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European Delivery Non-Negotiable? [Boston]

3K views 18 replies 16 participants last post by  schley 
#1 ·
When I was in Boston last weekend, I visited Herb Chambers BMW dealership. The guy told me that ED price is non-negotiable and, in fact, they are obligated by the contract with BMW NA to sell the car for MSRP price. He said that any dealer who negotiates on ED price is in violation of their dealer contract.

I told him I didn't believe him and he even tried to show me some pricing sheet for ED which I refused to look at. I still think he was lying.

Has anyone heard of this?

Thanks.
 
#3 ·
He is telling a tall tale to earn more money...simple as that. :) Many, many, MANY folks on here are getting 1-2k over euro invoice...I guess all the dealers are just ignoring the "contract"..... ;)
 
#6 · (Edited by Moderator)
I did find another dealer. I got mine for about $XXXX over invoice. The weird thing is that I was at Herb Chambers with my friend for his car, after I ordered my car, and I mentioned it to the salesman and he went off about the "contract" thing. He had no possible way of making any money off me but he still insisted and I just sat there shaking my head. I think he got very angry.
 
#7 · (Edited by Moderator)
I had the same response form two Chicago area dealers refusing to negotiate on ED (Perrillo, Patrick), I almost discounted BMW as my next car and considered Volvo ED for this reason. Fortunately, I found this forum, did some research and found a dealer experienced in ED (Motorwerks, Irv), I was able to get a good deal of $XXXX over ED invoice. I am not sure of what the market is like in Boston, but it may be similar to Chicago in which there is only one BMW dealer in the city proper and that dealer (Perillo) seems to have plenty of clients so the prices are higher.

Euro. delivery price is negotiable as you can read in these forums. Usually around $XXXX over ED invoice is a reasonable deal. Make sure the dealer and salesperson you choose is very familiar with ED, there were some dealers I contacted after researching that knew less about ED that myself.
 
#9 ·
Uncle Fester said:
Find another dealer. Now.
Herb Chambers is awful in all respects. A number of years ago my mom was looking to buy a Saab. She went to one dealer, which didn't have her color in stock. She went to Herb Chambers, which did have the color in stock, but they were really unpleasant. She went back to the first dealer (who was pleasant) to see if they could work out a trade between stock cars. Herb Chambers refused, basically on the ground that they figured it was the same customer. Of course, it's within their rights, as it is to refuse to negotiate on ED. But they seemed slimy all around.
 
#10 · (Edited by Moderator)
bimmer12safrad said:
Enough has been said about this already so not too much from me. Sure it is negotiable. I used an invoice from this site for mty X3 and offered $XXXX
over invoice, faxed it to 8 dealers, 6 accepted my offer and 2 did not. But, you have to find the ED invoice for your particular vehicle. See U in Germany
Sounds like someone could get in trouble by doing this. There's a good argument to be made that you entered into six different binding contracts. Each dealer could foreseeably enforce. Obviously most won't, but I think it's something that others who intend using this method should keep in mind. Make sure your fax makes it clear that this is not an offer, but rather a solicitation of offers. Although, I guess having 6 new bimmers wouldn't be all that bad.
 
#11 ·
I dunno about other states, but ordering a car in California is NOT a binding contract--i.e. any deposit is 100% refundable. Now ED is different because of the unique way the car is orderd and delivered. After all, you do have to sign a few more documents before ordering for ED than simply ordering a car as normal.
 
#12 ·
I don't thing you have much to worry about as it relates to entering into multiple contracts by doing the "Rizzo Method" i.e. faxing. To be on the safe side, however, you could use language such as "I will consider paying XXXX over ED invoice. This is not a legal "offer," but simply a statement inviting an offer from the dealer. Just a little contract law 101.

P.S. 2 weeks from now I will be over the Atlantic on my way to pick up my baby:D
 
#13 ·
kostyan5 said:
When I was in Boston last weekend, I visited Herb Chambers BMW dealership. The guy told me that ED price is non-negotiable and, in fact, they are obligated by the contract with BMW NA to sell the car for MSRP price. He said that any dealer who negotiates on ED price is in violation of their dealer contract.

I told him I didn't believe him and he even tried to show me some pricing sheet for ED which I refused to look at. I still think he was lying.

Has anyone heard of this?

Thanks.
Almost the same thing happened to me last year: with great effort the Chambers dealer offered a $500 discount below ED sticker.
I called Wagner Motors and I got a much better deal.
 
#14 ·
bmwesq said:
I don't thing you have much to worry about as it relates to entering into multiple contracts by doing the "Rizzo Method" i.e. faxing. To be on the safe side, however, you could use language such as "I will consider paying XXXX over ED invoice. This is not a legal "offer," but simply a statement inviting an offer from the dealer. Just a little contract law 101.

P.S. 2 weeks from now I will be over the Atlantic on my way to pick up my baby:D
Or the "offer" expires within 48 hours, unless accepted. Or hte offer may be withdrawn at any time. Or anything.

While legally the point is arguably right, as a practical matter, you're not going to be forced to buy a second car you don't want.
 
#15 ·
Herb Chambers seems to be a really bad network of dealers. I have heard horrow stories from their Infinity and Ford dealers. There are plenty of other dealers in the MA area. I get all my parts via Foreign Motors West in Natick, MA or from Wagner in Shrewsbury, MA. Both seem like good dealers. (Still, they don't compare to the dealers in Germany when it comes to knowledge!)
 
#17 ·
Oh yeah, what a bunch of lies. I have couple of dealers told me the same thing. One is VOB in MD didn't even bother to respond to me. BMW of Arlington told me if the other dealer was willing to come down on price, I should go take the deal. He would not discount at all. DiFelo BMW in NJ, the guy said "the price is sort of fixed.". What the heck is "sort of". Meanwhile, got some nice personnel from JMK and Hassel willing to work with me.
 
#18 ·
When using the FAX method, don't offer to pay $xxxx over invoice - instead, ask the dealer to tell you how much over invoice he is willing to sell the car for. That way you get the dealers bidding against each other. Then you're free to select the best bid (in my case, I selected the second lowest bid, since the salesman was clearly an ED expert and willing to provide "above and beyond" customer service. See www.fightingchance.com for more information on this method).
 
#19 · (Edited)
kurjan said:
When using the FAX method, don't offer to pay $xxxx over invoice - instead, ask the dealer to tell you how much over invoice he is willing to sell the car for. That way you get the dealers bidding against each other. Then you're free to select the best bid (in my case, I selected the second lowest bid, since the salesman was clearly an ED expert and willing to provide "above and beyond" customer service. See www.fightingchance.com for more information on this method).
I would agree, but 3 scenarios would cause me to include offer price, not a horse race for the lowest bid.

1. You want to go with a local dealer (loaners, car washes, whatever else) and YOU decide what you are willing to pay over invoice and make the offer and see if they are willing.

2. You are on a timeline that is rather quick. You make an offer at the end of the month for you want to lock in at that month's lease residuals and MF's, which can improve for 60 days. Many dealers will want to make their quotas and I always think this works for a consumers advantage.

3. I think of myself as sort of a used car salesman, when I solicit offers and then play them against each other. If you are just going to select the lowest that is one thing, but I don't like the idea of going back and forth like an auction.

I think a simple statement of , " I will accept counter offers, however the dealership that agrees to or betters my offer will be selected." If you are going to make an offer and not wait for dealerships to give you their best offer.
 
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