[sowlesa]

I’m nearing the finish line on (finally) getting my 540i. SA reached out and said the vehicle should arrive towards the end of April. I’ve seen a lot of posts recently about people negotiating pretty significant discounts off of MSRP. Makes sense to me that for cars at the dealer already negotiating makes sense for both consumer and dealership, but I’m wondering what leverage (if any) I have to negotiate price once the car arrives at the dealer. Given it’s all customized the way I want, and that’s I’ve essentially already committed myself to the purchase, seems like negotiating may not be in the cards?

For reference the build is a 540i xdrive with nearly all the added options (technology, M sport, B&W audio, etc…). MSRP $79,695

[LVBMW]

Unless you put down a non-refundable deposit (rare as most customers would not agree to that) you can still walk away.

Someone recently posted this experience:

https://g60.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=2094986

This was through a broker, though, so it’s hard to match a broker deal with one direct from the dealer.

[LVBMW]

Might want to check the True Car website. Gives a sense of what discount off MSRP people are getting in your area.

[SkykingUSA]

I'm in California, so not sure what it's like in Oregon but I suspect it's probably similar.

Short answer: You can still negotiate price, and probably walk away if necessary.

The below steps are what happened in my case, and I had no problems with any part of it from the dealerships or the SAs I worked with.

1. I configured the car I wanted using the online configurator and it generated a build code that I shared with 6 dealers in my area by email, asking for the best deal they could give me.
2. I found the i5 eDrive40 and M60 on two dealer lots over the next month or so and test drove them a few times.
3. I contacted the single dealer that replied to me with a price but didn't work with him because I wanted more prices to compare to.
4. I visited another dealer who gave me a price in person, but couldn't guarantee it because "they couldn't do that in December, and he didn't know why. it was mysterious to him". That was my first red flag, but I put in an order anyway since his price was lower, and since it required no deposit and I wasn't obligated. Plus, he seemed like a nice guy.
5. After December passed, I tried to get him to lock in pricing, but he never replied to my many email requests. I know he was getting my emails because he replied to other questions in them, he was just radio silent on pricing.
6. After waiting a couple weeks into January, I decided that I didn't want to do business with him anymore for various reasons and told him I'm out - take my name off that allocation (even though it was already ordered in the system - I had a production number to track and everything).
7. I then went back to the other dealer who gave me a price originally and I ordered with him - he had a pre-existing order in that was still available for me to change, so I didn't lose much time on the order and had a production number to track that same day.
8. At the time of order in mid Jan, we agreed on a price.
9. In February when I saw that the BMW "deals" on the BMWUSA website were better than the deals in Jan, I contacted him and we renegotiated for a lower price. He agreed, and I had a new guaranteed price.
10. Later in March, the online deals didn't change so I didn't recontact him in early March.
11. In mid March on the day I took delivery, I still tried to negotiate again for a better price before I signed all the paperwork.

My point is, you can always try to negotiate the price because you can always go elsewhere to put in your order, as long as you have not provided a non-refundable deposit. In California, it is illegal to not return a deposit on a car if the potential buyer changes his or her mind before signing the final paperwork. Neither of the two dealers I worked with even wanted a deposit. I think they figured if I didn't want the car, they could sell it to someone else.

I hope this helps.

[sowlesa]

Very helpful. Thank you!

Yes, sounds like you’ve had a similar process in California. Only two differences are fewer dealerships to work with in Oregon, so I really only had two options. One replied to my build request and the other didn’t so that sent me I’m my limited direction there.

Similar to you, I tried to get the dealership to negotiate on price ahead of time which they would not do. All they did was send me the MSRP on the build sheet. But I’ve never signed anything or placed a deposited.

[COBodom]

Of course you can negotiate the price on a 'custom build" bmw. My last three 540s were custom built and I got the discounts.

Obviously times were different back then but even the recent G60 that was ordered to my specs I got a discount on.

Do not assume discounts are only to be had on a lot inventory.