[nub340]

I ordered my 335i Coupe last month and have been anxiously awaiting my production number ever since. Today I got an email from my SA saying that they got a price increase: Base gone up by $200, Dist. has gone up by $80 and sport pack up by $100. That's a total of $380 she's saying the price has gone up. Shouldn't I be entitled to the price of the car when I ordered the it? Is she pulling a bait-n-switch move on me or is this just how it goes?

[cdheaven]

From what i have learned on here, if you filled out an order form, and signed for the car or something, then they HAVE to give you the originally quoted price. if you just walked in there, told them what you wanted, and they ordered it, with you never officially signing, they can do whatever they want. even though, they shouldnt. and if you tell them you are walking, they will probably eat the 380. then again, it sounds like you ordered like a 47-49,000 dollar car, and in the grand scheme of things, 380 dollars doesnt seem like it should make or break the deal.

[ksfrogman]

I agree with cdheaven.

A contract is a contract, so if you signed one, this is a no brainer. If not, I'd be inclined to speak with the sales manager, or tell your SA that the lack of good faith is the deal breaker if she renigs on her word. Car sales people have always been low on my respectability list.

[nub340]

Yeah I'm not really all that worried about the $380, I just don't like getting played. Now I'm wondering how many more times this is going to happen before I finally get the car. I told them I wanted to buy the car for $1500over invoice + fees and they agreed. We both signed a generic piece of paper with this agreement spelled out. However I now realize we didn't specify WHAT invoice price (I didn't htink it was going to change) so I think I'm just going to have to deal with it.

[STE92VE]

This is a tricky one. I believe that when you "ordered" the car, the dealer did not have available allocation to sell from. Hence, you did not receive a production number.

Read your sales contract. I just read mine and on the back is printed this regarding price changes:
THE TOTAL CASH PRICE DELIVERED LESS THE TRADE-IN ALLOWANCE SHOWN ON THE FRONT OF THIS AGREEMENT IS THE FINAL CONTRACT PRICE TO WHICH YOU AND I HAVE AGREED, AND, IF THE VEHICLE IS A NEW MOTOR VEHICLE, NO ADDITIONAL FEE OR CHARGE WILL BE IMPOSED OR COLLECTED DUE TO CHANGES IN THE MANUFACTURER'S LIST PRICE, OR CHANGES IN THE COST OF FREIGHT OR SERVICES PROVIDED BY YOU.

[LEDZEP]

Yeah, this is a tricky situation. If you ordered your car and placed a deposit on it, and have a contract or signed order sheet then you do have some bargaining power. But, acting like you'll walk away from the deal over $380 might be a tad extreme.
Did you CA give you an indication of the approximate build (allocation) date when you placed the order? If they submitted the order to BMW and it was accepted you should have a production number - in which case the dealer and you are price protected (except for the delivery charge).

I would talk to my CA and / or the sales manager and ask them to work with me on the increase, since you placed your order in good faith, yada yada. They could meet you halfway, or make you a nice deal on some extras (things you specify, not them), etc.

[nub340]

I definately don't have my production number yet. I did put a $500 deposit down and we both signed a piece of paper agreeing on $1500 over invoice + fees and floor mats; but no actual fixed numbers.

[Lassaxi]

Unless there is more going on that we don't know, this is actually fairly straightforward. In most cases, once you have a completed purchase order with deposit down, you have a contract. It does not matter whether the dealer passed the order on to BMW, whether have allocation, whether the car has gone into production, or anything else. Unless the contract specifically passes the risk of manufacturer price increases to you (which is unlikely), the dealer has to bear the risk that the cost will go up.

In some states, it may violate consumer protection laws for the dealer to ask you to pay for the cost increase, and the dealer could be subject to penalties for doing so. I'm not suggesting that you should file a lawsuit over $380, but if you know any lawyers in your area, but it couldn't hurt to speak with a lawyer just to get a sense of what your rights are before you decide how far to escalate the issue.

In reality, I would be surprised if BMW even requires the dealer to pay price increases on signed purchase orders- I would bet this is just the dealer trying to get more money from you.

[LEDZEP]

Yes, but his agreement was for $x over invoice - not a specific price. I think you are going to have to pay the increases... but if you dealer is decent they should offer to chip in a bit.

You're getting a nice deal at $1500 over, so don't be overly stiff about it.

My $.02

[Lassaxi]

Originally Posted by LEDZEP

Yes, but his agreement was for $x over invoice - not a specific price. I think you are going to have to pay the increases... but if you dealer is decent they should offer to chip in a bit.

You're getting a nice deal at $1500 over, so don't be overly stiff about it.

My $.02

Good point- it is a bit less clear when you don't have a price certain. All the more reason to chat with a lawyer to get a sense of the relevant state law. It would also be good to know if the increases the dealer were talking about were MSRP increases or invoice increases, becasue he certainly wouldn't have to pay for a full MSRP increase.

Unless the OP's state has a good consumer protection law, the only real option he has if the dealer stands firm on demanding the additional money is to get the deposit back and walk away. He can't really force anyone to deliver the car. But if the state has a consumer protection law with some teeth, the dealer can be penalized (sometimes quite heavily) if it does anything to cause the customer to walk away. Again, more reasons to chat with a lawyer.

[LEDZEP]

Molehill =====> Mountain

Far too little money involved for all that.

[dkbimmer]

Originally Posted by nub340

I ordered my 335i Coupe last month and have been anxiously awaiting my production number ever since. Today I got an email from my SA saying that they got a price increase: Base gone up by $200, Dist. has gone up by $80 and sport pack up by $100. That's a total of $380 she's saying the price has gone up. Shouldn't I be entitled to the price of the car when I ordered the it? Is she pulling a bait-n-switch move on me or is this just how it goes?

My order when in at the end of February before the March price increase. I called my CA last week and he told me that my price will not change since the order was processed before the price increase.

We agreed on a specific price with a contract that details all the fees and I put a $1000 deposit.

[nub340]

dkbimmer, did you already have a production number when your CA told you that?

[dkbimmer]

Originally Posted by nub340

dkbimmer, did you already have a production number when your CA told you that?

Yes. He gave me the production number several days after he ordered the car. I wonder if that's why my price stayed the same...

[jonerik26]

from what i was told......when i went into BMW to order a car my sales rep told me that if i did order the car i may have to deal with an increase in price because he knew the prices were going up when the car arrived.....but i don't know for sure, that's what he told, might have just said it to make a sale that day...

[Revlis]

I look at it like this. If the rates dropped on your lease, you would want them to adjust to that lower percentage right? We would expect them to give up that little bit of money for our benefit? Well then it's only fair that we do not ask the Dealer to eat the increased costs on the same deal. Until you actually sit down with the car in front of you with the finance folks and legally assign ownership I'd say that although we hope the dealer wouldn't raise a fee, it's prolly within their rights to do so.

[LEDZEP]

Originally Posted by Revlis

I look at it like this. If the rates dropped on your lease, you would want them to adjust to that lower percentage right? We would expect them to give up that little bit of money for our benefit? Well then it's only fair that we do not ask the Dealer to eat the increased costs on the same deal. Until you actually sit down with the car in front of you with the finance folks and legally assign ownership I'd say that although we hope the dealer wouldn't raise a fee, it's prolly within their rights to do so.

Why, that's just crazy talk! We will not stand for a voice of reason here!

[nub340]

Word up guys, thanks! I feel a lot better after reading all of your input. I think Revlis makes a good point as well. I am still getting a great deal and am very happy so no worries.

I just wish June was here already, I can barely sleep at night and my friends are starting to get irritated with my constant talking about how frickin dope it's going to be...

[Lassaxi]

Molehill =====> Mountain

Far too little money involved for all that.

... maybe for you...

Seriously, though, if it were me, I wouldn't pay it. $380 is not much on a $40,000 car, but it actually is a lot if we're talking about the difference between $1,500 and $1,880 over a contemplated invoice price. Of course, the rub is in what everyone thought "invoice price" meant...

[Revlis]

I think the more we as consumers try to not sit there and Heap Conspiracy theories onto every dealer transaction the happier we'll be. Seriously, Work a deal that makes YOU happy. Not what someone on a web-board says (LIES) they got on their deal. Work a deal so the value is there for you and be happy.

REALLY FREAKING HAPPY, cause I still cannot even get my E92 ordered... Though I did get a Half a point rate drop when I went in to re-sign a new deal on differently optioned E92... So that was nice, nor did I get hit with increased March costs.

[Lassaxi]

Originally Posted by Revlis

I look at it like this. If the rates dropped on your lease, you would want them to adjust to that lower percentage right? We would expect them to give up that little bit of money for our benefit? Well then it's only fair that we do not ask the Dealer to eat the increased costs on the same deal. Until you actually sit down with the car in front of you with the finance folks and legally assign ownership I'd say that although we hope the dealer wouldn't raise a fee, it's prolly within their rights to do so.

There's a key difference- the purchase and financing are separate transactions. They could be included together on the purchase order, but in all likelihood they are not. If not, there is no lease contract when you place your order, and there is no reason for you to pay a higher rate when you finally do the financing paperwork if you have no obligation to do so.

A better analogy is if you sign the purchase order and put down a deposit and the price subsequently drops, you are stuck just as the dealer is (or should be) stuck when the price goes up.

It's actually not fair for the dealer to ask you to pay more when the price goes up, unless you agreed to do so when you signed the purchase order. Otherwise, the dealer is getting a windfall.