[staindsoul]

Hi, first off thanks to everyone who posts here. Really good information. I am in the Army currently serving in Iraq. I am thinking about ordering through Pentagon Car Sales or one of the other BMW military sales programs but have some questions.

First, does everyone recommend PCS? Also, I read in some posts that people had some extras thrown in their order (mats, tint, etc). How hard is it to haggle with the salemen since I understand that the prices are set.

Second, my salesman gave me the option to buy a demo for over $2k off the price. Anyone have any experience with this and is it a good deal?

Last, I live and am a resident in Texas. Texas charges 6.25% sales tax when registering your car. I really dont want to pay another $2500 when I get home from Iraq. Is there any way around this? Can I register in another state that doesnt charge tax even if I don't live there?

Thanks in advance for all the help. God Bless

[staindsoul]

Can anyone help with this? Thanks

[Iceberg]

AFAIK, PCS does not haggle. The prices are set. The accessories like mats, truck cover, and the like are added at the dealer. So, you may be able to work some magic there.

And IMHO, I would *never* buy a demo 335i. I know what I did to the demo I drove, way before the breakin period (which I didn't know about), and there's no way to tell how the car was taken care of.

Just my $0.02.

[VAE90]

To the best of my knowledge, the only way around registering in TX (if you are a TX resident) is to register in a state inwhich you have military orders.

For example, if you're a TX resident but have military orders to, say, VA, you can title/tag your car there. Since you are on military orders, you will be exempt from property taxes in that state, but you'll still have to pay sales tax on the vehicle. The addendum to that is, the only way you are exempt from personal property / ad velorum taxes is if YOUR NAME AND YOUR NAME ALONE appear on the title. With that in mind, if your name AND your spouses name appear on the title, then you are subject to PP/AV taxes. If the car is leased (ie- the BMW Financial's and your name appear on the title) then you must pay PP/AV taxes.

I hope that helped out somewhat.

Mike

[bombard]

I used Superior Motors and cant be happier with angela service. you can email her angela@superiormotorsmsp.com and she will look after you.

[BMW0]

First of all its a set price. You either buy or you dont. You either add the options that you want or you dont. Second you need to meet your state law of driving your car at least a set mileage or months before shipping it to the states. Everything should be straight forward, if not ask questions. The car advisors are more than happy to help you with your order. It usually takes a couple months from order till delivery if your stationed in USAFE or USAEUR Command. I bought my E90 while I was stationed in Aviano AB Italy.

[Mace]

First just to clairify what a previous poster said, those orders to another state must be PCS orders, not TDY.

You didn't say if Texas is your permanent state of residence or just where you're stationed. While you may be stationed in Texas you can still register your car in your permanent state of residence if different. If this is the case then check with your state DMV as rules such as taxes vary considerably. I was stationed in San Diego but, as a permanent Florida resident, I registered all my vehicles in FL. At the time FL didn't collect any taxes on vehicle registrations for out of state military residents. I bought both a Trans Am and Harley through military sales (the one associated with the NEX) and had them delivered to two non-tax states (Nevada and Arizona). Since then FL has closed that loop-hole but other states may still let you do it.

Regarding negotiating you can still do it after a fashion. Get military sales bottom line price (be very specific as to what you want) and then contact dealers in your home state. Send them the info including what military sales is offering and tell them if they can beat it by $xxx then they can have the sale. Since the dealer has to do nothing to sell you the car they may very well accept the offer. I've done this several times and it works great (although the cars weren't BMWs) Also, since you're currently overseas you have the time to order the car exactly as you want and it'll be waiting for you when you return home. If a dealer offers a better deal than military sales then take that back to PMS and show them, I think you'll find they do have room to work the military sales guys I worked with did but they weren't Pentagon Military Sales.

[AlpineWeiss335i]

I dont think there is any way around the tax since you are stationed in Texas and a resident there. Also I believe you will get hit up a 2.5% import tax unless you take delivery overseas and have some mileage on the odometer. Even with taxes you still get a great deal without dealing with any dealers.

[tjtanker]

dont know how pentagon sales works but i got mine through OMS(overseas military sales). keep in mind that i am stationed in germany but i got charged $200 for "domestic freight" the dealer referred to that as "destination" and $80 amsto fee(some sort of customs fee) as far as sales tax is concerned ive heard it works on a state by state basis youll probably need to check out the texas dmv website. the only way out of it is if while on military orders overseas you have the car registered for at least six months before you ship it stateside.