My Dealer keeps saying, "Germany is forcing us to add..."

Originally Posted by Erregend

These are the dependency notes on the 335is 2/17/11 Ordering Guide (is there a later one?)
and I see nothing about HK Sound requiring Premium Package, "no 688 must be ordered with ZPP".

Notes
2TC will add 7XA M Sports leather steering wheel with
paddle shifters
5AC must be ordered with ZPP
609 will add 6UH Real Time Traffic Information and
620 Voice-command
609 and 639 must be ordered with 6FL
609 and 639 will add 615 Online Information Services
609 and 6FL must be ordered with 639
639 and 609 will add 615 Online Information Services
6NR must be ordered with 6FL and 609
6NR must be ordered with ZPP or 639
6NR will add 6NF Smartphone Integration
ZCW and not ZM2 will add 248 Heated Steering Wheel

Thats old and no longer in use

Originally Posted by JW_BMW

Thats old and no longer in use

Can you share a newer Ordering Guide with us?

Originally Posted by sg335is

. Why didn't he call me to tell me that he had great news? "BMW won't build the car without premium and since we have a signed deal we're going to cover the cost ourselves, so you are getting premium for free."

Because they are running a business and it does not make sense to waste hundreds or thousands of dollars for something that is not their fault. They make little or nothing off small packages like this and would never do this to you if they could avoid it. I've seen many people who told me they were going to be repeat customers and or send friends/family down and try to use this to get better service/pricing. It complete bull most of the time. You'll never hear from them again either way. I'm sure the dealer has a $50 or $100 refferal fee which is paid when you actually come thru with what you say your going to do. Send your friends down to get the extra discount you want.

My CA, after telling me the bad news, asked me if I planned on leasing or buying since they would have ways to creatively deal with this issue if it was a lease (I think he said "hide it"). That just sounds like more red flags to me.

Again, you assume the worst without thinking about it. When you lease a car, packages like this add to the residual value almost as much as they cost. This would make the lease payment go up very little and "hide" the cost. Thats what he meant.

@ard - I'm understanding that about their website!

@erregend - thanks for that info - where did you come across that?

@JW - I would think that this sort of timing issue has to happen all the time, new prices and seasonal deals, option rates, etc., with people ordering just before some change over - they can't seriously say, "you're SOL, sorry, you were too close to the date, doesn't matter what side or what you have signed." Calling my CA today - he's suppose to have some solution for me. I'm not real optimistic. I wish there was some way to verify what he's saying and erregend's info seems to contradict that possibility.

Originally Posted by dannyc9997

Because they are running a business and it does not make sense to waste hundreds or thousands of dollars for something that is not their fault. They make little or nothing off small packages like this and would never do this to you if they could avoid it. I've seen many people who told me they were going to be repeat customers and or send friends/family down and try to use this to get better service/pricing. It complete bull most of the time. You'll never hear from them again either way. I'm sure the dealer has a $50 or $100 refferal fee which is paid when you actually come thru with what you say your going to do. Send your friends down to get the extra discount you want.

Again, you assume the worst without thinking about it. When you lease a car, packages like this add to the residual value almost as much as they cost. This would make the lease payment go up very little and "hide" the cost. Thats what he meant.

Danny thx - I agree with you about the referrals to some extent, I see people make promises in my line of work that never come through. In this case though there are 2 BMW dealers locally, and this one has the better rep, but is much further from where I live. If they don't get my business this time I will definitely try the one closer to me. I get it, one sale, not that much.

You are also right that I - and I don't think I'm alone - go into a dealer with a high level of distrust and suspicion. The first car I bought from this dealer was on the other hand, great. "This is what I pay for the car, this is what I need to make, this would be your payments at this rate." I did the deal the same day.

And this is certainly not my fault. Still, it's a bit encouraging to hear your perspective.

Originally Posted by sg335is

@erregend - thanks for that info - where did you come across that?

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...71&postcount=1

Tom

Originally Posted by sg335is

Danny thx - I agree with you about the referrals to some extent, I see people make promises in my line of work that never come through. In this case though there are 2 BMW dealers locally, and this one has the better rep, but is much further from where I live. If they don't get my business this time I will definitely try the one closer to me. I get it, one sale, not that much.

You are also right that I - and I don't think I'm alone - go into a dealer with a high level of distrust and suspicion. The first car I bought from this dealer was on the other hand, great. "This is what I pay for the car, this is what I need to make, this would be your payments at this rate." I did the deal the same day.

And this is certainly not my fault. Still, it's a bit encouraging to hear your perspective.

I work for Toyota as a salesman. All the time I meet with standoff-ish customers due to the recent recalls ect...not to mention the bad reputation the car business has to begin with. I can say your right to distrust us for the reputation, its your money and you dont want to waste it. Just remember, the dealer doesnt want to waste their money either. Every dollar can make a difference in how much money the salesman/manager brings home so they cant afford to go backwards on a deal they already wrote.

I would double check though to see if they are charging you "msrp" or "invoice" for the added package. Not that it makes much of a difference, but that will tell you if they are trying to add to the gross of the deal.

I've tried the same "This is what I pay for the car, this is what I need to make, this would be your payments at this rate." sort of thing with customers and way too often people just don't think I'm telling the truth (about our cost). And even if they know I'm not lying, they still try and get the car for less than cost. Toyota and BMW are two totally different worlds though. We have dealerships that advertise cars for thousands of dollars below cost just to "bait" people. This is horrible to deal with, because people will of course see me before going to the bait dealer, and think I'm the one playing games because they think they can get a Camry for $16,900 at Boch.

I love cars but this business is a disaster

OP please keep us updated with what kind of resolution you get from either your CA or BMW

I did a practice build to see how it could/couldn't be done. If your CA adds BMW Assist w/Bluetooth first, it doesn't trigger the automatic addition of the Premium Package. If, however, your CA adds Navigation or HK first, it does indeed trigger the automatic inclusion of the Premium Package. Below is a copy/paste of the build:

Model 1184 335is Convertible USD 59,650.00
Color A52 Space Gray Metallic 550.00
Upholstery LCD1 Coral Red/Black Dakota Leather 0.00
Options 2TC 7-Speed double clutch Transmission 450.00
494 Heated front seats 500.00
609 Navigation system 2,100.00
615 Online Information Services 0.00
620 Voice-command 0.00
639 BMW Assist with Bluetooth 750.00
688 Harman Kardon surround sound system 875.00
6AA BMW TeleServices 0.00
6AB TeleService Control 0.00
6FL iPod and USB adapter 400.00
6UH Real Time Traffic Information 0.00
6VC Combox controller 0.00
7XA M Sports leather steering wheel wit... 0.00
Net Total 65,275.00

Update from my CA: "Germany says they will build it without Premium, so just the way we put it together, your original deal is still in place." I'm glad - I'd have been happy driving someone else's Audi through Europe, but I'd rather drive my own BMW. Regardless, the experience has made me a bit cautious - I'm going to be watching the numbers on signing day - maybe I'll be back to post them...

Thanks again for everyone's input. It seemed a pretty close split between "find another dealer" and "wait to get more info/don't jump to conclusions."

Originally Posted by bmw_n00b13

Look at BMW.de. If anything, Germany has far more variation available. The dealer is feeding you BS.

Yes, BMW in Germany offers many more options, but it's my understanding that when a customer "orders" the car it's a binding contract; the customer can't just walk away when the car arrives with no penalty as is typical in the US. The system of letting custom orders be non-binding on the buyer really discourages customizations, I understand.