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Buying a new F45

3K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  TBH1 
#1 ·
Maiden post here, so thanks in advance for the wisdom that I might glean from the forum :) .

I am in the market for an F45 and would prefer to buy nearly new. However, I am after a 218i auto, and this does not seem a very popular model, so (once I eliminate unacceptable colours etc) the choice of approved used is limited.

Looking at the options on new cars, I have run the car I am after through Carwow, and got offers ranging from a 0% discount, to what I would rate as a fairly decent 11.2% discount.

Just wondering whether I am likely to get better than 11.2% off a new made to order car by asking around further ?

Thanks in advance !
 
#2 ·
Welcome to the forum

Good to see another buyer of the Active Tourer, unfortunately in my case when we bought ours in 2014 we traded our previous BM against it and similarly when we looked recently at the 225xe again we were in the same position.

You've not mentioned your method of payment nor what you're looking for regarding the specifications or version which obviously will effect the overall price of the car, in our case for example we were looking at the 225xe M Sport with all options except the Sun Roof.

As you can see this information will help in determining the response or advice you're looking for.

dorsetred :cool2:
 
#3 ·
My first post.
I recently took delivery of a factory order 218i auto and so beat the tax increase. Contrary to what you write, the 218i is a popular choice and in SE spec strongly recommended - see Daily Telegraph's Honest John. SE spec comes with 16" wheels and large profile tyres for a smooth ride. Essential extras for me were: autobox (great), spare wheel (bargain at £75), folding mirrors and above all the reversing camera. Each can be ordered as part of a package or individually. I also ordered a couple of packages to include parking sensors and several other toys. I changed wheels to turbine style (no charge) and went for Jet Black as a no charge colour option. Very pleased with the car.
A reasonable discount (> £1K) was not hard to negotiate (no P/X) and the salesman readily agreed to supply 4 BMW fitted rubber mats FOC. He would not throw in mud flaps because he said they had to be fitted in the workshop. Bought mudflaps separately and the Parts Dept printed out the workshop fitting instructions for me (they are simple to fit). You will not be disappointed with a 218i auto.
 
#4 ·
The model that I asked about on Carwow was a 218i automatic Luxury Active Tourer. So as not to complicate the pricing I I did not specify any extras over and above the basic Luxury spec, although I will certainly want some.

I was surprised to get an offer of 11.2% (which is around £2,750) off the list price on a made to order car, and a follow up e-mail that I sent produced a very focussed response saying that the dealership had allocated me a specific sales rep to deal wit my queries. I know that this is how it should work, but it is often not the case: a salesmen in one of the main London dealerships did not even bother to reply to my last e-mail to him !

I will be paying cash, but the quote I got offered the same price for both a cash and finance purchase. I have not yet raised part exchange, but I know what my car is worth as a couple of dealers (who have seen the px car) have already offered me the value which comes up on the Webuyanycar website as their 'starting' price.

I am just wondering whether 11.2% would be as good as it gets, or whether there is more to be had.
 
#6 ·
Have a look on Coast2coast as well. Although they primarily deal with finance deals, I managed to get my M140i knocked down to under 30k (RRP was 38k) and took that to my BMW dealer, who confirmed the 'finance discount' on C2C was in fact a chassis discount, and they could apply it if buying cash
 
#7 ·
Thanks for all the advice to date. I did contact TRL, who told me that BMW are not offering any 'support' on the 2 AT, so there was nothing he could offer. I am not entirely sure what this means, but I assume that on some models BMW are offering the dealers an extended margin to enable them to offer better deals (??).

I am getting the sense that the best deals are- perhaps unsurprisingly - to be had on the most expensive models. Unfortunately I definitely do not want a large engine or an M model, as the car is to be used for short journeys on London's potholed and congested roads. So it seems that I am stuck with a 'standard deal'. From what TRL told me about dealer discounts (I think he mentioned 8-9%), I should probably regard the 11.2% that I have been offered as a good deal, The Coast2coast offer was pretty similar, and overall I think I prefer the Carwow route of dealing direct with a named dealer right from the outset.

Any other thoughts gratefully received !
 
#8 ·
I completely understand where you're coming from because I had a similar response from Tony (TRL) which frankly didn't really help much although in my case I was looking at a part-ex. I've got the distinct impression he's not interested at all in any business involving the Active / Grand Tourer models but as you had mentioned possible cash only it does make you wander, I can only presume he'll take a similar approach when the X2 is released at the end of this year or early next year.

The only guideline I can give is we were offered around 15% but that did include the £2.5k x Gov for the 225xe so it does appear you could be on the right lines although I'd still be pushing for more personally especially with the Tax Changes effective 1st April as that will effect you for the next 5 years.

dorsetred :cool2:
 
#9 ·
By way of update my local dealer has offered 11.5% off for an order placed by tomorrow (quarter's end) but I currently have an ex-demonstrator in my sights.

I missed a super-loaded demonstrator from Berry Heathrow which seemed to be going for a (relative) song, and I see that they now have another, which also looks very cheap but does not match my spec. Do they have a track record of very cheap demonstrator deals ??
 
#11 ·
God point about the 2nd quarter. It did occur to me that with a lot of sales being put through in March to catch the new plate, and esp this year with the VED changes for cars registered from tomorrow and Brexit now triggered, the dealers might be a little concerned about sales in the next quarter.

Does anyone know whether this is traditionally a good time to pick up deals ?
 
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