[themnmd]

Do any of you wonder who takes the pictures of the cars at the dealerships? Most of them are not great. It is hard to tell what options are there,which I think is intentional sometimes . The write ups have too many errors too. Perhaps I am a bit picky or maybe my OCD. Lol

[Materhead66]

I couldn't agree more! When I was searching for mine I could not find a single BMW website that had helpful information of any kind related to the car other than price 😂😂😂

Was a bit bizarre to be honest.

[borys]

Lucky if it has pictures. I am looking for a nice spec now and a lot of listings have stock photos with no details about the colors/sticker/wheels. Not sure if more leads are coming from online or through the door, but I would definitely make sure all of the cars have legit photos on both website and marketplaces.

[josec70]

I would suggest exploring the possibility of ordering a car that you spec exactly to your liking. The wait's not too bad and you build exactly the car you want.

I've gone this route with my last several M5's and it has worked out well.


Good luck.

[wassy]

Great topic. I got rhodonite
Silver. Pics on websites actually are pretty darn close but believe me, was nervous as heck. Not unhappy. But you are correct!

[M5 dude now]

Unfortunately many of the dealerships have the wrong information on equipment, packages and some even colors. Pictures if they have them are not very good. Most of the time, they have some lower level worker taking some pictures of these care with a cell phone. And if you call them to get information, they want your name, phone number, social security number, your shoes size, etc. Then when you finally get to talk to a service advisor, they have to go find the information you're looking for. I just go on Sundays to the lot and check it out myself without the buzzards lurking around.

[themnmd]

I guess they are all sales people not car people like us. but I would argue that they may sell more or at least make easier to sell more. I get having one of the lower level employees taking the photos but....
Also they are kinda lacks in listing options. Premium audio instead of B and W etc..

[BwoodBMW]

It's actually a logistical/cost issue. For a large dealer group using high quality pics and descriptions would be incredibly expensive and dealer websites are paid for at least in some part by the OEM through a co-op program so if BMW switched to high Rez pics across the US the storage and management cost of that would be very very large. On the description side it has to be automated and the data sources are also expensive and less than perfect.

[themnmd]

Originally Posted by BwoodBMW

It's actually a logistical/cost issue. For a large dealer group using high quality pics and descriptions would be incredibly expensive and dealer websites are paid for at least in some part by the OEM through a co-op program so if BMW switched to high Rez pics across the US the storage and management cost of that would be very very large. On the description side it has to be automated and the data sources are also expensive and less than perfect.

I understand all that but seems counterintuitive to me

[Xx 335Mangaki xX]

The best tool that worked wonders for me IMO was the bmw vin decoder tool which gives you all options and vehicle color. Most ads if not all have the VIN in the description. Saved me lots of time and heartache.

[ksoze]

By design in some cases to get you to contact them. A sales person cannot operate with no prospect - they need to be able to communicate directly with you to work their "magic".

[norbtx]

Some dealerships take it seriously. Mine has a dedicated place to take pictures, which I think is their detail bay. So all the pictures are indoors with white curtain background so as not to detract. And all are clean and very presentable.

[hersh67]

https://www.bmwusa.com/inventory

For new cars. punch in your dealer zip. narrow down the model. and match the VIN.

[2000cs]

I wish there was a way to search new BMWs regionally or nationally (with a distance sort) like we can for CPO cars. I typically search for dealers, then go to each dealer’s site and look for the cars I’m interested in, then decode the VIN... and that is so laborious (I know, first world problem), that I start with Autotrader and similar sites where many dealers list their new cars. Still takes a lot of effort to find a car without having to have my local dealer look for it and trade for it (I prefer to fly and drive after making a tentative deal on the phone). The search and buying process is one area BMW can make significant improvement.

[themnmd]

Originally Posted by 2000cs

I wish there was a way to search new BMWs regionally or nationally (with a distance sort) like we can for CPO cars. I typically search for dealers, then go to each dealer's site and look for the cars I'm interested in, then decode the VIN... and that is so laborious (I know, first world problem), that I start with Autotrader and similar sites where many dealers list their new cars. Still takes a lot of effort to find a car without having to have my local dealer look for it and trade for it (I prefer to fly and drive after making a tentative deal on the phone). The search and buying process is one area BMW can make significant improvement.

yeah bmw site limited to 100 miles

[utsteve98]

Originally Posted by themnmd

yeah bmw site limited to 100 miles

Maybe cars.com. They aren't limited by mileage. But the accuracy of real time inventory is likely spotty.