BMW AUP and sourcing from another dealer

[thigger]

Hi,

I'm a relative newb to Nice Cars and am looking at purchasing a Z4 through the Approved Used Programme. The dealer I spoke to says if I find something I like at another dealership (eg using the bmw.co.uk website) he will purchase it from them and then sell it on to me. Personally I can't see much advantage to that over me just going direct myself (presumably he has to take his cut somewhere) - though my wife wonders if there are any fiddles such as it counting as two sales for their figures and that it might end up with a cheaper car for me.

Does anyone have any advice or experience on this?

[dan101smith]

Well if it is for sale at another dealership then it should be on the BMW website, so you'll be able to see the sticker price online. Don't see how they can put any mark-up on it.

The downside is that if the car you want is in Edinburgh and you're in Penzance, how would you view the car if your local garage will only get it in once a deal is struck?

[ism123]

Sounds like some salesman's BS to me. IME the dealers do not like talking to one another to purchase cars, believe me I spent 6 weeks trying to get a dealer to source me a used car from at least 10 others not in their group. Complete waste of time.

[thigger]

My aim is not to pay the sticker price but somewhere below; the prices seem to be dropping at a rate they're not really keeping up with themselves. (esp if you trust the wisebuyers.co.uk prices which have come down again this week!)
I guess it probably is a case of "don't wanna lose the sale" - which is a shame as it presumably means no better price for me.

[LocoBlade]

When I was shopping around for a 1 Series, one of my local dealers (Wood Hants) offered to do the same if there was nothing within their group stock, they said they could get a car in from any other UK dealer as long as it was an agreed sale beforehand, albeit I could pull out if it wasn't as described in any way and then they'd send it back.

If the car you want is the other end of the country it might make sense, but even the salesman was forced to admit there may be slightly more room for manouvre on the price if I went direct rather than using them as the middle man, so if it was at another local-ish dealer I'd have gone direct.

[Pork]

My Bro looked at an E60 in Bedford a while back. We then went to Northampton where the salesman was LEAGUES ahead of the chaps at Beford, but Bedford had the car/spec my Bro wanted.

The chap at Northampton said he could source the one from Bedford as it was an AUC, but as we'd spoken to Bedford beforehand, they wouldnt let it go.

So, if you see a car you like and want your dealer to source it, dont make a serious enquiry directly to the seller


Good luck.

[LocoBlade]

Yup I was told that too, dont enquire about the car directly if you want to go through a different dealer because the more interest there is, the less likely the holding dealer will release it.