Negotiating the price of a CPO

[Jersey Skier]

My wife was sold on a Volvo XC60 until she drove the BMW X3. She'll live with either, but now I'm stuck researching two different cars.

I'm trying to figure out how much room for negotiation there is in these CPO's. Both would be low mileage '17s. All the BMW's are service loaners. They are "asking" $5-6k below sticker. Not sure how much room there is to negotiate. They are also offering 0.9% financing so I'm not sure if we want to pay cash.

Volvo is asking closer to $10k off sticker, so I feel a little better there, even before negotiating. Volvo's CPO warranty seems better too.

I've looked on some of the car forums, but every thread turns into a helmet thread.

 

[Philpug]

New cars are easier...err simplier to negotiate, the numbers tend to be pretty fixed, used cars are not so transparent. How much money did they pay for the car when they bought it, What did it need to pass the CPO process. It comes down ot, what is the car worth to you and what are you willing to spend? Look less at "discounts" and more at what is in your budget and what you are getting for your money.

 

[Jersey Skier]

Look less at ... what you are getting for your money.

What I'm getting is a headache, but as they say, "Happy wife, happy life."

 

[Philpug]

Is it the car she wants? Does it check off all of her boxes? So, what is your time worth? It gets back to what you just said..."Happy wife, happy life".

 

[bbinder]

I purchased 2 used cars this year -- one CPO and one not. In each case the dealer had a firm policy of no negotiating on prices (I asked anyway, and in the CPO case did not make the decision to buy immediately). In both cases the selling price was in line with NADA and Edmunds, so I just bought the cars. The market for the non CPO car (2009 Porsche 911) has been weird. In the Fall I could have purchased a comparable car for slightly less than I paid; since I bought the car 3 months ago, I have seen comparable cars selling for thousands more.

 

[Tom K.]

Having owned both....

There should be a better price, and more room for negotiation on the Volvo. There is also potentially worse resale when you're done.

The BMW drives a little better in terms of feel. I'm a snob, and there is no denying the superior feel of a RWD-based vehicle over FWD-based. This is a blindfold test I could ace every time.

Both have LOVELY inline six engines -- unless she's looking at the BMW 4-cylinder, which is a wonderful appliance, and completely free of any soul whatsoever.

The Volvo's rear seat folds dead flat. The BMW is closer to 15 degrees away from horizontal. Most don't care, but this is a big deal for kid-free, dog loving, mtb riders and skiers!

The BMW 8-speed transmission annoys me. It's too busy looking for gears all the time, but that, along with BMW's astounding (and complex and costly) Valvetronic system will net you better mileage than the Volvo.

 

[Plai]

I buy used, and always look for the ones left unloved on the lot. I can usually negotiate much lower based on non moving inventory. Looks like your choices are still relatively new. Maybe find a 2016 CPO?

 

[surfsnowgirl]

I usually buy used. I was in for a major surprise when I was Wrangler shopping as there's not much negotiating going on since they hold their value, are high in demand and rarely sit on the lot for long. Good luck with either choice; seems like you won't have much trouble. I've always like the Volvo XC60/90

 

[Jersey Skier]

Thanks everybody. Been looking around online and a competitor's BMW 's are on average $4-5k less than the dealer by me. We'll see if they'll play or I guess I'll have to force my wife to make the 20 mile drive.

 

[Eleeski]

CPO? Go for salvage! Sucks for resale but if you drive the wheels off it to zero resale you've saved a ton. Most salvage cars are fixed well enough.

Of course, a really complex car might be more sensitive to accident problems.

My friend's BMW just stopped on I80 in a snow storm due to some electrical gremlin. What happened to limp home mode? Plus BMW blinkers never work.

Go with a new Volvo. Go to Europe to pick it up. A friend did that and had a great trip doing it.

Eric

 

[Crank]

What I did was look for the car I wanted on carfax.com. FOund what I was looking for with a single owner, a clean bill of health and at a nearby dealer.

 

[ScotsSkier]

if the CPO is just $5-6k below sticker it makes more sense to hunt around for a good discount on a new one and you might find there is virtually no difference in the price. and BMW has probably had 18s on the lot for a few months now

 

[Philpug]

CPO? Go for salvage! Sucks for resale but if you drive the wheels off it to zero resale you've saved a ton. Most salvage cars are fixed well enough.

Of course, a really complex car might be more sensitive to accident problems.

My friend's BMW just stopped on I80 in a snow storm due to some electrical gremlin. What happened to limp home mode? Plus BMW blinkers never work.

Go with a new Volvo. Go to Europe to pick it up. A friend did that and had a great trip doing it.

Eric

With how much technology is in a BMW and Volvo "fixed well enough" would scare the dung out of me. I have done European Delivery on a Volvo, it IS a cool trip. Since the BMW X3 is built in South Carolina...that is not an option.

 

[Jersey Skier]

if the CPO is just $5-6k below sticker it makes more sense to hunt around for a good discount on a new one and you might find there is virtually no difference in the price. and BMW has probably had 18s on the lot for a few months now

Looks like it will be closer to $9-10k off based on what the competitors dealer is selling them for. The CPO will get us a 5year/75k mile warranty. New is 4year/50k miles. CPO also has 0.9% financing.

 

[Eleeski]

@Philpug I've done several salvage cars. All have given good service once I fixed the damage. All have given great value.

Given the complexity of modern luxury cars, time at the salt air of the beach or a mouse family is more likely to cause a problem than a crunched fender and axle. Why was that used car relinquished? How was it treated by the short term owner?

Going new rocks if you can afford it. Extended warranties can be purchased - and hopefully not needed if you take care of it. I bet BMW would work a deal with you for a South Carolina pickup. Drivathons can be fun - even in the US.

Eric

 

[Philpug]

@Philpug I've done several salvage cars. All have given good service once I fixed the damage. All have given great value.

Given the complexity of modern luxury cars, time at the salt air of the beach or a mouse family is more likely to cause a problem than a crunched fender and axle. Why was that used car relinquished? How was it treated by the short term owner?

Going new rocks if you can afford it. Extended warranties can be purchased - and hopefully not needed if you take care of it. I bet BMW would work a deal with you for a South Carolina pickup. Drivathons can be fun - even in the US.

Eric

I don't think there is a "Factory Delivery" option offered by BMW for Spartenburg cars, it is not jsut picking a car up before it gets on a truck, there needs to be be complete PDI and registration procedures to happen. The only US plant that I think does a factory delivery os the Corvette Factory and that is actually an additional cost that is at least $500 over the price of the car. This is handled at the Corvette Museum and it is a pretty good process. When we were there a few years ago with @Gary Stolt there were at least a dozen scheduled that day.

I am not completely against salvage titles, there are case by case basises where they can be viable alternatives. I would want to see what the car looked like proir and all repair orders.

 

[ScotsSkier]

Looks like it will be closer to $9-10k off based on what the competitors dealer is selling them for. The CPO will get us a 5year/75k mile warranty. New is 4year/50k miles. CPO also has 0.9% financing.

That starts to make more sense then. @ $5-6k it is too close to what could be achieved off a new one

 

[Mendieta]

if the CPO is just $5-6k below sticker it makes more sense to hunt around for a good discount on a new one and you might find there is virtually no difference in the price. and BMW has probably had 18s on the lot for a few months now

This ^^^

My experience has been that (a) negotiating any price in a dealership is as much fun as a root canal and (b) I can get pretty much the same price on a new as on a CPO. Perhaps with a slightly more basic "options package". So, even though I looked time and again, I never found a reason to go CPO. Used cars in general are a different story. They can provide terrific value.

Now that there is so much info online, we just search inventory in the area, we are willing to drive within an hour radius, since it's only once for the lifetime of the car (we keep them long).

Incidentally, we have a 2015 X3 with the large engine. OMG, that thing is so much fun to drive and so nice to ride. The electronics are "meh", but we didn't buy it for that ...

 

[mikel]

Hey Phil I think there is an option thru the BMW Performance Center to go to SC and pick up your vehicle. Like you mentioned the X3, X5, X6 can't be done thru the European delivery program. And your right about the technology. I'm waiting to see what happens with the heads up display when the windshield gets cracked. And in CO it will get cracked.

 

[cosmoliu]

My first BMW was a 2001 X5 that I kept for 180K miles before the nickel and dime-ing got out of hand. In the meantime, the X5 had gone through two "upsize" episodes and got too bloated for my taste. I then got a 2013 X3 with the inline six, leasing for the first time in my life because it made sense with my current work situation. Interesting that the dimensions of the current X3 are almost exactly the same as the original X5. I liked the car so much I kept it and passed it on to my wife last year when I leased a 2016. Because of the price increase in the interval, I was just about to sign on the dotted line for the four banger. But then I put my foot into the 2013's accelerator going up a freeway entrance by my office one more time. I decided that life's too short to settle for blah and went back to negotiate for the six. In short, like Mendieta, I'm a big fan of the six. Turns out that the lease payment on the six was only about $20/month more. Bigger residual at the tail end in two years, but then I'll have the 2013's trade-in value to bank on.

I CPO'd the 2013 to get the peace of mind of the extended warranty. Probably didn't need to, since I knew the previous owner so well. If I don't wind up with a warranty claim, I may seriously rethink whether or not to CPO the 2016 in two years.

BTW, look very carefully at the run flat options for the wheel size on the X3 you're considering. 20" wheels, which seem to be coming to So CA from the factory in large numbers, have absolutely no options for all season tires that do decently in snow. Summer performance tires only. Even my 2016 with the staggered 19" wheels have only one good option, the Bridgestone RE960AS Pole Position. 18" wheels and you're good. Not to mention that the smaller the wheel size/higher the aspect ratio, the better the snow performance.