[astra]

Originally Posted by AnthonyB

...Of course, one of the reasons BMW's retain their value better than some other makes is because they discount less. I learnt that the hard way with Peugeot back in the UK!!

Cheers,

Anthony..
PS - Hi all, just signed up prior to ordering an AW 325i Sport :
PPS - Having read this thread, now I understand why I didn't think much of Alto!

i think it has alot to do with retaining a certian "exclusivity" and "prestige" when they don't discount

and welcome to the forum, i hoe it can be enlightening for you, as it already has been once lol

[VGR00]

Originally Posted by astra

i think it has alot to do with retaining a certian "exclusivity" and "prestige" when they don't discount

[/I] lol

And so BMW Australia and the dealer networks can afford to fund events like Fascionation 3 held recently.

And speaking of events, I just recived an email from my dealer to an invite on Wed 10th October night to their Brisbane launch of the M3. I'll be there!!!!

[AndDee]

I haven't stopped thinking about the car since the test drive.. The bug has hit me I think.

The partner not exactly happy about me spending 100k+ on a car, she tries to tell me I could get 2 very nice cars for that figure.

My response is I am still getting 2 cars, a 335i and a base model Suby Impreza

[astra]

if it is all you have thought about, then maybee it is the right car for you i wouldn't buy something that pricey unless i felt strongly about it - why i bought mine lol

[AndDee]

It's very close to being the right care for me, I want a changeover price of $70k and then I will be happy.

Current car is valued at $35k-$41k
Expected 335i price is $110k

So around 70-74 and I am happy enough....

[BBQWER]

I dont think you can get 335i price at $110k.

[AndDee]

Originally Posted by BBQWER

I dont think you can get 335i price at $110k.

Well so far I was quoted 121k, with 19inch wheels, I will go down to the 18inch, that will bring it back to 120k

Sunroof - Maybe keep it if not $2500, so that's already 117k

Aiming for 10% off RRP, expecting as per various posts on here 4-6% off.

[BBQWER]

are we talking about 335i coupe ? if yes, standard 335i coupe must be around $117k on road cost

[AndDee]

Yes 335i coupe, quoted 121k onroad, as per the demo vehicle which had sunroof and 19inch wheels.

I really dislike the whole process of "shopping around" it wastes everyones time and is not a liked process.

Buying electrical goods used to be my other dislike, but now I know an owner of a major electrical store, cost price comes easy

[astra]

Originally Posted by AndDee

Yes 335i coupe, quoted 121k onroad, as per the demo vehicle which had sunroof and 19inch wheels.

I really dislike the whole process of "shopping around" it wastes everyones time and is not a liked process.

Buying electrical goods used to be my other dislike, but now I know an owner of a major electrical store, cost price comes easy

you won't get it for $110,000...

shopping for a car is one of the fun parts

[AndDee]

Originally Posted by astra

you won't get it for $110,000...

shopping for a car is one of the fun parts

Yes I know I think 115 will be close to what I get, as long as the tradein price is around 33-35K though then they have a sale

Fun..... :sad0147::sad0147:

[Chris.G]

Good luck either way

[VGR00]

Originally Posted by AndDee

Yes I know I think 115 will be close to what I get, as long as the tradein price is around 33-35K though then they have a sale

Fun..... :sad0147::sad0147:

Good luck with the deal!!!. BTW ... what are you trading in?

[AndDee]

Thanks and thanks

2004 MY05 Subaru GT Liberty,

The Subaru has been perfect 110,000kms on it and not one problem with it will be very sad to see it go, was my first Subaru and I feel like a traitor, but I will still have another Suby as my other car, as I am going to purchase a base model Impreza as well for a "daily driver". No way I am leaving my BMW in a train station or shopping centre (well for the first few months anyways) I also need the Suby for snow trips in Winter.

Redbook, which seems to undervalue cars...:
Trade in price guide* $30,300 - $33,300
National average price - private sale* $35,700 - $39,100

[VGR00]

You are probably going to be better off trying to sell the car private. Dealers and wholesalers are not going to be kind to you since the car has 110,000Klm. Car can be in absolute stunning condition but they will use that to greatly devalue your trade in. Their guide to good Klms on a buy is based on 15,000klms per year. It's amasing how they turn that into 25,000klms per year when you are a buyer of a second hand car.

Don't get discouraged by what they offer as there is always a buyer for everything out there. Generally, if they concede on giving you a discount on the list price, you suffer on the trade in valuation and vice versa. Nothing new here I know.

Selling privatly will enable you to negotiate a better discount on the price of the new car while you will also maximise return on the outgoing car. I had to do this for this latest car I purchased and my net financial gain over trading it in was $13K. Good luck with it.

[BBQWER]

Originally Posted by vgr02

Selling privatly will enable you to negotiate a better discount on the price of the new car while you will also maximise return on the outgoing car. I had to do this for this latest car I purchased and my net financial gain over trading it in was $13K. Good luck with it.

absolutely agree with this, selling private will be good for you. same situation i feel 2 weeks ago, car dealer offer $25k, and finally i sold my car $30k. thats a lot. but selling private might give a headache and hassle

[AndDee]

vrg02 and BBQWER: All good points, at the end of the day the changeover prive is what matters

For a few thousand $ I wouldn't be bothered selling the car privately, having people come around to test drive it etc etc, having them bargain with me for a better deal, time to think about it etc etc.

We'll see what i get offered on Wednesday, then off to another dealership next week.

I'll see if they do the ring back with a better price

[AndDee]

I am now going to say that DONCASTER BMW be added to the black list and do NOT deserve any business from us here!

Today the salesperson (who will remain nameless on here) was meant to call me to confirm the extended test drive for tomorrow. I gave him to 5pm to call and nothing! I should have taken this as a hint that his service was a joke and left it, but I thought I would ring to see if he was at work today etc.

There is no reason why he should have forgotton to call me, I saw him write it in his diary for today to call me! 335i Coupe with 18inch wheels. He promised me that he could get me a 335i Coupe with 18inch wheels for the day instead of 19 and I quote "wheels only take a few mins to change, that's too easy"

I spoke to reception, she indicated that he was in and working today, so I thought I would just speak to someone else who actually cared about a sale. I spoke to another gentlemen who took my name and said he would arrange a car 335i for tomorrow and call me back. I made it quite clear I didn't want the original salesperson to call me back, he agreed. However the original salesperson calls me back and the following occured:

Hi Andrew, this is ***** from BMW DONCASTER, in regards to your test drive tomororow I have spoken to the Sales Manager (Yeah Right) and we have this arranged for you (Sounded good so far) This dealership, is not prepared to change the wheels to 17inch for you.... I interupted and said I never wanted 17 but rather 18" standard wheels fitted, and also said that aparently I could order the car without the lowered suspension, to which he had not heard of this. He continued and this is the best part, remembering that I was after a 335i Coupe!!

He said I can take out a 325i with 17inch wheels for tomorrow and see how I like it. At this stage I had enough of his pathetic and clueless customer service skills. I asked him why would I want to test drive a 325i when I am interested in the 335i.... He came back to me and said well it will give you a good comparison to the 335i you drove last week. I reminded him that the turbo died 1/2 way through that test drive, so I didn't get much of a feel for it. He started to ramble again, so I told him he needs to learn alot more about selling skills and not to downgrade a customer into a car they don't want. Also told him he should go back to the other dealership where he used to work, as perhaps the customers there may appreciate his lack of customer service skills, then I hung up.

Sorry for the long rant but pathetic customer service skill from DONCASTER BMW from two salepeople and aparently the Sales Manager, who didn't authorise putting the standard wheels on the 335i for me so that I could see if it would handle my driveway

I will also add the other points about my initial test drive, which I was happy enough to overlook

The salesperson fell asleep in the back seat of the car while I was driving, not a good look

The turbo died 1/2 way through and "check engine, reduced throttle" warning light came on, the salesperson did nothing to defend this, and just acted dumb, even when prompted he just said "probably a chip malfunction"

He made me drive it to the service department where I saw the head service tech, have a look at the light, told him to restart the car and then said if it happens agian let him know. Fantastic service skills there on a car with 50km on it. I have no reason to get my car serviced there EVER!

Left my partner and myself to walk around while he took the car for another test to see if the warning light came on again, without even telling us he was doing that. I should have walked off then, but he had my car key for my trade in...

While looking at X3/X5's outside he just walked back inside and left us standing outside and expected us to just follow him, of course we had to open the door ourselves.

I was happy enough to overlook all of this until today, but now it needs to be raised.

For anyone looking for a new BMW do not go to DONCASTER BMW

[e93]

Originally Posted by AndDee

My first post here be nice
Considering purchasing a 335i coupe, only problem is my driveway has a very steep section at the start and some cars scrape their rear when coming up it.

My current 2005 GT Suby Liberty GT will drag the tow points if I have heavy stuff in the boot when driving up

Fingers crossed the 335i doesn't have that problem, from brief looks the rear is not that low so I may be okay

Going to start the shopping around process soon in Melbourne.

Such a frustrating process, so based on other peoples experiences in here, 10% off the list price can be expected if I play my cards right ?

Originally Posted by AndDee

Off to Doncaster today, they didn't seem too enthaused about an extended test drive. Will explain to them that I need more time to get a good feel for the car, if they dont want to do that, off to another dealership

Originally Posted by AndDee

It's very close to being the right care for me, I want a changeover price of $70k and then I will be happy.

Current car is valued at $35k-$41k
Expected 335i price is $110k

So around 70-74 and I am happy enough....

Originally Posted by AndDee

Yes 335i coupe, quoted 121k onroad, as per the demo vehicle which had sunroof and 19inch wheels.

I really dislike the whole process of "shopping around" it wastes everyones time and is not a liked process.

Buying electrical goods used to be my other dislike, but now I know an owner of a major electrical store, cost price comes easy

Originally Posted by AndDee

Yes I know I think 115 will be close to what I get, as long as the tradein price is around 33-35K though then they have a sale

Fun..... :sad0147::sad0147:

Originally Posted by AndDee

Thanks and thanks

2004 MY05 Subaru GT Liberty,

The Subaru has been perfect 110,000kms on it and not one problem with it will be very sad to see it go, was my first Subaru and I feel like a traitor, but I will still have another Suby as my other car, as I am going to purchase a base model Impreza as well for a "daily driver". No way I am leaving my BMW in a train station or shopping centre (well for the first few months anyways) I also need the Suby for snow trips in Winter.

Redbook, which seems to undervalue cars...:
Trade in price guide* $30,300 - $33,300
National average price - private sale* $35,700 - $39,100

Originally Posted by AndDee

vrg02 and BBQWER: All good points, at the end of the day the changeover prive is what matters

For a few thousand $ I wouldn't be bothered selling the car privately, having people come around to test drive it etc etc, having them bargain with me for a better deal, time to think about it etc etc.

We'll see what i get offered on Wednesday, then off to another dealership next week.

I'll see if they do the ring back with a better price

So you want above market for the trade, you want to screw the dealer on the price, your gonna shop till you drop, you figure they should give you a $120K car for a day (why not a week?). Then you expect the sales guy to bend over and meet your every demand and your pissed because they didn't open the door for you? MMMmmm - and they have a long waiting list on this car don't they? Then you tell the guy basically how to suck eggs and suggest he shove his service skills up his arse!

Man - I can't understand why they don't chase you down the road dropping the price (and their pants) every 10 metres. Totally stumped

[AndDee]

e93: Thanks for your help, perhaps you should go for a job at Doncaster, your skills would fit right in!!

I am sure that 99% of people would expect the following when purchasing a new car:

Expect a fair price for a trade in, add to that the trade in price they gave me was for a 2004 model not a 2005 model, they even stuffed that up

Expect a deal and NOT RRP for any car, I dont care if its a 9.900 Daewoo or a 120K BMW, RRP is bullshit

Waiting list is not that long anymore

Have a decent test drive. BMW are very generous on this, just not this dealership. I have rung another dealership just before close today and they offered me a 335i for a two day test drive if needed, that is fairly common practice if they are serious about a sale. There are various other posts on here and other forums where you can easily get most BMW's for a two day test drive over a weekend. I just want one day and your saying that's not normal. Please.... if I was asking for a 7 series for a day, I can understand that, but its only a 335i. There is even an example is this thread on the first few pages of Doncaster BMW offering a 325i coupe for the weekend. So as I said it's pretty standard.

I would also like you to point out ANY great selling/customer service skills the dealer has show me, I will remind you of the following:

Incorrect trade in price, wrong year of car, he didn't even talk about changeover price until I prompted him to tell me how much he valued my car at. This is after he spent 5 mins looking at my car writing down stuff, then came back and just looked up redbook.

Fell asleep in the test drive

Did nothing to defend the turbo dying on a test drive

The service tech just said re-start the engine, yeah great fix

Drove off to re-test the car leaving us standing around the car yard

Walked off inside while we were still looking an an X3 as the girlfriend is intersted in one of those. Heck every other car salesperson won't leave you alone for more than 2 seconds and will gladly hold every door open for you, expect the one to go home, unless you have signed a contract

Didn't call today like he said he would, until I prompted him

Assured me last week he could get me a 335i with 18inch standard wheels, rings today and offers me an 325i with 17inch. Don't make a promise you can't deliver. Very basic sales skills there.


I am sure that everyone except yourself can see where I am coming from.

I forgot to mention the key point where he lost interest in the sale, when I said I wasn't interested in any of their finance packages. I think they have assumed that as I am young I am not serious about purchasing and/or don't have the cash to go through with it. That is a very common theme in any sale environment.

Actually re-reading this whole thread, it seems that the Sales Manager at Doncaster BMW is an arrogant prick, at least 3 seperate people have been told RRP is the best price and gone elsewhere and gotton a discount!

Should have read this thread earlier before going down there!

[e93]

AndDee - the point I'm making is "what goes round comes round".

Suggest your expectations may be too high - your not buying a friggin Rolls Royce here mate.

I'm sure the dealer sabotaged the engine on you. Yeh - that explains it.

Good luck with your BMW purchase. Hope there is a faultless dealer somewhere who meets all your expectations.

[AndDee]

I have had far better service at Toyota twice before, Subaru once before, whereas Honda and now BMW were pathetic.

I know it all comes down to one person, to tarnish that location, and seriously it was pathetic and this team member has let the team down. The best part is the Customer Relations Officer emailed me today to see how I was progressing with my thoughts on the car. So may shoot off an email to him.

Who said anything about sabbotage ? I was stating that if I was the salesperson with a customer driving and the turbo dies, I would be re-assuring the customer much more than "I dunno, I'll get the service guy to have a look at it"

As for "what goes around comes around" I haven't asked much of the salesperson. I didn't even talk about price on the day he gave me RRP we both agreed to talk about price tomorrow after the day long test drive. To ring me and offer me a 325i test drive is pointless!

I don't expect faultless service, I would give this guy at Doncaster 1/10, I am happy with 8/10

Will report back tomororw on the next dealership I go to and if they are serious about the sale. If I get the feeling they are sensing the "too young" thing again may have to drop the Platinum Amex and a wad of cash and see if that picks up their game. Its worked before