.

+1, but I also think that if this diesel thing takes off.... BMW also has a way to get greedy and lift that eco-credit off. Its a silly game they're playing if you ask me.... BMW should be more up front with their pricing. If they want to charge $4500 more... do so in the following model year and see if the people bite or not....

Question is how long will the $1800 IRS deduction be available. Its does have a limit.

Do we know for sure at this point that it's still $1800 and not $900 as the BMW site says?

spacey :D

The BMW website says its $900

My bet is the website is wrong; however, we won't know for sure until the IRS posts the numbers.

2010 Advanced Lean-Burn Vehicles

Not that I know what to believe at this point, but as of yesterday I was told that the purchase has to happen by Jan. 4th and delivery has to take place by Feb. 1st. to be eligible for the EO credit.

I know, I know, we've all recieved different info from our trusted dealers. At this point, I'm just going to assume that I'll be eligible until I'm told otherwise.

In the mean time, another thing that's interesting is that I placed my order on the Oct. 16th, which was confirmed by BMW on the 18th, and I still do not have a production date. I know a number of you do.

Weird. :dunno::dunno::dunno:

It does sound weird... it's got to be something between Rusnak and BMW NA, allocations, punishment ;) ... not sure... or could be regional, say California has a certain number of allocations and if other dealers get the orders in 1st they win... my bet is (and of course sincerely wish it for you) you are going to be fine. The Feb 1 delivery requirement sounds as screwy as 12/31 did before to me. Unless BMW sales numbers turn around 180 degrees in the next month or two so they are up by 50% or something I just can't believe they would mess w/people who placed orders in Oct... even if their production slot is getting delayed (certainly not due to your doing). Even if it's something the dealer messed/is messing up I'd still think the deal will be honored. BTW, did you get an order document w/the ECO credit calculated in by any chance? Can you get it from your sales guy if you haven't? I got a pretty straight forward order w/$4500 credit calculated in, so just as another member mentioned, that's the deal I was offered and if anybody tries to alter that (unless they want to reduce the price of course ;) I will refuse, or not take the car and make a big stink about it - which would be completely justified. I understand that your situation is a little more complicated if the sales guy is your friend and the dealership a big client of yours...

spacey :D

I never get any paperwork when I order my cars. This is about the 40th car I've order this way and have never had an issue. As you know, the deals not the deal until you take delivery. You can always walk away, and they can always hike the price. Just took delivery of my M3 without any idea of what the deal would be until it got here. Turns out I got about as good a deal as I think is possible on a new 2010 M3. $600 over invoice.

Thanks for the positive wishes. This is my 4th X5, and I'm sure it will work itself out.

I have been informed that purchase has to happen before Jan 4th and delivery before Feb 28th.

My Dealer is telling me $4500 eco-credit expires 12/31/09 period. (BMW dealer just outside of San Francisco)

Who knows...

Assuming the rumors are true of a March, 2010 launch of the 2011 MY X5, I suspect BMW NA will extend the eco credit for all remaining 2010 production which are Priority 1 orders (orders which have a name on them, rather than for dealer inventory). It would seem a bit odd to yank a major incentive for a model in the last two months of production.

Of course, if BMW NA plans to do this, they will not tell their dealers ahead of time, because just as a dealer wants selling pressure on vehicle buyers (better buy now before the incentive is gone), BMW NA want pressure on their dealers to sell now, not tomorrow.

But that's just speculation on my part.

I know! This is easy. It's officially here on BMWUSA's website:
* Eco Credit is a $4,500 credit against the MSRP of the final purchase of the 335d and X5 xDrive35d Advanced Diesel through 1/4/2010.

Although I couldn't find anything that says anything about a delivery deadline date. I would go with what LeMans says.

The dealers I spoke to when I was ordering mine that the ECO credit was good if you ordered in time and they had a production slot available.

Chuck

No delivery deadline, but a contract deadline of 12/31/09. Meaning you must have VIN# and a signed contract. The delivery is separate and apart. You may still sign the contract and take advantage of the credit, without having taken physical delivery of the car.

Signed contract or order placed? I'd just be concerned with signing a purchase agreement on a vehicle that I've not seen or driven. Anyone else have this concern?

Of course. Just read the contract and make sure it is fully cancellable.

I've never seen a new car purchase agreement that cannot be canceled prior to car delivery.

Are you seeing non- cancellable agreements, or "non-refundable" deposits??

Jan 4, 2010?
BMW North America

No, I haven't seen those either. With all the confusion over this issue, I just wanted to clarify this point. Thank you for doing so.

Extended to 3/1/2010. So everyone has time now.

:thumbup: BMW North America

Order by 3/1/2010 and delivery by 4/30/2010. Interesting to see how it will work for 2011 models starting in spring. ;)

Heard that you can get a 2011 335d with $4500 credit. Any diesel X5 buyers trying for LCI 2011 X5 with $4500 credit?;)