gaddafi

I read from the tone of your post that the dealers were doing something wrong and that the trade in figure was a surprise. If not to you, then to your colleague.

What have I missed?

cheshire_carper

My point was that the dealers will offer bottom book for a car then sell on at top book. I understand the business side of this.

My point was that a 34k bm will sit proud on the network for 42. I know, I know...

But the REAL point was to warn nott at the risks with that 235

Nottm_S2

and here we go

http://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/M/4.0-Limi...cmdc=se_na_re_

£40k and higher mileage

I agree dealers are wanting crazy margin.. they will add £1k warranty (for £400) to that car and wash and hoover it
our Golf was up for trade 2 months after we bought (missus back playing up), they offered £3.5k less than paid.

suffice to say i declined. the price we paid was keen enough though, they shaft you at the other end now

edit to say i like this
http://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/M/4.0-V8/N...cmdc=se_na_re_

and if it had CSLs i might go for it but it would be folly

arsie

This is the one for you Jason
Top Cars of Sheffield £36,750


Apart from the black rear spoiler it looks the identical spec to the Performance 30 run-out spec that I have except they removed the dash and doorstep badging. Bet it doesn't have the 12v sockets either Still it's already fitted with a DAB radio so you should be sorted. Quite like that diddy spoiler (whatever I said before). Hmmmm.

If you get that 235M it'll price match this after 18 months with depreciation.

Nottm_S2

That is nice but...

I often have a sniff round AUC but its just leisure, theres little point (to me) spending another £14k+ for a newer version of mine

gaddafi

OK

I just don't see what the issue is with {insert your hated brand here] dealerships.

Everyone KNOWS how they work but I'm not sure how much people think it costs to rent and run a typical dealership.

Even a small garage, far from the stainless steel and glass edifice that typifies makes like BMW is going to cost you north of £100K a year in rent, rates and utility bills, before you start paying any staff.

On the trade-in in question, circa £10K of the purchase price was VAT

And your colleague bought a limited edition - which is as close to a mug's game as it gets in the car business (I know there are always exceptions)

cheshire_carper

I don't dispute any of what you typed but then I'm from a mindset that buys cash private and sells private. Getting caught up in the dealer network opens up the ridiculous margin want/need.

My point was to argue that the one shite thing in that 235 will be the losses, the rest will be pretty good.

Nottm_S2

I think some people live entirely in the comfortable bosom of dealer land.

When i bought my M i could not find a compelling private deal. I didnt pay over the odds (i think)

But selling them a car is tantamount to anal rape these days. As gad says they have huge overheads to service.. And generally service helps with that

arsie

When I bought my ideal M3 (from a dealer in Carlisle) they gave me a few weeks to sell my old one privately. No one came forward. I priced it by looking at all others on the market then dropped it £1,000 or more every few days for the duration of the Autotrader advert. I said it was bound for a dealer at £low if I didn't sell privately. Anyone looking could see what I was doing. I had over a thousand looks and in the end only one caller who offered £3,000 under, which was £2,000 less than than my agreed trade-in.

It is all very well for expert traders to pontificate but in the real world of BMW warrantied cars you take what you can get. This depreciated about what I expected in the year of ownership and I shall consider what to do when it gets to three years old. My experience so far over five years and three cars is that they are well built and I will think hard about the £167/month to extend the BMW warranty come December.

If the missus didn't have such a squitty little car I would strongly consider the new MX5. The S2000 was a one off I will always love but they never attended to the original flaws and I shouldn't have to twitch my bum driving it nor do I want to spend time fixing and maintaining it. Not my scene.

Back to basics and the open road with the wind in your hair (if only I had some!) for me. If only I can persuade the other half to drive a sensible car with room in it - like the M3

gaddafi

Forgive me as I've only been involved in business for the best part of four decades but is there some sort of unwritten rule about making a profit that's specific to main dealers?

Should their profit in a car be capped at say, £3K?

I'm sorry but I just can't take this outrage seriously.