[AP]

All, been hovering in the background for quite some time, and now looking to buy a new F10 530d msport in the UK.

Currently have a 2002 E39 530i Msport (sat nav,xenons,auto,leather, electric seats, heated, bluetooth) with 54000 miles on the clock.
Trade in value according to glass's is only ~£2500
Its been a very good car to me and I will miss it big time, the best car to date by a long way - its going to take some beating.

For the 530D, i'm looking to specify professional satnav with HUD full black panel, sports auto, full electric seats, climate comfort glass, top hifi, DAB, alcantara headlining, adaptive xenons, 19" 351 wheels, msport spoiler, universal remote.

obviously want to get the best deal I can when I go to the dealer.

Broadspeed seem to be a good as regards getting a very good discount, but that leaves me with my e39. issue is I have only 1 parking space so don't really have anywjer to keep the old car so a trade in is really the only option. not sure I can do that if I get Broadspeed involved.

If I go to the dealer, whats the best tactic , go in and say I want this for my old car, I want to match broadspeeds quote and and them watch them try and wriggle out of that and say they can't do that?

Do I hold my cards to my chest and say whats you best deal you can do, I'll compare that with other dealers and whoever is the best will get the business?

I won't be looking at finance.

Theres' plenty of advice on the internet but want to see what people have experienced, particularly in the UK. What tactics have you adopted?

Whilst half of me is looking forard to the negotiations, the other half of me is dreading it - I just feel that somewhere I'm going to be done over.
Were there any sweetners that can be added the deal, something that worths more to me but cheap for the dealer to add in?
Broadspeed seem to get a discount on both the car and the options but is that the case, do BMW only discount teh car and options are full price?

I've sat in in a few F10s now in showrooms and have had test drives in the past with the 520d msport and 530d SE.
Impressions were mixed. Didn't like the steering it was too light.(plenty on the forums here about that!) its nowhere as good as the E39. maybe cars these days don't have 'heavy' communicative steering any more?
530D engine is amazing, you can tell its a diesel at idle but it does make a nice noise once its revving and the performance is more that ample. (not a 550i but certianly enough)

Headlining looked cheaped compared to whats in the E39. the E39 has a sort of felt type material, the F10 feels like a cheap plastic hence the reason for specfying an alcantara headlining (in anthracite). That would be quite cool to have BMW individual on the kick plates!
Steering wheel feels a bit too slippery and smooth , perhaps that changes over time?

Thanks in advance

[eskdale]

Hi AP.

I looked around and Broadspeed were quite competitive. When I first went in to the dealer I told him I wanted 10%. He assured me he couldn't do that but would do 9.2%. In the end we settled for 9% on the car and 12% on the options. As I had a lot of options I ended up getting a bit more than the 10%. They offered me the trade price for my previous car and at that price it didn't make any difference to the deal on the new car. It was up to me to decide if they took it. Basically any main dealer is going to pass the trade-in on to some other dealer so the trade price is what they will get for it. If they give you more than that then you will probably be loosing it off the discount you could get.

I liked the black headlining but my lady thought it made it too dark inside. So we went with the panoramic roof on the Touring - best of both worlds then - Black when you want it and day light when you want it.

The steering wheel did feel strange at first but when I drove the old car after driving the M Sport for 2 weeks I thought this steering wheel feels horribly thin and strange. The Bimmer Steering wheel is nice in the cold mornings with the heating on, feels really nice with the smooth finish then.

[LiveLarger]

Find another two dealers apart from where you are thinking to buy. Run them up against each other. Then you take the best offer to the one you want to buy from (trust the most) and ask for a better quote. Just be open about it. They are sales people, they are used to these kind of things and I doubt you will get their best quote if they aren't pushed a bit.

[Bimmernerd]

Originally Posted by LiveLarger

Find another two dealers apart from where you are thinking to buy. Run them up against each other. Then you take the best offer to the one you want to buy from (trust the most) and ask for a better quote. Just be open about it. They are sales people, they are used to these kind of things and I doubt you will get their best quote if they aren't pushed a bit.

I agree, when I bought my 530d I went to five different dealers. I had made up my mind on where to place the order but got a last-minute call from another dealer...In the end I got 9% discount, in Sweden this is pretty good for a private buy. For company cars you can get higher discounts.

[AP]

thanks, blimey around 9% seems to be a realistic target that I should aim for (and get!). My local dealership were offerig £4000 off 2 5 series in the showroom , didn't read the small print but it looks there's opportunity to get a decent price on one.
i think teh trick will be to have as much iforation printed out when you go , so if they turn round as say no, you can get out a quote from Boradspeed and put that in front of them!
I guess a good discount must be hurting residuals utlimately.

Getting quite excited about the whole thing now, thinking I'll go for Sophisto Grey, black dakota seats and one of the 2 dark almost black woods to replace the silver trim. So fairly dark overall!
ACC and HUD suiond liek exciting gizmos to have.

Is there any room for negiotiation on the 5 year servicing? Currently priced at £400 which is pretty good anyway.

thanks for the replies so far.