Southern California Dealerships

[Papethova]

I thought I could start a thread where we could compile which dealers people are dealing with locally. Allocation numbers, wait lists, deposits, dealer mark ups. Anything that can help people.

I'm personally waiting to sit in the car and drive it before I order it. As of now Im planning on dealing with Pacific BMW just for the simple reason that they are high volume and the closest to me.

[350zTO135i in march.:D]

+1

[Moistdef]

I'll be checking out the car when it comes out at BMW of San Diego.

[scottn2retro]

Crevier has started spec'ing production numbers to people on their wait list - I am not aware of any additional markup over MSRP.

[infinitekidM2C]

Stay the F away from McKenna: Im not going to write a long diatribe...but at the end of the day they wanted $5K over MSRP... i told them to f themselves..nicely

[menotakoala]

Shelly will try to screw over their customers as much as possible. Highly suggest you stay away from them.

[infinitekidM2C]

I HIGHLY recommend this guy, he's really cool (not slimy salesman type) and will hook you up:
Michael D. Kellison
Center BMW Sherman Oaks
Internet Sales Manager
818.907.9995 xt. 339
818.528.1339 Direct Line

Im all ordered up thanks to him!!!!!!!!! :-)-

[mrgoochio]

infinitekid2002 did you only put a deposit down or did you negociate an OTD price? If you don't mind, could you PM me with the price numbers you negociated for your setup? I don't want to fill the thread up with unrelated spam.

[No top Al]

I am familiar with Pacific BMW because I live in Burbank. I learned from my M3 (when it first came out) that most, if not all dealerships had a mark up above MSRP on this automobile. I am completely against this practice no matter how hot the item is. I searched and found a dealership outside LA County that will sell you at MSRP. This is Steve Thomas BMW in Camarillo. I ordered my M3 conv there and I am ordering my 135i conv there as well. I can't tell you the wait list on the coupe, but they still had openings for May deliveries on the convertible. The only draw back which could be said is that they require a $2000 dollar deposit just to be slotted in for an order. This is their assurance that you mean business and want the car. They were straight forward and I had a pleasant experience with them. I would check them out when you order your 135i. Also, they are located near Port Hueneme. Port of entry to most Bmw's coming to Southern California. So you get your car a few day's earlier!

[mrgoochio]

I went to the BMW dealership in Glendale today and the salesmen says he doesn't even have pricing on the 1series yet :iono:HOW is that possible? Its on BMWusa!

[infinitekidM2C]

yeah well like i said i could not recommend Pacific...they are trying to wait until demand peaks and then rip u off...

[mrgoochio]

I called the dealership you recommended and spoke directly to the internet sales manager like you said.. but he said he could only do MSRP.. sigh.

[taukappa2000]

I live in San Diego, but am willing to work with a dealer in LA or OC. Has anyone paid below MSRP? Has anyone gotten ED? After reading around, I see it happening in other places around the country. Are all the dealers in SoCal conspiring to keep us down?

[mrgoochio]

I've spoken to about 7 dealerships in SoCal, 6/7 quoted me MSRP. The one that didn't is slow to respond.. I'm not looking for european delivery so I can't help you there. Seems like other regions are getting better deals.. no surprise there though.

[gregthegr8]

Hey everyone. First, I want to thank everybody, especially in this thread, cause I was having a tough time finding a decent dealer in Southern California who actually knew what they were talking about and were actually responsive and helpful. I just wish I saw what everyone had said about Pacific first, as I got referred by a friend there, but in the end, they stopped returning my phone calls and wanted to charge above and beyond MSRP.

I took the advice as well of calling Center BMW and talking to Michael Kellison, and he said he didn't have any 135is left for May delivery, but then said he would be able to get another one. Once again though, he was a little unresponsive, told me he'd call me back that afternoon and after 3 days and 2 messages later, he finally called back.

So, I got sick of waiting around for him to call me back knowing that my time was limited and went out to New Century in Alhambra (about 15 minutes from downtown) and they had plenty to order to get me one by May and the guy was very helpful...was in and out in 20 minutes.

Who knew it'd be so hard to throw money at a dealer and order a car?! Only took 4 dealers until one would take my money, return a phone call, and not mark one up over MSRP.

So, to spare people from what I went through, 3 weeks of runaround and frustration, I suggest heading out to New Century and asking for Steve Han and he'll take care of you. He might not know THAT much about the car, so he might not be helpful in some regards, but he'll take care of you. Tell him Greg Ruben sent you and he should be able to give you a good deal and good service as well.

Just thought I'd share my story and advice.

Greg
Future owner of Titanium Silver Metallic 135i (can't wait!)
Production #3960669

[TrojanBMW]

Jim Holzmann at Steve Thomas BMW will do ED at MSRP. I'm doing ED with him for the second time, and its a pretty pain-free experience.

It is a little of a drive from LA though. . .

[mrgoochio]

Originally Posted by gregthegr8

Hey everyone. First, I want to thank everybody, especially in this thread, cause I was having a tough time finding a decent dealer in Southern California who actually knew what they were talking about and were actually responsive and helpful. I just wish I saw what everyone had said about Pacific first, as I got referred by a friend there, but in the end, they stopped returning my phone calls and wanted to charge above and beyond MSRP.

I took the advice as well of calling Center BMW and talking to Michael Kellison, and he said he didn't have any 135is left for May delivery, but then said he would be able to get another one. Once again though, he was a little unresponsive, told me he'd call me back that afternoon and after 3 days and 2 messages later, he finally called back.

So, I got sick of waiting around for him to call me back knowing that my time was limited and went out to New Century in Alhambra (about 15 minutes from downtown) and they had plenty to order to get me one by May and the guy was very helpful...was in and out in 20 minutes.

Who knew it'd be so hard to throw money at a dealer and order a car?! Only took 4 dealers until one would take my money, return a phone call, and not mark one up over MSRP.

So, to spare people from what I went through, 3 weeks of runaround and frustration, I suggest heading out to New Century and asking for Steve Han and he'll take care of you. He might not know THAT much about the car, so he might not be helpful in some regards, but he'll take care of you. Tell him Greg Ruben sent you and he should be able to give you a good deal and good service as well.

Just thought I'd share my story and advice.

Greg
Future owner of Titanium Silver Metallic 135i (can't wait!)
Production #3960669

My cousins name is Steve Han, although I don't think hes a car salesmen!

[gregthegr8]

Originally Posted by mrgoochio

My cousins name is Steve Han, although I don't think hes a car salesmen!

That's funny. Tell him to give me a good deal, too! Hey mrgoochio, where did you get yours from and when is it coming to town?

[Stew]

Originally Posted by gregthegr8

Hey everyone. First, I want to thank everybody, especially in this thread, cause I was having a tough time finding a decent dealer in Southern California who actually knew what they were talking about and were actually responsive and helpful. I just wish I saw what everyone had said about Pacific first, as I got referred by a friend there, but in the end, they stopped returning my phone calls and wanted to charge above and beyond MSRP.

I took the advice as well of calling Center BMW and talking to Michael Kellison, and he said he didn't have any 135is left for May delivery, but then said he would be able to get another one. Once again though, he was a little unresponsive, told me he'd call me back that afternoon and after 3 days and 2 messages later, he finally called back.

So, I got sick of waiting around for him to call me back knowing that my time was limited and went out to New Century in Alhambra (about 15 minutes from downtown) and they had plenty to order to get me one by May and the guy was very helpful...was in and out in 20 minutes.

Who knew it'd be so hard to throw money at a dealer and order a car?! Only took 4 dealers until one would take my money, return a phone call, and not mark one up over MSRP.

So, to spare people from what I went through, 3 weeks of runaround and frustration, I suggest heading out to New Century and asking for Steve Han and he'll take care of you. He might not know THAT much about the car, so he might not be helpful in some regards, but he'll take care of you. Tell him Greg Ruben sent you and he should be able to give you a good deal and good service as well.

Just thought I'd share my story and advice.

Greg
Future owner of Titanium Silver Metallic 135i (can't wait!)
Production #3960669

I visited New Century in Alhambra this past weekend, and wasnt too impressed...I dont know why exactly, but I guess Im used to "regular" dealerships where salesmen jump on you as soon as you step onto their lot...New Century pretty much ignored me...though it could be because Im young, and look even younger and they might have assumed I was just some kid looking around haha.

To their credit though, they did say they will have plenty of 1ers, and they should arrive in 2 weeks...and they will have some for test drives...so I plan on going back to test drive one at least. I asked if many orders have been placed, and they said a few, but that the car will be mass produced, will not be a limited production vechicle, and wont be hard to get...which seems to be different from what I hear on this board.

I would be very interested to know about their service center though, since they are right next to where I live it would be super convient to take my car there for service...

[gregthegr8]

Hey Stew, welcome to the site. Ya, they might not have been the MOST helpful, but considering what I went through, they had an allocation available, didn't try to charge above MSRP and it was completely painless, got it ordered in 15-20 minutes and it's actually coming a few weeks before I had imagined.

I will definitely be there as soon as they get some to sit in and drive. I had to order one though because to afford the car I essentially had to get it with hardly any options and almost every car a BMW dealer will get will have the premium and/or sport package as well as many other amenities, pushing it to well over 42k.

I live about 20 miles from there so can't help you when it comes to the service center, although the day I was there it looked incredibly busy.

[Stew]

Ohh yeah I didnt really talk to them much other than to ask when they are getting them in. But they did seem to be a good choice to try and find a 1er. I am wanting to do ED so I dont know if they would be willing to do that so we will see how I end up going about it. I'm sure once they realize I'm a serious customer they will spring into action haha. Good to know you got it at MSRP and was a quick process...they had a few M3s in haha those were fun to look at

[bharv2003]

I am in Valencia, CA, but I found that working with those guys was a headache. I was then contacted by Don Helm from Bakersfield BMW and he has been totally helpful and has my 135i ordered already. Not sure when I'm gonna get it, but he quoted me at MSRP.

I don't really think anyone is going to get one for much of a discount here in Cali.