October is traditionally my busiest time of the year. This is because my preferred business model revolves around custom-ordered BMWs, and because October is Q4, peak incentive/rebate season and also the time when production on new-model-year production ramps up as everyone in the BMW retail organization begins our year-end push to close the calendar year as strong as possible.
This is also a period when we see BMW promoting special OL marketing events such as "Unplug to Unleash" et al.
Lately I have been experiencing a higher volume of quote requests, and what often happens is once we are close to closing a deal for an order, a prospective will buyer will suddenly present me with information that they have recently attended or soon plan on attending one such event.
Unfortunately, these coupons are mutually-exclusive or expressly incompatible with a custom build. The only purpose of these marketing programs is to help dealers move aging product already in dealer inventory (sitting on the lot). This verbiage is stated in the fine print.
Something else to note just to hopefully avoid an uncomfortable impasse later, while the "Face Value" of such coupons is usually $1,000.00, they are only really worth half of that ($500.00). Your dealer is kicking in the other half, so he or she needs to be aware that you intend on using the coupon for an in-stock vehicle when you first engage in negotiations. That extra $500 is taken out of whatever discount they would have otherwise offered you. Sure, you can spring the coupon on your Client Advisor after the deal is struck, but that is likely to produce a tense confrontation and turn an otherwise pleasant and happy experience into a tense one. Waiting until after you strike a deal to present your coupon happens, but I recommend against it for obvious reasons. In the big picture I always wonder if it is worth the extra few bucks on a $50, 60, or $70k purchase? I know that if I was the buyer, I would rather keep a great relationship in tact rather than risk it for so little in return relatively-speaking.
If you have an OL code or plan on attending an event, please be sure to let your CA know early on, and know that it is not compatible with any vehicle that is not already built.
Good luck and happy BMW shopping,
~Jon
This is also a period when we see BMW promoting special OL marketing events such as "Unplug to Unleash" et al.
Lately I have been experiencing a higher volume of quote requests, and what often happens is once we are close to closing a deal for an order, a prospective will buyer will suddenly present me with information that they have recently attended or soon plan on attending one such event.
Unfortunately, these coupons are mutually-exclusive or expressly incompatible with a custom build. The only purpose of these marketing programs is to help dealers move aging product already in dealer inventory (sitting on the lot). This verbiage is stated in the fine print.
Something else to note just to hopefully avoid an uncomfortable impasse later, while the "Face Value" of such coupons is usually $1,000.00, they are only really worth half of that ($500.00). Your dealer is kicking in the other half, so he or she needs to be aware that you intend on using the coupon for an in-stock vehicle when you first engage in negotiations. That extra $500 is taken out of whatever discount they would have otherwise offered you. Sure, you can spring the coupon on your Client Advisor after the deal is struck, but that is likely to produce a tense confrontation and turn an otherwise pleasant and happy experience into a tense one. Waiting until after you strike a deal to present your coupon happens, but I recommend against it for obvious reasons. In the big picture I always wonder if it is worth the extra few bucks on a $50, 60, or $70k purchase? I know that if I was the buyer, I would rather keep a great relationship in tact rather than risk it for so little in return relatively-speaking.
If you have an OL code or plan on attending an event, please be sure to let your CA know early on, and know that it is not compatible with any vehicle that is not already built.
Good luck and happy BMW shopping,
~Jon
