Haggling for my car

[tazza0712]

Hey all,

I've been waiting untill after I finish my final exams to get my new car, and they finish this Friday (economics no less - blah) which means that I get to shop! The thing is, the car that I want might be a bit out of price range, so I'm going to try and haggle the price down. Another problem is that the car I found is located in Orange (which is about 4hrs away from Sydney). It's pretty cool, only has 2,000kms on it, 325i with the M Sport package, and its Alpine White (the only one I can find for sale in Australia!!) They want $68,000 drive away, I was thinking of offering about $55k and seeing what happens. Since that price is within my budget, I can afford to go up a bit, and since the dealer is pretty desperate to get rid of it, (he has emailed me asking if Im still interested and I ignored it, wanting the ball back in my court so to speak) I figured this might work. Do you think this would be the best way to go about getting a cheaper price?? Let me know what you think if you can... I'll be sure to post pics if and when I finally get her!

 

[Harman1]

I'm not sure why that car is priced for that much but $68,000 is about 2x what that car should be new. Are you talking $68,000 US or some other currency. Okay if you talking US dollars you could buy the car and take european delivery and get a new car for around $35,000 US.

 

[DrivingTopless]

$68K AU is about $50K US.

 

[tazza0712]

Sorry for the confusion, yeah that is Aussie Dollars - BMWs are for some reason extremely over priced here. Do guys know of any ways to bargain with a dealer? Do you think offering a deposit and then walking away if they don't negotiate is a good idea or something like that??

 

[Harman1]

Well you need to go to Europe and take the delevery from there. you can get a new car for about $35,000. US depending on what options you get. the difference in price could well pay for the trip.

 

[B M W]

Go to europe, get your car for about 15k cheaper. What I would do is go to europe and get me a car, then drive it 8,000 miles arond europe and then import it to the USA as a used car. I dont know used car laws in australia but it seems much more of a better financial option to just get one in Europe, cmon you're taking economics!

 

[tazza0712]

Thanks for the suggestion, I'd love to go to Europe, but the car is already in the country It's a dealer demo car but its only got about 2,000kms on it and its a 2004 model. Because the car is located quite a distance from me, I think I will call the dealer and discuss the option of purchasing it sight unseen. I'll offer $55k and then negotiate around that price. I think it's the best idea. They can truck it to my house I think. Anyway, if I get it, I'll be stoked, I love it.

Thanks for the help guys.

This is the one!!

 

[William330]

Because the car is located quite a distance from me, I think I will call
the dealer and discuss the option of purchasing it sight unseen.

Sounds like a really bad idea to me.

Never buy ANYTHING sight unseen, especially when you
can get the car new and cheaper via European delivery, as
others have suggested.

But it's your money!

Good luck!

 

[tazza0712]

I wouldn't be able to get the car new though... its an e46, they now only make e90s and that would be between $75,000 and $80,000 just for the car without going to Europe to pick it up. In terms of the car itself, the dealer has said that there is no damage and that it only has about 2,000kms on the clock. I know that sight unseen is a little risky. I will probably end up going to the dealership anyway, it certainly isn't a cheap car, but it's not nearly as expensive as going to Europe to take delivery of an e90 325i would be... prices here in Aus are inflated as you can probably tell.

 

[AspenSpencer]

Wait, wait, wait!

What everyone is trying to tell you is for probably $10,000 less, you can get a brand new E90, a trip to Europe, a couple of weeks driving anywhere you want in Europe, and then have it shipped wherever you want.
I don't know if there are special stipulations for shipping something into Austrailia, but you gotta take what everyone is telling you into consideration before you pay $55,000 for a car that is worth $20- 25,000 in the USA!!!!!

 

[Kirby]

Guys, chill on the ED thing, he can't do it.

When I picked up my 330, I was told at the ED center in Munich that ED is only available for US customers. I asked because I assumed the 12 or so cars in the ED showroom were going all over the world, they told me they were ALL for the US and it is available ONLY to US customers. You CAN'T have it shipped ANYWHERE you want, it MUST be ORDERED by and SHIPPED to a US dealer. The only exception is for military/diplomatic personnel.

And just to verify that, I checked the Australian site, there is no mention of ED.... AND if they did offer ED, it would be a % off of the Australian price. So forget about paying the US$ ED price for a new BMW and sending the car to Australia. Ain't gonna happen.

 

[///M SPEED]

Well put Kirby and thanks for clearing this misconception up.....

 

[Chesty Bonds]

They want $68,000 drive away, I was thinking of offering about $55k and seeing what happens.

That sounds pretty unrealistic to me. If you offer 13k below the price they will tell you to piss off in all honesty. You need to be more realistic than that. I'd offer something like 63K and move from there. Remember that the car is almost new and a brand new 325i exec is about 85K... 68K sounds like a freakin' good deal to me.

Our prices are shamefully high because of luxury car tax. It's basically a tariff to protect our own car industry and it's pretty muss if you ask me.

 

[Chesty Bonds]

Go to europe, get your car for about 15k cheaper. What I would do is go to europe and get me a car, then drive it 8,000 miles arond europe and then import it to the USA as a used car. I dont know used car laws in australia but it seems much more of a better financial option to just get one in Europe, cmon you're taking economics!

He would get taxed on it in Aussie if that's what he did.

 

[tazza0712]

Yeah its an interesting thing I reckon. I hate the fact we have to pay so much more down under. Damn government tariffs (by the way, did economics today, no more tests left!!) Well thanks for all of the advice, the European Delivery program would obviously be an awesome way to get a car, too bad it isn't available in Aus. I'm going to try and bargain for the car obviously, offering $63k is much more realistic but I'm aiming to play on the dealer's want to get rid of it. See how I go I guess! At any rate i'll let you all know how it goes in the next couple of days. Thanks for the advice!!

 

[Wile]

ok, so if i wanted to go to australia to live and take my car with me, i wouldn't be able to do it?

something else, have u checked in other places in australia? using other resources? eg the internet? i don't think that that is the only bmw e46 saloon for sale in australia.

so imported cars are taxed in aus, so the only realistic cars u can buy downunder are the ones made there? unless wages are higher than in europe i can't imagine aussie roads full of holdens... how much did u pay for your toyota?

 

[Wile]

by the way, even though it's white it looks brilliant

 

[Harman1]

The car is said to be A325 by Tazza0712, has anyone notice the front end looks like a m3. and it has rims like you would get on a 330i with sport package. I would assume thats what you get with M sport package. This could account for the high price of the car.

 

[tazza0712]

Hey again,

I've checked multiple web sites and always looked throughout all dealerships across the country, using the BMW web site as well, it's the only white 325i Sport I can find. Thanks for the compliment Wile! I love the contrast between the black and white on the car. Most cars in Aus seem to be Toyota/Holden/Ford and then things like Hondas and Mazdas. My parents got my Corolla when it was about a year old and it was $17,000 I think, it would only be worth about $6,000 now.

Harman1, it's the 325i Sport version which is why it's got the ///M accessories on it. Personally I prefer it with the bodykit, I think it makes it look a little more stylish. It is more expensive than the Executive spec car, but because the new model is already out (e90) Im trying to get this as cheaply as I can - I hope.

I'll let you know what happens! Hopefully I get something done about it this weekend.

 

[Chesty Bonds]

ok, so if i wanted to go to australia to live and take my car with me, i wouldn't be able to do it?

something else, have u checked in other places in australia? using other resources? eg the internet? i don't think that that is the only bmw e46 saloon for sale in australia.

so imported cars are taxed in aus, so the only realistic cars u can buy downunder are the ones made there? unless wages are higher than in europe i can't imagine aussie roads full of holdens... how much did u pay for your toyota?

I think you're drastically simplifying the point. If you wanted to bring your car to Aussie then of course that would be possible. Depending on how much the car is worth will depend on how much tax you pay on it. If you've had the car for over three years then you will escape import duties and tax here in OZ. Before that, however, you're screwed. Within one year of the purchase of a new car you will pay FULL import duties and GST. In the second year these rates are reduced, but only marginally.

So, for your car, you won't pay any duty or tax if you wanted to bring it here. Let's just get that straight.

The third question you made is not quite right. Imported cars - especially luxury cars -are heavily taxed in OZ. An E46 M3 will set us back about 140K which is a lot. This is not to say that all we can buy are the cars made here. We have 3 BMWs, and we are certainly a large minority. My friend's family has FOUR BMWs which includes an E46 M3!!!!

I hope I cleared this up for you.