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Smart Shopper European Delivery Experiences, Advice and Info
251 messages, Last post on Jul 13, 2008 at 5:01 PM
You are in the Smart Shopper Forum. Your Hosts are kirstie_h & tidester
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rstef, According to the San Jose Mercury News, I was wrong in post 23, VW/Audi does have a European delivery program (Jaguar, too). But I wouldn't call that a reliable source, check with a dealer. dranoel. Thanks for the advice on driving the Autobahn. I've driven it before and know that when some guy in an S500 comes roaring by you at 160 mph you feel like cowering under the dash board. Dkatlanta, Do you know if you are actually buying the car from BMW Germany or from your dealer. Just curious how your dealer can offer a discount. MB dealers can't discount because you are buying the car from MB in Germany and the dealer is getting a commission. Oh, if this is confusing, I used to be Omar2 before I was killed off by the myterious Edumunds log in system. |
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fronobulax, I haven't seen much paperwork yet, so I'm not certain how the formal transaction differs from a typical sale. The salesman mentioned that the "certificate of origin" will be in my name when the vehicle enters the US. My guess is that I'm dealing directly with BMW, but that the dealership's commission is large enough to permit the "discount." |
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I'm interested in European Delivery of a BMW 323i or 328i. I read everything on the BMW web site and called five BMW dealers in WA state today. As usual they all had slightly different stories: 4 out of 5 said that for 99 there is NO import duty of 2.7% that has to be paid separately - it is included in the ED MSRP price on the BMW web site. They said that this price includes everything except state sales tax, license, and title fees. So it includes the car, ED insurance, shipping the car back, and duties. One dealer (who seemed the least competent on the phone) said they still charge the 2.7% at time of delivery back here in the states. Two said they "can't discount from the ED MSRP." They said they are "just go-betweens between BMW corp and have no ability to change the price." Three others said they could negotiate a lower price, but all said that their margins between invoice and MSRP are much lower with ED - one mentioned that on a 740i which has a $7400 margin on their lot, they only have a $4500 margin with ED. So all three hinted that they would do maybe $500-$750 off ED MSRP, but a couple closed with the typical "we want to earn your business" line. On trade-ins, they all were consistent in that they wanted any trade-in at the time that the deal "closed" which has to be at least 30-days before the delivery date in Munich. As to the ticklish problem of how to agree on a trade-in price now and then trade-in a month or two later, they all hedged. They all said they needed to have some flexibility to "revise their trade-in price" due to depreciation and "unanticipated market changes" but seemed to all say they wanted to avoid any reductions in trade-in value except for unusual circumstances. They all agreed that they would refund the deposit on an ordered car if we couldn't come to agreement on a revised trade-in value. All agreed that the sales tax would be charged on the difference between the new car price and the trade-in value. This is a big deal in WA state as our sales tax is nearly 8.7%. I'll hit three of the five dealers this next week and see what they'll do in person. If anybody has any tips or ideas, please drop me a line. - Mark |
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Mark, Until recently, import duty wasn't included in BMW's ED prices, but it is now, hence the confusion at one of the dealerships. The only way to get the best possible discount is to force the dealerships to price compete. That means telling each dealership about the best deal you've been offered from any other dealership and giving each a chance to do better. It will take several rounds of doing this until you know for sure everyone's lowest price. If you're willing to take the time to create this kind of competition, you should end up learning the lowest price that each is willing to sell the car at; in order words the price at which each says, "If I accept any less profit on this transaction, it's not worth going through with the transaction at all." This being said, dealership "experience" is an important factor in any car purchase, particularly in a European Delivery transaction (which is drawn out over time) and you might decide it's worth paying a bit more in order to work with a sales rep who has been extra generous with his or her time, particularly honest with you, or just especially nice. If you find a sales rep like this, find out the best price among all the local dealerships and then give him or her a chance to match it. Trading in your car is nothing more than selling it to the dealership for its wholesale price. You shouldn't expect anyone to commit in advance to buying a used car at a fixed price. Sounds like they're just trying to find polite ways to say this to you. Remember, something like 2 months may pass between the time you have to pay for your 323 and the time it arrives in the US; you may need you existing car until then. Perhaps you would want to keep your existing car until the new one arrives, and then sell it yourself. If you can sell it for more than 8.7% above wholesale (which is the most you can expect from a dealership), you'll be ahead of the game. |
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dkAtlanta, Thanks for your comments. In looking at the numbers further, I agree with you about not trading in and selling my car privately. If I trade, I am pinned down to local dealers (none of which have been particularly helpful or sound interested in my car), have the problem of re-appraisal problem from the time I order until the deal closes, and I'm out of a car for at least 30-days before I pick it up the new car in Europe and six-or-so weeks when I get back. With just a cash deal, I keep it the new car deal dead simple and can work with any dealer within a day's driving distance. I also can sell my old car whenever I want. I wonder if the squeeze on new car margins has made trade-ins the primary profit center for dealers, thus the need for very high margins in this area of their business. - Mark |
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i am trying to find out some info on buying a BMW in germany and then having it sent back to the US. with the exchange rates the way they are, i would imagine that you could get a pretty good deal going to a dealer in munich, paying in germany marcs, and having it sent back to the US. if anyone has any experience with this and is familiar with the ins and outs, pls post a message. thanks, jag98 |
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jag98, I know that BMW has a European Delivery program that allows consumers to arrange European delivery of an American spec vehicle, and eventually bring it back to this country. BMW's official Euro delivery program does provide a discount off of U.S. prices. This does not sound like the sort of arrangement that you were writing about, though. I have a feeling that you may run into trouble trying to bring a Euro Spec BMW back into the United States. You may end up having to make modifications to it to make it street legal here. Your Host |
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| I believe you would end up with a nightmare situation. It is possible to do what you suggest, but the paperwork, posting of bond, US DOT modification required before you could title the car,would make the whole process very difficult.I believe there is a web site for the US DOT that will give you all the requirements. I took factory delivery of a US spec Mercedes last September and had absolutely no problems--to me it is the slickest way to go. dranoel | |
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| Also, your car may not be warrantied by BMW USA. | |
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Car Man, dranoel, fonobulax Thanks for the input. It sounds like more of a headache than its worth. The next best alternative sounds like the Eurpean delivery. I'll look into that. Thanks again. |
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