GS 350 vs IS 350 F SPORTS
07-30-14, 04:02 AM
#31
The BMW's & Mercedes I've owned, I got to know the Service Dept. much better than I ever wanted. These higher end car dealers come in all varieties, from friendly to arrogant. What I like about the Lexus experience is the only time I've seen the Service Manager is when I was introduced to him right after purchase.
07-30-14, 04:40 AM
#32
I think this varies from dealership to dealership. There are two very large BMW dealers within 10 miles of my house.
One of them has sales guys walking towards your car as you're parking (Irvine BMW). They have always let me really get on a car, and the sales guy took the M3 up to 100 on side business district streets and seemed more than comfortable with me doing the same.
The other dealership (Crevier BMW), you have to spend 5 minutes trying to find someone that is free. If you want a new car sales guy, you'll find someone within 5 min. If you're looking at used it could be much longer. Then I found that their sales people didn't know much about the cars I was test driving.
MB had one guy walk up to me within a minute (and that seemed appropriate.
Long Lexus had someone approaching me as I got out of my SC. A few days earlier I called for pricing and was told they don't give out pricing on the phone, but as the largest volume dealer in the area they would beat anyone else. When I showed up I just talked to the guy who walked up to me, and avoided talking to the guy I spoke with on the phone. He laughed at me when I told him how much I wanted to pay for a 14 GS F Sport, 51.5, and said it was impossible to buy one that cheap and the best i could do is 54.5. Three other dealers had already said they would sell for 52.5 or less (Crown, Newport, Carlsbad - where I bought my car). He basically walked away from me like I was the plague and said he wouldn't even waste his time talking to his sales managers.
So rudeness doesn't seem to be by brand rather than the owner of the dealership. Oh and Audi has always treated me well, as has Acura.
One of them has sales guys walking towards your car as you're parking (Irvine BMW). They have always let me really get on a car, and the sales guy took the M3 up to 100 on side business district streets and seemed more than comfortable with me doing the same.
The other dealership (Crevier BMW), you have to spend 5 minutes trying to find someone that is free. If you want a new car sales guy, you'll find someone within 5 min. If you're looking at used it could be much longer. Then I found that their sales people didn't know much about the cars I was test driving.
MB had one guy walk up to me within a minute (and that seemed appropriate.
Long Lexus had someone approaching me as I got out of my SC. A few days earlier I called for pricing and was told they don't give out pricing on the phone, but as the largest volume dealer in the area they would beat anyone else. When I showed up I just talked to the guy who walked up to me, and avoided talking to the guy I spoke with on the phone. He laughed at me when I told him how much I wanted to pay for a 14 GS F Sport, 51.5, and said it was impossible to buy one that cheap and the best i could do is 54.5. Three other dealers had already said they would sell for 52.5 or less (Crown, Newport, Carlsbad - where I bought my car). He basically walked away from me like I was the plague and said he wouldn't even waste his time talking to his sales managers.
So rudeness doesn't seem to be by brand rather than the owner of the dealership. Oh and Audi has always treated me well, as has Acura.
07-30-14, 05:46 AM
#33
Instructor
I definitely agree - it is just surprising that many people had similar experiences at different BMW dealerships. I don't want to presume anything - but hypothetically speaking, could BMW corporate have a training program or a policy that perhaps inadvertently causes multiple dealerships to work this way? Just think it is an interesting pattern.
most businessmen and CEOs and high rollers wont even bother hagglimg for the price of the car, they have so much money that that purchase is like spare change to them. And they dont want to waste time trying to get a deal because to them time is money. The time they use to haggle a good deal at bmw they could be earning 10's of thousands more with there time at work. So these bmw dealers a spoiled and would rather wait for that CEO than service the average joe and deal with us. At least thats my theory.
08-03-14, 09:37 AM
#35
My theory to this problem with BMW dealerships being arrogant and unwilling to most customers is that....
most businessmen and CEOs and high rollers wont even bother hagglimg for the price of the car, they have so much money that that purchase is like spare change to them. And they dont want to waste time trying to get a deal because to them time is money. The time they use to haggle a good deal at bmw they could be earning 10's of thousands more with there time at work. So these bmw dealers a spoiled and would rather wait for that CEO than service the average joe and deal with us. At least thats my theory.
most businessmen and CEOs and high rollers wont even bother hagglimg for the price of the car, they have so much money that that purchase is like spare change to them. And they dont want to waste time trying to get a deal because to them time is money. The time they use to haggle a good deal at bmw they could be earning 10's of thousands more with there time at work. So these bmw dealers a spoiled and would rather wait for that CEO than service the average joe and deal with us. At least thats my theory.
08-03-14, 04:12 PM
#37
Lexus Test Driver
08-03-14, 04:28 PM
#38
Driver School Candidate
Owned both
I owned the IS350 fsport for about a month before trading in for the gs fsport. The IS was a blast to drive and more nimble IMO. But, other than being nimble the IS loses to the GS in every other regard. It was too small for me (I'm 6'3" and 220lbs) and the interior quality in the IS was downmarket from the GS. Also, there are numerous features that the gs has that the IS didn't (12.3" screen, ventilated seats, more adjustable drivers seat, etc)
08-03-14, 11:11 PM
#39
Lexus Test Driver
I owned the IS350 fsport for about a month before trading in for the gs fsport. The IS was a blast to drive and more nimble IMO. But, other than being nimble the IS loses to the GS in every other regard. It was too small for me (I'm 6'3" and 220lbs) and the interior quality in the IS was downmarket from the GS. Also, there are numerous features that the gs has that the IS didn't (12.3" screen, ventilated seats, more adjustable drivers seat, etc)
08-03-14, 11:15 PM
#40
Lexus Champion
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 2,553
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
08-04-14, 07:04 AM
#41
Lexus Champion
08-05-14, 09:45 PM
#42
Lexus Test Driver
08-05-14, 09:52 PM
#43
Lexus Champion
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 2,553
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
08-05-14, 10:45 PM
#44
Same here. Very happy about that in retrospect, though. When I realized for the most part that the 4GS F Sport had most of the options of the 3IS F Sport AND the 3IS Lux package, I was pretty much sold.
08-06-14, 06:33 AM
#45
Lexus Champion
However, mine does have the NuLuxe, and now having owned both leather and NuLuxe, in the future I will choose NuLuxe every time the choice is there. It has surprised me, but I now prefer it over leather.