Quote:
Originally Posted by bloozemanAZ
I too had no clue that dealers can mark it up until I bought the wife's 40i with a 5 year loan at 3.99% APR. I was happy with that given the rates back in August but then discovered the official BMW FS rate was 3.29% APR.
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I didn't know this until recently:
Dealers sometimes increase interest rates because they get kickbacks from the lenders (banks) if the financing rate is higher. I think it's a shady business practice because you would expect that they are trying to get the best rate for you while instead they are stuffing their pockets at your expense. Some dealerships will advertise a financed price online, but then state to contact them for the 'cash price'. I've even heard of some dealerships only selling (used only?) if it's financed, not cash.
A friend bought a used X5 which was financed at a higher rate by a dealership. He then immediately re-financed it for a lower rate. The dealership manager phoned him and was irate.
Rates are quite high here in Canada. Since I'm still (sigh) financing about $18k negative equity that is why my rate is a bit higher. I can't avoid that. Other options include getting something cheaper like an X4 M40i or maybe a demo X5. The current sales promotion for X5 ends tomorrow though so I need to make this decision rather quickly. I'm just waiting for paperwork.
My other concern was that the M850i is still going to depreciate faster than I'm paying it off. If I wait a year or two, the situation possibly is not going to be better, or could even be worse.
Rob