BMW APPROVED = RAPE?

N

neo-ninja

Member
Hi All,

So as you know i am looking to buy a Z4 and will be test driving a few this weekend.

I know main dealers often charge more for the cars etc, but BMW just seem to be rediculous!

I have seen loads of 2003 2.5 z4s on piston heads from private and traders from £9950-12k with around 45-55k on the clock...

Where as at the main dealers they seem to be doing 2003 2.0 z4s with 40-55 for £13-14.5k....are they mad? i can get a 3.0 2005 z4 with 20k miles on the clock for £15k

Peoples thoughts? or am i missing something crucial?
 
well, for starters there has never been a 2.0 2003 Z4 ... :D

Warranty does cost about 1k as well + the finance cost of having it in the showroom etc etc.
 
Just as a FYI, mine had probably £3k worth spent on it bringing it up to standard by the dealer before I was happy with mine (suspension bushes, wiper assembly, wheels, tyres, brake discs and pads, windscreen, rain sensor, dents and scratches fixed etc.) If you find a good one second hand should be fine but I was more than happy I had bought from a dealer and they fixed all the issues at their cost not mine.
 
I just prefer the peace of mind buyin from a dealers..even if it does cost more
Plus i enjoy going throught the whole buying process you have at a showroom
You can also sort out finance shizz and 'cos i know most of the guys at Chester BMW..it's usually a reet good laugh! :D
 
personally i wouldn't go for BMW approved. i don't car if BMW approve it... my approval is all that matter! :)

in my opinion the only benefit of a bmw approved on is that it's probably been checked for any issues, etc. you could get AA to do that for you for about £100. (assuming it doesn't need any work done on it)

on a side note.... go for the 3.0!!! i was considering the 2.5, but ended up getting the 3.0 and i'm soooooo glad i did!
 
True fair point, but it just seems the extra 2-3k you are paying is a very high premium, when teh car might be no better then a car from a normal trader....

Or am i missing something again?
 
Woots said:
Plus i enjoy going throught the whole buying process you have at a showroom
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In the same way, I quite enjoy the private sale process: meeting up and chatting to other car enthusiasts (I've bought my last 3 vehicle via Pistonheads classifieds) rather than salesmen. Plus I enjoy the fact I'm saving money!


I personally would never buy a car at BMW AUC prices, or any dealer for that matter. There's no way I could justify the extra cost. I understand what Crusoe is saying about bringing a car up to standard, but if you hunt around privately you'll find as good a car, not needing £3k to bring it up to scratch, for far less than a dealership price. It might take longer to find, but it's worth it to save the cash IMO. I'll stick my neck out and say my privately-purhcased Z4 is a higher standard than the majority of AUC cars too.

Just remember, dealerships ALWAYS make a profit. They've got to pay their salaries, facilities, etc somehow, which is all reflected in their higher pricing. I'm not anti-dealership, they have their place for some buyers who want that piece of mind, but I'm not that type of buyer :)
 
You missed the cheap boat at the beginning of the year. Dealer prices have shot up, my car cost me £13.5k back in january and now they range from £15.5-18k on bmw.co.uk

They can be very expensive to repair so if its not less then 3 years old the BMW warranty is priceless. My cars not even 3 years old and its already had a broken rear spring and now i suspect the manifold is cracked which are covered by warranty.
 
un1eash said:
You missed the cheap boat at the beginning of the year. Dealer prices have shot up, my car cost me £13.5k back in january and now they range from £15.5-18k on bmw.co.uk

They can be very expensive to repair so if its not less then 3 years old the BMW warranty is priceless. My cars not even 3 years old and its already had a broken rear spring and now i suspect the manifold is cracked which are covered by warranty.
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And what are the prices of those to fix? Can you by warranty for BMW if i bought teh car from a trader? What are the costs?
 
Just remember that the sticker price is just that - what the dealer would like to stick on it. The amount of negotiation available is all down to how the market is for the car you are interested in.

I've bought 2 AUC cars in the last 12 months and I have paid about or maybe £500 less than the typical private sale asking price. The benefit of the AUC is that the salesman will give into anything that they can do (which would cost you money but little to them) to get the sale.

I've offered 10-15% less than sticker price and got nowhere, ended up walking away having wasted my time and the dealers. I then realised that if I went in armed with a credible alternative, the prices come tumbling down. They realise you've researched your market and you both know what the car is worth. If the car has a unique spec and is popular, you may struggle with this.

Using this you can get a good lump off the price but I've had new wheels. tyres, service etc. This is far more than you'd get than if you are dealing with some back street trader or some unknown private seller that you've got no comeback against.

The one thing I do regret doing is screwing the dealer for road tax. It costs them real money and it pi$$es them off.

The other point is that these guys have a reputation to keep up and would rather lose money on a sale than lose customer satisfaction.

If you get a good salesman, you can haggle and and good fun doing it.
 
are they really at 10 - 12k??? although ive got higher mileage i paid a lot less than that back in the early part of this year. at least the recession brought me some happiness i suppose. go back 6 months you could knock a couple of grand off those prices easily.

i bought privately, as long as you take normal precautions and do the checks on car for hpi/dvla and so on why pay the dealers big mark up for a little bit of warranty? you can even get the rac to do a fully vehicle check these days prior to buying.
 
klarky said:
are they really at 10 - 12k??? although ive got higher mileage i paid a lot less than that back in the early part of this year. at least the recession brought me some happiness i suppose. go back 6 months you could knock a couple of grand off those prices easily.

i bought privately, as long as you take normal precautions and do the checks on car for hpi/dvla and so on why pay the dealers big mark up for a little bit of warranty? you can even get the rac to do a fully vehicle check these days prior to buying.
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they sure are, we have just had a funny discusion about it on another thread.

To cut a long story short, im reluctant to buy one now, as it seems im being shafted money wise, i think im going to wait until jan time see how prices are.
 
buy a convertible in winter is the general advise i got as well :thumbsup: to be honest id expect another rash of quick sales come christmas time, so prices should come back down. dont be put off, i have a 2.5i and its been a great buy, even with the z4's issues it looks better than most things of the same age on the road. as much as i wanted a 3.0 this 2.5 was the spec i wanted so was happy to save the extra £200 on insurance it would of cost. the good thing is this forum has a lot of knowledge on it, ive sourced a new amp from america, bought a couple of alloys to try a diy refurb for a bit of fun, got details on how to do some good mods like cruise control and aux in.
 
klarky said:
i bought privately, as long as you take normal precautions and do the checks on car for hpi/dvla and so on why pay the dealers big mark up for a little bit of warranty? you can even get the rac to do a fully vehicle check these days prior to buying.
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You just have to look at what's available and make what you feel is the best choice. Some private sellers have unrealistic ideas of what their old motor is worth and in contrast a trader is looking for a certain mark up which can mean that if they buy well, they can sell cheap.

I don't believe I could have got either of the BMWs I bought from delaers in the last 12 months for any less privately. In fact at the early part of the year BMW dealers recognised that to shift metal, they had to drop prices whilst many private sellers had unrealistic values in their heads.

In general a trader will be more expensive but my advice is shop around and you may be suprised what you can get.
 
After buying my first 318i from independent garage and having bad experience many years ago, I bought my all BMW from dealers since. You don't really pay what the dealers ask for, there is always space for negotiation.

If buying from private sellers, I will only consider cars with remaining BMW insured warranty. This ensures the car should be free of problem because owner will make any claim under warranty.
 
un1eash said:
You missed the cheap boat at the beginning of the year. Dealer prices have shot up, my car cost me £13.5k back in january and now they range from £15.5-18k on bmw.co.uk

They can be very expensive to repair so if its not less then 3 years old the BMW warranty is priceless. My cars not even 3 years old and its already had a broken rear spring and now i suspect the manifold is cracked which are covered by warranty.
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Agree. Z4 were so cheap in February. I paid mine (AUC) for £12.5k. :D
 
I'm kinda crying now having just bought a zed and reading your posts on how cheap it was back in Jan :cry: Its a coupe so I hope its not as expensive now as the roadstars are......

Back on the subject - I think prev comment on asking dealers to add things are great way of bargaining. I know many here is not a fan of BMW servicing but I got them to add service inclusive (over £500 if bought) on my zed as I know its near service. They admitted themselves it costs money to add service inclusive but not as much as 500+ squids!
 
LOL better not show this thread to the missus. She already thinks I'm :fuelfire: the money with zed

But there again I'd much rather have 2.5 years old 3.0 straight v6 car then pay the same for 6 month old VW Scirocco with min options (though I had to admit scirocco is probably a comfier ride around my pot hole heaven but who'd want comfort!) :lol:
 
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