New 08 Z4: Is this a good deal?

[BimmerZ408]

Hello fellow Bimmer lovers!

I am new here to the forum, as well as I am new to buying a BMW. I am supposed to go in tomorrow and custom build/order a Z4 SI, which will be here in 30-days. My dealer says they will give me $4,700 off MSRP. Is this a good deal? The MSRP is $52,500; invoice is $48,500 - so basically I'd be getting the car for about $700 under invoice, so is this a good deal?

Another question if I may ask, is the sport package worth it? I like the M Sport seats, but it says I have to have the sport package to get the seats. Just wondered if the sport pck was worth the extra cost, and if it would also make a difference in my driving experience and gas mileage?

Thx! :)

BimmerZ408

[kcsails]

I do love the sports package, and especially the sports seats, as they hug your body, so I feel very comfortable in turns. Good Luck and hopefully welcome to the Z club, I'm on my 4th Z, they are fun cars!

[EdCT]

Hello fellow Bimmer lovers!

I am new here to the forum, as well as I am new to buying a BMW. I am supposed to go in tomorrow and custom build/order a Z4 SI, which will be here in 30-days. My dealer says they will give me $4,700 off MSRP. Is this a good deal? The MSRP is $52,500; invoice is $48,500 - so basically I'd be getting the car for about $700 under invoice, so is this a good deal?

Another question if I may ask, is the sport package worth it? I like the M Sport seats, but it says I have to have the sport package to get the seats. Just wondered if the sport pck was worth the extra cost, and if it would also make a difference in my driving experience and gas mileage?

Thx! :)

BimmerZ408

Have you driven either car yet? SP vs non sp - they're both very different - only you can decide which is right for you.

Both will return good fuel mileage.

Spring is not the best time to buy a convertible, I'm fairly confident by the end of October, that car you're interested in will be another 7 thousand less - that's right, in the fall of 06 and 07, Z4 si's could be had for 11 grand off list - I know, I priced one.

However, if you want it now, it's probably a fair deal, but no better.

Ed

[Ron Stygar]

Hello fellow Bimmer lovers!

I am new here to the forum, as well as I am new to buying a BMW. I am supposed to go in tomorrow and custom build/order a Z4 SI, which will be here in 30-days. My dealer says they will give me $4,700 off MSRP. Is this a good deal? The MSRP is $52,500; invoice is $48,500 - so basically I'd be getting the car for about $700 under invoice, so is this a good deal?

Another question if I may ask, is the sport package worth it? I like the M Sport seats, but it says I have to have the sport package to get the seats. Just wondered if the sport pck was worth the extra cost, and if it would also make a difference in my driving experience and gas mileage?

Thx! :)

BimmerZ408

There is also a $3000 incentive. So invoice is $45,500. So invoice plus 1,500 is $47000.
Not bad for an order. Also go from invoice. That way all of the options will be at invoice.

[BimmerZ408]

Thx to all for your input! :-)

Ron; The $4,700 includes the $3K dealer incentive, but I wasn't sure if I could get them to make me a deal based on the invoice price, as they are quoting me the $4700 off MSRP $52,500. Do you think I can get them to do this based on the invoice price $48,500?

Ed; I drove 2 an SI and the 0i, the SI had the SP, and the other did not. But I wasn't sure if the SI & 0i were like apples & oranges to begin with, based on the power of one vs the other. I agree with you that Oct is the smarter "price" time to buy, since the 09 will be out soon thereafter and they will want to get rid of the 08's. But I'd really like one now, living in Colorado, I wouldn't get to drive it until next spring if I waited.

Thx KC, and I agree with you about the seats, as well as the fun of the Z's! :-)

[erdoran]

Bimmerz408 I just bought an '08Z4si this past Monday. Start at invoice, deduct the trunk money ($2500 for i, $3000 for si) that is still in place as per edmunds.com. Add back what you consider a reasonable profit, or ask the dealership what THEY consider a reasonable profit over invoice. I've heard ranges of $1K - $1.5K as aggressive but do-able. In addition, when going from invoice there are charges for training ($180) and MACO ($200-$300 approx, depending on region) that are legitimate and should show up on an invoice. Add those to your offer. So then, your final offer should be (invoice minus trunk money) plus (Maco + training + reasonable profit).

Also before making an offer, ask what additional fees there are, and have them itemized. Many dealerships charge a doc fee, which can range from zero to $300+. If you think it's excessive, say so. Often they won't waive the doc fee, but if you think it is excessive, then make your offer as above, and deduct some portion of the doc fee from it and state that you are doing that. I've found it to be better received than just trying to negotiate the doc fee, and in the end what really matters is how much you are paying total.

Also watch out for the backend sales of extended warranty, tire insurance, etc. All those prices are also negotiable, as are things like lease terms if you are leasing. Read the lease info stickies and be sure to use MSDs rather than cap cost reduction!

Finally, bring your calculator and check their arithmetic. Every car transaction I've had in the last 20+ years has contained at least one error in the dealership's favor! Most recently the MSDs had $800 added that didn't belong here, prior transactions had credit life insurance which I had declined added to payments anyway and the interest rate inflated by 2% over what I had agreed to and was approved for (promotional rate). Assume nothing, check everything politely & respectfully, and if anything changes, recheck--and check once again before writing any checks! And that includes fees like sales tax, one place tried to overcharge me on that as well.

If you are doing an order with pricing dependent on trunk money, ask what happens if trunk money goes away before you take delivery. Anything can happen between now & delivery date! Watch for clauses about adding that amount back on to your order if trunk money is discontinued; if this is acceptable that's fine, if not you need it addressed explicitly. When I was planning to order I had proposed that if that were to happen and the dealership wouldn't honor the agreed-upon price that I could cancel and get my deposit back, and that was agreeable to one dealership but not another. It should be asked rather than assumed.

[BimmerZ408]

Thx erdoran for the tips! I will take your suggestions with me today, and hopefully get more off the car price. Supposedly the car should be here within 30-days of ordering it, and they are honoring the trunk money through the end of June. Do not know if this is dealer or BMW's deal/expiration date. Anyway, thx again! :o)

[erdoran]

That's bmw expiration date as per edmunds.com. I'd still have an escape clause just in case....as I said, who knows what will happen? $3K is enough $$ that I wouldn't take chances. Glad to help and best of luck with your purchase--and let us know what you end up deciding to order!

[BimmerZ408]

Hi erdoran,

I talked with my dealer today and on the plus side the ONLY charges they charge is the car itself and taxes. No doc fees, MACO etc., in fact my dealer didn't even know what a MACO fee was. Since she has worked there for over 8 years, I trust that to be the case - maybe it varies from state/city? Anyway, that is good news for me.

On the down side, she said that if I order the car, that I may be subjected to the price increase if the car isn't here before June 1st - as the Z4 is going up $300, as well as $100 each on the accessories that I want, and $50 more for step/auto.

So I may be looking at an additional $550.00 if I special order it. She is looking into this, to make sure - as I told her that I should NOT have to pay the increase if I order it now in May. So we'll see. Otherwise it looks like the best I can get off the car is $5K from MSRP. So not as good as price increase from invoice.

If it wasn't for my wanting a NAV system, there is a Z4 with all the options I want (fully loaded) on the lot - but because I want the NAV, I am having to special order it. As I have read that the NAV's you buy at the store are not all that great. Ahh - the pain we suffer to get what we want! ;o)

Thx again for your help!

[Ron Stygar]

Hi erdoran,

I talked with my dealer today and on the plus side the ONLY charges they charge is the car itself and taxes. No doc fees, MACO etc., in fact my dealer didn't even know what a MACO fee was. Since she has worked there for over 8 years, I trust that to be the case - maybe it varies from state/city? Anyway, that is good news for me.

On the down side, she said that if I order the car, that I may be subjected to the price increase if the car isn't here before June 1st - as the Z4 is going up $300, as well as $100 each on the accessories that I want, and $50 more for step/auto.

So I may be looking at an additional $550.00 if I special order it. She is looking into this, to make sure - as I told her that I should NOT have to pay the increase if I order it now in May. So we'll see. Otherwise it looks like the best I can get off the car is $5K from MSRP. So not as good as price increase from invoice.

If it wasn't for my wanting a NAV system, there is a Z4 with all the options I want (fully loaded) on the lot - but because I want the NAV, I am having to special order it. As I have read that the NAV's you buy at the store are not all that great. Ahh - the pain we suffer to get what we want! ;o)

Thx again for your help!

Too late. You should have it ordered last week. No way it's going to show up by June 1st.
I would still order the car you want and pay the difference.

[BimmerZ408]

Yeah, you're are probably right Ron - I should have ordered it last week. But I guess at this point, it doesn't matter. I mean if I am looking at a 50K car, what's another $550? I will still get 5K (or a little over 5K) off, so in the end it will hopefully be all worth it. DAMN, when did buying a car become so stressful!? lol J/K! Thx for your input Ron. :o)

[erdoran]

Good luck, and read the topic about the price increase. Perhaps your dealer can do a swap for a car with the specs you want...or consider an alternative to the factory navi, which really is outdated and not worth the $$ IMHO--and I have one! In my case the car I wanted came with navi and I didn't object, but had I ordered I would have ordered without and then bought a Garmin instead, which is much more feature-rich and has real time traffic.