Just visited a BMW dealership. Very unsatisfied!

[Zeke]

I have to agree. One of the biggest mistakes new grads make is buying an expensive car. Someone once pointed out a very nice way to compare stuff like this for me. You have two cars sitting next to each other. One a (choose your luxury car for 45k), the other a Hyundai (nice, reliable, 20k). Which do you choose? Oh, we forgot to mention that the 20k car comes with $40,000 in cash in the driver seat. Now which do you prefer?

If you look at the big picture, the amount you lose in depreciation, interest (at 7%) and loss of earnings on your money from not investing are enormous. This is the only time of your life that you're used to living like a college student and can thus put away a large amount of money into savings...take advantage. Live cheaply the first year or two and invest. You'll be sitting pretty in a few years.

Don't take it personally, but to come fresh out of college and purchase a luxury automobile, even if you could afford the monthly payment, would not seem the prudent thing to do. But hey, it's your money so all the power to you.

 

[iGary]

I have to agree. One of the biggest mistakes new grads make is buying an expensive car. Someone once pointed out a very nice way to compare stuff like this for me. You have two cars sitting next to each other. One a (choose your luxury car for 45k), the other a Hyundai (nice, reliable, 20k). Which do you choose? Oh, we forgot to mention that the 20k car comes with $40,000 in cash in the driver seat. Now which do you prefer?

If you look at the big picture, the amount you lose in depreciation, interest (at 7%) and loss of earnings on your money from not investing are enormous. This is the only time of your life that you're used to living like a college student and can thus put away a large amount of money into savings...take advantage. Live cheaply the first year or two and invest. You'll be sitting pretty in a few years.

I got out of the car phase. Use to have an uber expensive Acura, and then was like - uh, this really is a waste. So I got a four-door Honda Civic (sorry, iGav) and paid for it so I have no monthly payments. 100,000 miles later it still gets me to where I'm going.

 

[pseudobrit]

I have to agree. One of the biggest mistakes new grads make is buying an expensive car. Someone once pointed out a very nice way to compare stuff like this for me. You have two cars sitting next to each other. One a (choose your luxury car for 45k), the other a Hyundai (nice, reliable, 20k). Which do you choose? Oh, we forgot to mention that the 20k car comes with $40,000 in cash in the driver seat. Now which do you prefer?

If you look at the big picture, the amount you lose in depreciation, interest (at 7%) and loss of earnings on your money from not investing are enormous. This is the only time of your life that you're used to living like a college student and can thus put away a large amount of money into savings...take advantage. Live cheaply the first year or two and invest. You'll be sitting pretty in a few years.

Nice argument. Were I in this situation, I'd save for a year and pay cash for a car. I'd buy something nice, small and reliable for around $20,000. With some of the leftover cash I'd buy a classic roadster for fun.

Life is better when you specialize.

 

[mchendricks]

I'll throw my 2 cents in since I went through the same process. At the end of last year, I went looking at the Volvo S40, Lexus IS250, BMW 330, MB C230, and Audi A4. After test drives, I thought I was getting the Lexus IS 250 from Lexus of Melbourne (FL). I put a deposit down for the car and the dealer told me he would let me know the next day when my car would arrive. He didn't call back for several days and had no news when he called. I stopped by a few days later and he still didn't have news. I waited a couple of days and stopped by again. This time, he was paying HIS bills for X-mas. He hadn't checked yet after 1 week. I told him I would look at other dealers. He said "Go ahead. If you find something you want there, we'll give you your money back."

I drove to an Acura dealer to look at the TL. I test drove one and that was it. I ended up with a 2006 TL. I love the car and don't regret the decision to buy it. The best thing about buying it was that you don't get "optioned" to death. Interior and exterior color choices, manual or auto, navigation or not are the basic choices - everything else was standard. Great way to sell a car.

Overall, the Volvo and BMW dealer were okay. The MB/Audi dealer was probably the best, too bad the cars aren't that reliable The Acura dealer was very good. The Lexus dealer was a snob that didn't seem to be interested in selling me a car -"take it or leave it". They make very nice cars but they lost a customer for life.

I'd look very hard at the Acura TL (or RL) if you get a chance.

Good luck,
Mike

 

[yg17]

I'm not sure I see what's so wrong about buying a nice car right out of college if you can afford it with plenty of money left over. Not sure if this part applies to him, but if he's meeting clients, it would look a lot better to pull up in a BMW or Lexus than in whatever he's driving now (being a college student, I'm assuming it's on the lower end of things).

For me at least, if I have to meet people, what will I look better in? My Hyundai Tiburon (a nice car, but being a sporty 2 door, plus with a few mods done to it, it makes me look like a kid) or a luxury car?

 

[ejb190]

Treat a customer well and they will tell 10 of their friends...
Treat a customer poorly and they will tell 100 strangers...

I totally agree with calyxman and Zeke. It took me six years after college to put myself in a position to buy a house and I didn't get there by buying new cars. My Saturn will have to do for a few more years until I can build up some more savings.

Speaking of Saturn, I have dealt with two different dealers have noticed a real difference in the service departments when I get my car worked on. One dealer would do exactly what I asked them to do. The other would look up my records and notify me of scheduled maintenance, sweep my car out, and generally work harder at customer service.

 

[pseudobrit]

I'm not sure I see what's so wrong about buying a nice car right out of college if you can afford it with plenty of money left over. Not sure if this part applies to him, but if he's meeting clients, it would look a lot better to pull up in a BMW or Lexus than in whatever he's driving now (being a college student, I'm assuming it's on the lower end of things).

For me at least, if I have to meet people, what will I look better in? My Hyundai Tiburon (a nice car, but being a sporty 2 door, plus with a few mods done to it, it makes me look like a kid) or a luxury car?

OP's an EE.

I'd look at newer used cars too. The luxury segment takes a walloping depreciation in the first 3-5 years. I mean it's two or three times worse than any other segment, which is usually bad enough.

It's great way to burn $30,000 in 3 years.

 

[Zeke]

OP's an EE.

I'd look at newer used cars too. The luxury segment takes a walloping depreciation in the first 3-5 years. I mean it's two or three times worse than any other segment, which is usually bad enough.

It's great way to burn $30,000 in 3 years.

Definitely...

Just because he can afford it doesn't mean he SHOULD buy one. Granted, it's his money but the best thing you can do is invest a large amount of money as soon as possible. So if it's a decision between losing a lot of money, or making a lot of money, the smart decision is usually going to be making it.

There's no guarantee he'll have a job in a year, and he'll have this expensive car that's depreciated significantly so he'll be upside down and no savings to live on because he's spent $5k on a down payment...in any case, as pseudobrit said, buying a nice used car can be a great alternative. Depreciation will be much less and you can still get a great car.

 

[Sutekidane]

I'd take a Hyundai over a BMW or Lexus any day.

 

[bartelby]

I remember walking into a Porsche showroom a few years back with a friend. Both of us wearing shorts and t-shirts, my mate has both arms tattooed.
The sales guy rolled his eyes and said "I'm sorry lads..." he then noticed my friends Breitling. His attitude totally changed. "you have a fine timepiece there sir, if I may say so" he then was very attentive for an hour showing us all the cars in there.

That same day we went into a BMW showroom and were ignored for 30 minutes despite us being the only ones there. The staff just kept staring at us from a distance, when we looked at them they pretended to be doing something. When my mate opened the door of a 5 series and sat in it a guy can over and asked us to leave.

The final visit of the day was to a Lotus dealers. As soon as we walked in we were offered drinks the guy was fantastic. My mate left his car, watch and passport when they let us take an Exige for a test drive.

 

[Black&Tan]

Regardless of who you buy the car from, you'll be seeing the service center regularly for tune-ups and periodic maintenance. If they treat YOU like an ass, then I would hate to think how they treat your car.

One of the best relationships you can make in life is with an honest mechanic....

 

[devilot]

Regardless of who you buy the car from, you'll be seeing the service center regularly for tune-ups and periodic maintenance. If they treat YOU like an ass, then I would hate to think how they treat your car.

That comparison is faulty. The last time I checked, cars don't really say rude things. Having worked retail sales, I'd rather be w/ inanimate objects than deal w/ potentially rude/ irate customers. That said, I agree w/ you, check out the service center and see how they treat you.

One of the best relationships you can make in life is with an honest mechanic....

Sigh. Gotta find me one of those.

 

[virividox]

good luck with getting a car, but as a soon to be grauduate as well, i would save some cash and get a 20k car instead of a 40k

investing 20k in a mutual fund is a good idea.

 

[joepunk]

I remember walking into a Porsche showroom a few years back with a friend. Both of us wearing shorts and t-shirts, my mate has both arms tattooed.
The sales guy rolled his eyes and said "I'm sorry lads..." he then noticed my friends Breitling. His attitude totally changed. "you have a fine timepiece there sir, if I may say so" he then was very attentive for an hour showing us all the cars in there.

That same day we went into a BMW showroom and were ignored for 30 minutes despite us being the only ones there. The staff just kept staring at us from a distance, when we looked at them they pretended to be doing something. When my mate opened the door of a 5 series and sat in it a guy can over and asked us to leave.

The final visit of the day was to a Lotus dealers. As soon as we walked in we were offered drinks the guy was fantastic. My mate left his car, watch and passport when they let us take an Exige for a test drive.

Could I borrow your friends watch

 

[SpookTheHamster]

I own a BMW, and while it may not be top-of-the-line (it's a 1502 ), my local dealership treats me like a piece of crap if I ever call. It doesn't help that most of the staff don't know enough to even know my car exists: "What model is it Sir?"
"It's a 1502"
"No Sir, that's the engine size"
"No it isn't, it's a 1502, BMW don't make ANY cars with engines that size" etc.

On the other hand, my sister works for Lexus GB customer services. As an example of the service you'd receive, if your car is ever called in for a recall, Lexus will also give the car a full valet clean, top up the fluids and give you a bottle of champagne.

The other good thing about Lexus is that (in the UK at least) if you have a problem with a dealer you can go to Lexus about it, and Lexus will call the dealer to tell them to stop being an ass.

Also, if you go for a German car, be prepared to fork out at least twice as much on parts. My BMW dealer asks for an average of SIX times more for the same parts as an independent BMW specialist.

 

[mrichmon]

Your experience at BMW matches the experience I had at 5 different BMW dealers in the SF Bay Area when I was in the market for a BMW 3 series or Mercedes C-coupe a couple of years back. The main difference is that you had a BMW sales person speak to you. At 4 out of 5 BMW dealerships I went to my girlfriend and I spent at least an hour and usually closer to 2 hours at each dealership trying to get service from someone before giving up.

At the one dealership that we could get someone to talk to us, we took a stick shift 3 series on a very short test drive. Part-way through the drive my girlfriend started driving and since she hadn't driven stick for a few years her shifts were not completely smooth. But the car didn't lurch or stall, they were just not perfect shifts. The salesman turned to her and said "it's easier for a woman to drive an automatic" in a condescending tone. We returned to the dealership and just walked away.

A week later we ordered two cars from our Mercedes dealership and have been extremely happy with the cars and the pre- and post-sale service we get from Mercedes Benz.

 

[calyxman]

The money you throw into these pricey imports, you can get yourself something reliable like a Honda or Toyota and pocket the savings.

All these luxury makes are nothing more but status symbols. Young guys that drive beamers are either being bank-rolled, up to their eyeballs in debt, looking to pick up chicks, or any combination of the three.

 

[w_parietti22]

Wished i had a BMW


Bless

I wish I had a car

 

[Felldownthewell]

Wish I had a Lexus

Wish I had a car

Nevermind! Beaten to it by w_parietti22

 

[w_parietti22]

Wish I had a car

Nevermind! Beaten to it by w_parietti22

Great minds think alike.

 

[CompUser]

We are very happy with our VW dealership.

They are honest, friendly, and curious. Always happy to talk to you. They even know which car is ours and what was done to it with out even looking at paperwork. I have two gripes about them

One time a guy called from the dealership and asked it my mom was there. I said "no", he said "Oh, well could you tell her your car is done being repaired". I said "okay, she's on her way to go get it right now" and he said "No, she is not, your car is still here". I said "Yea, cause she is on her way to get it right now, she must not be there yet". The guy said "Well, whatever, just let her know her car is done.

It was like talking to a stupid wall. I also don't like how they leave everyone's car keys on the front desk, so anyone could walk up and take the keys to someone's car.

They usually are friendly though. We are very happy with them. One time they got grease on the headliner, my mom pointed it out. They gave us a Passat loaner (loaded pretty much) and cleaned it for free.

 

[leftbanke7]

Treat a customer well and they will tell 10 of their friends...
Treat a customer poorly and they will tell 100 strangers...

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Customer service seems to be going by the wayside. For much the same reasons as the OP had (outside of the physically hostile grease monkey), I refuse to ever shop at Nordstroms. Why? Because they treated me like crap. I won't forget that. I don't care if they are the only one selling what it is I need, I won't go there.

On the flip side, I am very loyal to those who have treated me good. There is a car shop up the street from me and they have always done me right so they will continue to get my business and my personal recommendation. And it wasn't like they went out of their way to make me feel like the king of the world. They just treated me like a valued customer.

Unfortunately, more and more it seems like retail customer service people don't care.

 

[Felldownthewell]

Great minds think alike.

And our minds are great, even if our driveways are empty.

 

[puckhead193]

I can only comment on lexus as my family owns 3 (94 LS 400, 04 RX 330, 04 ES 330). We first looked in 94 at lexus. We weren't really familar with them and frankly had no real intention of buying a lexus. my mom brother and I (young at the time) went into the lexus dealership. We were first shown the lower model ES, mom drove it, and didn't really care for it/size. The saleswomen showed us the GS. My mom thought it was nice but too small for her. We then for fun testdrove the LS, and my mom loved it. It was what a luxury car should be. (Except the price) We left and then mom went to my dad and told the story. We went down again and we then test drove all of them and my parents agreed the LS was a suite ride. We ended up buying the LS. Next was my brother's RX, he had a dodge durango and hated it. When the lease was up, the RX was really popular and was highly recommended. At time time, they were remodeling the RX 300 to the 330 so we waited and got the RX for him. Then my turn for a car was coming up. I've always wanted the IS but my mom thought it was too small for a first car. I always loved the GS but it was a bit much for a first car. And i like the ES. my parents splurged and got me the ES b/c it was a safe/ reliable car that would last quite a while.
So far we have been very happy with all our cars and plan on getting a 4th in September/whenever the new LS 460 comes out.

The service at lexus is awesome. They really take care of its customers. With every major service, they give you a complementary loaner car you just have to fill up with gas. (normally an ES or RX) If you can drop off the car they will come and pick up your car/drop off your car at your house. After you've been their a while you will get to know the service people by name.

The build quaility is awesome. My mom's 94 LS has 180,000 miles on it (yes that's correct) and it still feels like its brand new. Both me and my brother have the nav/ and mark levension audio. Both are awesome. Your ears after listening to that stereo for a while will be spoiled. The navigation works like a charm. You never have to rely on map quest ever again.

Between the lexus's your considering, i personally love the new GS. Its a real sexy car ( i like it in red) I haven't test drove the new IS or the ES but looks wise the GS wins

I (at the time was 17) went to a BMW dealer near me and they blew me off completely and were like what are you doing here. They sales person said I should come back with my parents... that was the end of that. I went to lexus and while they weren't kissing my feet, they knew what i was doing their by scoping it out etc and treated me with respect. They were going to let me test drive but couldn't do to insurance reasons so i came back with the 'rents and it was all good
hope this helps...

 

[dkmaccy]

Have you considered other car brands?

Have you considered other car brands such as Audi or VW? I currently drive an 05 Audi A4 and absolutely love it! It's cheaper than a BMW 3-Series (factoring the extras) and, in my opinion, much nicer.

I recently test drove the new 330i at my local BMW dealer to see what all the commotion was about, and I must say that I was NOT impressed! I mean, it's a nice car - particular good exterior design, but you just didn't feel the quality that Audi puts into their cars. To most people, they probably wouldn't realize the difference, but if you plan on buying a car that you will spend a lot of time in, you want to feel comfortable and the Audi is definitely a quality car inside and out.

As for the dealership experience, for of all, my Audi dealer - I've been with them for about 3 years now - is absolutely terrific. The friendliest staff, very easy to schedule maintanence appts., etc. My experience at the BMW dealer wasn't bad either. I didn't know what to expect, and was a bit intimated in the showroom. But the salesman was honest, passionate about the cars, and very knowledgable. I also appreciated the fact that he didn't pressure me into buying anything - mainly because I wasn't THAT impressed to begin with. He wasn't hesitant about putting BMW over, that's for sure! By listening to him you would think BMW is the king of automobiles, which is to be expected. That's why it's SOOOOO important to judge for yourself and make up your own mind. This is a big purchase, so choose wisely.