Dealers saying they take 5 mins to sell?

I have also recently started coming back on the site as I am planning on selling mine (56 plate roadster, Ruby black, 41k miles) Will put a post up about it.
 
They do not move quickly, I was looking for 3 months to get mine. In that time only around half a dozen came through the BMW approved used website. A few of which are still for sale. But the definitive factor for me is the warranty you get. If something goes wrong (Im one of these people who doesn't know my way around things particularly well) it could end up costing you a fortune especially the M. Thats where the dealer has got me, cut line and sinker. I don't care how many times people say buy a good private car, how much can you trust?

The cost difference between private and dealer is between 5-20% so IMO I would rather spend the extra from BMW and get the warranty (in my case i managed to get a 2 year extended warranty with some haggling) that 2 years is definitely worth the extra to me. Ive only really had one bad experience from BMW so far, and they have looked after me well so my business will return with them.

Its the piece of mind I get from a dealer which is why I buy from a dealer. Im not a cheap skate and can afford the depreciation, its just all part and parcel of owning such cars. At the end of the day it might only cost BMW a couple of hundred £ for the piece of mind I get but it is priceless to me. Price to the dealer and price to the customer are two different things, these cars are only getting older and with no replacement Z4M in sight (atm anyway) it makes sense to me.

As for discounting goes, value on the price probably not a great deal but on things I call value added extras then yes. In my case I got a new set of tyres (Michelin Pilot sports), a 2 year warranty, a free service 2 which if I had gone to have it done would have been around the £1000 mark, all four wheels refurbed (after some complaint), £500 off the car, £1000 extra on the car I was trading in and free matts (because the previous owner had nabbed them). So if you tot that up £1000 on tyres, £900 on the warranty, £1000 on a service, £400 on a wheel refurb, £1500 on car discounts and £100 on mats so £5000 in total.

I know that it didn't cost BMW anywhere near that but it would have cost me that to have all that lot done, which is why I call it value added. In this way you can get BMW to move on things they can pull back in other ways, and it makes you happier as the buyer to pay the extra 10-20%.

Tom Scott
 
Disagree :thumbsdown:

I have always bought from a dealer but my current car I bought privately. At the same time as I bought the car it was at the BMW dealership getting its second service and I was able to have a look round it with the mechanic. You can get a great car privately with BMW Warranty with total piece of mind. Owners of these cars look after them, buy from an enthusiast, one with low milage and that has spent most of its time tucked up in bed. Whats the difference :roll:
You wont go wrong :)
 
Its rare to find Ms with a BMW warranty privately as they are 4+ years old. Even if they do come with a warranty it won't be for very long and if I wanted to get an extended warranty from BMW you are looking at a handsome price. Im 23 and although I had enough disposable cash to buy the M and the insurance, spending the extra money on the warranty for piece of mind isn't very attractive. Especially when road tax is £465 then for me the insurance is over £1k and for a year warranty on a 5 year old M is £600+, over 2k just to keep it on the road without tyres and servicing, thats a lot extra. Thats without anything else, I wouldn't like to have a car like an M without one regardless of how bulletproof they are. Just the way I am and the way my dad has brought me up, he's exactly the same. Father like son haha.

So getting it with the approved warranty is more attractive. I won't keep the car more than 2 years and do on average 7k a year so I won't need to service it, probs won't have to put any new tyres on it, I looked around privately and my car was about £1000 more than the average private sale in the same condition and age. As you can read from above I got a lot with the car, and in my situation was the best way. If something major went wrong with the car and it was more than 3k to repair I would struggle to fix it (I could probs afford to but I don't think I would want to pay out that money), probably the same as most people here, hence why the warranty is a major selling point. Although that is worst case scenario, thats how I think about buying the car, don't let my heart get carried away. Even small things can add up.

I agree you can get fantastic cars privately and have great experience and no problems, but at the same time I have heard horror stories. There was one in BMW Car magazine a few years ago about a guy who had bought a 5 year old E46 M3 from a private enthusiast owner, clean as a whistle, FBMWSH, 30k miles. Within a month he had a new clutch and flywheel (shuddering away in first), discs all round, then 2 rear springs broke. He thought ok I've been unlucky but nothing else should go wrong, then a couple of weeks later the engine blew! Before 8 weeks of ownership. The owner reported that he hadn't driven it like an old lady and had given it a little stick but had used it mostly to commute. Obviously really bad luck but he had no comeback! A month is long enough to have the car and it to be seen as his fault. So time, labour & parts for a clutch, flywheel and the discs, already enough in my opinion, then 6k+ for a new engine. Horror! What would you do? Pay well more than its worth to have it repaired? sell the car as is? Then if it was repaired how happy would you be as a private owner to buy a car thats had a replacement engine? Just wouldn't look at it tbh.

This is worst case scenario, and probably only 1-2%. But it was a dud, and it happened. I don't want to be the 1-2% so i will continue to buy from a dealer, for the piece of mind and comeback.
My dad likes to remind me of these horror stories when I am looking at used cars. Stay safe of you might be sorry.

It is the same with the 996 Porsche Carrera, 4 and 4S. Although much more is known about its faults. It is well documented the RMS seal can go causing catastrophic engine failure. With no visual oil leaks and costs a lot to take the car to pieces to check it, Porsche dealers won't do it without taking the engine out, although I have spoke to private dealers that think they can replace the seal without removing the engine which makes me even more nervous. It is also much more prone on cars that don't get used a lot so low milage. I was going down this route before buying my Z4M but the problems just wernt worth the hassle.

You guys probe think, ye the guys well over the top, but at least if something goes wrong I will have no fanatical issues.

Tom Scott
 
Ewazix said:
toplad said:
Robbyman said:
I have spoken to three BMW dealers on the phone about the cars below. Each one has said that the Z4M is an easy sell, hangs around for a short time on the forcourt and as a result there is little discounting to be done. One offered a couple of hundred off and nothing more (17k for an 06 with 40k on)

Am i misisng something, I thought 3.2 litre of fuel drinking BMW would be an easy discount and dealers would take a sensible offer, but I seem to be very wrong?

The third one seems the best, and second does not have heated seats.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201140419404587/sort/priceasc/usedcars/transmission/manual/maximum-mileage/up_to_60000_miles/engine-size-cars/3l_to_3-9l/price-from/14000/model/z4/make/bmw/radius/100/postcode/ls268pu/page/3?logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201138416979043/sort/priceasc/usedcars/transmission/manual/maximum-mileage/up_to_60000_miles/engine-size-cars/3l_to_3-9l/price-from/14000/model/z4/make/bmw/radius/100/postcode/ls268pu/page/3?logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201139418378933/sort/priceasc/usedcars/transmission/manual/maximum-mileage/up_to_60000_miles/engine-size-cars/3l_to_3-9l/price-from/14000/model/z4/make/bmw/radius/100/postcode/ls268pu/page/3?logcode=p

Complete bullshit.,
You've only got to look how much prices have softened in the last 6 months to realise the Z4m is a tricky and mostly unwanted car
Dealers wouldn't be dropping prices at the rate they are if that was true, laws of supply and demand and all that

I agree with your theory, but the fact is several forum members are looking for a MINTwell speced Z4M with A1 history and can't find one. On another thread I predicted (and was doofed for it :wink: ) top examples of all Zed models would ride out the price crash once the masses unloaded indifferent examples, and I stand by it. Dealers with good examples have huge margins on these cars at the moment and they can afford to wait.

Hi, I'm not sure I agree regarding the prime examples, mine was one of them. I tried to sell my car privately and had very little interest, those private buyers are mostly time wasters or people looking to screw you to the floor on the price
When I advertised mine, it was mint, very low miles, top spec, BMW warranty and probably most desirable colour. I couldn't sell it. It was the cheapest for the mileage/year and part ex'd in the end.
When you come to sell a Z4mc you might realise how difficult it is, the problem is the running cost and potential for a large outlay of cash should some thing go wrong, getting private buyers to actually come and buy it, is vastly different to some messer emailing you.
Its great to have A1 history and be mint, but it didn't help me command a premium over any other cars in the market, for the majority, it came down to price.
The trouble with later Z4m's is that production started on 06 plates and there's not much difference to say 08 plate, so I found most buyers weren't that interested in paying more money for 07/08 over.a car registered in 2006, when they looked and should have driven the same, apart from an ipod jack.
 
Stick the PH link up Nick!

With just 7.2k on the clock surely that's way too nice for eBay?? :| Can't get away from thinking only average cars or wrong'uns ought to end up on eBay!
 
Also for SALE.
In stunning RUBY BLACK and professionally detailed.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3306323.htm

With only 3500 miles. The paintwork in my opinion will be hard to beat as far as very little orange peel and absolutely no scratches or swirls, just beautiful. On sale via Pistonheads and AutoTrader. Looking to accept just 20K on the nose.

P1010810.jpg
 
When you're buying..."ah, they're rare as hen's teeth mate, sell 'em really quickly so can't discount and that's why we've priced it over top book"

When you're selling (the same car, to the same dealer) ...sucks teeth, "ah, you see mate no-one wants these so I can't really give you bottom book for it, and of course it's the wrong spec / colour / engine / mileage / age / doesn't have the essential ejector seat option; I'll struggle to sell that".

Gits.
 
Well put I got exactly that from the dealer when I was there on Saturday. £500 discount on the advertised price but would not budge a penny more. I laughed and left.

Its easy to buy. Its hard as hell to sell!
 
Tom, if you average 7k a year and plan to keep 2 years, you'll need to find the money for service and brake fluid. You'll be lucky to see 12,500 miles between services unless you do few but very long motorway runs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Just had the break fluid done, my car is telling me the next service is an oil service in 14,500 miles.
 
LeeME3 said:
When you're buying..."ah, they're rare as hen's teeth mate, sell 'em really quickly so can't discount and that's why we've priced it over top book"

When you're selling (the same car, to the same dealer) ...sucks teeth, "ah, you see mate no-one wants these so I can't really give you bottom book for it, and of course it's the wrong spec / colour / engine / mileage / age / doesn't have the essential ejector seat option; I'll struggle to sell that".

Gits.
Word for word lol.
 
Call back from BMW today (after seeing the car Saturday) chasing up if im interested or not I'll let him sweat a few more days before telling him its way overpriced.
 
bluestreak56 said:
Call back from BMW today (after seeing the car Saturday) chasing up if im interested or not I'll let him sweat a few more days before telling him its way overpriced.

I thought it was going to sell in 5 minutes...surely you're mistaken and he's found another for you.

Or, perhaps, it is actually a buyers market!

Not that they'll drop anymore I suspect.
 
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