Special Order vs Dealer Inventory

After reading several threads I get the impression that most folks special order their 5 series to get exactly what they want.

I have never special ordered a car, always found something that best met my requirements on the dealers lot and negotiated from there.

How many folks special ordered their 5 series, and how many bought from dealer inventory?

What percentage of total buyers do you thing special order?

I bought my genuine "USED" car from dealer inventory but it only had 154km (94mi) on it (original owner lost his license). I am the registered second owner.
Its my third BMW and the others have been Pre-owned demos or one-year trades.
I shop for a long time until I get the car that most closely meets my needs and colour preference.

Originally Posted by 5Xwen

After reading several threads I get the impression that most folks special order their 5 series to get exactly what they want.

I have never special ordered a car, always found something that best met my requirements on the dealers lot and negotiated from there.

How many folks special ordered their 5 series, and how many bought from dealer inventory?

What percentage of total buyers do you thing special order?

It may be true that many buyers who frequent this forum special ordered, because forum participants are probably more picky than the average BMW buyer. However, this picky buyer bought from dealer inventory because they had exactly the options that I wanted. No more, no less. Things like nappa leather or specific color combinations generally require ordering from factory. It also depends on how much patience one has. Once I have decided to buy (after many, many months of research and test driving) it would be hard to order a car and then wait 8+ weeks.

I special ordered my 2012 500i so that I could get it just the way I wanted - first and foremost with a stick!

John S.

We travel to Europe every year for vacation so ED is a no brainer. The paint job on an ED car is impeccable and I've never seen a car on the dealer lot that doesn't have micro scratches. ED is special and worth the wait. It's the way to buy a BMW IMO.

Originally Posted by solstice

We travel to Europe every year for vacation so ED is a no brainer. The paint job on an ED car is impeccable and I've never seen a car on the dealer lot that doesn't have micro scratches. ED is special and worth the wait. It's the way to buy a BMW IMO.

Please explain how the paint job is better on an ED car. The Welt may be more capable of washing the car without scratching it but I don't see how the paint job is better.

Do a dealer search, if you're dealer says they can't, then find a better dealer. If the search across the country doesn't find exactly what you want, then special order one. If you specifically want to do the ED, then special order.

My past three cars have been European Delivery, but prior to that I either found what I wanted on the lot or I had the dealer search the manufacturer's inventory to find the car I wanted.

My dealer (Motorwerks, Bloomington MN) made it easy to obtain a special-ordered 2012 535xi quickly when I ordered it mid-November 2011. They maintain a series of inventory cars in their BMW ordering queue. My CA simply modified the specifications on one of those cars which was about to begin production to what I wanted, at his desk terminal while I was doing the deal. It took only a month for the car I wanted to arrive. Probably other (especially larger) dealers can do this for you as well. Not exactly instant gratification, but not bad either.

I don't call it "special" order, simply "order'. Out of about 15 cars I've owned, I only bought one off the lot. So yes, I always order my cars. I want the exact colors and options, they rarely have exactly what I want in stock. For the prices cars cost, especially in the range we're buying, I won't settle for a compromise. I can wait the 6-8 weeks, I'm used to it. OTOH, we've leased several Acruas over the last 10 years for my wife, for those there aren't so many colors vs. options, and we've generally taken one from stock.

Originally Posted by 5Xwen

After reading several threads I get the impression that most folks special order their 5 series to get exactly what they want.

I have never special ordered a car, always found something that best met my requirements on the dealers lot and negotiated from there.

How many folks special ordered their 5 series, and how many bought from dealer inventory?

What percentage of total buyers do you thing special order?

I have a strong preference for ordering because like another poster mentioned - I want it exactly like i want it. An extra option here or there, or minus an option here of there and it really bugs me down the line. Also when you get a deal at X over invoice, then it does not make sense not do so since the price is the same.

As someone mentioned, most dealers have the ability to adjust something that is already coming in so not necessarily an 8 week wait. If you can swing an ED - I recommend it. Even if its only a short trip - you can save thousands, and get exactly what you want. (the ride on the autobahn is nice bonus )

In my experience, BMW dealers tend to offer customers the option in ordering a car built to his/her specs. Maybe it's just the nature of the brand for dealerships to openly adopt this tradition. Many CAs I worked with at multiple BMW dealerships casually tell me they can take an existing dealer inventory to modify it, put my name on it and it's an ordered car for me. MB and Lexus on the other hand don't do this. They make it a hassle to order a car. I was quoted by MB and Lexus 4-5 months for special ordering. One MB CA told me she doesn't have access to some of the special order options on an E550 because only the inventory manager can do that.