BMW military sales

[Jim123]

I was in the office for about 20 minutes, ordered a custom built BMW for straight-up invoice price and walked out... no haggling, no pressure.

But... but... the part I enjoy best about car shopping is the salesman, who actually knows less about the car than I learned in a few hours of my own research, giving me the song and dance about why I should pay extra for the "protection package," randomly hitting giant buttons on his giant calculator while scribbling numbers on a piece of paper and telling me what kind of car I can afford, how great his dealer's factory trained mechanics are and how there is free coffee in the waiting area, and of course the sweetest part of the deal, that "complimentary first tank of gas."

 

[phrogpilot73]

But... but... the part I enjoy best about car shopping is the salesman, who actually knows less about the car than I learned in a few hours of my own research, giving me the song and dance about why I should pay extra for the "protection package," randomly hitting giant buttons on his giant calculator while scribbling numbers on a piece of paper and telling me what kind of car I can afford, how great his dealer's factory trained mechanics are and how there is free coffee in the waiting area, and of course the sweetest part of the deal, that "complimentary first tank of gas."

Neat story about that... When I bought my Subaru, I had done the research and knew what price I was willing to pay. I walked into the dealership (because a car-search website told me they had one with the features I wanted on the lot), and I asked the first guy that approached me about it (because I didn't see it). It was parked at a local softball field for advertising reasons (new model year), so we agreed that I would drive the salesman over, he'd drive my Nissan back to the showroom, and I'd drive the Subaru. On the way to the softball field we started shooting the breeze. He had just gotten out of the Marine Corps (it was Jacksonville, NC after all), and used to be a mechanic in HMLA-167. I had deployed in the past with 167, so we shot the shit about guys we both knew, told sea stories, etc for the 15 minutes to the softball field. After the drive back, I decided I wanted the car and walked in and told him it was time to talk turkey.

We walked into his office and he said "I don't feel like playing the game today. How much do you want to pay?" I told him the price that I had figured out ($500 over invoice), and he left to talk to his manager. He came back and said - "They didn't bite, but here's how it works - we're going to sit here pretending to negotiate, I'll approach them every 10-15 minutes with some made up number, get told no, and come back here. Once I get them down to your price, we'll do the paperwork." We spent the entire time telling sea stories and just shooting the shit, and every 10-15 minutes he'd say excuse me, and go to his managers. I only ever named the price that I wanted to pay, and he came back with paperwork for my price. It was the most painless experience ever. And I got free oil changes for life!

 

[Scoob]

Do it. Got the M3 at $10K under the average price in Jax, and $5K under USAA quote. Add to that no sales tax, if you take delivery overseas and own it long enough before returning to US (varies by state), and no destination charge.

 

[jarhead]

Do it. Got the M3 at $10K under the average price in Jax, and $5K under USAA quote. Add to that no sales tax, if you take delivery overseas and own it long enough before returning to US (varies by state), and no destination charge.

Scoob, did you have to pay the Gas Guzzler Tax on that M3?

 

[snake020]

So if I ship it to a state with no sales tax, say Delaware, I should be good right?

 

[OnTopTime]

So if I ship it to a state with no sales tax, say Delaware, I should be good right?

No. It depends on where you register it and how long you have owned it before you register it.

 

[A4sForever]

I did the Volvo military sales ....

:icon_lol::icon_lol::icon_lol::icon_lol: ... leave it to Flesh (sic) to turn a Beemer-question-thread into a Volvo plea for help and acceptance ... and why does this not surprise???

'Cause LADV = Lib's Always Drive Volvos. You just can't make this stuff up ... :icon_lol::icon_lol::icon_lol::icon_lol:



On a more 'serious' note -- in days of yore, if you drove the subject vehicle around for a couple of weeks/a month (think: take a vacation) and put some miles on it -- you could legally 'skip' any import taxes/sales taxes and 'pay' for any 'vacation' ... perhaps that's not the case, anymore ... ???

 

[Scoob]

Scoob, did you have to pay the Gas Guzzler Tax on that M3?

Not yet (still OCONUS). But, I do remember it being mentioned in the sales pitch that I won't be - we'll see how that goes.

 

[Flash]

... leave it to Flesh (sic) to turn a Beemer-question-thread into a Volvo plea for help and acceptance ... and why does this not surprise???

'Cause LADV = Lib's Always Drive Volvos. You just can't make this stuff up ...

Sigh.....I don't drive one anymore, though the wife has one now.

Now your ride....well, I guess it takes all types.

Is it okay since it has Texas plates?

 

[KBayDog]

Remember, you will move, you will deploy...everybody's car here sits in the same parking lots. If your lucky enough to go ships' company for a dis-a tour, imagine your beauty sitting on the sea wall day in and day out (or any variety of scenarios for that matter).
Save the coin.

No joke. It's just a car.

But, I'll save the 'trons - if you want to spend a year's salary on a car, have at it. You're going to buy it, anyway.

 

[RHPF]

Just a heads up to perspective BMW owners... Their whole loaner/rental program policy for warranty repairs and/or maintenance is specified by each dealership independently. What that means, if you buy the car from Dealer X, they will almost always give you a loaner if your car just flat out isn't working (major), all the way up to scheduled maintenance interval appointments (minor).

However, as soon as you move (you are in the military after all), you will find 95%+ of the BMW dealers won't provide a rental to people who did not buy the car at their dealership, regardless of the issue. Especially if it falls between the two (car physically runs, but something is wrong with it). I know more than a few guys who have been burned on this, and having to get a rental so you can make the flight schedule to have stuff repaired on a relatively brand new car is frustrating.

If you talk to BMW NA, they will tell you it's up to each dealership and they have nothing to do with it. Great cars, but something to keep in mind if you are paying that much.

The only car company I know of with a national policy saying we will provide you a loaner for warranty work is Infiniti, and no I don't own an Infiniti.

 

[PropAddict]

Just a heads up to perspective BMW owners...

Piggyback: I've never had a major issue with even high-mileage beemers. Dependable cars that I recommend to anyone willing to keep up with the scheduled maintenance. Which is the real issue: I've never gotten a BMW's regular service done for under $100; usually it's multiple 100's. It's always painful to the checkbook and I dread oil change intervals.

 

[phrogpilot73]

The only car company I know of with a national policy saying we will provide you a loaner for warranty work is Infiniti, and no I don't own an Infiniti.

I don't know if it's a national policy, but I've always gotten a loaner if I needed it for my Subaru.

 

[Pugs]

I don't know if it's a national policy, but I've always gotten a loaner if I needed it for my Subaru.

Mixed experience with Audi. In the one case that service was firm about no loner a chat with the sales manager and telling him I didn't buy my car there but he should really be concerned about where I was going to buy my next car resolved the problem.

 

[bert]

Just a heads up to perspective BMW owners...

I've never had a dealer not provide a loaner when the car was still in the 50k window (6 dealerships in 4 states, none of which were the one I had bought those cars at).

Piggyback: I've never had a major issue with even high-mileage beemers. Dependable cars that I recommend to anyone willing to keep up with the scheduled maintenance. Which is the real issue: I've never gotten a BMW's regular service done for under $100; usually it's multiple 100's. It's always painful to the checkbook and I dread oil change intervals.

I've had the opposite experience: I've got one with 140k miles and the only issue I've had was the result of killer pothole. YMMV, but I've been very happy with the maintenance costs and reliability. If you don't like the oil change costs shop around for a local mechanic or do it yourself, but be advised your average jiffy-lube type can't reset the service interval. Having said that, you haven't needed a special tool to do it for awhile.

Having said all that, I would never advise a young JO to buy a new BMW, any series, no matter how "good" the price was. Be smart and invest your money now, and you will find that ten years down the road you can easily afford some of the nicer things in life without negatively impacting your eventual retirement date.* Its been a long time since I had a car payment and I like that.


*yeah, I know, some of you are highly motivated and won't stop giving 110% percent until they drag you out feet first. But I'm lazy, and can't imagine working in my old age.