1 Series arriving 2 months early!

[Larry_Legend]

Bought my 135 from Freehold BMW (NJ) at the beginning of the month. was told not to expect it until early july. I show up to drop off my trade in (since i have another car to drive and would like to avoid multiple insurance payments) and get the news that they "found" an allocation and I can expect the car in may.

Granted, I'm thrilled. However, there is a good story to go along with this tale that I think is thread-worthy.

The 135 is my first new car, and my first new car buying experience. I went into this process with my heart set on the 135, and decided that perhaps I could establish a relationship with a dealer for the future and avoid excessive hasseling and haggling over cars.

Well, long story short, that didn't happen. Eatontown and Freehold could care less if I bought the car from them, and in the end, Eatontown cared just slightly less than Freehold, and I got the car from Freehold.

I kept going into these places unshaven, jeans, t-shirt, looking like my father was going to buy the car for me if I was getting one at all. However, after I make the purchase, I let the guy know I'm the attorney for the Giants, and KABOOM, my car is getting here 2 months early?

Probably an odd coincidence, but being the skeptic I am, I bet someone is not getting their 135 in May, and I am.

[buckwheat986]

great news...you will be able to enjoy the whole summer with your new car...

by eatontown, you mean circle bmw...(which still has the same 1's it had on site that it had 3 weeks ago)...absolutely will not deal...screw them...

[curtdragon]

That is really beat. I went into my dealer in jeans and sneakers and I had no problems at all.
But thats great you are getting your car early

[vivid]

I always look like a bum... if a dealer does not want to give me the time of day its their loss, not mine cause I can afford every car in a BMW showroom.

[Nice1]

great news! i sure hope its just a coincidence. i'd be p*issed if i found out they would not give me their first available allocation when they could and only changed when they knew who they were dealing with. congratulations on the short wait!!!

[oneaabe]

if a salesman/dealer is "judging" you by your clothes or the stubble on your chin... his loss !!!
I am in jeans/tshirt 99% of the time, and I CAN afford the 1 and 3 series right now (Can't afford the Ms or 5/6/7 yet ...I'm 27.... but hopefully, in a few years, I shall be able to)

[Larry_Legend]

im just a skeptic, but it seemed a little odd to me.

[coco_m3]

Picture Your 16, walking into a Lambo, Lotus, and Ferrari dealership looking to purchase a Lotus Elise for your first car (my daddy really loves me) i could not get the time of day in that place, so i went to the sales managers office and said to him does anyone want to sell a car today or do i not meet the age requirements?
Of coarse, then i got some service i ordered it, and later cancelled because they kept on putting other peoples orders in front of mine, so the hell with them.
But that is so true, if they judge you SQREW THEM!

[AchtungF80]

Wow, attorney for the Giants - awesome occupation.
I too like you appear to look "bummy" and can't afford the car the way I am dressed. Some dealers have seen me fresh from work in business casual, other times, I walked in with baggy jeans and a t-shirt. This past saturday, I signed my sales order wearing sweatpants and a track jacket. I made sure to hold my pink sales order copy in hand as I walked out, salesman went out of their way to open the door for me.

In late July/August when i complete the deal...I'll be sure to wear khaki shorts, sandals and a t-shirt.

Hey, one lady brought her little pocket purse dog into the showroom, so why not!

[NJKSC27]

im happy it worked out for you. i am fighting with Freehold right now as you know already. Sounds shady, be careful.

[Dan203]

I actually dressed in my nicer clothes to go to the dealership the first time because I was afraid they might not want to let me test drive the car if I was wearing my normal T-Shirt, jeans and baseball cap. When I went back to actually order the car I dressed like normal because I realized there was no one there I needed to impress. My money is just as green as the next guys.

Originally Posted by silverbullet135i

Picture Your 16, walking into a Lambo, Lotus, and Ferrari dealership looking to purchase a Lotus Elise for your first car (my daddy really loves me)

You suck! :wink: My first car was a 68 VW bug that cost me $400. It leaked oil like a civ, barely ran half the time and I had it into my early 20s.

Dan

[bimmernet]

"Probably an odd coincidence, but being the skeptic I am, I bet someone is not getting their 135 in May, and I am.[/quote]

When I worked at a BMW dealership we had lots of reasons allocations became available. Typically it was another dealer wanting something we either had on the lot or inbound. Believe it or not but not everyone wants a 1 Series. Some other dealer may have sold a 335iC your dealer had on their inventory (in-stock or inbound) and they couldn't find anything they wanted on the other dealers inventory and so they took a player to be named; in your case a 135i allocation and you were next on the list. My allocation became available a month early because a Denver dealer wanted the 335iX (AWD for the snow) allocation at my dealer and traded my sunny CA dealer for a 135i allocation, otherwise I'd be seeing my car in Mid-Summer.

Another scenario I saw frequently was someone gave up their place in line to buy another car elsewhere because they didn't want to wait and pulled the trigger on another car or they had put in two orders and the other one was turning out quicker or decided they couldn't afford it because they lost their job, getting a divorce, buying a house, etc. Lots of reasons cars or slots become available without trickery being involved.

Bimmernet

[topvega]

Originally Posted by Larry_Legend

im just a skeptic, but it seemed a little odd to me.

I wldn't put it past them.. I am dealing with the same place and they were all over my nut sack emailing me and calling me until I went in and put a deposit down. Now they don't seem to know me. Have never answered an email of mine to them and yesterday I called and spoke to someone who tried to sell me a bunch of dealer options.. when I told her I was not interested and basically was getting a stripper with sport pkg she said she wld call me right back... you guessed it... she never returned the call... I think they are very shady.

[buckwheat986]

I don't read anything in to the t-shirt and jeans thing.

I think by now BMW dealers have the experience to know that dress does not equate to ability to pay.

And thanks for the inof on freehold...they now sound as bad as circle....

JMK...here I come

[Larry_Legend]

eh, i think Freehold was ok, no better or worse than any other dealer selling a 1 series.

[curtdragon]

if you are in Jersey try going to Princeton BMW or Flemington

[Crowley]

lol ... nice ..

Crowley

[mkaresh]

Originally Posted by bimmernet

"Probably an odd coincidence, but being the skeptic I am, I bet someone is not getting their 135 in May, and I am.

When I worked at a BMW dealership we had lots of reasons allocations became available. Typically it was another dealer wanting something we either had on the lot or inbound. Believe it or not but not everyone wants a 1 Series. Some other dealer may have sold a 335iC your dealer had on their inventory (in-stock or inbound) and they couldn't find anything they wanted on the other dealers inventory and so they took a player to be named; in your case a 135i allocation and you were next on the list. My allocation became available a month early because a Denver dealer wanted the 335iX (AWD for the snow) allocation at my dealer and traded my sunny CA dealer for a 135i allocation, otherwise I'd be seeing my car in Mid-Summer.

Another scenario I saw frequently was someone gave up their place in line to buy another car elsewhere because they didn't want to wait and pulled the trigger on another car or they had put in two orders and the other one was turning out quicker or decided they couldn't afford it because they lost their job, getting a divorce, buying a house, etc. Lots of reasons cars or slots become available without trickery being involved.

Bimmernet[/quote]

That last paragraph covers some very common situations, especially for in-demand cars.

I've had good experience with Erhard in the Detroit area. But a few years ago my father was going to buy an Aston Martin Vantage. He called the dealers in Michigan and in the DC area, since there's no dealer where he lives. Neither bothered to return his call, and a few weeks later he learned that one of his friends had already bought one. So he decided not to mess with it.

If they had returned his call, he'd likely have bought the car.

[felixdahousecat]

Judging based on appearance is a blow to the dealers pockets, I had a convo with one salesman about that very same topic and he told me a story about a 15 year old boy who came in and was ignored right off the bat, sure enough that salesmen I had been talking to went up to the kid and started talking to him, the boy leaves and half a hour later he comes back with his dad who turned out to be a big name in the oil companies up here, sure enough, his dad buys a last gen M3 for his son, a M5 for himself, and a X5 for his wife....
...I can only imagine the commission.

[buckwheat986]

princeton bmw and princeton porsche for that matter are at the bottom of the food chain...

never dealt with flemington...but I think JMK is where I will end up...

[sadu77]

Originally Posted by Vivid

I always look like a bum... if a dealer does not want to give me the time of day its their loss, not mine cause I can afford every car in a BMW showroom.

me too dude. i always look like a bum i went into audi of fairfield CT on feb 29th to check out the A5. the lady ignored what i said and proceeded to ask me how much money i made!! and told me if i was looking to lease then i should get and a4. yada yada yada..... i wasnt dressed like a vagrant but i had on jeans a baseball cap and a sweatershirt. this lady was so horrendous and got me so angry that i went to bmw 20 minutes later and within two hours i had ordered a 135i. so heres my thank you to audi of fairfield. GO F YOURSELF.

[Larry_Legend]

princeton sent me an email saying they wouldnt do business with me off the bat. still waiting for that follow up call from circle asking if im still interested in the car. should be fun.