Anyone buy thier E90 "off the boat"?

Howdy,

While shopping around for a new 330i, a sales person did a search and found a car with all the features I want "on the boat" on the way to the west coast. He said that he could divert the car to his dealership with a small down payment ($1000)... While we seem to have agreed to the price, we did not do all the purchase paperwork (he says that we will do that when it gets here in about 3 weeks)...

Has anyone here purchased a car like this (not on the dealer floor, but not a custom order either)? If so, when did you "seal the deal" with the paperwork? I'm just afraid of wiating 3 weeks just to get screwed on the price down the line... Perhaps I'm just paranoid 'cause I've never purchased a new car (and this is going to be pretty darn expensive)...

FYI, I already got outside financing from E-Loan at a good rate; and the dealership says they will probably be able to meet the rate (so I'm not worried about getting screwed on the financing -- I'm just worried about the cost of the car iteself)...

Thanks!

(and yes this is a cross-post -- I posted a similar question on the "ask a dealer" section because I want both a customer and a dealer perspective)...

Look at it this way, if they try to screw you on the price you can always walk away and go to the next dealership and order a customer 3-Series exactly the way you want since they don't have any of your money (besides the deposit which they would have to give back). Don't be afraid to stick to your guns when the car shows up and don't let the emotion of the new car just inches away let them put one over on you. You can find the invoice and retail cost here in this forum. I would just print that out and take it in with you when the car arrives.

By the way, this $1000 down and do-the-paperwork later is pretty standard practice with BMW even if you order a custom 3-Series. The only time you pay for the car in advance is if you're doing European Delivery and then it's only 2 weeks before pickup, which is normally after the car is finished with production and sitting in the ED parking lot.

Don't worry about it. Yes, it is possible that the sales rep might screw up and not get approval from the sales manager to make this deal, but this is unlikely. The dealer knows exactly what wholesale is on this car and they can certainly make a deal with you now.

Be sure you have a written agreement on the price you and your sales person agreed on so that they will not give you "surprise" when you go pick up your car 3 weeks later.

I bought my car while it was in the port in NJ, just off the boat. I put a $1000 down payment that day and the car arrived here in Boston about 4 days later. To be sure, let them write down a delivery date for the car that you could nullify the deal if they don't make it.

Originally Posted by equipto76

By the way, this $1000 down and do-the-paperwork later is pretty standard practice with BMW even if you order a custom 3-Series. The only time you pay for the car in advance is if you're doing European Delivery and then it's only 2 weeks before pickup, which is normally after the car is finished with production and sitting in the ED parking lot.

That's good to hear -- at first I thought it might be a sketchy negotiation tactic by the dealer... but I'm glad to hear that it's standard practice and I'm not getting screwed...

And you're right, I shouldn't let my emotions get involved during the negotiations --- but that's hard to do... I'd say that 98% of the reasons I'm buying a BMW is because of emotion -- the E90's make my heart go pitter-pat!

Originally Posted by equipto76

By the way, this $1000 down and do-the-paperwork later is pretty standard practice with BMW even if you order a custom 3-Series. The only time you pay for the car in advance is if you're doing European Delivery and then it's only 2 weeks before pickup, which is normally after the car is finished with production and sitting in the ED parking lot.

This is how I just bought mine also. The sales person even said the $1000 did'nt even lock me into the car "on the boat". She said I could change my mind anytime, they also gave me a worksheet with a breakdown of all the agrred on prices/specs for the car. I never second guessed the down payment and we closed as promised.