BMW Dealerships to Convince US buyers a custom order Bimmer is Worth the Wait

It appears that BMW has big plans for the U.S. market as the Bavarian manufacturer announced its intentions to convince consumers that it's worth to wait for a built-to-order vehicle.

Here's the plan: the new BMW X3 sport-utility vehicle will make its debut in the U.S. early next-year and the manufacturer wants to use dealers in order to help promote options such as a $185 iPod adapter and a $1,350 panoramic moonroof. Apparently, this move is also good for BMW because it will help it to reduce costly inventory and ward off discounting. The same problem is seen also at Lexus as 2% of its monthly deliveries are pre-ordered. In Europe, BMW says that every vehicle sold is customized! "Ordering has not been part of the car buying process" in the U.S., Anwyl said in a telephone interview. "Consumers are used to going into a dealership and driving away with a car. We tend to be very impulsive."

Source - http://www.4wheelsnews.com/bmw-wants...orth-the-wait/

If BMW is really serious about increasing its built to order business, just start giving out incentives to people who custom order their cars and I guarantee they will see an increase.

Well, I think BMW is pushing for custom orders because of higher margin.

BMW should make dealers take custom orders first. Dealers I've seen around are not really willing to take custom order for customers. BMW should give incentives to dealers to encourage customers to do exactly that. I guess incentives (however small) must go both ways. It should still benefit both dealers and BMW.

If BMW really wants American buyers to order custom cars (which I did) then BMWNA needs to allow American buyers the opportunity to chose the options and colors we want instead of limiting us to what they think the American buyer wants, They just need to allow us to use the BMW Individual program already in place for European buyers.

Originally Posted by terranuser

Well, I think BMW is pushing for custom orders because of higher margin.

BMW should make dealers take custom orders first. Dealers I've seen around are not really willing to take custom order for customers. BMW should give incentives to dealers to encourage customers to do exactly that. I guess incentives (however small) must go both ways. It should still benefit both dealers and BMW.

I totally agree with you because 1) Europeans don't lease (much too expensive) 2) they buy a car for many years (5-10yrs) BMW stands to gain considerable margins because you will feel your car is unique. I say BS!!!!!!

If there built to order business is competitive then the only variable is how long are you prepared to wait.

BTW I speak from experience I am European and have been transplanted to the US. Leasing is the next best thing to sliced bread.

All recent cars in the family have been ordered. The last one not ordered was in 1990 but that one was selected from a car scheduled to come over on the boat.

Some dealers don't like to order cars. It's the best way to get exactly what you want to the extent that it is offered.

The last BMW took only about 2 months between ordering and delivery. After it was ordered, it was produced within possibly 2 weeks (have records written down). Then it was shipped and one could track it over the ocean. That is fine with me. However, too long and it could discourage people. Do people want to wait 4 months to production and another 2 months transit? Probably not.

Originally Posted by S93D

All recent cars in the family have been ordered. The last one not ordered was in 1990 but that one was selected from a car scheduled to come over on the boat.

Some dealers don't like to order cars. It's the best way to get exactly what you want to the extent that it is offered.

The last BMW took only about 2 months between ordering and delivery. After it was ordered, it was produced within possibly 2 weeks (have records written down). Then it was shipped and one could track it over the ocean. That is fine with me. However, too long and it could discourage people. Do people want to wait 4 months to production and another 2 months transit? Probably not.

Why do americans always want their cars so fast?

BTW in my experience pre-ordering a Lexus is not like getting an ED BMW. Lexus builds cars and buyers select what's already made. You can't actually tell Lexus to build X car with ABC options like you can BMW.

I have found that that a dealer will discount a car on their lot, especially since I buy them at model year end. My last purchase, '08 335i came with a free steptronic which was a bmw incentive for cars in stock. Using the internet, I searched many dealers within a couple hundred miles for a car that was very close to what I wanted. The cars on the lot seemed to be similiarly equipted. I wasn't really choosy about the color, ended up with alpine white which in the end, I really like. Manual transmissions and cars without the premium package seemed to be rare. I haven't tried the order process so I don't know what kind of price I would get. It seems that you could get a good price because it really wouldn't cost the dealer much, no finance costs or decrease their allotment. Like others have said, BMW should offer some incentive as well. Faster delivery would probably also be required.

Originally Posted by Geoff Daniels

If BMW really wants American buyers to order custom cars (which I did) then BMWNA needs to allow American buyers the opportunity to chose the options and colors we want instead of limiting us to what they think the American buyer wants, They just need to allow us to use the BMW Individual program already in place for European buyers.

+1. My thoughts exactly!