Buying a Beemer...

MJTHFC

Hi all

I'm planning on buying a BMW 1-Series from DriveTheDeal.com and I have two questions (one motoring, one money)...

1. Does anyone have any experience of the BMW 1-Series? Any feedback would be appreciated.

2. How many of you have used DriveTheDeal.com and what are your opinions of it? They are offering the 116i ES with metallic paint for £1800 less than the dealers' list price. Too good to be true?

Look forward to hearing from all you money savers!

Cheers

:money:

MJTHFC

I'll take that as a no then

innovate

I've got a 120i, lovely car for one or two people (legroom in the back limited). Got it straight from BMW dealer, haggled £1,500 off, plus got 5-year servicing included. If I were you, I'd go to my local dealer and offer them a price I am prepared to pay - - I think you might be surprised how flexible they are. And if they aren't, you can still go to DriveTheDeal.com.

The cheapest way, however, is to buy in Holland or Belgium, or even directly in Germany. You need to allow for some time to research (on the web) how to do it safely, though.

Doppleganger

Drivethedeal comes highly rated by most of the motoring press (Topgear, motoring Telegraph etc) and is a safe way to order the car as long as you pay the £500 deposit with your credit card, just in case anything does go wrong. All DTD is doing is putting you in contact with a maindealer so the rest of the money/T&C's are with BMW once the order is placed.

I've had several quotes of them in the past and used them for haggling against the main dealers price; for example I got £2K off an Audi A3 with DTD and the dealer matched it, and got 13% of my father's Honda Accord when the main dealer was only offering 5%.

BMW dealers will have a 10%+ margin (8% on M-cars) on the car to play with, maybe more if you're adding options or its the end of quarter or the dealer has a target to meet.

With regards to the 1-series well, its not my cup of tea as I have an M5 comming next month, however it does have mixed reviews; https://www.topgear.com give it 4/5, https://www.whatcar.com gives it 3/5 and https://www.4car.co.uk gives it very mixed reviews.....

Otherwise, the 1-Series is familiar fare, with a cabin that offers a driver-focussed environment (i.e. not a lot of room for folks in the back, or their luggage) in which the driver sits low and cocooned with a bulky central transmission tunnel between him and his passenger.

- Dop

vansboy

BMW have shot themselves in the foot, here - they've got a more popular car of this size already - MINI!

So you'll find a better chance of 'doing a deal' on 1 Series, than most other models in BMW range.

Sure you wouldn't rather choose MINI?? Better street cred/residual price/service costs - & I don't like either, much!!

VB

Murphy_The_Cat

you could save a few quid by doing the following

a) ask for the car with no mirrors as BMW drivers never use them
b) ask for the car with no indicators as BMW drivers never use them
and of course you must ask for a really big BMW badge because for some odd reason, BMW owners think that they own the bloody roads.

MTC

Doppleganger

vansboy wrote:

BMW have shot themselves in the foot, here - they've got a more popular car of this size already - MINI!

I concur, the MINI is much better car than the 1series (not that i'd be seen dead in either)

- Dop

avantra

Is buying one of the most expensive hatchbacks on offer just for the psychological effect of the STREET CRED is wise? I am not really sure.
I would think twice after the events lately following the effects of global warming. Now call me tree hugging and old fashion block but I really don't give a toss! It’s your children’s future (I can't have children in my case) - did you know that making a new car cost the environment about 20 times more than continue using a car that someone else all ready started to use? By buying it new, you are directly contributing to the problem.

MJTHFC

Ok, started off with some really excellent replies. Thanks for those.

Then we get to the people who think I just want the car for the badge. Correct. :rolleyes:

Then we get to the hippies. I was thinking about buying a wheelbarrow to sit in and use an oar to get myself around. But I'm not going to as I'm a lazyarse.

Once again, thanks for all taking the time to reply!

innovate

Murphy_The_Cat wrote:

you could save a few quid by doing the following

a) ask for the car with no mirrors as BMW drivers never use them
b) ask for the car with no indicators as BMW drivers never use them
and of course you must ask for a really big BMW badge because for some odd reason, BMW owners think that they own the bloody roads.

MTC

Hope you are on the road to recovery after this mindless generalisation, wise cat . :cool:

innovate

avantra wrote:

did you know that making a new car cost the environment about 20 times more than continue using a car that someone else all ready started to use? By buying it new, you are directly contributing to the problem.

Yeah, let's stop building new cars! Sack all the workers (incl those in the supply industries). Instead, let's dig out those old gas-gazzling models, preferably those using decent leaded petrol, and thos which emit loads of CO2. And ones without headrests, safety belts and other safety features. :wall: