I see that you hadn’t contacted Riverside -but I got a car from them and worked a couple of deals for others there - no problems. I had a primary CA for them but once or twice, due to schedules, had to work with other CAs - and they were - to a man - fantastic. Finance guy was a bit odd on some minor things, but ultimately I’d get another car there.
I also got an X5 from McKenna which ended up working out ok. Everyone was mostly pleasant but the SM can be quite difficult- even reneging in deal points that had been agreed the have to be renegotiated back into deal. It was frustrating and was just wasted effort, and I ended up getting what I wanted, just with more effort than necessary. The Finance Manager is solid too. No games.
I also called and worked with nearly every BMW dealer in the state for my car, and have broadly the same experiences the OP had. Btw I was cross shopping X4, 330 touring and X3, and also needed an X5, so it wasn’t just a specific car, but several across the range. It got to the point that I knew their inventory better than they did.
Even if they can’t do the deal, how they conduct themselves is important. I don’t hate on a dealer who can’t do the deal, that’s life… but if they spin a ton of bullsh-t on the basic fundamentals of a deal, or get condescending, or try any of the sleazy tactics, then they are scum bags. Sorry but that’s also a fact of life.
this is a good list i think. in the last 7-8 years, i’ve contacted and requested quotes pretty much from all so-cal dealers. my latest lease was last month from new century - they gave me the best discount on a 2019 3 series. 3 years ago, i leased with pacific (not a very good deal considering this website’s standards)
Yup, I wholehearted agree that YMMV.
Seems like almost everyone here bashes on BMW of Mountain View but I got about 13% off on brand new X3 M40i (not loaner and before any incentives of course) and also got $1000 more on my trade-in.
They did mark up the MF to 0.00185 but because they gave me 13% off right away online and extra $1k on trade in, I let that slide.
While I do agree that some of the dealers can be seen as sleazy, I don’t agree that they will just straight give you no deals.
The dealer I dealt with was very nice and I generally had pleasant experience.
You just gotta find the right car at the right time.
You forgot that they gave me $1000 more on my trade in compared to other online car sellers or carmax…
Sure, I would’ve fought for that low MF if they didn’t budge on the trade-in but they did.
So I didn’t see any more haggling necessary to get all the way down there.
That’s more time and effort for few hundred bucks more, which I didn’t see much of benefit.
I also have to reiterate a point from above. Avoid peter pan at all costs. Their internet guy is hostile, and super disrespectful. My wife and I went in last time and I had to restrain myself as he was really pushing my buttons and making my wife super uncomfortable. Not only would he not budge on pricing, when i asked for a printout, he would not give it to me. Then they marked up MF and would not combine MSD with my fleet. Super shady guy. I also just learned that Weatherford is the same dealer group as Concord.
I haven’t bought a BMW in 20 years…not because I don’t like them, but because I find their dealerships are hands down the worst of all big three German brands. I live in LA, and every time my current lease is up, I try BMW…and it is always unpleasant.
FWIW, I’ve tried Beverly Hills, Century West, Century, Pacific, Santa Monica, Nick Alexander and Bob Smith.
At the end of the day, all the dealerships have good and bad just like anything in life. It really comes down to the individuals approach to engaging with the dealer and more importantly WHO you engage with.
Of course there are a few dealers out there that have their set their standards really high across the board for profit/loss margins hence difficult to work with, but you should be able to sense this from first conversation.
I just closed on a second BMW within the last couple of weeks in SoCal (19 430 GC demo, very limited inventory) and can say I’ve learned a lot from engaging with 20+ dealers, most will work with you given the aforementioned. Lastly timing is everything for being able to hack a lease.
I found the following dealers as listed, solely based on willingness to play ball on pricing:
FAVORITES: Murietta (@BMW_Dave of course), South Bay (Khoi GSM), Valencia (Sergik), Niello Elk Grove (Paul SM).
STAY AWAY: Pacific, Beverly Hills, Irvine, Stevens Creek,
Oooops, I think I exceeded the character limit for a post. Sorry…
I was at New Century’s BMW 3 weeks ago ask for 330 or 440 deals. No deals and no respect on me when I told them Leasehackr forums deals. Basically they laughed at me. Manager don’t give a shit on the deals from this forums
Ofcourse, why should they? Dealerships aren’t in the business of handing out unicorns, and even excellent deals are far and wide to be found. I think this list maybe OP’s experience for good vs bad offers but nothing more than that
Pacific is absolutely the worst when it comes to deals. Don’t even come close to most dealers within 50 miles. Our close family friend couldn’t even help me on my last two BMWs as he said 99% of our customers are “retail”, so GSM doesn’t flex much.
Every dealership is capable of making good deals. I know a lot of people who have had killer discounts at both Irvine and BH. You even contradict yourself in the second sentence.
This thread is pretty pointless at this point and everyone knows YMMV, so everyone just needs to chill and stop talking down dealerships.
I disagree. Yes, all dealers are willing to deal sometimes and you just have to find a motivated dealer at the right time with the right car, and that may be this dealer this month and that dealer next month.
If a dealer doesn’t want to cut you a unicorn deal for this car this month, that doesn’t make them a bad dealer.
But the fact remains that everytime I have dealt with Peter Pan BMW, the experience has sucked. Every. Time. Unresponsive, sometimes insulting, often barely willing to give me the time of day.
A good dealer will be responsive and respectful, even if unwilling to deal. “Sorry, I can’t make those numbers work.” “The incentives last month make this hard.” “Sure, here is a quote.”
This is on par with my experiecne when i picked up my 19 330i 2 months ago. I ended up using a broker, but Irvine was the best option at the time.
Also this may depend on how you approach your negotiations. I naively sent a dealer a leasehackr link thinking it would better help the breakdown of pricing and it basically ended any discussions or deal.
Most BMW dealers i spoke to mainly wanted you to get in a test drive hoping that would blind you to numbers, perhaps most people that buy/lease from them are idiots that don’t understand the numbers and just want a bimmer.
I agree with you.