Lloyd BMW Newcastle Upon Tyne

[ncrossy1980]

I won't name individuals names, one salesperson doesn't represent the overall quality of a dealership.

Mine is a 2 part story.

February 2014. I went to Lloyd BMW Newcastle to buy a new or used Z4, long story short after a test drive... knowing I was going to be doing 2000 miles per month, the road noise was too much so I settled on a F30 2012 320d Sport. The one shown in my signature. The salesman was a gent, a charmer, real nice bloke, they gave me a reasonable price for a knackered high miler Mondeo ST I had for trade in and the deal was done. I took the tire insurance, gap insurance, and the seal & protect service promising a "Ferrari Finish" as they put it.
The day before collection, they sent out a personalised video of the salesman showcasing the car after prep, showing it ready to be picked up. Real nice touch. On collection, the car was stood in a nicely lit bay ready to be driven out. I took issue with some stone chips and scratches claiming that wasn't up to Ferrari's standard, but as there was no way I was going to not take the car away that day, I let it slide and off I went. Overall, I was genuinely impressed and had a brilliant story to tell. Subsequently I've read the tire insurance policy and it's a rip off, gap insurance was an error as I have massive equity in the vehicle anyway, but that's my own fault.

February 2015. I went to Lloyd BMW Newcastle to buy a used 4 Series. Knowing I have a huge chunk of equity in the 320d, I figured I could get a real nice 435i M Sport. I arranged to meet the same salesman who sold me my 320d a year earlier, and it went downhill from here. He immediately dismissed the idea of buying used, claiming "new" on PCP is the much better deal due to APR rates etc. Even though I came in specifically to see one on the forecourt, he ignored that and went down the new path. I said I wanted something faster and sportier than my diesel, I want the M Sport look and some power to go with it. He then up and vanished for 5 minutes, came back, sat down, stared at me with a look of shock on his face and I sh*t you not these were his words...

"Now, right, because I trust you... and you trust me, I've managed to put together something which is just... a storming deal, we've... I can't believe how good this is, we have a white 428i M Sport in a southern branch which is discounted so much it's unbelievable. It's brand new, built, got all the optional extras fully loaded, full professional navigation, M Sport pack, XYZ, with your trade in we can do it for £540 per month".

I'm paraphrasing, he threw in a load of crap to knock me off, but it was essentially you must sign this now else the car will be gone. He said they were offering me £17k trade in for my 2012 320d which genuinely didn't sound right, something didn't add up, and he was being shady with the specifics. He focused on deposit and monthly figure. After some nattering, I asked if I could put more cash down up front to get this below £500 per month... he vanished for 10 minutes, came back and said his manager has gave him permission to discount the car even further. "It's a storming deal". Ultimately the deal was, my trade in equity + cash depost = a £7000 deposit against this £40k car. Obviously, under no circumstances am I going to sign up to buy a car I can't even see, this is a car that's sat in a depot down south somewhere... I haven't even test drove a 428i, I need to go away and do my research. I asked him to print me out ALL the details so I can go over them, but as it turned out he excluded the trade in details etc and just gave me the spec and price of the 428i he was trying to sell me.

So I did do my research. And it all unraveled.

I went onto BMW's website, car configurator, and spec'd up the EXACT same car on the website. This "storming discounted deal" of a car he was trying to sell me, was actually MORE EXPENSIVE than the exact same car on the website. And all the fully loaded optional extras were actually standard on the 428i, the only optional extra was the "Internet" option at £95! Obviously, they have a car in stock that a customer has ordered then cancelled and they need to shift it, but they can only do that by making it out to be a better deal than it really is as most people will want to spec up their own model.

So I emailed the guy 3 times, asking him to clarify this... exactly what the discount was, and all he could say was "come into the dealership and all will be revealed". In other words, get in and let me put pressure on you. He wasn't in any way transparent with the details of the deal, I didn't believe they were really offering me £17k for a 2012 320d Sport when they're on the forecourt for about the same, it just didn't feel right. Contract hire deals for the exact same car were coming up much cheaper, £400pcm as opposed to this PCP deal of £7k deposit + £500pcm over 48 months, I could get the same car for £400 per month on PCH whilst selling my 320d privately for a profit. I queried this to Lloyd BMW, they said ahhhh but you'll never own that car on PCH. So I then asked "OK, so what's the balloon payment on the PCP deal you're trying to sell me?" He said "don't worry about that, we'll have you out that car and into another one before the deal ends". So what you're saying is I'll never own the car if I go with your £500 per month PCP deal? So then, why don't I go £400pcm on PCH and not own that one either? That way, I pay less per month, don't lose my equity in the 320d, don't pay the road tax, don't pay for tires, I'm not seeing the logic here.

There was no special discount, no storming deal, it was a cost price 428i that they needed to shift fast. I'd have actually been interested if they'd been straight up with it. And I honestly expected better from a BMW dealer. I would have went back to them for each and every car I ever bought again in the future if it wasn't for that, now I'll stay clear. I know I started this by saying one salesman doesn't represent the overall quality of a dealership but it's tainted it for me personally.

[Mad Professor]

Why would you expect better from a BMW dealer per se ,as compared to say a Kia or Skoda dealer ?
Is there something inherently honourable about delears who sell high end cars .
The truth of the matter is that most dealers are out to squeeze you as far as they can . I know they have to make a profit but like you I just wish they were up front and honest in terms of what your car is worth as px and what the real bottom line is on the car they are selling . I just can't be doing with going through the whole pretense of haggling on an over inflated price and then being told what a bargain I've bought . I expect that kind of nonesense in the Souk in Marrakesch .

[mr wilks]

Haha , why the surprise most car salesman from backstreet to main agent would tell you the moon was square if it meant you signed on the line
My pal is at Bowker BMW in sales & i wouldn't trust him to get me a good deal , you have to work it out for yourself whether it is or isn't

[paulgs1000]

Take your point with the post ncrossy

But they were damn good with my warranty issues. . . . .