[GR8-Ride]

So I was at my (not so) local BMW dealer today, working out a deal on a 2021 M3 6-spd with the Carbon buckets in it. Cash deal / trade-in, but I said if they wanted to finance some of it to meet my target price, I could live with that as long as the financing was open (ie, I can pay it in full anytime).

We haggled a little, and they ended up giving me what I wanted on price and trade-in as long as I financed some of the deal and kept it active for at least 3 months, so that's all good. I did inquire about BMW extended warranties, as a car that the previous owner may have ragged on for all I know might need some significant hidden repairs. I tell them to give me a price and I'll see if it's worth my time.

Then I sit down with the business manager (who is almost always the best salesman in the dealership), and get the run-down on BMW's Appearance Protection package, Extended Warranty, PPF (car is already PPF'd!), Ceramic and tinting.

Of course, the numbers are all buried in a monthly payment, and not the actual prices. I'm not big on tinting but I'm not opposed, and I usually ceramic coat my cars anyway, so let's see what the price is. I already knew what to expect from BMW's extended warranty, so at least that part wouldn't be a shock to me.

I get home, get the summary sheet via email, and almost had a stroke! The Appearance Protection Package was more than the extended bumper to bumper warranty, the Ceramic coating was over 1/2 the price of the extended warranty, and close to a grand for tinting. All of it added together equaled a little over 15% above the purchase price of the vehicle!

Needless to say, I declined everything except the extended warranty, which I was planning to keep anyway.

A few years back at my local BMW dealer where I purchased my F82 M4, there was really no discussion about any of this beyond the PPF piece, which I did want (it was brand new).

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, given how long I've been buying cars.


Patrick

[Burrcold]

Dealers being dealers.

[Weather Man]

After Covid, the price of everything is cringe. I would have asked what the experience level was in their detail department. I have usually found that paying people who know their craft usually works out.

['Cane]

Always do that stuff post-purchase. The dealer I bought my G82 from was stuck on including the interior ceramic coating and I said no way. The CA said he was able to get it waived even though it was already done. Spoiler alert, it was never done.

[dtronics]

This made me laugh... "Business manager (who is almost always the best salesman in the dealership)".

^That's so spot on. I'm in sales and the Business Manager at my dealership pulled out all the stops to try to get me to buy the wheel/tire, extended maintenance, ceramic, etc. She was trying to sell me on like $10K of extra crap and she really tried to take me to the mat, it was uncomfortable. This dealership now adds $1,400 to every car for ceramic and you have to negotiate out of it, which I did. I feel like there's so much transparency with car pricing that the dealer add-ons are the final frontier for them to maximize profit.

[Diesel power]

On a similar topic, I was visiting a PPF shop the other day and had an experience that highlighted why dealers love selling add-ons like this. As I walked around the car it was pretty clear that I was underwhelmed by the overall quality. The owner/installer offered that it was a "dealership car" and they get paid based on turning cars as quickly as possible, and they aren't as picky with the quality of the job.
As most others said, the dealer see these add-ons as easy profit adders that are still seen as added value by less discriminating customers.

[dtronics]

Originally Posted by Diesel power

On a similar topic, I was visiting a PPF shop the other day and had an experience that highlighted why dealers love selling add-ons like this. As I walked around the car it was pretty clear that I was underwhelmed by the overall quality. The owner/installer offered that it was a "dealership car" and they get paid based on turning cars as quickly as possible, and they aren't as picky with the quality of the job.
As most others said, the dealer see these add-ons as easy profit adders that are still seen as added value by less discriminating customers.

Yeah, I won't let the dealer even wash my car let alone PPF it. I've seen or heard of way too many horror stories.

[Limegrntaln]

Yeah, you're getting run through the ringer. The $1,000 window tint is always trash. They install the $199 window tint, and since they get dozens of cars done, there, they get an even cheaper price. Plus these prices are Canadian?

You can already tell the dealer is all about money, asking you to finance a portion of the vehicle. 3 months, is all they need to get fully paid by the bank for selling you the financing. So, they want to make money off the warranty, make money off the tint, make money off of the financing, add mop and glo, to the car. They are really pushing. It sounds like they gave a little on the front end, and was hoping to make it up on the back end.

I got a little of that song and dance when I picked up my car. MSRP, but, I bought wheel and tire, but I made them work for it. A little under half price, and they threw in free dent repair, which I had the car full ppfd anyway, and I don't park the car anywhere it would get door dinged. It's not my daily, so, I don't take it to the store, or the mall. On the off chance I take it to work, the parking spots are half a car apart, and at an angle, so my driver's door opens around where the cars next to me, taillights would be.

[dtronics]

In general the car dealership is a gauntlet and it doesn't end when you buy your car. The Service Advisors also work on commission so you always have to keep your head on a swivel. I would agree that something like the wheel and tire package can be worth it, especially if you can negotiate a discount on it.

Dealers would much rather have an uninformed buyer come in than one of us wackos from the forums who knows more about the cars than they do. I would love to see the notes my dealer keeps on me in their CRM system.

[Forzanerazzurri]

Dealers don't make much on the car sale. Margins on a lot of the add-ons are insane, especially the "warranties". Those are really structured like the worlds most expensive insurance policies. From a purely financial standpoint ALL of that crap should be declined, unless you are OK paying a large premium for convenience.