Any pro's/con's of ordering ED 7-8 months early?

I'm looking at ordering an X1 xDrive35i in the next couple weeks for a May'ish ED but I was wondering if there are any pro's or con's to ordering that far in advance.

The first thought is ordering early probably doesn't gaurantee I would get what I ordered if the production line changes (probably rare, but some threads say BMW has changed options part way through model years and in fact there just was a minor change on the X1 m-sport line).

Second is if the price changes, up or down?

Lastly, what happens if there are promotions during this time?

I'm pretty sure the earliest you can order for ED is 6 months.

No one has ever posted an X1 ED delivery to date as far as I know.

I'm planning a similar delivery date. Not any disadvantage I've been able to research so far. If you have to put a deposit down, then of course the value of that money over the time until your final amount is due is obviously some minor loss. Ordering early should at least let you choose your ideal production date.

You might have some trouble locking in the specific promotion you get. Your SA will likely not be too keen on you swapping around so it likely makes more sense to research when the best deals generally happen and lock in at that point. Same applies to lease mf, once you lock it's generally locked

In short, unless you have a particularly good deal now that you don't think you will be able to get in the next 6mo, I don't really see an advantage to being locked into something that can change so much? Maybe a board sponsor can chime in with more info. For our 2 EDs we booked 1-2 months out and signed at the 2 week limit.

As far as I know, you can't combine any special offers with ED anyway.

That is incorrect. I got return buyer, diesel credit, and one other I don't remember on my 335d in 2011 and I got the $1500 option credit on the 335i in 2007.

Originally Posted by gbarros

That is incorrect. I got return buyer, diesel credit, and one other I don't remember on my 335d in 2011 and I got the $1500 option credit on the 335i in 2007.

Hmm, I must be mistaken then. I was told by multiple dealers that it cannot be combined with the BMW grad discount, though.

Dunno about the grad one, but the regular seasonal stuff does definitely apply... or my dealership really got shafted on that deal

That is absolutely incorrect about the Grad promotion. I did an ED on a 2012 e92 this past May and got the grad promotion no problem. Make sure you're working with someone who really knows their stuff. bimmerfest has lots of sponsors who are true professionals and experts. I worked with Greg Poland at Pacific BMW (in California, so not much help to you probably), a board sponsor and he was a no BS guy who gave me the deal i was looking for without wasting my time. I highly recommend you work with someone who is familiar with Bimmerfest as they will be more willing to work with you on price, etc. He was actually the one who told me about the promotion too.

Originally Posted by MisterPeter

That is absolutely incorrect about the Grad promotion. I did an ED on a 2012 e92 this past May and got the grad promotion no problem. Make sure you're working with someone who really knows their stuff. bimmerfest has lots of sponsors who are true professionals and experts. I worked with Greg Poland at Pacific BMW (in California, so not much help to you probably), a board sponsor and he was a no BS guy who gave me the deal i was looking for without wasting my time. I highly recommend you work with someone who is familiar with Bimmerfest as they will be more willing to work with you on price, etc. He was actually the one who told me about the promotion too.

Both the dealers I've communicated with have done tons of ED's with people on these forums. It's possible that the grad discount was changed, I suppose.

http://www.bmwusa.com/standard/conte...teprogram.aspx

100% sure that the program still exists (unless, of course, they're so busy working on the new 4 series that they haven't yet updated their website...)

PS, the program is even better now than it was 9 months ago when I got onboard.

Originally Posted by MisterPeter

http://www.bmwusa.com/standard/conte...teprogram.aspx

100% sure that the program still exists (unless, of course, they're so busy working on the new 4 series that they haven't yet updated their website...)

PS, the program is even better now than it was 9 months ago when I got onboard.

Yeah, I know it exists, but I wonder if the terms changed for 2013 that doesn't allow you to combine it with ED? I'm not sure.

It's entirely possible that that is the case, but I'd think if it were, there'd be something like "not combinable with other offers" in the fine print. All the same, I'd bring it up point blank with whoever you decide to work with. Your info says you're in SE PA so there must be 15-20 BMW dealers within a stone's throw away from you. Call around and speak with their internet sales department or what have you. There is bound to be someone willing to throw you a $1k discount and 3.6% financing or whatever the current rate is (if that's your plan)...

Originally Posted by MisterPeter

It's entirely possible that that is the case, but I'd think if it were, there'd be something like "not combinable with other offers" in the fine print. All the same, I'd bring it up point blank with whoever you decide to work with. Your info says you're in SE PA so there must be 15-20 BMW dealers within a stone's throw away from you. Call around and speak with their internet sales department or what have you. There is bound to be someone willing to throw you a $1k discount and 3.6% financing or whatever the current rate is (if that's your plan)...

Prices I'm looking at now are ~500 over ED invoice. I might call around a few places just to ask about combining the grad discount with ED and see what responses I get.

Originally Posted by KLC

Prices I'm looking at now are ~500 over ED invoice. I might call around a few places just to ask about combining the grad discount with ED and see what responses I get.

I really doubt that prices will be going down in the interim.

You can make a deal 7-8 months in advance, you just have to wait until 6 months prior at the most for the dealer to get you the date you want. The pros are that you know your travel dates and can start planning your trip, buying air, booking hotels, as long as you get the date you want.

Originally Posted by neurom

You can make a deal 7-8 months in advance, you just have to wait until 6 months prior at the most for the dealer to get you the date you want. The pros are that you know your travel dates and can start planning your trip, buying air, booking hotels, as long as you get the date you want.

I've done a lot of BMW ED's (as well as 1 Merc, 2 Porsche and 1 Audi) and never had my first choice of delivery date denied with 3-4 months notice.

I am flexible with dates but I'd just like to get things scheduled so I can start planning things based on the date or in case I could have locked in certain features that BMW might change in production, but from reading up last night, it appears once they make production changes you SOL if your car wasn't started by the change date, ie if they dropped a color or removed a standard feature you would have to go back to the dealer and pick a new color or feature.

As for pricing, around December in 2009 and 2011 BMW had some better general incentives (can't find the thread via google ATM) but there was talk of $1000 or $1500 off a car with steptronic or $1k off and low rates for financing the other year, which makes me wonder come this December BMW might do something again. Not guaranteed of course, but if it comes from BMW and not out of a dealers profit I wonder what would happen if I had already negotiated with a dealer on a price.

I ordered our car (535 xDrive with many packages) in December 2011 for a June 2012 delivery. The price we paid was agreed to with the inclusion that I was entitled to any pricing incentives before we actually paid for the car, which was only ten days before delivery. If you're comfortable with your price and are only paying $500 to the dealer, that will be a hard price to beat as others have said. Make sure you're checking bmwconfig.com. Their calcualtions are pretty close to the mark.

Anyway, it was great to put a stake in the ground and work around the expected delivery date. It made the winter go by faster. Based on all the information and advice here and in the wiki, I planned and replanned our route many times. The delivery and trip (almost four weeks) was wonderful. The only downside is that I ordered more options while waiting!

So, if BMW comes out with an incentive this December....say, $1000 off steptronic models, then you can get ED Munich Deliver Invoice Price minus another $1000 (plus dealer profit, of course)???

Originally Posted by bmwesq

So, if BMW comes out with an incentive this December....say, $1000 off steptronic models, then you can get ED Munich Deliver Invoice Price minus another $1000 (plus dealer profit, of course)???

Yes, but it depends on the incentive. Some of them work, for instance the holiday credit was combinable with ED. I just used it. Owner Loyalty is also combinable with ED. I'm also not sure how long out you can use an incentive (as in use one that is available today in June if you make the deal today).

Some are not. For example the recent USAA promotion with BMW was not (totally made me a sad panda). Be careful just reading the fine print though because it doesn't always say.

Your best bet is to find a CA that you trust (read: board sponsors), and work with them. They will be able to tell you what combines and what doesn't.

Also, if you are looking at way out (365 days from "now"), go ahead and sign up for the BMW CCA. That will save you another $500 - $1500. Of course, it's not worth waiting 4 more months if your dates are already tentatively locked in. But if they aren't and you are still in the drawing board stage...

Just my 2 cents.

Originally Posted by chrischeung

No one has ever posted an X1 ED delivery to date as far as I know.

I took delivery of an X1 via ED on November 19th, and there was at least one other couple there doing it too on the same day. So I can verify that they are currently available via ED. (And a blast to drive.)

I have heard that X1 EDs past February are being put on hold to prepare for the 2014 model year refresh, so it may not be possible to order an X1 past that date, though...