Dealership Chicanery - Trying to Sell a Z4MR

[HEY32G]

I love dealerships and their little tricks. As I have mentioned before, I keep a spreadsheet on Z4MR's for sale. The car below was originally for sale at Prestige Mini and priced at $29,995, they then lowered the price to $27,995, then lowered the price again to $26,495. When it still didn't sell, they transferred the car to Prestige BMW and raised the price back up to $30,000, and have it listed as a new listing on AutoTrader. With nearly 55,000 miles, that's just way too high, but some poor sucker will probably buy it.

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?zip=78006&endYear=2015&lastEx ec=1412179959000&modelCode1=BMWROAD&sortBy=yearDES C&showcaseOwnerId=69245789&startYear=2006&makeCode 1=BMW&maxMileage=60000&searchRadius=0&maxPrice=300 00&showcaseListingId=0&mmt=[BMW[BMWROAD[]][]]&listingId=381964310&Log=0

[i2ichal2dZ4M]

i picked up my loaded coupe (navi, extended leather) for $30k with 35k on the clock. lol what a rip!

[Vanne]

hang on, your basing pricing on just miles? thats just silly.. id much rather have a higher milage good condition car, than a low milage car thats either been trashed, or neglected.

there 20k miles between what you guys are quoting, which is F-all. unless you drive 2k per year and then you probably shouldn't buy one of these cars in the first place.

[chickdr]

I think the point is the dealership was willing to sell the car for 26,500 a short while ago but as they moved it another of the dealers locations they magically added 3,500 to the price. Funny to me they wouldn't have started at the BMW location in the first place as it is a specialized car.

[jdoublehcubed]

Originally Posted by Vanne

hang on, your basing pricing on just miles? thats just silly.. id much rather have a higher milage good condition car, than a low milage car thats either been trashed, or neglected.

there 20k miles between what you guys are quoting, which is F-all. unless you drive 2k per year and then you probably shouldn't buy one of these cars in the first place.

More than just miles. Roadster vs. Coupe, Extended Leather vs. Not. Those two together are easily worth $5k.

As a fellow roadster owner, I have no idea why people would rather be trapped in a little box than riding gloriously beneath the sky. Just making an observation of historical price data.

[Lark]

Originally Posted by HEY32G

I love dealerships and their little tricks. As I have mentioned before, I keep a spreadsheet on Z4MR's for sale. The car below was originally for sale at Prestige Mini and priced at $29,995, they then lowered the price to $27,995, then lowered the price again to $26,495. When it still didn't sell, they transferred the car to Prestige BMW and raised the price back up to $30,000, and have it listed as a new listing on AutoTrader. With nearly 55,000 miles, that's just way too high, but some poor sucker will probably buy it.

This is the ploy used by the mega car dealers- Group One, AutoNation, Sonic, etc. They move them from one dealership to the next and keep the price up. I have come across it more than once. In one instance, I talked to a salesman at a local BMW dealership on the phone about a car at a specific price and made an appointment to go look at the car. When I got there it was gone. Not sold, but sent to one of their sister dealerships and the price had gone up. And amazingly enough, they wouldn't talk to me about selling it to me at the prior price.

[NickyC]

Nobody is paying that price. I bought an almost identical car (2006 though) in July for $20k. Dealer even put new rotors/pads on, new 3rd brake light, new floor mats, shift knob, and tires on it. $30k isn't even close to realistic.

[pokeybritches]

Sounds like smart business to me. A car is worth what someone will pay for it, and if it hasn't sold after dropping the price several times, move it to a new area and start over with what the dealer would like for the car. It gives the appearance of moving volume, and it allows the dealership to take advantage of several events to sell the car - new arrival, price drop, and the threat of it going elsewhere. A higher asking price gives the dealer more wiggle room. If the dealer's price is already low and the car is slow to move, they are out of options.

[VMRWheels]

Nice catch!

Though, also agree with pokeybritches.. pricing strategy seems like par for the course. This is why it pays to know your stuff when car shopping..literally.

[papitosabe]

Originally Posted by jdoublehcubed

As a fellow roadster owner, I have no idea why people would rather be trapped in a little box than riding gloriously beneath the sky. Just making an observation of historical price data.

Some people don't like chick cars. Some like cars that aren't so prevalent everywhere. And some just like the better look of a coupe

[StickMon]

How did roadsters become chick cars?
Is the Cobra a chick car? The E-type? The Sprite or even the Spitfire?

Who do I blame? Mazda?

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by StickMon

How did roadsters become chick cars?
Is the Cobra a chick car? The E-type? The Sprite or even the Spitfire?

Who do I blame? Mazda?

Nope. The spec Miata guys run circle around many a car any track day you go to. S2000, roady, again, huge track day car. Between those and the Miatas coupes and sedans are usually outnumbered.

Some "chicks" like roadies, but I've never got the association. Far more "chicks" drive SUVs, yet those don't get the chick label.

Roof, no roof, who cares? Same car more or less in my book.

[Vanne]

Cobra? Mate the Ford cobra is not, I repeat not a chicks car. Possibly the us version, but never the Australian falcon version, ever!

Funny enough, the roady is more expensive in oz. Go figure.

[David70]

Originally Posted by pokeybritches

Sounds like smart business to me. A car is worth what someone will pay for it, and if it hasn't sold after dropping the price several times, move it to a new area and start over with what the dealer would like for the car. It gives the appearance of moving volume, and it allows the dealership to take advantage of several events to sell the car - new arrival, price drop, and the threat of it going elsewhere. A higher asking price gives the dealer more wiggle room. If the dealer's price is already low and the car is slow to move, they are out of options.

I agree, not seeing how asking higher than they might get or moving it to a new dealership is pulling "chicanery".

As long as they aren't deceiving anyone and it is as represented I don't see an problem with it. If you don't agree with the price don't buy it or negotiate lower.

Many will pay more from a dealer, especially a BMW dealer, partly because they trust them more than a random individual (better chance of taking a problem back to them and having them do something about it than most individuals) and sometimes because they can trade in their car and also handle financing (I personally can't/won't do either). Then add in possible local sale (I would have paid a lot more not to have had to fly to get my car) and not seeing why getting a lot more than the national average isn't possible if the right person shows up. Worst case is they will negotiate it to a price where it well sell.