I finally purchased my 2008 335i Sedan!
First of all, I wanted to thank everyone on these forums and encourage everyone to read as much as you can and participate!
I am writing this email in hopes that other newbies out there can learn from my mistakes and I wanted to give something back to the forum, granted not everyone might agree with my point of view, but I'm just sharing what I went through.
So the quest for a new car began 4 weeks ago and I narrowed down my choice to a 335i Sedan out of a IS350 (didn't like the disconnect from the road and the small windows!) and the G35S (its a great car, but its in between, jack of all trades, master of none)
I went to a couple of BMW dealerships in the Bay Area. Stevens Creek BMW was great at showing me a car, but not so great on their prices. San Francisco BMW was AMAZING at their customer service and I enjoyed the test drive, but again, their prices weren't so good.
We now fast forward to 11/17. A friend recommended that I use CarsDirect.com for my car purchase. I went online and picked out the car that I wanted. I got a call back on the same day, with a clear showing of pricing and the car. The only caveat, was that I had to make the decision 'now', because CarsDirect.com is a brokerage, and the car that I found was located at another dealership. I basically read and took in the marketing jargon on carsDirect.com's website and felt that they were cheaper than MSRP and they found me my car. I then made the MISTAKE, that I would hope people reading this and others don't make. PLEASE HAVE PATIENCE. I was so excited that they found my car with all the options that I let my emotions get the best of me. I said lets go for it.
I then spent Sunday and Monday researching and reading all the forums on the E90. I found the numerous price sheets available and found the following. For the car that I wanted with all the options.
Pricing:
The Invoice Price with options and the three fixed costs of purchasing a car is: $46,996
The CarsDirect.com price with options and three fixed costs of purchasing a car is: $49,220 + $400 (To ship the car to your house) = $49,620.
Basically the difference is: $2,100 over invoice. Now, mentally, I didn't mind paying $1,000 dollars over invoice, because they found my car and I like having great service.
I tried to negotiate after the fact, but of course, carsDirect.com wouldn't budge.
As the timeline progressed the following big issues occurred:
1. When carsDirect.com requested my credit report, they incorrectly filled out the amount and my address! I passed the credit check, thankfully, but it was all screwy after, since I had to dig up a proof of residence, to prove that I live in my house! Of course this is all delayed, with mailing back and forth.
2. Dealerships in the bay area started calling me back and I was talking directly to fleet managers and internet sales reps. Let me tell you, DONT WASTE YOUR TIME With carsDirect.com! Go directly to these guys, most of them are friendly and they know that you want to save money!! I got offers for people willing to sell me a car for 500-1000 over invoice. GOD DID I WISH I HAD WAITED!
3. I changed my deposit amount for the car I was going to purchase and of course when I finally get the paperwork, my original amount was put down on it. Again, another problem when dealing with people over the phone. Things are bound to get lost in translation!
4. I had requested carsDirect.com to insure that my car not have the front license plate installed. They basically said that they will request it, but can't guarantee it. Jeez, if I just went to a dealership, THIS WOULD NOT BE AN ISSUE.
5. Here's a great knee slapper for you. When they called me, telling me that my car would be shipped to my house. I was like effing finally. They were saying don't be alarmed at the dirt/dust on the car from the shipping. Its like, you spend so much money on the car, the least they can do, is figure out either: partner with a closer BMW dealership to do the cleaning or PAY FOR A CARWASH before you drop it off!
6. NO REAL MONEY SAVINGS. In my mind. I wouldn't mind paying 1,000 over invoice or maybe more if the customer service was just outstanding. The truth of the matter was that it was just SUB PAR. Things were not handled timely and my agent should have kept me more in the loop.
7. MY CAR! I finally realized that CarsDirect.com purchased my car from a dealership located about 20 minutes from my house! They purchased the car from them and sent the car to Los Angeles (where CarsDirect.com is located). They then inspected the car and then trucked it back to my residence. Here's the KICKER.. I have to pay for the TRUCKING on top of it!
Summary:
-PLEASE DO NOT USE CARSDIRECT.COM
-Please go to a fleet manager or internet sales manager at a car dealership
-CarsDirect.com is NOT worth the price as their customer service is sub-par
-Nothing beats the face-to-face time you get with a person, instead of airmailing the paperwork for your car back and forth, quite irritating!
My learning lessons:
1. Be More Patient and do more research
2. I finally understand where carsDirect.com fits in the ecosystem. They are cheaper than sales people at car dealerships, BUT they can't touch the prices offered by fleet managers, internet sales managers, and people who are willing to do the research themselves.
I want to put this whole experience behind me as it was horrible. It is going to be about 2 weeks, total, from me requesting the car, to getting it at my house.
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