Does dealership location matter when making custom online order ?

[whichmodel]

Hi,

I am thinking of ordering a 230i online with the options that I like. None of the local dealer's inventory has the color/options that I like.

If I am purely placing the custom order, is there any possibility of dealer offering any discount ? Can I provide my exact specification to 2-3 dealers and see which one can offer any discount or is it just waste of time and all of them will just quote the onlne price ?

[M3SQRD]

Whether buying off the lot or doing a custom build, I believe it’s best to do it in person. The dealership might not have the exact build you want but you can still go in and test drive one with similar features and/or colors and then bring up the idea of doing a custom build. You also need to discuss allocations because a dealership might not have an allocation for the model you want. However, except for our ‘20 g20, we’ve always had an pre-existing relationship with the dealership where we’ve done our custom builds and price negotiating.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by M3SQRD

Whether buying off the lot or doing a custom build, I believe it’s best to do it in person. The dealership might not have the exact build you want but you can still go in and test drive one with similar features and/or colors and then bring up the idea of doing a custom build. You also need to discuss allocations because a dealership might not have an allocation for the model you want. However, except for our ‘20 g20, we’ve always had an pre-existing relationship with the dealership where we’ve done our custom builds and price negotiating.

I totally agree with you!

IIRC, there are 2 dealers in the Austin area and the OP can also expand their search and check out San Antonio. They should go in person as I don't recommend that one purchases/ leases a new BMW online if if they are looking for a discount.

Also my wife wanted an ivory interior when we leased her 2021 228i GC and my dealer only had her color with a black interior. She didn't want to wait for new production and when we said we would look elsewhere he did a swap with another dealer and had the combination for her within a week with a fair discount.

[M3SQRD]

Originally Posted by Westside Guy

I totally agree with you!

IIRC, there are 2 dealers in the Austin area and the OP can also expand their search and check out San Antonio. They should go in person as I don't recommend that one purchases/ leases a new BMW online if if they are looking for a discount.

Also my wife wanted an ivory interior when we leased her 2021 228i GC and my dealer only had her color with a black interior. She didn't want to wait for new production and when we said we would look elsewhere he did a swap with another dealer and had the combination for her within a week with a fair discount.

In person is the best approach. I don’t know how people can buy a new car sight unseen from across the country. It would drive me insane! I don’t let the dealership remove the shipping materials!

I can understand your wife’s wanting an ivory white interior. When we custom build our ‘16 M4 we went with Moonstone Metallic exterior with Opal White interior. Surprisingly, Opal White is easy to maintain.

[RigaTony1982]

Some interesting thoughts here. I’ve used brokers in the past and haven’t had an issue.

Find a 230 on a dealer lot to test drive to make sure you like the car. Assuming you do, I’d email some dealers asking about allocations and pricing. Then just go from there. Some will respond, some won’t. Just the way it works.

It’s a new car that you built, so buying it sight unseen isn’t going to be a big issue. I could see that with a used car.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by M3SQRD

In person is the best approach. I don’t know how people can buy a new car sight unseen from across the country. It would drive me insane! I don’t let the dealership remove the shipping materials!

I can understand your wife’s wanting an ivory white interior. When we custom build our ‘16 M4 we went with Moonstone Metallic exterior with Opal White interior. Surprisingly, Opal White is easy to maintain.

Living in South Florida, with the extreme heat and constant sunshine, we would never get a car with a black interior. And just like your car, our 228i’s ivory interior is easy to keep clean so it is a non-issue.

[M3SQRD]

Originally Posted by RigaTony1982

Some interesting thoughts here. I’ve used brokers in the past and haven’t had an issue.

Find a 230 on a dealer lot to test drive to make sure you like the car. Assuming you do, I’d email some dealers asking about allocations and pricing. Then just go from there. Some will respond, some won’t. Just the way it works.

It’s a new car that you built, so buying it sight unseen isn’t going to be a big issue. I could see that with a used car.

I’ve never used a broker. I know for a fee, you can usually get an allocation pretty quickly but the dealer can be anywhere in the country, correct? Are you able to negotiate a price or is the price fixed or is there a standard discount based on the broker-dealer relationship? If the dealer is not local, do you or the dealer make the transportation arrangements? My biggest issue is not seeing the car in person until after you’re the owner!

[RigaTony1982]

Originally Posted by M3SQRD

I’ve never used a broker. I know for a fee, you can usually get an allocation pretty quickly but the dealer can be anywhere in the country, correct? Are you able to negotiate a price or is the price fixed or is there a standard discount based on the broker-dealer relationship? If the dealer is not local, do you or the dealer make the transportation arrangements? My biggest issue is not seeing the car in person until after you’re the owner!

The broker I used for both my Z4 and wife’s X3 had a dealer that was local to me, in a suburb of Chicago. I believe they have more than one dealer they work with.

The discounts are published on their website for most models. For the X3, it was 9.0% and my Z4 was 3.5% (this was December 2022 for the X3 and January 2023 for the Z4). The discount amounts do not include any additional incentives offered so you can factor those in as well, assuming you qualify. Also was nice in that there are no additional add-ons and if you financed with BMWFS there was no markup to the rates offered.

As far as allocations, we didn’t have an issue. Obviously the X3 has a ton of slots, but even on my Z40 M40i I was able to get one right away (they actually had one in status 112 that I was able to modify to my specs). Probably not always the case depending on the model, but they can tell you ahead of time.

I’m sure they can arrange transportation if you’re not local. I lucked out there.

With that being said, I get your concern on buying unseen. Since both our cars were orders we didn’t see them until the day we picked them up. I will say that we did not have to put a deposit down or anything and had no commitment to the car if we choose not to buy it when it came if there was an issue.

[M3SQRD]

Originally Posted by Westside Guy

Living in South Florida, with the extreme heat and constant sunshine, we would never get a car with a black interior. And just like your car, our 228i’s ivory interior is easy to keep clean so it is a non-issue.

Nice! I don’t think I’ve seen your exterior color before - what’s it called? I can certainly understand the need for lighter colored interiors in FL.

[Westside Guy]

Seaside Blue metallic.

My wife fell in love with the color the minute she saw it in the dealer’s lot. 👍🏻

[M3SQRD]

Originally Posted by Westside Guy

Seaside Blue metallic.

My wife fell in love with the color the minute she saw it in the dealer’s lot. 👍🏻

When I started buying BMWs there weren’t as many blue options available (Avus, Estoril and some dark blues). Now BMW offers so many awesome and striking blue colors, both standard paint and individual paint! We have a ‘20 330ix in Portimao Blue and a ‘18 m240ix in Estoril Blue (I was pushing for Melbourne Red). Ten years ago I would’ve bet you that I’d never own a blue BMW. I now have two.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by M3SQRD

When I started buying BMWs there weren’t as many blue options available (Avus, Estoril and some dark blues). Now BMW offers so many awesome and striking blue colors, both standard paint and individual paint! We have a ‘20 330ix in Portimao Blue and a ‘18 m240ix in Estoril Blue (I was pushing for Melbourne Red). Ten years ago I would’ve bet you that I’d never own a blue BMW. I now have two.

They definitely have some fabulous shades, meet my other blue BMW.

2022 Z4 M40i
Misano Blue/ Ivory