New member buying ED 545

Great site and lots of useful info to start.

I'm planning to buy an '05 545 through ED. I'll be test driving one this Sat but I'm pretty sure this is what I want. According to ED, it takes ~3 months to process so I'm looking at Sept for the Germany trek. Then another what - 6 to 8 weeks to deliver to the US? That'll get me driving here in Los Angeles by mid to late October! Should I wait for the '06 550? I'm sure I'll pay more since demand will be higher but is it worth the wait and added features of the 550? If I wait, can I pre-order so that I'm in Germany to pick up the 06 by November? Is it worth driving a new car in Europe's winter months? I'd be worried about driving in snow conditions since LA doesn't get much snow. As far as options, is the Premium Sound Package for 1,800 worth the money?

One more thing. Can I expect to get a good price on an '05 since the car would be almost a year old when I take delivery of it? I pulled the MSRP and wholesale price sheet for the car through this site but is it realistic to get somewhere in the middle of the two? MSRP runs me 59,950 (with all the features/options I want) and wholesale is at 54,105. This is ED price. These prices include handling but not tax/licensing.

Again, great site.

Reply » New member buying ED 545

You are getting pretty close to the ED cutoff since they don't make cars in August (or is it September?)

How "old" the car is doesn't make much difference on price, what matters is the invoice, how close to invoice you can get, and what kind of incentives there may be.

Bill

Reply » New member buying ED 545

Firstly, ED pricing is pretty much unaffected by model year changeovers, since the allocations are "bonus"es for the dealers. They don't have to worry about moving ED cars out of inventory, etc.

Shoot for somewhere around 3-5% over ED invoice. It should be very doable, whether you're getting an '05 or an '06.

Now, the lease and loan rates _are_ impacted by model year changeovers, and you could probably secure a substantially lower money factor or interest rate by locking in a deal now for an '05. The deals are good 60 days from when the current program ends; and you have to finalize your financing 14 days prior to pickup in Munich.

Then there's the issue that the MY05 model cutoff for the 545 will probably be sometime in August and MY06 550's won't be available for ED until October.

Also, "Search" is your friend. And ask around in the "Ask-a-dealer" forum and the "ED" forum for more information

-MrB

Reply » New member buying ED 545

Quote:

Now, the lease and loan rates _are_ impacted by model year changeovers, and you could probably secure a substantially lower money factor or interest rate by locking in a deal now for an '05. The deals are good 60 days from when the current program ends; and you have to finalize your financing 14 days prior to pickup in Munich.

-MrB

Actually, the residual on the 545 just dropped two points, thus increasing the cost of leasing and the money factor stayed the same. The key with ED is to do it early in the model year when the residual is strongest if you'll be leasing. ED is not like buying a car from the showroom where you get a better price later in the model year. If you find a good ED dealer, you can negotiate a price at a fixed amount over invoice despite the time of year.

Also, you can oftentimes find a build slot that is in que at the factory, so you don't need to wait as long for your car. I ordered a car and it was done being built a few weeks later. This will especially be true as the demand slackens for the 545 in anticipation of the 550.

Reply » New member buying ED 545

Quote:

Also, you can oftentimes find a build slot that is in que at the factory, so you don't need to wait as long for your car. I ordered a car and it was done being built a few weeks later. This will especially be true as the demand slackens for the 545 in anticipation of the 550.

Thanks for the quick responses - sorry for being such a newbie...

how do you find a build slot info? (I'll use the "search" feature to get this one if it's somewhere in this site but if you know off the top of your head, appreciate the info in advance)

"Shoot for somewhere around 3-5% over ED invoice. "

The list I obtained from this site has MSRP and Wholesale prices - when you say invoice, are you talking about wholesale price? 5% over wholesale is around $56,080 - is that really doable? I also won't be leasing. Probably pay off in full - or at least using home equity $ so I can get tax writeoff.

Reply » New member buying ED 545

Shoot for 1-2k over Euro invoice...just go to BMW of Santa Barbara.

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