Buying a new BMW..Is there a 'good' time to place the order?

[Gyrock]

The merits of whether I've made a good decision or not aren't really the point of this post, however rightly or wrongly I've been to see my friendly local BMW dealer and have specced up a new M5. So far as the sales guy is concerned, I've been very non committal about the whole thing, however my mind is made up and at some point over the coming months I will place the order.

For various reasons I'm in no hurry though and in fact the car arriving in early 2013 would probably suit me the best (I want an 'Individual' spec, which is apparently around 6 months wait anyway).

The dealership concerned has a M5 cancelled order in the showroom, which was listed at £83k IIRC, however I was told that given the need to get it shifted, plus given the month in we are in (whatever that means?) they would do me a very good deal. This is actually of little interest though because I don't want a white car!

The sales guy also told me during our discussions that if I purchase the car personally, rather than through my business, they will be able to give me a better deal when I finally place the order. I guess this has something to do with targets or something?

So here's the question. Given that deals can be obviously done, is there a best time to place an order? Does anyone know when BMWGB's quarter end dates are, or whether there are any other reasons why a sales guy would be willing to cut a better deal because of dates/ timing etc?

Any thoughts, help gratefully received

[Buster73]

Buy it and save the best part of £20 k.

[Contigo]

If you HAVE to get a brand spanker then get this white one and have it wrapped into a colour that you want and still save a packet. For me though, the F10 will depreciate quicker than most cars out there and therefore will be a stonking buy in a few months so I would wait until they get into the low 60's/late 50's.

[Mr-B]

End of the month is always the end of the month and no guessing on when quarters end

[ludicrous speed]

£83k

I didn't realise they were that much, doubt there is ever gonna be a good time to buy one at that price.

[Alucidnation]

Worst 'i have more money than sense' thread ever.

Doesnt make a bit of difference if you buy it through your business or personally AFAIK.

I think they are pushing you to buy a car you dont really want.

Its your cash at the end of the day and internet forum opinions are not what you should base your decision on.

That being said, however much money i had, i would never buy one new considering the value will drop faster than Jordans undies.

[Pig Skill]

I think now is the time to have a good think, maybe go see a doctor and find out whether you are clinically sane.

In 3 years time the F10 M5 will be selling for less than £30k on the used car market, likely less imho. I know its nice to buy new but once you have a few stone chips, scuffed a wheel or two and ragged it around it will just be another car on the road and you will be £50k lighter.

To me, losing £55k+ over three years is absolutely bonkers

I know its not what you asked, but seriously man wake up!

[kambites]

The best time to buy is just before the next model is due to come out... but failing that, I doubt it makes much difference really. If it's cheap and you want it, but it. Any new BMW is going to depreciate at a horrific rate, regardless.

[TotalZ4]

Pig Skill said:

I think now is the time to have a good think, maybe go see a doctor and find out whether you are clinically sane.

In 3 years time the F10 M5 will be selling for less than £30k on the used car market, likely less imho. I know its nice to buy new but once you have a few stone chips, scuffed a wheel or two and ragged it around it will just be another car on the road and you will be £50k lighter.

To me, losing £55k+ over three years is absolutely bonkers

I know its not what you asked, but seriously man wake up!

It's very probably one of the best cars any amount of money can buy so who gives a flying fleck about minor stuff like depreciation if you CAN afford it.

[bennyboydurham]

Chaps, if nobody bought new then there'd be no used cars. If the OP wants to spend 80-odd grand on a car, good luck to him.

OP, get the car you want and pay more. If you don't want white then saving twenty grand still isn't going to stop that nagging feeling that you didn't really get the car you want. And to answer your question - around 4.45pm on the 27th December according to a sales manager chap I know. They get VERY desperate leading up to new year!

[Zwolf]

Gyrock said:

The sales guy also told me during our discussions that if I purchase the car personally, rather than through my business, they will be able to give me a better deal when I finally place the order. I guess this has something to do with targets or something?

Manufacturer support (the elements of discount paid to the dealer by the manufacturer to enable them to offer you a lower price) is usually different between fleet, business and retail registrations and will usually also affect the finance plans and rates they are able to offer each.

Gyrock said:

Does anyone know when BMW GB's quarter end dates are?

31st March, 30th June, 30th September, 31st December.

The order date is much less relevant than the registration date as everything is related to registration. Q1 & Q3 have higher registration targets than Q2 & Q4 - and within them, the months of March and September - as they contain a plate-change, which sees a peak in registrations.

Registration dates and numbers are what determine %age market share in a given period. Manufacturers set dealers targets for each quarter (and issue volume related bonuses for achieving them), so when they're close to target, one extra registration of a particular model in a particular quarter may see the dealer either make or miss a bonus of one or two per cent - of all the new cars sold in that quarter, which is obviously quite a large amount of money to miss out on.

A six month lead time is two quarters away and more difficult to forecast than the quarter that ends in 2 weeks' time, hence a better offer for taking their stock car now, rather than them waiting half a year of trading to find out if it was worth giving you whatever discount they have. i.e. they could be prepared to lose £5k on the one deal, in order to hit a banding that means they earn a £50k volume bonus...

bennyboydurham said:

Around 4.45pm on the 27th December according to a sales manager chap I know. They get VERY desperate leading up to new year!

It can be.

Unless they've already made their Q4 figures, in which case they'll hold back on the offer and roll it over into Q1 for a headstart on the following year.

The point made is a good one though, walking in on the last day in a month/quarter/year won't generally work, a day or two for admin, registration, sorting insurance, finance payout where applicable or the clearing of funds and so on all takes a couple of days.

Edited by Zwolf on Sunday 17th June 21:00

[Willy Nilly]

Pig Skill said:

I think now is the time to have a good think, maybe go see a doctor and find out whether you are clinically sane.

In 3 years time the F10 M5 will be selling for less than £30k on the used car market, likely less imho. I know its nice to buy new but once you have a few stone chips, scuffed a wheel or two and ragged it around it will just be another car on the road and you will be £50k lighter.

To me, losing £55k+ over three years is absolutely bonkers

I know its not what you asked, but seriously man wake up!

Spending that kind of money on a car would make me puke, but if the op can afford it then he should buy it

[Alucidnation]

Zwolf said:

Manufacturer support (the elements of discount paid to the dealer by the manufacturer to enable them to offer you a lower price) is usually different between fleet, business and retail registrations and will usually also affect the finance plans and rates they are able to offer each.

Didnt know that, but is it the same for all manufacturers?

Why should a discount and finance rate for the dealer to use be dictated by the type of customer?

Now i know ill try it when i buy next time

[General Price]

Have I arrived at mumsnet by mistake?

If you are ordering an individual car op,I don't think the time of the month is going to make that much difference.

Good luck,superb car.

[Zwolf]

Alucidnation said:

Didnt know that, but is it the same for all manufacturers?

Possibly not all as I haven't worked for or with, but generally yes.

Alucidnation said:

Why should a discount and finance rate for the dealer to use be dictated by the type of customer?

Why wouldn't it, in a world where a manufacturer's customers vary from retail consumer, to Motability, to global leasing companies and all sizes of corporate entity between them?

The retail market and corporate markets are different enough entities to be treated differently by motor manufacturers, economies of scale kicking in. It costs more to win and retain the business of a million private individuals than it does to win over one multi-national leasing or daily rental company who orders a million cars for instance.

Therefore, different marketing strategies apply, part of which is what incentives a manufacturer makes available via its dealers to a retail consumer, a small business, a large business running a fleet of X vehicles accordingly, up to the multi-national leasing/hire companies - the ones that keep the dealer networks stocked with up to three year old vehicles - private individuals don't change their cars frequently enough to do so alone, so it feeds into a much bigger picture.

Of course a company that orders several or thousands of cars a year, every year gets a better deal than an individual who orders a single one, every few years. Note that the dealer's margin is the only constant thing and only scope they have for adjustment.

[crazy about cars]

I'd be very careful buying a BMW with the recent keycode thefts going on.

[ArmaghMan]

Pig Skill said:

I think now is the time to have a good think, maybe go see a doctor and find out whether you are clinically sane.

In 3 years time the F10 M5 will be selling for less than £30k on the used car market, likely less imho. I know its nice to buy new but once you have a few stone chips, scuffed a wheel or two and ragged it around it will just be another car on the road and you will be £50k lighter.

To me, losing £55k+ over three years is absolutely bonkers

I know its not what you asked, but seriously man wake up!

I know that the amount of money involved here seems ludicrous to some. I could not sleep if faced with that kind of depreciation over 3 years, but a little perspective. A customer drives Arnages, changes every 2 years. Loses the price of a house in depreciation . When I asked about it he had a simple answer...he could do what he does or give it to George Osborne. His next line was F@@K George Osborne.

[Cheib]

Zwolf has made some very good points.....that pretty much sums it up! In the normal course of things before manufacturers incentives (of which there are obviously plenty in the current climate) dealers have about 10% to play with on a car. Last time I spoke to the bloke I know who runs the new car sales department for the dealer I use he said they are basically not making money day to day on new cars.....it's very tough to get business done. They are only making money once they hit quartely targets. There is also the issue of cars having to be paid for....I am not sure how long after a car comes into stock BMW but if a dealer has already paid for it and it's cheqing up working capital then they are very incentivized to shift it....a lot of dealers finance their stock.

Most BMW dealers make more money on used cars and servicing than selling new cars.

[Fast Bug]

Cheib said:

Most main dealers make more money on used cars and servicing than selling new cars.

Edited for accuracy.

And there can be massive differences on retail and fleet terms for all of the reasons stated above.

[StuB]

Haggle like crazy, get it wrapped, get it thrashed Gi, you big Jessy.