[ns2000x]

Hi everyone,
I'm a relatively new member to BimmerPost.com and I spend most of my time hanging out on the E9x M3 forum, as I'm considering a new E90 M3 for my next car.

Impressed by the information I've been able to find on new cars, and the level of Canadian involvement on these forums, when a friend of mine was considering a CPO E90 (335i or 328i <- no need to discuss the differences troday). I mentiond to him I would raise the following query here:

What is the general experience in terms of negotiating on a CPO Pre-Owned vehicle, can one expect, or aim for 4-5% discount as with a new vehicle, or is it more or less?

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to reply!

James

[w2]

Your best bet is to understand the dealer's cost, so you might want to start by looking up the Black Book value of the car you're looking at to get an idea of what the dealer paid at auction. (I think auction prices are typically a bit lower than the lowball Black Book value). Add to that reconditioning costs, the cost of the CPO inspection and warranty, carrying costs (the cost per month of keeping the car on the lot) and basic administrative overhead to get an idea of the dealer's cost. From there you can make a guess at what the markup is.

I think that, generally speaking, the markup on used cars is substantially higher than new cars. On the other hand, if you're buying new, you can go to any dealer and order any car you want, whereas with used cars, there are only so many that fit your needs, so the dealer can probably get away with charging more.

[aspiring335]

It depends where you go, but I've found that the dealers I've spoken to are not willing to negotiate much at all on CPO cars. I looked at a 2007 E90 335xi at BMW Toronto. They were asking $46k for it, and indicated that they would absolutely not discount it more than $1,500. The equivalent new E90 335i xdrive would be $56,500 inc. freight and PDI. With current incentives on remaining 2010s it should be possible to reduce that to $51,000. Let's say the CPO sold for $44,500.

The car I looked at had only about 27,000 kms, but even so, the idea that a three-year-old car is worth only about 10% less than a brand new one (which now comes with more standard equipment) is ludicrous.

[Lazzer]

I agree CPO's are harder to negotiate. Expect around 2-3% discount on a CPO. My friend spent 4 hours negotiating only to receive $2k off a $60k CPO X5!

[ns2000x]

Thanks for the replies so far guys. I had a feeling that the negotiation would be more...challenging. We are fortunate at least that BMW.ca lists all of the CPO cars nation wide. If a better deal on a similar car is available in a near by province, the savings could cover the costs of a fun road trip home.