BMW supply/demand issue with dealers?

I’d look at as many broker posts as possible and look at deals outside the local market.

This may have to do with your own attitude towards car shopping that dealers. Im not saying they are innocent, but if the market is saying <5% and you come out asking for 15%, you aren’t gonna be taken seriously. Heck even under good times, 15% may not be taken seriously because its so unconnected from reality.

I have X7 for 10-11%.

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And an M50i at that!

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My goal was NOT to net a 15% discount, but more so start at that point in order to get to the expected 11-13% that some brokers here get. I get it now, it was a bad idea. That’s entirely fine. I most certainly don’t feel entitled to get a 15% discount

My annoyance was with the tone of these dealers. I tried both routes. The first with flat out asking for the 15% pre incentive discount and was met with a nasty patronizing attitude. Then after reading this thread I just began to ask for a general discount that dealers can do without giving a specified number like I did previously. Even then, I was told to “shop domestic if you want more than 3% MSRP off because it isn’t going to happen” or other condescending remarks.

Certainly am not surprised that dealers continue to act like dealers always have.

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It’s like @wam22 said. Those are the money cars right now to make up for breaking even on the volume cars.

The few I have at 11% won’t last unti supply catches back up.

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I just don’t get this thread, dealers start way above where the market is all the time and often trick consumers into overpaying, but some how everyone here attacked the OP for starting a little below where actual deals have been done on this website and where brokers advertise deals. 2 dealers had low inventory and told him to take a hike, the response should be to use a broker or try other dealers if time and effort permit. Instead the OP is criticized for low balling and insulting dealers.

We are still in covid times and while supply is currently reduced, there’s no reason to assume demand will be roaring back in q3, it could easily look ugly for dealers/manufacturers again.

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Dealers can do whatever they want. The goal here is to be the most effective consumer, and going in with a super low ball offer doesn’t achieve that. One can feel that you’re just playing the same game the dealers are, and that’s fine to feel that way, but it isn’t an effective strategy. The OPs strategy is being criticized, not because he’s a bad person, but because it isn’t an effective strategy. I can see how it could seem to be on the surface level, but one is faced with the reality of the situation.

Right or wrong, deserved or undeserved, going in with an overly aggressive low ball offer is just going to shut the conversation down the vast majority of the time.

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yes, take your business elsewhere, maybe leave a bad review for these dealers if you’d like. There are several competitive and polite brokers on just this website

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I’d be careful about that if it’s where you plan to service…

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15% is not an overly aggressive low ball initial offer, agree to disagree. I’ve always started negotiating below where I want to end it, it lets you offer some good will and come up to meet in the middle and it’s worked, just only on about 25% of places

Sure it’s an offer but currently not an offer that will be well received.

Can you substantiate why you believe that several thousand dollars past holdback/bonuses and at a percent that’s essentially unprecedented for that vehicle isn’t overly aggressive?

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it’s a 100k vehicle so several thousand dollars sounds dramatic but still is only 3%, same way the dealers start at msrp when they might do 5% below (several thousands). I’m not saying 15% is achieveable but it’s reasonable starting point in a negotiation if you are aiming for 12%

I agree that it’s not overly aggressive in the grand scheme. I’m sure there are others who have approached with nonsensical numbers. But I believe you have to consider the entirety of the situation when inquiring with dealers. For example, it is highly unlikely that a dealer with 2-3 of a given model in stock is going to take a losing offer kindly, especially when they don’t know when inventory will be replenished.

It’s the difference between thousands in the red and thousands in the black though. It’s one thing to expect a dealership to reduce their profit. It’s another when you’re expecting them to go thousands out of pocket

agree to disagree, 15% is closer to where deals are getting done than 0%

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You want to walk as close to the edge as possible. When you fall off the other side, the conversation shuts down. That’s the whole point.

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a conversation also shuts down when you might start at 12% and not budge at all to their counters, this is an art not a science and it’s subjective, the OP understands that, a dealer should too. if they shut the conversation down they lose a potential deal.

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Why don’t you prove it mathematically. Reach out to 10 dealers with initial offers of 15%, and then another 10 dealers with initial offers of 10%. Let’s see how much success you get with each strategy?