[225]

Does anyone know a way to search nationally for new cars in stock? When you start from their site it asks you for for a postcode then shows you local dealers. its a faff having to select each dealer and also I want to search across the UK.

Ta

[Fudz]

set distance to national, its the last option on the drop down

[shoestring]

Why would you want to do that? I am assuming you are talking about a 'new'car and not just a 'new to you' car. i.e used car.?
Every BMW dealer has the facility to do a new car search, locate and obtain the colour/spec of new car you require, always assuming of course assuming it is available in the UK for you.

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by 225

Does anyone know a way to search nationally for new cars in stock? When you start from their site it asks you for for a postcode then shows you local dealers. its a faff having to select each dealer and also I want to search across the UK.

Ta

I'm not aware there's a facility for Joe Public to search new cars in stock? You can obviously do it for used (which will include pre-reg) on the BMW website but if you want to search new cars in stock - or cars either in build or built and in transit to a dealer - I think you'll need to visit a dealer; to the best of my knowledge only they have access to the systems that give that visibility.

[225]

I want to see what stock dealers have of new as opposed to a factory order. There isn't a national option in the new car search only in the used car search[IMG]undefined[/IMG]

[shoestring]

225,
Re-Non-order 'stock' cars.
A dealer does not usually own virtually any or very few new car stocks.They couldn't afford to!
A dealers new car 'stock' is very fluid. He has new cars allocated to him that may or may not be in physical stock, but mostly will be sitting in a field somewhere. These cars are owned by BMW UK and although allocated to a dealer are on a finance stocking plan, usually 60-90day free stocking. The dealer adopts or calls up the car when he actually sells it.
Dealer car stock swaps are being done all over the country on a daily basis by email and phone hence there is no need for a national search facility. Any BMW dealer had access to any other dealers allocated 'stock' at any time. So all you need to do is find the dealer who will give you the best deal and let him search for the spec of car you require.

[Rhino at Work]

My understanding of the search function is that it is looking at all UK stocks. The dealer you select based on postcode is just the one that would try and sell it to you.

[Goneinsixtyseconds]

Originally Posted by shoestring

225,
Re-Non-order 'stock' cars.
A dealer does not usually own virtually any or very few new car stocks.They couldn't afford to!
A dealers new car 'stock' is very fluid. He has new cars allocated to him that may or may not be in physical stock, but mostly will be sitting in a field somewhere. These cars are owned by BMW UK and although allocated to a dealer are on a finance stocking plan, usually 60-90day free stocking. The dealer adopts or calls up the car when he actually sells it.
Dealer car stock swaps are being done all over the country on a daily basis by email and phone hence there is no need for a national search facility. Any BMW dealer had access to any other dealers allocated 'stock' at any time. So all you need to do is find the dealer who will give you the best deal and let him search for the spec of car you require.

I think you’re missing the point.

BMW have created this functionality on their website, but you can only search cars by individual dealer. You can’t search all cars.

It may well not be as comprehensive as sitting in a dealership who can see more in unallocated cars, but we all like to look when we’re at home and there is a lot in there.

It would just be nice to search all dealers rather than individual ones.

To the OP, when I was searching for Clubman JCW’s last week I noticed that if you clicked on a Stratstone dealer it shows all of the Stratsone cars, not just that one site. I noticed because if I then clicked on a different Stratstone the stock was the same. Worked the same for other dealer groups such as Sytner. So you can carry out your search a little quicker like this as you only have to click on one dealer for each group, but still not as easy as showing all cars.

[isleaiw1]

I think its different Mercedes v BMW. For Merc, any dealer can sell any stock car, and no dealer has a right to it. For BMW, the dealer who has the stock allocated can refuse to release it to another dealer group so getting the best stock cars matters....

[225]

Originally Posted by Goneinsixtyseconds

I think you're missing the point.

BMW have created this functionality on their website, but you can only search cars by individual dealer. You can't search all cars.

It may well not be as comprehensive as sitting in a dealership who can see more in unallocated cars, but we all like to look when we're at home and there is a lot in there.

It would just be nice to search all dealers rather than individual ones.

To the OP, when I was searching for Clubman JCW's last week I noticed that if you clicked on a Stratstone dealer it shows all of the Stratsone cars, not just that one site. I noticed because if I then clicked on a different Stratstone the stock was the same. Worked the same for other dealer groups such as Sytner. So you can carry out your search a little quicker like this as you only have to click on one dealer for each group, but still not as easy as showing all cars.

Exactly this.

I'm well aware I can walk into a dealer and get them to search but I want to do it whilst in the bath, working from home etc

Good tip on the dealers from the bigger groups.

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by Rhino at Work

My understanding of the search function is that it is looking at all UK stocks. The dealer you select based on postcode is just the one that would try and sell it to you.

I don't think that site does do a national search for all the cars that might be available across the country... It might be regional, as opposed to a single dealership... Or on "group" basis... but I put in two different dealers, 120 or so miles apart, and I got different results...

EDITED TO ADD

I think it is on a group basis.. So, for instance, the 4 or 5 versions of Cooper BMW in the NE are each showing the same, single, 2 series gran coupe... Lloyds Newcastle show two different ones...

[Goneinsixtyseconds]

Originally Posted by DaveA

I don't think that site does do a national search for all the cars that might be available across the country... It might be regional, as opposed to a single dealership... Or on "group" basis... but I put in two different dealers, 120 or so miles apart, and I got different results...

EDITED TO ADD

I think it is on a group basis.. So, for instance, the 4 or 5 versions of Cooper BMW in the NE are each showing the same, single, 2 series gran coupe... Lloyds Newcastle show two different ones...

Yep, that’s what I found and put earlier in the thread.

It doesn’t show all cars, but it does show all cars for each group. I got the same results for each Stratstone dealer, and then a different set for the Sytner dealers.

[Wills2]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

I think its different Mercedes v BMW. For Merc, any dealer can sell any stock car, and no dealer has a right to it. For BMW, the dealer who has the stock allocated can refuse to release it to another dealer group so getting the best stock cars matters....

Is the right answer, hence no national BMW search.

[Goneinsixtyseconds]

Originally Posted by Wills2

Is the right answer, hence no national BMW search.

Why does that stop the site having a national search? It could just tell you which dealer you need to contact. The cars and that information is already there and you can search all stock and in whatever location you like. The only problem is you have to carry out multiple searches to do so.