[E712]

In a few months, I will be purchasing either an E90 or a G35 Coupe. I am curious as to the experiences that other younger buyers have had in terms of attitudes of sales people during dealer visits and test drives. Did you go alone or with a friend? Did they ignore you and brush you off?

I am 22 years old, and the last new car that I bought was done without a test drive. I arranged the deal via e-mail with the Internet sales department of a dealership, went in, signed some papers, gave them a check, and left within an hour. The whole process was very smooth, and I ended up paying under invoice If I decide on an E90, I would do the $x over European Delivery invoice bargaining route using e-mail, but still want to try the car out before committing.

I really hate dealing with salespeople, but I guess I have no choice now that I actually want to test drive and such

[330m]

Just go and test the car at another dealership where you have no intention of buying from - just BS them.

Then you can e-mail whoever you like to buy one.

[stressdoc]

Ask around and find a good CA (salesperson). Do the email thing, but request a test drive. A good CA will be around for a long time -- if you set up the relationship well now, it will pay off over the long run. E.g., tell the CA you (and maybe your relatives) will be buying cars from him/her for a long time if you are treated properly. So $1200 over invoice for a E90 335 on ED this year, then a better deal next sale, etc. Then when there is a hard to get car, or you need some other favor, the CA will go to bat for you as a valuable customer. There are plenty of perfectly nice people out there selling cars.

[Discodancingrover]

Honestly, I had no problem at all. I'm 21 and when I was looking to buy I was 20. All the dealerships I went to were very nice and I spent a lot of time. They didn't care, I test drove the e90 a couple times at the same, they don't care at all. Every time I went in people came up to my right away to see if I needed help. You should be fine unless you act like a jerk. Today people don't know how much money you have so they can't judge you. I know a friend of mine (19) went into a Porsche dealership and bought a new turbo. They treated him very well, so don't worry.

[nostrum09]

I only had one problem buying the second BMW, but I'm not sure how much it was my age versus the style of the dealership, but when I went in the CA didn't seem very interested in helping me (needless to say I didn't buy there).

When I got my first BMW, I pulled into the lot in an old Jeep and the CA there treated me with respect despite my age then (20) and let me go for a test drive, as well as helping me out with any questions.

I'm sure you'll do fine!

[TENCHI]

why would age matter?

[importsrhot]

i'm 21 and when i bought my E90, they gave me a guy they thought to be "cool", and he is...just not very professional. But he's still cool and helps me out when I have a problem. The service department treats me well and professionally. I am kind of annoyed by the fact that they never guarantee a loaner car when my car is in service though.

[ward]

Originally Posted by TENCHI

why would age matter?

if some kid that comes in dressed and acting like he/she can't pay for the car and is just there for fun I could easily see them being treated poorly at even a good dealership.

age is a big factor.

[TENCHI]

Originally Posted by ward

if some kid that comes in dressed and acting like he/she can't pay for the car and is just there for fun I could easily see them being treated poorly at even a good dealership.

age is a big factor.

so is race but that has no place in a dealership.


my friend came dressed up as a punk and yet walked away in a Lamborghini Diablo.

Moral of the story, don't judge a book by its cover.

[ward]

agreed!

and you're right,

but when a sales person builds experience of how a person acts and behaves they're going to be able to figure out who's a buyer and who's fooling around. If they don't think you're a buyer, they may treat you poorly.
If you're a race that's notorious for penny pinching at deal time, they may treat you poorly.

There are always exeptions, but generalizations are just that.... true most of the time.

The salesperson would be possibly missing out on a sale, but in their mind they'd also be missing out on "wasting their time"

it's not right or fair, but books are absolutely judged by their covers.

[epiphone3]

I was treated very well at my dealership.

If you want some attention from sales people when in the show room... walk around the car you like and pop open the trunk and look inside. Guaranteed to have the most eager salesperson in the joint on your ass.

[tl_boy]

I was treated fairly well, but when I was 22, i was treated like sh*t at Momentum BMW in Houston. They weren't rude, its just I had to approach them, after 10 minutes of looking around at cars right in front of them.

My friends have also had problems at Momentum BMW in Houston, most everyone thinks the guys there are a55holes.

I ended up buying from Advantage BMW, and received fair treatment. No one came and rushed to me offering a drink, but it was okay I guess.

The dealers in Houston do not encourage test drives, or want to spend a whole lot of time talking about options, colors, etc. I for one, didn't get everything i wanted (sport package, xenons), because i was never shown the difference. I test drove a non sport package 325i, and for only 10 minutes. I wasn't encouraged to floor it, or drive hard to really see what makes a bmw a bmw. I test drove a Honda S2000, a few years ago, and was encouraged to open it up. I did, and drove it hard, but properly (didn't miss a gear or ride the clutch, etc.). That was fun, and the salesguy was cool. Yeah, its pretty pathetic when Honda dealers treat you better than BMW.



EDIT: The dealer i bought it from, was the dealer i had communicated with over the internet, so maybe thats why he thought i knew exactly what i wanted, and didn't show me options. As stated before, go do all the test drives, and ask all the questions of the dealer you DONT' THINK YOU'LL BUY FROM, and then do the internet thing at another dealer, once you know EXACTLY what you want. Internet sales from my experience give more aggressive pricing than regular sales.

[tl_boy]

Not really. Won't work at Momentum BMW in Houston at least. That is, though, the usual tell tale sign that you need assistance.

Originally Posted by epiphone3

I was treated very well at my dealership.

If you want some attention from sales people when in the show room... walk around the car you like and pop open the trunk and look inside. Guaranteed to have the most eager salesperson in the joint on your ass.

[Neurorad]

Tip on the 'internet buy':

The 'internet thing' works best if you know exactly what you want, down to the last detail (wood trim shift, rear deck spoiler, carpet mats). Do your research online, visit as many dealers as you can (with no intention of buying, be firm). Decide on your best price by making a spreadsheet listing every detail, and how much invoice is for each.

Then email the spec sheet you developed (including MACO fee and additional dealer profit worked in) to the nearest dealer. If they bite, great. If not, on to the next. BMWNA website lets you make a list of dealerships near you, listed by distance.

Some dealerships want to add on additional fees, that are 'set in stone'. Find out what these fees are when you reply, after the 'bite'. Change the spec sheet to reflect this fee, subtracting this fee from the 'additional dealer profit' field, then re-send.

Only a few dealers, it seems, would treat you differently when you return for service if you didn't buy the car from that dealership. It's a risk I would gladly take. For the email offer to the dealership nearest you, you may wish to add in 'convenience profit' to the dealer on the spec sheet, maybe another $150. That's the extra money you'd pay to buy it from the closest dealer (fewer delivery hassles).

I wouldn't hazard a guess as to whether this would work for ED.

Anybody else use this method? Additional tips on internet buying? My closest dealer (next closest 60 miles), the first on my list, took my offer, ~$1000 over invoice. I had a very good experience buying by email.

BTW, I used a new hotmail address so they couldn't Google me, and learn my profession.

[cdheaven]

In the process of buying a new car, i went to at least 5 different dealerships and was treated pretty much horribly at all of them. Especially caddy. It took like 20 minutes for someone to talk to me, literally, and when i asked the dude for a test drive he looked at me like i asked if i could sleep with his wife. Granted with tattoos and piercings, i look like a punk, but i feel in person im well spoken, and polite, so this made me very mad when i was treated like that. Lexus was pretty bad, and the first BMW dealership i went to wasnt great. they basically gave me a CA from used cars who didnt have the authority to let me test drive a new car, or go over exact figures.
Then i was referred to a salesman their a mutual friend, and because this guy already knew what to expect from me, things went very smooth, and i bought a car from him.
The email thing is good. if you dont have a mutual friend to introduce you, at least the two of you can introduce yourselvs in emails and by the time he finds out your 22, he will probably already have some respect for you, etc.

[rightnow]

Originally Posted by TENCHI

Moral of the story, don't judge a book by its cover.

We all know the morals.. But when you're working at a dealership that moral isnt very easy. Since 99% of all punks that want to testdrive the "car with the best engine you have" is usally idiots..

[Saosin17]

Originally Posted by ward

if some kid that comes in dressed and acting like he/she can't pay for the car and is just there for fun I could easily see them being treated poorly at even a good dealership.

age is a big factor.

i came to the dealership straight from an interview ina Burberry suit, the dealership was practically empty, and it took 30 minutes of me standing around the 3's for a dealer to finally come up to me

[faqulars]

I lived in Hawaii for 8 years and my father went to the MB dealership wearing jeans and a shirt. First couple of sales people didn't take him seriously. Another guy who my father ended up purchasing the car from took care of my father and he still calls us here in VA when we will be flying back to purchase another car. BTW he bought an e class amg back then. I never had any bad experiences purchasing cars maybe because I'm 26 but overall the best bet is to find another person that purchased a car there and get referred or do what I do and get the same saleperson that deals with your parents.

[tl_boy]

i don't think generalizations are fair to make. Every race has its share of people with different behaviors, and every age. I would be skeptical, sure i can understand that, but some sales person still should go and talk with the customer, no matter how they look.

Unless they are going for the Abercrombie and Fitch sales tactic (which i think is horrible). My friend used to work at A&F in Sugar Land, Texas and they told him, and the entire sales staff, that when a customer walks in, don't approach them, let them approach you. They were also very selective on who they hire, based upon that persons appearance. Basically that results in giving a cold impression to customers. I don't think its right, or good for business, but maybe thats what kids find cool, that they DON'T approach you.

I never did, but then again, i started shopping there when i was 19, not 13 or 14.

Originally Posted by ward

agreed!

and you're right,

but when a sales person builds experience of how a person acts and behaves they're going to be able to figure out who's a buyer and who's fooling around. If they don't think you're a buyer, they may treat you poorly.
If you're a race that's notorious for penny pinching at deal time, they may treat you poorly.

There are always exeptions, but generalizations are just that.... true most of the time.

The salesperson would be possibly missing out on a sale, but in their mind they'd also be missing out on "wasting their time"

it's not right or fair, but books are absolutely judged by their covers.

[hotsand5]

I also agree that you are judged as soon as you get out of your car...what are you wearing, nice shoes, fancy watch, shades, car you are driving, age etc.? I am 24, and before I bought the BMW I stopped in over a dozen different dealers of all different makes and have to say that I was treated the worst at cheaper asian dealers. At Honda, they didn't even want to let me take a test drive until I was sure that I was buying today, nissan was also bad with the 350z. The guy at Infiniti told me that I couldn't drive the exact car that I wanted, but can drive a similar demo....well unless I was ready to buy today. Lexus was the best....they even offered to make me a cup of expresso while I waited for a salesperson. Caddy was all over me w/ the CTS-V, and Audi, Benz, and BMW all showed respect and were great. I think everything also depends on the dealership, and it's hard to judge the brand by one dealership experience. E712, I would call the dealership before you show up, and make a couple calls...asking questions before you come in so that he knows that you are serious about the car. Good luck and let us know how it worked out.

[BellasBmw]

Im 22, and this was my first car without a co signer.

I guess i was treated fairly. But i do think i was ripped off, and he could have been more honest with me. He prob saw a 22 yr old girl and knew he could get away with alot. Thankfully, i knew enough about the E90 that he didnt get away with too much.

Just go in there confident

[Texas Ex]

1.) Know what you want
2.) Know how much you want to spend (set a max)
3.) Do you research before you set foot in the dealership.

Those are my three tips to buying a car.