[moogoo541]

Ok heres the situation, gonna custom order a 325i white w/ black interior, navigation and comfort access for my gf... now i know i have to put a deposit but how much is the deposit and do i negotiate a purchase price then or after the car arrives? and reading some post, the general concensus is that in california 3-series are going for 800-1500 over invoice. soo any input will help. thx.

[blackie]

I would hav ethe final price sorted way before the car is ordered and comes in. Once it's in the dealer will feel he's in a strong position. As long as you have ALL the money and have not committed to anything then you hold all the cards and can walk to another dealer to get a better price.

Finalise the price BEFORE you pay a deposit. Look at it like you're saying "Okay, we've agreed on a config and price and here's some money down to let you know I'm serious about going through with it".

As for actual price and amount of deposit: I'll let others say what they paid in Cali.

[LarryK1000]

You make the deal right now.

You secure the price and terms. If you are going to lease it, you will get the monthly payment (including tax) and the drive off.

In Los Angeles, the cars are going for about $1,200 over Invoice. They add some extra charges in certain markets (Mutual Advertising (MACO) and Training Fee ($180 in L.A.). I don't know if they have these in Canada.

If you go the the ROADFLY forums, there is one that deals in lease terms. Get the current residual values and interest rates (Money Factor). They don't have to give you these Money Factors, but you can negotiate harder knowing the best they can give.

They should give you a printed readout of the deal that you can take with you.

I have mine and it says everything about my deal.

Good luck.

Larry

[rchanou]

Negotiate a purchase price first and play the dealers.

[shimshimhada]

Regarding the deposit...make sure you don't deposit more than $1,000. If you can, only put down $500.

[xcalibr]

I've done two orders at Fremont BMW. If you're in the Bay Area, I would highly recommend them. My first deal wasn't so great (ordered last May when the car first came out, so stuck close to MSRP), but my second was just under $700 over invoice. I helped my friend get a car off the lot through the same dealer for only $350 over invoice.

The two orders both required a $1000 deposit. Depending on how unique your order is, they may or may not require the deposit to be non-refundable. You work out all the pricing and terms first, before putting the deposit down.

Are you getting MT for your gf? For automatic, the options you listed seem to be pretty common, and I'm sure are available off the lot at some dealers.

[CALIF65GM]

Always put the deposit on a credit card, in case the dealer tries to bend you over later. You can always dispute the charge then. In CA, the deposit is fully refundable by law.

I'm curious wouldn't your g-friend like one of the new 328s coming in Sept.?

[moogoo541]

wow thx for the responses, k got it, 328 gonna be out of price range, so shes planning to put 20k down n finance the rest to get a lower monthly payment.. is that smart? lotta ppl telling us to lease the car but she insists on purchasing it. so i guess here in so cal, gonna be in the 1000-1500 over invoice area.

[xcalibr]

DO NOT LEASE. well.. if you want to lease, you can... here's the trade-off...

if you buy, you have resale value that you can at least recover some cost. your monthly payments may be higher. if you lease, you have lower payments, but you don't ever actually own the car --if you want to own the car, you pay the residual at the end, and you end up paying out a whole lot more. in the long run, a car is a liability NOT an asset, no matter how you look at it. you stand to LOSE money either way. you'll lose less money buying than leasing because the monthly payments of financing can be recovered (less depreciation). The lease payments are just like throwing cash away (unless the car depreciates at greater a rate than your payments are... so if your payment is $400/mo, then the car depreciates greater than $400/mo).

If you can get a lower interest rate, you should finance more of it, as you can throw the money you didn't put down into another investment (i.e. a house, or any other investment with a yield rate > finance rate). A 60 month finance with 20k down (assume financing around $20k) makes her payment around $360? a month at about 6%. Something like that.

Just remember when you go in to make the deal, start from invoice and go up from there. Just be ready to be able to walk away from them. CA will almost always call you back a couple days or a week later when they really need another sale... and they realize you really don't absolutely need to buy from them. That's when they're ready to make you a killer offer. Good luck!

[mds82]

hell i'd date you if you bought me a new car... j/k

[nanpenyo]

I put $500 deposit down for a $43,995 330xi order.

[PSUBALL10]

I also only had to put $500 down on my 330 xi order.