BMW dealer refused to order me a car

[RonronEG]

Originally Posted by SteveinArizona

Wow. You are in great shape. a 30 mile bike trip.

That's one way, too lol. That's well beyond my bicycle range territory.

[yipyiphooray]

At the dealership I work at, my managers also requires a submitted credit app along with a deposit. They say it's to assure that the customer would be approved for the vehicle prior to even submitting the build - just to make sure we wouldn't be stuck with their build if they don't get approved when it comes in.

I hate the way that works but on the same note, I can understand why some dealerships do it this way.

[zx10guy]

Or maybe the dealer is restricting non local buyers to ensure their local buyers will have inventory to purchase from. I'm sure many of you all would be pissed if a lot of non local buyers come in and buy out inventory from your local market forcing you to have to look further for any available cars.

[FCX5]

Originally Posted by skyline408

I have a spot. Deposit sent, and they have all my info (I bought my new 2022 X5M from them a few months ago) this dealer is farther away from me, and I figured I want a turn at a new dealer this time around, which is why I called a different dealer to order a car this time.

A Ferrari I understand because of its exclusivity and the image Ferrari warrants from their owners.

BTW, I agree with your position. It's why many people would prefer a direct to consumer buying experience. Yeah, a BMW dealer can't use a Ferrari sales model. Totally different products.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by FCX5

BTW, I agree with your position. It's why many people would prefer a direct to consumer buying experience. Yeah, a BMW dealer can't use a Ferrari sales model. Totally different products.

It's not just BMW dealers (or this one) doing it. Dealers of other makes are also doing this...limiting sales to what they deem as their local demographic.

[Tuxedo]

BMW rewards dealers that adhere to a quadrant data point the client buys, service and return sale relationship all at the same dealership. Being in an area that has many options no doubt in these times where the volume sale no longer makes up for it, cling to that quadrant system. Allocations being tight for even a damn 228i this is relationship building for close to home, if you know your old salesperson and sales advisor on a first name bases no problem... contact any ol salesperson out of the blue this can happen.

[pikkagtr]

Originally Posted by Tuxedo

BMW rewards dealers that adhere to a quadrant data point the client buys, service and return sale relationship all at the same dealership. Being in an area that has many options no doubt in these times where the volume sale no longer makes up for it, cling to that quadrant system. Allocations being tight for even a damn 228i this is relationship building for close to home, if you know your old salesperson and sales advisor on a first name bases no problem... contact any ol salesperson out of the blue this can happen.

This is the reason why Ford created their Ford E concept
Direct sales to consumers for EV products
Cut out the middle man
When the sales guy does not have your best interest in mind and only sees dollars and sense , it is a bad business model from a customer service stand point
Dealership should only be a show room and for service and or warranty repair
We need to be thinking about the 2022 car buyer who shops online vs. the 1992 buyer who buys off the lot
There is ZERO need for a car salesperson
I've yet to meet one who knew more about the car than I did
What are they getting paid for?
Why not cut out the middle man, save 2k and pass the 1k savings to the customer
Win win for me and Ford

[BMWCCA1]

Originally Posted by pikkagtr

Dealership should only be a show room and for service and or warranty repair
We need to be thinking about the 2022 car buyer who shops online vs. the 1992 buyer who buys off the lot
There is ZERO need for a car salesperson
I've yet to meet one who knew more about the car than I did
What are they getting paid for?
Why not cut out the middle man, save 2k and pass the 1k savings to the customer

Been down this road before. Good luck keeping dealerships to service your car without the sales opportunities. Jag and Porsche floated that model decades ago. Just because you know it all and have yet to meet a salesperson who knows anything does not mean there aren't your garden-variety consumers out there who buy all those 4-cylinder cars and think a Q5 is the same as an X5 who really do need someone to help them figure it all out. Not every BMW customer is an M-buyer. There's a lot of normal hand-holding and monotonous question answering and—believe it or not—not all of them prefer to shop on BMW's horrible "BIY" website. Our dealership Genius and all salespeople are kept constantly busy helping those average customers for months and years after the sale answering questions from "my CarPlay just stopped working" to "I just got a new phone and can't pair it". We're even known to make house calls for stupid stuff like pairing a Homelink garage door opener. Everyone is not as perfect or intelligent as you (think you are), and most BMW buyers are really just normal people who need an appliance to take their kids to school. Your reality is skewed, and so is your economic perspective when you look at the investment of all BMW dealerships in this country versus what pitiful infrastructure BMWNA brings to your experience, or what the salesman is paid for catering to the customer.

[zx10guy]

It actually goes beyond just looking at how a salesman can help with your buying decisions. At the larger macro level, if dealerships are eliminated, the onus is on the manufacturer to maintain inventory. This has a profound affect on all the backend logistics and costs. Right now, inventory is being managed and held by each dealership. This impacts when revenues are declared and any need to float any money before an car is sold.

I see this as a similar model to IT sales. Some manufacturers will sell direct to the end customer. Some won't. But all of them have channel/resellers that will sell their product on their behalf. While these companies are not called dealers, they are in essence filling in the same role. With this industry, I don't see channel/resellers going away anytime soon if at all. And we're not talking about product that you can just run out to your local Best Buy to purchase. I've sold and worked with equipment that can cost more than a typical single family house.

[Vivek.]

Originally Posted by skyline408

But this would be akin to living in New Braunfels and the San Antonio dealer refusing to order the car.

To be fair, the SA BMW dealership is probably the closest one to New Braunfels but there are at least 3 dealers closer to you than East Bay. I go to Mountain View after I got fed up with Stevens Creek. Which one did you end up ordering from?

[skyline408]

Originally Posted by Vivek.

To be fair, the SA BMW dealership is probably the closest one to New Braunfels but there are at least 3 dealers closer to you than East Bay. I go to Mountain View after I got fed up with Stevens Creek. Which one did you end up ordering from?

I've purchased new M cars at both BMW Mountain View and BMW Stevens Creek. Neither great, and both had markups on the M3.

East Bay (Hendricks) promises no markups, and seeing as I've never purchased a car from them before, I decided to give them a shot. When the manager did call me back to explain their process he did mention the sales guy I was talking to was new to the job and did not properly explain the situation, and he was 100% wrong about having to submit the credit app even though i'm paying cash. As mentioned, they were willing to make an exception and let me place an order.

I placed my order with BMW SF where my F80 M3 and my most recent F95 X5M was purchased from. I didn't think they would do MSRP which is why I didn't bother to call them first, but when I did call my contact, he said MSRP, so the order was placed then and there.

AS for the side discussion of no dealer model - I've purchased 3 new Teslas in my life and from ordering on my phone to delivery, I've had zero contact with anyone and was the least amount of time spent on buying any car. I like that... But I can see why that isn't for everybody (like my parents)

[pikkagtr]

Originally Posted by BMWCCA1

Been down this road before. Good luck keeping dealerships to service your car without the sales opportunities. Jag and Porsche floated that model decades ago. Just because you know it all and have yet to meet a salesperson who knows anything does not mean there aren't your garden-variety consumers out there who buy all those 4-cylinder cars and think a Q5 is the same as an X5 who really do need someone to help them figure it all out. Not every BMW customer is an M-buyer. There's a lot of normal hand-holding and monotonous question answering and—believe it or not—not all of them prefer to shop on BMW's horrible "BIY" website. Our dealership Genius and all salespeople are kept constantly busy helping those average customers for months and years after the sale answering questions from "my CarPlay just stopped working" to "I just got a new phone and can't pair it". We're even known to make house calls for stupid stuff like pairing a Homelink garage door opener. Everyone is not as perfect or intelligent as you (think you are), and most BMW buyers are really just normal people who need an appliance to take their kids to school. Your reality is skewed, and so is your economic perspective when you look at the investment of all BMW dealerships in this country versus what pitiful infrastructure BMWNA brings to your experience, or what the salesman is paid for catering to the customer.

I do agree with most of what you're saying
Why can't there be a BMW "Genius" program where their sole purpose is to show grandmama how to pair her phone or Susie Q 19 yr old can't get Apple Carplay to work to call ?
Set it up where the guy shows you the ins and outs on a TV screen
If and when you decide to buy one, they just go to the other TV screen and order to the specs you want
it comes to the dealership 4-6 weeks later and then they show you the ins and out in person one more time and then you drive it home
that is the ideal Dealership experience

[Theruleslawyer]

Originally Posted by cooolone2

Last I checked, my $$$ is good no matter what State I'm in. And any business practice restricting trade to attempt to influence the increased business or denial of, due to a lack of retention of services, ie, warranty or maintenance is definitely something I would probably also contact the State AG Office to file a complain about possible collusion and racketeering by organized dealerships that band together to effectuate the plan. Especially if multiple are rendering this agreement across state lines!

Simply amazing...

Could you imagine a Hotel denying you a room unless you ate in their restaurant only? How about a gas/service station refusing gasoline unless you sign a contract to do your oil changes there?...

If you're out of state you're not bringing in money in their shop. That car isn't staying in market for future owners to use their shop. You more than likely aren't buying future cars from them. You're a one time sale, not a relationship. That doesn't even get into the additional work and amount of tire kickers out of state probably generates.

In a time of restricted supply I can totally why a dealer would choose to only deal with in-state buyers as annoying as that is.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by skyline408

I've purchased new M cars at both BMW Mountain View and BMW Stevens Creek. Neither great, and both had markups on the M3.

East Bay (Hendricks) promises no markups, and seeing as I've never purchased a car from them before, I decided to give them a shot. When the manager did call me back to explain their process he did mention the sales guy I was talking to was new to the job and did not properly explain the situation, and he was 100% wrong about having to submit the credit app even though i'm paying cash. As mentioned, they were willing to make an exception and let me place an order.

I placed my order with BMW SF where my F80 M3 and my most recent F95 X5M was purchased from. I didn't think they would do MSRP which is why I didn't bother to call them first, but when I did call my contact, he said MSRP, so the order was placed then and there.

In my opinion the manager that called you back was BS'ing you.

• First he puts the blame on a new salesman who allegedly was wrong to insist on performing a credit check.

• Then the words "make an exception" come into play.

The bottom line is that this manager cannot have it both ways. "Making an exception" contradicts the statement that the salesman was wrong and didn't follow policy. The odds are that the salesman was probably instructed to ask for credit checks and now the manager is trying to play nice because he knew you were upset and he would lose a real customer.

[TAZ007]

Originally Posted by skyline408

I have a spot. Deposit sent, and they have all my info (I bought my new 2022 X5M from them a few months ago) this dealer is farther away from me, and I figured I want a turn at a new dealer this time around, which is why I called a different dealer to order a car this time.

A Ferrari I understand because of its exclusivity and the image Ferrari warrants from their owners.

Congrats on your spot and good luck with the wait. Patience will be in high demand. Taking the high road with the first dealer was best practice. I'm sure that play lost them the service money they hope for because an extra 15 miles makes for a nice drive.

[P1]

Originally Posted by skyline408

But this would be akin to living in New Braunfels and the San Antonio dealer refusing to order the car.

Folks in New Braunfels don't buy BMWs

[MrOhnoez]

Originally Posted by pikkagtr

I do agree with most of what you're saying
Why can't there be a BMW "Genius" program where their sole purpose is to show grandmama how to pair her phone or Susie Q 19 yr old can't get Apple Carplay to work to call ?
Set it up where the guy shows you the ins and outs on a TV screen
If and when you decide to buy one, they just go to the other TV screen and order to the specs you want
it comes to the dealership 4-6 weeks later and then they show you the ins and out in person one more time and then you drive it home
that is the ideal Dealership experience

Oh god please don't remind me of how much I have to help people with apple carplay LOL

I beg my older customers to not use it, as it can be so finnicky with updates.
Yet they insist, and low and behold I have to walk 70+ year old lady how to completely unpair and repair their devices every other month lol.

[SteveinArizona]

Originally Posted by R_Kuski

Ordering an M Car now feels like buying a Rolex. You have to build a relationship with the Dealer. The dealership gets big kickbacks from BMW if they can keep repeat customers and local customers. Otherwise why not just have the whole thing online and skip dealerships all together.

And the reverse. I am looking at a BEV for my next car and comparing a Lucid Air (direct purchase, no dealership but a design studio and service center in my city) with other performance/luxury BEVs (I need range and performance). My local dealership, which is less than 2 miles away from my house, always has a loaner for me and that is a BMW, not a Corolla.

So I will be comparing the performance and range of the Lucid with the convenience of my local dealership.

[TAZ007]

Originally Posted by R_Kuski

Ordering an M Car now feels like buying a Rolex. You have to build a relationship with the Dealer. The dealership gets big kickbacks from BMW if they can keep repeat customers and local customers. Otherwise why not just have the whole thing online and skip dealerships all together.

I assure you that buying a Rolex is way simpler.

[Glen e]

Bmw does not give any kickbacks to the dealer so that it remains local. They only threaten allocations and incentives when they catch the car going out of the country, thru a customs pier report.

[eelnoraa]

I think for the high profile/rare car like M3, it is not uncommon to ask for deposite and credit check, at the time of allocation, not at the time of getting into waiting list for allocation.

In my case, 45e, no where as rear as M cars, BMW Mountainview wanted to run credit when getting into waiting list. I didn't mind much at that time, and i didn't argue. Because Peter Pan put me into waiting list with zero ask. Only when allocation is given, they ask or $1K deposited and credit check. I think it depend a lot more on the sale person than then dealer tho.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by eelnoraa

I think for the high profile/rare car like M3, it is not uncommon to ask for deposite and credit check, at the time of allocation, not at the time of getting into waiting list for allocation.

In my case, 45e, no where as rear as M cars, BMW Mountainview wanted to run credit when getting into waiting list. I didn't mind much at that time, and i didn't argue. Because Peter Pan put me into waiting list with zero ask. Only when allocation is given, they ask or $1K deposited and credit check. I think it depend a lot more on the sale person than then dealer tho.

The saying, "different strokes for different folks" definitely applies to auto dealers. 😉