[skyline408]

I decided to order an M3 comp xdrive. I knew about the wait and I was fine with it as my current DD is only 7 months old.

I called a dealer near me (who only sells at MSRP) First off, the sales guy is pretty nice and says he requires $1K deposit, and a credit app done today.

I've ordered many cars before, and the credit app thing is strange as the car is still a year out and it's not like they even have an allocation for many months.

I told him, I am not interested in getting my credit run for no reason other than to be put on a wait list for an allocation, and ask if I can just put down the $$. I'm even willing to put down way more than the $1K they are asking..

Anyway, he calls me back and says, they have a rule at their dealer, that you can only order a car if you live in specific cities that surround their dealer! He then fires off a bunch of city names that are all within a 20-mile radius of their dealer. I'm about 30-miles away so they said they can't order me a car.

This is a first for me... he says they do this so that out of state buyers don't use them to order cars for MSRP and they lose out on service $$. I get that.. But i'm literally 30-miles away from the dealer.

Strange times we live in.

I called and found another dealer 45-miles away that will do my order no problem.

[br438]

It doesn't feel nice, but it is not unusual now... especially for Cali dealers - as they are often high volume and get more allocations... which those of us on the east coast sometimes "hunt".

[cfm56d7b]

Originally Posted by skyline408

I decided to order an M3 comp xdrive. I knew about the wait and I was fine with it as my current DD is only 7 months old.

I called a dealer near me (who only sells at MSRP) First off, the sales guy is pretty nice and says he requires $1K deposit, and a credit app done today.

I've ordered many cars before, and the credit app thing is strange as the car is still a year out and it's not like they even have an allocation for many months.

I told him, I am not interested in getting my credit run for no reason other than to be put on a wait list for an allocation, and ask if I can just put down the $$. I'm even willing to put down way more than the $1K they are asking..

Anyway, he calls me back and says, they have a rule at their dealer, that you can only order a car if you live in specific cities that surround their dealer! He then fires off a bunch of city names that are all within a 20-mile radius of their dealer. I'm about 30-miles away so they said they can't order me a car.

This is a first for me... he says they do this so that out of state buyers don't use them to order cars for MSRP and they lose out on service $$. I get that.. But i'm literally 30-miles away from the dealer.

Strange times we live in.

I called and found another dealer 45-miles away that will do my order no problem.

If you found another dealer that that provided satisfactory response, well - that's where it ends. And now the wait begins. Congrats!

The motivations of the other dealer are hardly worth paying attention to.

[mzwerner]

Originally Posted by skyline408

I decided to order an M3 comp xdrive. I knew about the wait and I was fine with it as my current DD is only 7 months old.

I called a dealer near me (who only sells at MSRP) First off, the sales guy is pretty nice and says he requires $1K deposit, and a credit app done today.

I've ordered many cars before, and the credit app thing is strange as the car is still a year out and it's not like they even have an allocation for many months.

I told him, I am not interested in getting my credit run for no reason other than to be put on a wait list for an allocation, and ask if I can just put down the $$. I'm even willing to put down way more than the $1K they are asking..

Anyway, he calls me back and says, they have a rule at their dealer, that you can only order a car if you live in specific cities that surround their dealer! He then fires off a bunch of city names that are all within a 20-mile radius of their dealer. I'm about 30-miles away so they said they can't order me a car.

This is a first for me... he says they do this so that out of state buyers don't use them to order cars for MSRP and they lose out on service $$. I get that.. But i'm literally 30-miles away from the dealer.

Strange times we live in.

I called and found another dealer 45-miles away that will do my order no problem.

In this specific case I'd pull a Karen and ask to speak with the manager.

[skyline408]

Not really worth my time to play these games. I'm a prolific new car buyer and I'll put them on my ignore in future list. Just thought it was insane for a dealer to only order cars for people who live near their immediate city.

This is East Bay BMW in Pleasanton, and I'm in Santa Clara. 30 miles door to door.

[MunkyTool]

Pretty common for dealers in CA. Some won't deal with people from out of state. Some won't deal with people outside of a certain radius. Every dealer operates different and makes their own rules. They all have different business strategies that work for them and their different needs and customer bases.

[CamasM3e93]

I was also thinking there are people right now buying new and flipping on the used market for a profit - if you bought 7 months ago they maybe used your location as an excuse but didn't want to sell for you for that reason.

[TexasEd]

Originally Posted by skyline408

Not really worth my time to play these games. I'm a prolific new car buyer and I'll put them on my ignore in future list. Just thought it was insane for a dealer to only order cars for people who live near their immediate city.

This is East Bay BMW in Pleasanton, and I'm in Santa Clara. 30 miles door to door.

This seems to be a common practice with dealers. The BMW dealer in San Antonio has the same policy. I can understand the dealers rationale from a business standpoint although I can sympathize with potential buyers that are shutout.

[cooolone2]

Originally Posted by skyline408

I decided to order an M3 comp xdrive. I knew about the wait and I was fine with it as my current DD is only 7 months old.

I called a dealer near me (who only sells at MSRP) First off, the sales guy is pretty nice and says he requires $1K deposit, and a credit app done today.

I've ordered many cars before, and the credit app thing is strange as the car is still a year out and it's not like they even have an allocation for many months.

I told him, I am not interested in getting my credit run for no reason other than to be put on a wait list for an allocation, and ask if I can just put down the $$. I'm even willing to put down way more than the $1K they are asking..

Anyway, he calls me back and says, they have a rule at their dealer, that you can only order a car if you live in specific cities that surround their dealer! He then fires off a bunch of city names that are all within a 20-mile radius of their dealer. I'm about 30-miles away so they said they can't order me a car.

This is a first for me... he says they do this so that out of state buyers don't use them to order cars for MSRP and they lose out on service $$. I get that.. But i'm literally 30-miles away from the dealer.

Strange times we live in.

I called and found another dealer 45-miles away that will do my order no problem.

Well, screw them! Never heard of that kind of special BS froma. Dealer. I'm not buying any maintenance contract and I've bought my car's out of state too. My current M240xi is from my neighbor state as well.

I would contact corporate and ask if this is their policy too!?

And find another dealer! Lol

[skyline408]

I totally get it if they don't want to do out of state. But this is a local to me dealer. I mean they are bicycling distance from my house.

They actually called me back today and said they will make an exception and allow me to be put on their order wait list. I politely declined

[skyline408]

Originally Posted by TexasEd

This seems to be a common practice with dealers. The BMW dealer in San Antonio has the same policy. I can understand the dealers rationale from a business standpoint although I can sympathize with potential buyers that are shutout.

But this would be akin to living in New Braunfels and the San Antonio dealer refusing to order the car.

[chad86tsi]

Originally Posted by skyline408

I totally get it if they don't want to do out of state. But this is a local to me dealer. I mean they are bicycling distance from my house.

They actually called me back today and said they will make an exception and allow me to be put on their order wait list. I politely declined

I hope you told them why (that another near-by dealer didn't play that game). It won't change anything for you, but it would be a satisfying conclusion on a personal level.

I recently bought a CPO and the first salesman I contacted on this car didn't even entertain the idea of a lower than asking price, just said no. I went to a different salesman a week later with a nearly identical offer, he worked out a good deal with me. Saved me about $4k. I let him know when it was all done and papers/money were transferred what I had done. I doubt he told that salesman, but it still made me feel good to pass it on.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by skyline408

I totally get it if they don't want to do out of state. But this is a local to me dealer. I mean they are bicycling distance from my house.

They actually called me back today and said they will make an exception and allow me to be put on their order wait list. I politely declined

I would not have been polite and would have told them off!

[cooolone2]

Originally Posted by skyline408

I totally get it if they don't want to do out of state. But this is a local to me dealer. I mean they are bicycling distance from my house.

They actually called me back today and said they will make an exception and allow me to be put on their order wait list. I politely declined

Good for you! Don't feed those trolls!

Last I checked, my $$$ is good no matter what State I'm in. And any business practice restricting trade to attempt to influence the increased business or denial of, due to a lack of retention of services, ie, warranty or maintenance is definitely something I would probably also contact the State AG Office to file a complain about possible collusion and racketeering by organized dealerships that band together to effectuate the plan. Especially if multiple are rendering this agreement across state lines!

Simply amazing...

Could you imagine a Hotel denying you a room unless you ate in their restaurant only? How about a gas/service station refusing gasoline unless you sign a contract to do your oil changes there?...

Again, if that's the dealers position, ok, great, have a good time, I'll take my $ elsewhere. And if every single dealer does it, then it's onto another brand, sorry!

Again, glad you moved on. Good luck!

[skyline408]

I moved on. I went to a dealer further away and put my deposit down. These 9 months waiting for the car will be rough!

[Glen e]

Sounds to me like the dealer was just possibly afraid that you might be a straw buyer and send the car out of the United States which would then cost him allocation. So to be safe, he wanted to run your credit, verifying your address, etc….. Other than that, it is strictly his procedure, not something mandated by BMWNA.

[BMWCCA1]

Originally Posted by Glen e

Sounds to me like the dealer was just possibly afraid that you might be a straw buyer and send the car out of the United States which would then cost him allocation.

And also AVP money for more than one car! That's the big penalty.

[skyline408]

Originally Posted by Glen e

Sounds to me like the dealer was just possibly afraid that you might be a straw buyer and send the car out of the United States which would then cost him allocation. So to be safe, he wanted to run your credit, verifying your address, etc….. Other than that, it is strictly his procedure, not something mandated by BMWNA.

I suppose. I'm on my 5th new BMW and obviously i know this has nothing to do with BMW NA, but rather the parameters the dealer set. They could easily verify who I am without running my credit as well. Not only that, I don't plan on financing the car.

Either way, I got my spot at another dealer, so I'm good.

[BMWCCA1]

Originally Posted by skyline408

Either way, I got my spot at another dealer, so I'm good.

Do you really have "a spot", or a hollow promise? Just curious.

Try purchasing a (new) Ferrari from a dealer out of your region!

[skyline408]

Originally Posted by BMWCCA1

Do you really have "a spot", or a hollow promise? Just curious.

Try purchasing a (new) Ferrari from a dealer out of your region!

I have a spot. Deposit sent, and they have all my info (I bought my new 2022 X5M from them a few months ago) this dealer is farther away from me, and I figured I want a turn at a new dealer this time around, which is why I called a different dealer to order a car this time.

A Ferrari I understand because of its exclusivity and the image Ferrari warrants from their owners.

[lemetier]

Originally Posted by skyline408

A Ferrari I understand because of its exclusivity and the image Ferrari warrants from their owners.

There's also a big problem with organized crime ordering cars to spec and using specific fraudulent means to acquire them.

[SteveinArizona]

Originally Posted by skyline408

I totally get it if they don't want to do out of state. But this is a local to me dealer. I mean they are bicycling distance from my house.

They actually called me back today and said they will make an exception and allow me to be put on their order wait list. I politely declined

Wow. You are in great shape. a 30 mile bike trip.

A problem with a cities list is that city boundaries are not even nor rectangular. For example, Scottsdale is a vertical city running alongside Phoenix. So someone in North Scottsdale might be 60 miles or more away from someone in South Phoenix while someone in another town two or three towns away might be closer.

Either way...30 miles or 45 miles is a long distance away from a dealership. Quite a hassle for scheduled maintenance and any necessary warranty repairs.