Ordering ahead vs lot car

Hi All,
New to the forum, very excited to have found you guys/gals
I'm thinking of getting the 530 post-September production - start button, DSC upgrade, chrome grill etc (I learned about all this on this great forum). I assume it should be available around Nov?? along with the 550.

Question: Should I order now, or wait until the car actually arrives in dealers.

I'm anxious to get it fast. But I also want the dealer to earn a reasonable XXX above invoice rather than XXX below MSRP (XXX being $1K-2K?). Would ordering ahead mean that the dealer will refuse to come closer to what I want to pay vs if I show up at the dealer when the car is available and hope the car with options I want being on the lot? I can live with a tiny difference in cost for knowing the car is on the way, but a big difference would not be worth it. This is a 530, so I assume there should not be a mad scramble for it.

thank you all
BTW: read about ED, but inconvenient for me at this time

I would say order it ahead, you can get exactly the car you want. Personally, I have always ordered my new cars. If you can get a car that is still in a modifiable stage, it won't take long to get it.

I am in the school of BK's slogan, "Have it your way!"

Originally Posted by dorito

Hi All,

New to the forum, very excited to have found you guys/gals
I'm thinking of getting the 530 post-September production - start button, DSC upgrade, chrome grill etc (I learned about all this on this great forum). I assume it should be available around Nov?? along with the 550.

Question: Should I order now, or wait until the car actually arrives in dealers.

I'm anxious to get it fast. But I also want the dealer to earn a reasonable XXX above invoice rather than XXX below MSRP (XXX being $1K-2K?). Would ordering ahead mean that the dealer will refuse to come closer to what I want to pay vs if I show up at the dealer when the car is available and hope the car with options I want being on the lot? I can live with a tiny difference in cost for knowing the car is on the way, but a big difference would not be worth it. This is a 530, so I assume there should not be a mad scramble for it.

thank you all
BTW: read about ED, but inconvenient for me at this time

I vote for ordering it the way you want it. I don't think the cost will be much different but that really depends on the dealer. Maybe the dealer will try to steer you into something he has on his lot if it is close to what you want. You might be able to get a good deal that way...maybe....

Lot cars are like playing the lottery, you might win, but you will likely loose... Many cars on the lot are test driven by people who plan on ordering the car they want so they dont care about proper engine breakin. I have been on test drives where the salesman was flooring a car with 68 miles on the ODO, and then he was insisting I do the same! They also love to slam the brakes into ABS to demonstrate how good the BMW brakes are.

If you get a lot car look for one with VERY few miles hopefully like right after thay come off the delivery truck!

An ordered car will be completely un molested when you pick it up!

Of course all of this is of little concern to someone who plans on leasing the car for 36 months and then turing it back in, but if you plan on buying it, order it!

I agree with you mattldm, when I went for a test drive the dealer took over the car and did the exact thing, and it wasn't a demo car but one they're trying to sell. I was thinking I shouldn't buy from this place.
I think I may have found a fair deal on a pre-order start-button car, and the deal appears similar to deals I was offered on current lot cars. We'll see in a couple of days...
thanks!