# Pre-purchase questions for the experts (plus info on San Diego area dealers needed)



## dev (Dec 23, 2003)

*Pre-purchase questions (plus info on San Diego area dealers needed)*

I'm about to place an order for an '04 325i and have a few questions that some of you might be able to help me with.

1) If I order a car this week with the steptronic, will I still be at risk of getting a bad "sliptronic" transmission? Have they fixed this issue on cars being built now at the factory? I would hope so but just wanted to check.

2) Anyone have anything to say about their experience with service (warranty and maintenance type service) or even customer service at the San Diego area BMW dealers? Particularly, is Brecht BMW in Escondido good for service?

Anyway here are the options I'll most likely order:
- Steptronic
- Sport Package
- Premium Package
- Xenons
- Harman Kardon
- Navigation
- Leatherette (black)

Yes, that is an odd car, pretty much loaded except for leather meaning I'll have to place an order most likely. I tested out leather vs leatherette for myself and found the leather to feel nicer, but only looked marginally nicer. Not to mention that leatherette looks good for longer which I think might off-set some of the resale value issue with leatherette when people see how nice it still looks compared to wrinkled/cracked leather. I'll most likely keep the car for awhile so I'm not as concerned about resale value as either way you lose a lot of money on buying a new car anyway.

Other Questions:

FINANCING
1) If I place an order for a car, can I have them run the credit check up front so I can find out what kind of financing rate BMWFS will offer me? 
2) Deposit is fully refundable in California right?

COLOR
1) I'm debating between either Black or Alpine White. I really liked the old Steel Grey, but it's not offered anymore with Silver Grey replacing it. Silver Grey looked too blue-ish in daylight for my tastes so I think I am ruling that one out. 
2) Jet Black or Sapphire Black Metallic? Is Jet Black too plain? The dealer I went to didn't have any Sapphire Black 3-series to show me at the time so I'm not sure how different the two colors are.
3) White... Is this easier to take care of than Black? People tell me black is tough to maintain and that it will always look dirty unless I obsessively clean it. I don't have covered parking at work, but do at home so for most of the day it will sit outside in the elements (dust, pollen, rain, etc).

Thanks for any advice you have for me! I've been lurking for awhile now and found great benefit already from reading past threads.


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## numbersguy (May 21, 2003)

I ordered a 325i from Cunningham on 9/2/03 and picked it up on 1/3/04. Why so long? Because the sucker was built at the Rosslyn SA plant and that's how long it takes to bring them here including transhipment through Bremerhaven.

I'm perfectly happy to own a SA-built car but I would never have ordered one had I known how long it would take. And the dumbass SA at Cunningham (since departed) was so clueless that she wouldn't have known that it made a difference where the car was built. Make sure you order a German car if you want to get it in two months.

As for the color, if you don't know what it's like to own a black car then you don't want to know. If you don't know what a Portercable is, and how to use one, stay far far away from black. AW is a very nice color and it is one of the few colors that looks good with the standard amber turn signals.

Good luck with your purchase.


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## rwg (May 10, 2002)

I have had excellent experiences with the Brecht service department. They once tracked down a service bulletin that hadn't been issued yet . . . they have never blinked about mods, either. The sponsor a race team and understand wanting to improve upon the car. I have not bought a car from them. They aren't cheap for work not covered by the warranty or maintenance plan, but what dealer is? Plus, you won't have to worry about that for a long time.

Doesn't leather come with the premium package? I suppose you could delete it.

I think all 325s are made in South Africa. I don't know for sure. I also don't know what happened to Dev, but I don't think they all take that long.


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## rawnak (Feb 23, 2004)

*03 New 325i*

Hi Dev,

Have u explored buying a new 2003 325i , these cars are usually loaded and what u mention
u want order lot of options. You can get 2k off Invoice for 03 325i. 
I recently bought new 03 325i for 3.5k off Invoice

Cheers
rawnak



dev said:


> I'm about to place an order for an '04 325i and have a few questions that some of you might be able to help me with.
> 
> 1) If I order a car this week with the steptronic, will I still be at risk of getting a bad "sliptronic" transmission? Have they fixed this issue on cars being built now at the factory? I would hope so but just wanted to check.
> 
> ...


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## tashi (Oct 11, 2003)

dev said:


> I'm about to place an order for an '04 325i and have a few questions that some of you might be able to help me with.
> 
> 1) If I order a car this week with the steptronic, will I still be at risk of getting a bad "sliptronic" transmission? Have they fixed this issue on cars being built now at the factory? I would hope so but just wanted to check.
> 
> 2) Anyone have anything to say about their experience with service (warranty and maintenance type service) or even customer service at the San Diego area BMW dealers? Particularly, is Brecht BMW in Escondido good for service?


I have an 04 325i Jet Black/ Black leatherette with all your options except PP/HK. I love the JB/Black'ette combination. The car looks very sharp. I work in the Torrey Pines area so it does get some pollen these days from the pine trees but still everyone I show the car to get envious of the bl/bl combination.

Car has 4000 miles on it. I also have a minor sliptronic problem (2 secs lag in the morning). Lately I have been calling most of BMW Service depts in San Diego. Here is the rundown of how BMW service departments deal with you.

BMW of SD has two schmucks who can make new appointments, left several messages none of the schmuck ever calls back. Left message for the service manager but he turned out to be a schmuch too.

Called Harloff, they would look at the car but no loaner, conveniently refered me to the Enterprise rent a car at my expense.

Called Brecht, some high school drop out old hag with bad hearing picks the phone in service department. I tell the whole story, she asks what kind of car, I say 325i with steptronic, she says sedan or coupe, I say 325i is sedan and 325ci is coupe so what did I just say mine was, she asks automatic or manual... then the service guy comes in... totally ignorant of the problem... will make the appointment a month later, no loaner.

Called Cunningham.... will look at it, if no problem reproduced they'll bill me $200... no loaner.

Called Continental Motors, cant look at it before a month, no loaner.

My car was purchased out of state via the ED program.


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## rwg (May 10, 2002)

I forgot about two things (one of them prompted by Tashi). Brecht has a MINI dealership that is very successful. The Brecht service bay was designed to handle a dealership that sold about 50 cars a month. They are selling about 300 right now according to my MINI salesman (200 MINIS a month!), so the delay for non-emergency appointments is tough. The loaners are in high demand and typically reserved for customers who bought BMWs from the dealership. They do have a bunch of loaners, but you usually have to schedule the appointment pretty far out to get one. If you don't want to wait, I think they will rent a car for you if you bought your BMW from them. Supposedly they are building/moving into new facilities this year (new building on the MINI/motorcyle property for the BMW dealership, moving the MINI dealership into the old VW property).

Color - I had a black on black 330i. It was beautiful. It was also a a b*tch to take care of. If you are a perfectionist, it might not be the car for you. If you love detailing weekly, it's the obvious color choice. Getting a metallic black helps hide imperfections somewhat, but the color doesn't have the quite same striking appearance as jet black. Jet black shows even the hint of an imperfection if you look for it. In contrast, my white e36 has bad touchup spots that I didn't find until the second or third look. It hides everything from swirl marks to chips much better than any other color I have owned (never owned silver, it might be even better).

If you do go with jet black (or even saphire) and you are a perfectionist, adopt the 25 foot rule. When you are finishing a wash or a wax and obsessing over the imperfections, step 25 feet back and take a good look. Makes it all worth while.

Oh, and I said "don't know what happened to Dev" and I meant "don't know what happened to numbersguy."


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## dev (Dec 23, 2003)

Thanks for the info so far everyone. 

Leather doesn't come with the Premium Package on 325, but does on the 330. Tashi, maybe you can answer a question I have about leatherette. How does it breathe? Do you find yourself getting "sweaty back" more with leatherette? Sorry to hear that you're suffering from the "sliptronic" problem. Also thanks for answering my questions more than a month ago when I private messaged you! 

I visited Brecht already and saw that their showroom was pretty small, and they had to drive me over to another lot to check out their 3-series cars. The delay in getting service with them doesn't sound very promising. 

rwg - do you know if they will be expanding their service department too when they move? I would like to take it to the dealer I buy from so that I get the best service and a loaner car (BMW or whatever) when needed. As far as time til delivery, the SA I spoke with told me 2 months if I order a car. Hopefully it doesn't turn out like numbersguy's experience - 2 months is already going to be a tough wait. 

I think I'm leaning towards Alpine White now after your comments so far. I think it looks pretty good, it's less common than silver from what I can tell so that is a plus in my eyes. Black does look really slick but I am a perfectionist who just won't have time to detail the car weekly which means the perfectionist in me will just end up annoyed at a dirty/dusty/pollen encrusted car! Haha I guess I'm talking myself out of black. 

Rawnak - I don't think I can find an '03 325i with the options I want at this point. Good savings, but looks like new '03 325i's are rare at this point. Not to mention I want Navigation which is not easy to come by on a pre-built car from what I can tell. I also really like the look of the new OEM sport rims on the '04 models. I liked the 03 rims but I like the 04 rims even more.

No one knows if BMW has fixed the sliptronic problem in cars being built now? I know it's hard to tell when BMW doesnt even admit the problem yet.


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## rwg (May 10, 2002)

Brecht's new service bay is supposedly going to be something to see. I understand that they are increasing it by something like a factor of four. Remember that all of this information came from a salesman, so there is no telling if it is 100% accurate. Nonetheless, the service department is one of the primary reasons they are moving. It's supposedly going to be a building similar to the Mercedes dealer - large foot print with car storage on the roof and a whole lot of service bays.

As for black vs. white, I swore when I owned the black car that I would never own another one. Now, when I finish washing or waxing the white one, I miss the black one. The white looks great, but it doesn't look spectacular like the black did and it doesn't show the difference between dirty and clean as well (meaning not as much of a feeling of satisfaction). There's just no pleasing some people!

Something else to consider - the white car is significantly cooler to get into in the summer. It does have a gray interior and the 330 was black/black. That wouldn't be enough to base a decision on for me, but it is for some people. If I were to order a new car today, I would probably choose mystic blue as a compromise. Not quite black, but still a great looking dark color. I know that it would be a sham compromise and almost as difficult to keep clean without looking quite as good, but I would do it anyway.


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## andy_thomas (Oct 7, 2002)

rwg said:


> I have had excellent experiences with the Brecht service department. They once tracked down a service bulletin that hadn't been issued yet . . . they have never blinked about mods, either. The sponsor a race team and understand wanting to improve upon the car. I have not bought a car from them. They aren't cheap for work not covered by the warranty or maintenance plan, but what dealer is? Plus, you won't have to worry about that for a long time.
> 
> Doesn't leather come with the premium package? I suppose you could delete it.
> 
> I think all 325s are made in South Africa. I don't know for sure. I also don't know what happened to Dev, but I don't think they all take that long.


The plant in SA makes a mix of different 3ers, and does not have the monopoly on one particular model. Previously it produces only RHD cars for its own market, UK, Oz, NZ, Japan etc. but also now contributes to LHD production (e.g. for the US).


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## Nimbus2K (Mar 2, 2004)

re: the credit check.

They're NOT going to special order a car for you that they don't have a deal in place for :bigpimp: 


They'd do the whole credit thing, get a deposit of some sort ($500 refundable or something like that), order the car, and then settle up once it's in house (either as a dealer/MBNA transfer, or wait while the car is built to order. PRAY for the first of those, if you want your car any time in the next 2-3 months!)


When I traded the Nimbus 2000 for the Nimbus 2001, I did the whole transaction via FAX with the dealer. Then after all the paperwork was done, I just drove in, walked down the lot to pick out the color I wanted, and then opened a vein... um .... paid the downpayment. Signed my life away and a few hours later was winging home on the new broom.

It's the first time I've bought a car sight-unseen without driving it first, and didn't see it in the daylight until the next day, when I got up to go to the gym


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## dev (Dec 23, 2003)

Thanks for the additional info...

Nimbus - What did you mean about build to order? Does it really take more than 3 months if I go that route? I somehow just don't think they will find the car with the options I want already available for dealer trade. 

It's not up to me whether the car is built in Germany or S. Africa right? Can I tell before I place the order or is it just bad luck if I get an S. Africa built car since it takes longer to be delivered?


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## numbersguy (May 21, 2003)

dev said:


> Thanks for the additional info...
> 
> Nimbus - What did you mean about build to order? Does it really take more than 3 months if I go that route? I somehow just don't think they will find the car with the options I want already available for dealer trade.
> 
> It's not up to me whether the car is built in Germany or S. Africa right? Can I tell before I place the order or is it just bad luck if I get an S. Africa built car since it takes longer to be delivered?


The dealer's allocation book will indicate whether a given production slot is for a German or SA built car. They should try to fill your order using a German slot, saving the SA slots for the cars they order to put on the lot. If they don't have a German production slot to spare or if the sales advisor is just plain stupid and doesn't know the difference you may wind up ordering a Rosslyn car.

They can tell you where your car will be built when they take your order. If they tell you different it may be because they don't really have an allocation for you car and are waiting for one to open up. If they can't give you a production number within a day or two of taking your order then they may be stringing you along.


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## brkf (May 26, 2003)

I'd suggest checking out Cunningham BMW in El Cajon. I bought my ZHP there, helped my brother-in-law buy his 325 there and I'm certain when my mom gets her 325cic I'll take her there.

Very friendly staff (my salesguy Jim Cumberland was super lowkey and very nice), great service and an all around good experience every time I set foot in that place.

BTW, they do Costco pricing.

As for color:

A. It's San Diego so unless you live in El Cajon, Escondido, East County, etc you needn't worry about your bimmer being too hot. 

B. It's San Diego so roads are cruddy and it's always dusty. Dark cars show dust big time. So essentially your Bimmer if black will always look dirty. It's a sad but true fact about this area.

C. Buy what lights your fire. I've always been a grays and blues guy so I loved silver gray even though steel blue was my first choice. I love the Silver Gray because like white, it doesn't show dirt. I leave my car in the garage for 5 days a week and now only get it washed once a month or so. It always looks clean though.


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## rwg (May 10, 2002)

Blueguy, have you always lived here? It AMAZES me when people call San Diego roads words like "cruddy." Unless you meant dusty. They are certainly dusty, especially with all the construction going on.

I was not bothered by the dust here with a black car more than anywhere else. Of course, I dusted and speed shined just about every night. Black cars just take a lot of tlc. They repay it by looking great. The white car does not get dusted every night . . . and even goes more than a week between washings sometimes.


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## dev (Dec 23, 2003)

numbersguy - thanks for the info on SA vs German built cars. I'll know to ask up front now. 

I'm living in Del Mar right now, so heat with a black car isn't really an issue  Pollen, and dust is more of an issue. Or even ash (considering all the wildfires we've been having!). I think Black looks very slick, but also think White looks good too so I'm pretty torn. If Steel Grey was still offered I would pick that one for sure. 

I have heard good things about Cuningham in El Cajon but if I can get a good deal somewhere closer to me I'd prefer that. What's Costco pricing anyway? From what I can tell from the Costco website, there is no set amount over invoice, it depends on each dealer that participates. $1000 over invoice is a good deal right? 

thanks again for the responses everyone.


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## brkf (May 26, 2003)

dev said:


> numbersguy - thanks for the info on SA vs German built cars. I'll know to ask up front now.
> 
> I'm living in Del Mar right now, so heat with a black car isn't really an issue  Pollen, and dust is more of an issue. Or even ash (considering all the wildfires we've been having!). I think Black looks very slick, but also think White looks good too so I'm pretty torn. If Steel Grey was still offered I would pick that one for sure.
> 
> ...


I believe the Costco pricing at Cunningham is more like $400 or $500 over invoice. when manu to dealer rebates are on, bring them up and you can get that taken off the price too.


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## brkf (May 26, 2003)

rwg said:


> Blueguy, have you always lived here? It AMAZES me when people call San Diego roads words like "cruddy." Unless you meant dusty. They are certainly dusty, especially with all the construction going on.


No, I mean cruddy roads. They're potholed, nasty, uneven, cobblestone-like, wretched roads. I grew up in Northern California and the roads where my parents liver are properly crowned for rain and smooth as silk.


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## tashi (Oct 11, 2003)

dev said:


> Tashi, maybe you can answer a question I have about leatherette. How does it breathe? Do you find yourself getting "sweaty back" more with leatherette? Sorry to hear that you're suffering from the "sliptronic" problem. Also thanks for answering my questions more than a month ago when I private messaged you!


dev, you're most welcome... i was visiting COLD chicago so I couldnt answer back in time.

I havent felt any "more" warmer in the black car than in any other color, and I am not the A/C "always on" kinda guy... Tilt the moonroof, open the front/back right side windows and all the warm air flushes out. So havent gotten any sweat problem. Leatherette is very comfy, probably due to the comfort of sports seats, but it has a very shiny and clear appeal that I love.

In fact it looks so great that I met a guy who had been in leather business for a while and asked him what did he think of the leather in this car. He went in, felt it and said it was great.


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## JonInSanDiego (Feb 20, 2004)

Dev,

I just picked up my 330Cic from Brecht about two weeks ago. From a sales standpoint, they were hands down the winner even though their location isn't convenient for me at all (I live in Mission Hills). BMW of San Diego was incredibly high pressure and that's just a turn off for me. Cunningham was very nice but they low balled me so badly on my trade in it wasn't even funny. They offered me $25,000 on it while Brecht gave me $30,500.

If you do decide to go to Brecht, ask for Kimberly Koch. I'm not sure but I believe she's their fleet person. She does flat rate pricing and I think she told me that any 325 is $1,000 over invoice. They do mark up their interest rates from BMWFS so be prepared to haggle on that one point. Overall though, I found them to be professional. While buying a car is never truly "fun", I did find that this was probably the least painful car buying experience I've ever had. 

Again, as for service, I can't speak to how good/bad they are as I haven't had an opportunity to take my car in yet. I occasionally have a rough idle so I may have to experience it soon.

As for color....my last BMW was silver with gray interior. Looked good, easily hid the dirt and any imperfections, but it just didn't turn any heads. My new one is black on black and it gets a LOT of attention. When I'm going down the road, I constantly see people looking at it, espcially at traffic lights. Is it a pain to keep looking good? Yep, but not impossible. Also, even with the warm weather this weekend, the car wasn't unbearably hot although I do garage mine so it stays out of the sun. I may be kicking myself a year from now over the color but so far, so good.


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## JonInSanDiego (Feb 20, 2004)

Almost forgot...mine is jet black, not the sapphire black.


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## rwg (May 10, 2002)

Jon, just out of curiosity, are you a detail freak? Do you use a porter cable polisher? Nothing looks as good as a properly prepared jet black car . . .


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## blkbty2 (Mar 9, 2004)

I got my 325 at Brecht about 4 months ago and I was completely satisifed with the experience. Like JonInSanDiego my contact was Kimberly and she rocked. 5 min chat over the phone and the price was set, no shadiness. The rest of my day was test drive and orientation. Quite a relief after the bs I went through at San Diego ( car had extra options than discussed, they wouldnt commit to repair blemishes, price kept getting high and higher... on an 03 closeout no less .. frustrating! ) I havent had any experience with Brecht's service dept yet though, so I can't comment on that.

Oh, mine's jet black... waxed it 3 weeks ago and... wow... no porter cable though, just a bunch of microfiber towels and a couple hours with my baby :thumbup:


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## JonInSanDiego (Feb 20, 2004)

rwg said:


> Jon, just out of curiosity, are you a detail freak? Do you use a porter cable polisher? Nothing looks as good as a properly prepared jet black car . . .


No, admittedly, I'm not a detail freak. I generally wash my car once or twice per week depending on how much free time I have and how dirty the car is looking. I'm very thorough when I do it but truth be told, I don't even know what a porter cable polisher is. :dunno: (Please don't kick me off the board! :bigpimp: )

Now with that all said, I have a buddy I'm getting together with this weekend and we're heading over to a friend of his house to check out some type of specialty product this guy uses (wax? soap?) that is antistatic. I admittedly haven't a clue what this stuff is or does but he and his friend are both car nuts and they swear by it. Last time this friend of his took his car into BMW for service, the service bay was all over him trying to find out how he made his car shine so well (it's black too, apparently). I'm wildly skeptical of these things but I'll let you know. This is the product for what it's worth: http://www.dri-wash.com/


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## salvo (Feb 28, 2004)

I have had 1 experience with BMW of San Diego and I think that everyone there is retarded. I called three times on three different ocassions, until finally made an appointment! Brought in the car, SA calls me to tell me that the problem was fixed (easily) and that they found a recall on some electronic part and it has been ordered....picked up the car...found the problem AGAIN within 2 minutes of driving, car was washed with an SOS pad and I had to pay 10 bucks for gas usage on the courtesy car when i drove about 20 miles!! ANd they have yet to call me for the recall part....Moreover, I found the employees to be very unproffessional, the secretaries look like they should be walkign sunset blvd on a saturday night! 

I loved when BMW NA called!! 5/5?? Hell NO!!

I really do not think that these people can really diagnose a problem! just oil change, etc...my 0.02


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## JonInSanDiego (Feb 20, 2004)

salvo said:


> I have had 1 experience with BMW of San Diego and I think that everyone there is retarded. I called three times on three different ocassions, until finally made an appointment! Brought in the car, SA calls me to tell me that the problem was fixed (easily) and that they found a recall on some electronic part and it has been ordered....picked up the car...found the problem AGAIN within 2 minutes of driving, car was washed with an SOS pad and I had to pay 10 bucks for gas usage on the courtesy car when i drove about 20 miles!! ANd they have yet to call me for the recall part....Moreover, I found the employees to be very unproffessional, the secretaries look like they should be walkign sunset blvd on a saturday night!
> 
> I loved when BMW NA called!! 5/5?? Hell NO!!
> 
> I really do not think that these people can really diagnose a problem! just oil change, etc...my 0.02


I have to kind of chuckle because when I was doing my paperwork with the finance guy at Brecht, we got to talking and he told me that they have to work for every customer they get. BMW of San Diego though, because of their location, just has to sit back and let the customers roll in. While I don't think any car dealer sits around and builds shrines to their customers, he brought up a very valid point. When I first started to look, my first stop was BMW of San Diego and the sales person (Ben?) should have been selling Fords. He pulled every cheesy car sales trick out of the book. Frankly, it was pretty offensive and he must really think I rolled off the farm yesterday. I did get the last laugh on him though when he called me out of nowhere and I told him that I had bought from Brecht because he had never called me back.


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## dev (Dec 23, 2003)

Wow! Thanks for all the great info everyone. I have had good experience with Brecht so far. No hassle or pressure, good up front price, etc. Good to know about BMW San Diego too because their service center looked so nice, but looks can be deceiving. 

If Costco pricing is $400-500 over invoice that is a great deal and I'll have to look into that further. 

My purchase time frame seems to have been extended a bit because of some job related uncertainty. Not that I'm going to lose my job per se but that I may want to move on so I'll have to see how that situation plays itself out in the near term. 

Thanks again everyone.


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## rwg (May 10, 2002)

Ok, I admit it - I am sort of sick in the head about the detailing. If any of you who live in the San Diego area want to spend a Saturday or Sunday polishing and waxing, let me know. I will be happy to help, show you what a porter cable is (it's an orbital polisher that a lot of us use to apply polish and wax and you really NEED one of these if your car is jet black), demonstrate the benefits of a paint prep product that has some fillers in it, and take pictures after the fact. Or maybe before and after pictures. Black cars owners are especially welcome - they are a pain to keep clean, but I do miss the end results of waxing a black car.


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## JonInSanDiego (Feb 20, 2004)

rwg said:
 

> Ok, I admit it - I am sort of sick in the head about the detailing. If any of you who live in the San Diego area want to spend a Saturday or Sunday polishing and waxing, let me know. I will be happy to help, show you what a porter cable is (it's an orbital polisher that a lot of us use to apply polish and wax and you really NEED one of these if your car is jet black), demonstrate the benefits of a paint prep product that has some fillers in it, and take pictures after the fact. Or maybe before and after pictures. Black cars owners are especially welcome - they are a pain to keep clean, but I do miss the end results of waxing a black car.


If you're teaching, I'm more than happy to learn. Am I allowed to sit in a lawn chair, drink beer and point out any spots you've missed? :angel: Ok, just kidding (a little). Seriously, I've always pretty much tried the hit and miss approach to keeping up my cars and I'm very good about washing it once or twice per week. As far as knowing the best approach to keeping the car looking good and buffing/waxing, etc., I'm admittedly a moron so I'm happy to learn from someone who knows.

Now with that all said, two things:

1) I've had the car two weeks as of tomorrow. Is it too soon to start buffing and waxing?

2) I'm in a complex that has a no car washing policy (and they're NOT nice about enforcing it). Doing a full detail at my place isn't going to be possible, unfortunately.

Shoot me a private message and maybe we can try and set something up with others who might be interested too.

Jon


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## salvo (Feb 28, 2004)

JonInSD...that is funny, my first stop when buying a car was at BMWSD and I met that guy Ben also...what a schmuck! :thumbdwn: He knew nothing about the car or cars in general! I too enjoyed telling him i already bought a car...but, when it came to service...I gave them a try because they were nearby....just like you said...


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## JonInSanDiego (Feb 20, 2004)

salvo said:


> JonInSD...that is funny, my first stop when buying a car was at BMWSD and I met that guy Ben also...what a schmuck! :thumbdwn: He knew nothing about the car or cars in general! I too enjoyed telling him i already bought a car...but, when it came to service...I gave them a try because they were nearby....just like you said...


Too funny about Ben....to elaborate:

1) I went in and said I wanted a black 330Cic with SMG, Nav and that the rest I was flexible on (I figured anything with Nav in it would pretty much come loaded). Our attempted test drive? An automatic.

2) Um Ben, buddy, I'm pretty sure I want SMG but it's new so I realllllyyy need to give it a spin. You would have thought I asked for a kidney.

3) Test drive done....small problem....they have no verts with SMG (I test drove a 330ci). How about this dark gray, automatic with no Nav? Ben, are you deaf? Ben, buddy, if you think I'm going to drop $50k on a car that I don't like, you'd be wrong.

4) Well, let's run some numbers and check your trade in, then we can look at inventory. He pulls out the dreaded 4-square or whatever they call that stupid thing. Ben, buddy, put that away. I'm only interested in 4 things: the sale price, the trade in value, the money factor and the residual. And btw, how can we discuss sales price if you don't have the car I want?

5) They appraise the car, give me the residuals and money factor (and won't let me borrow a calculator) but I'm running late at this point. Ben, old pal, check your inventory and call me. Here's my number (show of good faith.....I don't know why).

6) Ben calls me that night asking me if I want to buy the car he showed me. Clearly the man has been in too many car accidents. Ben....check to see what's coming in and call me.

7) Now that was Saturday so Sunday I spend all day doing the internet thing and getting all of my facts and figures. (I had no intention of buying from him anyway until I had done all of my research). Ben calls me back.......Tuesday night. And the rest is history.....he was NOT amused.

The scary part....they have a board up in the sales office and he was tied for most sales in January.

As a side note to those who want SMG....Brecht orders a lot of cars with it, BMW of SD does not.


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## JonInSanDiego (Feb 20, 2004)

salvo said:


> JonInSD...that is funny, my first stop when buying a car was at BMWSD and I met that guy Ben also...what a schmuck! :thumbdwn: He knew nothing about the car or cars in general! I too enjoyed telling him i already bought a car...but, when it came to service...I gave them a try because they were nearby....just like you said...


By the way Salvo, will they give you a loaner when you go in for service even if you didn't buy the car there? They are MUCH more convenient for me as I live in Mission Hills but I don't want to hitchhike to work.


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## tjacks (Mar 10, 2004)

Quit your


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## tjacks (Mar 10, 2004)

Ben is awesome. He is knowlegeable and cute.


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## hurls (Jun 15, 2003)

*BMW of San Diego -- similar experience*



salvo said:


> JonInSD...that is funny, my first stop when buying a car was at BMWSD and I met that guy Ben also...what a schmuck! :thumbdwn: He knew nothing about the car or cars in general! I too enjoyed telling him i already bought a car...but, when it came to service...I gave them a try because they were nearby....just like you said...


A little late to this thread, but thought I'd chime in

A few cars back, my wife was considering buying a 318ti. It was HER car , not mine, so she went to look at it with a girl friend of hers. The sales person at BMW SD -- not Ben unfortunately -- told her she could not test drive it without her husband there. There's a classic old school cheezy salesperson move if there ever was one -- and one guaranteed to keep you from ever selling anything to my wife.


Oh yeah,and the salesperson was a woman.

If you don't mind the drive all the way up to Oceanside, Continental Motors is also good -- I've bought 2 BMWs and a Saab from them, and will continue to do so as long as BMWs don't become any more Bangle-fied, and Saabs any more GM-ified.

PM me if you want an intro to either of the sales guys up there -- I know them both well.


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## salvo (Feb 28, 2004)

JonInSanDiego said:


> By the way Salvo, will they give you a loaner when you go in for service even if you didn't buy the car there? They are MUCH more convenient for me as I live in Mission Hills but I don't want to hitchhike to work.


Yeah, they gave me a loaner...for ten bucks.


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## brkf (May 26, 2003)

JonInSanDiego said:


> If you're teaching, I'm more than happy to learn. Am I allowed to sit in a lawn chair, drink beer and point out any spots you've missed? :angel: Ok, just kidding (a little). Seriously, I've always pretty much tried the hit and miss approach to keeping up my cars and I'm very good about washing it once or twice per week. As far as knowing the best approach to keeping the car looking good and buffing/waxing, etc., I'm admittedly a moron so I'm happy to learn from someone who knows.
> 
> Now with that all said, two things:
> 
> ...


I've owned my ZHP for nearly a year. Never waxed it. Not once. Not unusual for me as I simply refuse to physically wash or wax any car on my own. I used to get the ZHP washed once a week - but now that I drive it only 6-8 times a month I'm down to once a month.

I had the car detailed through a dealership's detail specialist cat (it was a thank you for a sale) about 2 months ago - not sure if they waxed it but I'm sure they did a cruddy job in general. I'll go back to the car wash off the 805 and Clairemont as I had another car detailed there and the results were sensational for only $100.

Funny thing is, my paint's fine, the car looks great and people constantly tell me how much they like it and how clean it is. Sure. Shrug. I don't go out of my way beyond washing the annoying brake-dust covered rims every other week.


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## rwg (May 10, 2002)

blueguydotcom said:


> I've owned my ZHP for nearly a year. Never waxed it. Not once. Not unusual for me as I simply refuse to physically wash or wax any car on my own. I used to get the ZHP washed once a week - but now that I drive it only 6-8 times a month I'm down to once a month.
> 
> I had the car detailed through a dealership's detail specialist cat (it was a thank you for a sale) about 2 months ago - not sure if they waxed it but I'm sure they did a cruddy job in general. I'll go back to the car wash off the 805 and Clairemont as I had another car detailed there and the results were sensational for only $100.
> 
> Funny thing is, my paint's fine, the car looks great and people constantly tell me how much they like it and how clean it is. Sure. Shrug. I don't go out of my way beyond washing the annoying brake-dust covered rims every other week.


Yes, well - your car is only a year old. It should still look great and it probably will for several more years without any effort. The fanatic that is me plans for the long run and wants a show room quality finish after 10 years. You can't get away from the paint chips and such, but regular care makes the finish last longer. Having said that, most paint that is neglected can be "fixed" even after a long period time. The only real problem is fading, which adequate waxing prevents.

Jon, check your pms.


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## brkf (May 26, 2003)

rwg said:


> Yes, well - your car is only a year old. It should still look great and it probably will for several more years without any effort. The fanatic that is me plans for the long run and wants a show room quality finish after 10 years. You can't get away from the paint chips and such, but regular care makes the finish last longer. Having said that, most paint that is neglected can be "fixed" even after a long period time. The only real problem is fading, which adequate waxing prevents.
> 
> Jon, check your pms.


You could be right there. Mine is a lease so it's not a concern and I've decided there's no way it'll be worth 25-26k when the lease is up...


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