Hey all....I woke up here buy you will love this: OBJECTIVE: BMW 330Ci - 5 spd / sr / lthr / chrome wheels - $38500. Add 7.5% for tax - 42K. Dogman called the dealership finance contact person, Cheryl, at Allison BMW in Mountain View... Told her about my Cap One preapproval letter, then told me that she would pull another credit check - then she said she didn't care WHAT PAPER I HAD - she would do a credit check. She then told me that Cap One would also ask for a list of personal references also, in addition to all kinds of paperwork. She definitely let me know that I would have a ton of paperwork in front of me - before she even asked me about the car! She was a bitch - whatz she making running credit checks at BMW?..... OK - because of the BMW product, I asked dear Cheryl which salesperson could help me - she said Tony and goodbye. I called Tony, and explained the situation that we didn't have to do any paperwork, just figure the car price, and then the Maxima trade-in value. He told me that he would be out of there by 9 pm - so I had better meet him (an hour and 1/2 away at 5:00pm) right after work. He then said - Dogman how bad is your credit - can we take your CHECK? No one has ever asked me that - ever! That friggin did it - nope - I WILL GET A NEW CAR IMMEDIATELY - BUT IT WILL won't be at friggin Allison BMW in Mountain View CA! I called Cap One and told them that Allison BMW was going to pull my credit even with my approval from Cap One in hand. (The other dealer (Honda) I went to - they took the Cap One paper and that was fine - but they dogged my MAXIMA at $4000! HEHE!) I told Cap One they better watch out. because there was a BMW dealer in Mountain View that was treating this process with extreme discourtesy and rudeness like I have never seen. Oh well, its 5:49 pm - Dogman FORGOT to call poor Finance MGR Cheryl or poor salesman Tony and tell them both personally to go to hell. I know its unpleasant when you sit for 4 hours, waiting for that preapproved appointment, who never comes back. Shoot, they are probably waiting for dinner - hehe. More to follow - but I will put my car up for sale in the SFChron tomorrow for the Consumer Reports value of $7500. It will go quickly. Meanwhile, I'll be doggin cars bigtime. I did the right thing, and I can find a great car in the $30 ranges. aarrfff - dogman
Hey Dogman... I work in Milpitas and know where that dealership is located... Thanks for the heads up regarding their customer relations skills.. For car buying tips...check out the following site...it helped me get a 2001 Toyota Sienna for $200 over invoice last year... http://carbuyingtips.com/ If you have a pre-approval letter from another finance company (not the dealership), that dealer has NO right to pull a credit check on you. Make it clear that you don't want a CR pulled...if they do...WOW!....It would be a field day for you... Let me share with you a "situation" that happened when I was shopping around for a 2002 Totoya Celica (I didn't buy it from this particular dealer since I was left with a "bad taste").... ----------------------------------- FAXED MESSAGE FROM 5/20/02 Hello <Mr. Toyota Scam Artist, JJJ>, I wanted to document our phone discussions thus far and ensure that there is no ambiguity to my correction request for the unauthorized credit inquiry on my Experian credit report. I will summarize my actions & conversations with Toyota and summarize my requested action plan. May 10, 2002 1. 12:54 PM â?? Received an email confirmation from Toyota Financial Services that my credit application has been received and pending approval. 2. 1:14 PM â?? Received a Pre-Approval via email for my earlier application. The memo states the following actions/conditions (no mention of another credit report obtained before the first dealership visit): â??you have been pre-approved for credit under the terms you requested.â? â??2. Take the Pre-approval Certificate to the dealer you selected. If you prefer to work with another dealer, you may take the Pre-approval Certificate to any participating Toyota dealer. Your presentation of this certificate to a Toyota dealer shall mean you have applied for credit with that dealer. Please be advised that the dealer may require additional information from you.â? â??The Toyota dealer you selected will have your pre-approval information in its records.â? 3:14 PM â?? Received a voicemail from CCC of AAA Toyotaâ??s asking me to return his call. 4:10 PM â?? I checked Experianâ??s Credit Expert (consumer subscription to Experianâ??s credit reports) and discovered 2 credit inquiries from Toyota (COL/AAA TOYOTA and TOYOTA MOTOR CREDIT). 4:33 PM â?? I called CCC and requested why he pulled another credit inquiry. CCC responded that â??everyone does itâ? and â??itâ??s standard proceduresâ?. I told him about my understanding of Pre-Approval and explained that I did not authorize him to obtain another credit report. He eventually informed me that I should speak to VVV, his supervisor. I was disconnected 3 times before being properly transferred to VVV. 4:51 PM â?? Transferred to VVV. I explained to him my dissatisfaction with the additional credit inquiry and its consequences of lowering my credit score. He told me not to worry, but I informed him that I had observed my credit score lowered by 5 points due to this additional inquiry (3 points only for 1 inquiry). I asked for the removal of this inquiry. VVV responded that he couldnâ??t do it and told me to look at creditconnection.com and figure out how to do it. If I could solve the inquiry remove issue, then VVV would comply. I checked creditconnection.com and discovered that this site does not provide access to credit reports. It is a site for businesses to locate a creditor. This was not the correct site to visit. 5:38 PM â?? I called Toyota Financial ((800) 874-8822) and spoke with TTT. I confirmed with TTT that Toyota Financial pulls a credit report for Pre-Approval. I must then visit the dealership to finalize my financing with the certificate. At that time, the dealership may obtain another credit report(s) to find the best rates. 5:40 PM â?? I called you (JJJ) and explained my situation. You were very pleasant and cooperative. You informed me that the credit inquiry for AAA Toyota would be removed immediately. In addition, you would copy me on your request to the credit bureau (Experian) for this inquiry removal. May 16, 2002 1. 1:48 PM â?? I checked Credit Expert (Experian) and found that the Fremont Toyota Inquiry was deleted or under dispute by Experian. 2. 3:12 PM â?? I called you (JJJ) again asking about the progress of this credit inquiry removal. You informed me that it would take 30 days. Requested Actions for AAA Toyota 1. Based on my research of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, CCC of AAA Toyota has violated the FCRA (§ 604. Permissible purposes of consumer reports [15 U.S.C. § 1681b]) by obtaining my credit report without permissible purpose. By my rights, I can technically ask AAA Toyota to provide compensation of $2500 as described in California Civil Code § 1785.31. Since I would like to a pleasant outcome for all parties, I am asking for removal of BOTH credit inquiries (COL/AAA TOYOTA and TOYOTA MOTOR CREDIT) in lieu of the $2500 penalty. 2. I am requesting a copy of your inquiry deletion letter to Experian. 3. All inquiry removals to occur no later than June 20, 2002. Thus far, I have found your level of cooperation commendable. I look forward to seeing both credit inquiries removed from my Experian credit report. If, in the event, those inquiries are not removed by June 20, I will be forced to seek legal actions to seek compensation of the $2500. Thank you. Sincerely, Ted E. Bear
Dog... Hey buddy, that is F'n B.S.! I'm so hot right now! Who the hell do they think they are? Don't make me go down there and act a fool! Do these mofo's think we got jokes or somethin in the Bay Area??? Wow... How about plan B.....have Cap 1 cut you a check and you go to another BMW dealer and purchase like you're paying cash? That were there are no questions. Is this a choice? I know CU's do that. What a buch of morons. They're gonna let a $42K sale go over a credit check? Wow...trippin!
dogman Not sure if you received the same offer I did through e-mail. Today this came from C1: Good News: You've been Pre-Selected for an auto loan uo to $30,000. Better News: No dealer credit check If this is the same offer you received you could fax it to that charming girl at BMW and ask her what she thinks about it. BTW, did you get a pre-selected, like above, or a pre-approved?
Dogman, You were right to walk away. there is no need for them to pull a credit profile on a customer that is paying cash to them. I had a similar issue when I bought my car/sav. But the experience helps you, because if they are this arrogant when they are selling a car, you probably don't want to go near them for service either. I hope that there are other BMW dealerships near you that treat you better, charge less than MSRP and get you the "objective" that you want. KK
Dog, Try Peter Pan BMW. My aunt bought her car there with no problems. http://www.sanmateobmw.com/ Did you see that lease special they have on the 325i's??? Interesting...
Dogman, 1. BMW dealers blow by nature. Product is in high demand so they can screw with the customers and don't have to worry about another one coming to take his or her place. Most people who buy or drive BMW's are axxholes anyways, so they mesh well with the dealer body. 2. Dealer wanted to run a credit check because they wanted to steer you into a different credit product so they could make more. You probably should have a dealer check to see if they can get you a better rate than crap one, it'll cost you an inquiry, but you may save a few points in interest. Buy a Volvo, it's safe, fast, and you'll stand out from the rest of the BMW crowd in No-Cal.
Slight disagreement about "an inquiry"...sometimes these dealers shop around on your behalf and you end up with multiple inquiries from those creditors... It happened to me back in 2001 when I went to that Toyota dealership...At that time, I was clueless about credit reports and affects of inquiries...
Be very very clear with the F&I manager, one inquiry. Take a copy of your credit report, tell them to make an educated guess about who will offer the best rates, then send them the app. They shouldn't be shopping you around to multiple lenders (but they still do out of laziness)
I'm thinking there shopping you around because they get a cut and there pretty sure they can beat your deal in hand. They sometimes profit just as much on that financing on just as much Also if you do have "bad credit" they will play that into the haggling of the price.
Dog, forget them. They don't deserve your business. Go for the Infiniti 35. They are totally SHARP!! Infiniti is very well known for their customer service. They treat everyone with the utmost respect. I drive an Infiniti and I LOVE it!! They are so concerned with their customer's satisfaction, they ask you to fill out questionaires all the time on the service you received. Good luck buddy!!
Lincoln LS V-8 Alloy Wheels Premium Speakers is my personal favorite (maybe thats why I only have a SUV)??? hummmmmmmmmmmmmm
THX all you kewl cats! I am sitting here VERY RELEIVED I am not down there now. All good ideas - MAX still goes into the paper tomorrow. The G35 might get it - but AUDI A4 1.8T might get it - the drum roll continues... THX friends - Dogman
Reshod, I absolutely LOVE the Lincoln LS...it looks so solid. It has great lines...too small for the family though... I'm looking at SUVs..I love the looks of the new Navigator (I almost peed in my pants when I saw it had a power tailgate)...I haven't driven it yet though...I did have the opportunity to drive a Chevy Tahoe for a week or so...not much to look at, but man talk about some acceleration and power! That engine is no joke...no problem getting into traffic...no problem passing on the highway...easy to maneuver...but it was just SOOO PLAIN... anyway...back to Edmunds.com...
Personally, When I saw the commerical for the 2003 Lincoln Navigator, I almost lost it. Your right the power tailgate option is in another class of it own. But the sleek design of the LS is dynamic. You are totally correct about the size though. Too small for my taste. There needs to be more available back seat room, but then again, I dont plan on sitting in the BACK SEAT!!! Then the power running boards! Who else has POWER RUNNING BOARDS!!! This is definately a nice vehicle, that I will purchase after my graduation from law school!
Hey Dogman... Did I correctly remember you saying in another thread something about "mid-life crisis"?... If that's the case...you need to consider... Chevy Corvette Saleen/Rousch Mustang (Cobra maybe...) Chevy Camaro SS Pontiac Firebird Trans Am That should "cure" you...and are within the same price range as the BMW 330 (the 'vette is probably 10K more though)... Although...if I remember a movie quote corrrectly...."the 'vette makes them wet"...
So since your looking at other cars in the same class we've been shopping Acura - CL has a shared platform with the Accord Infiniti G35 - Already Mentioned Lexus IS300 (very sporty sedan) or Lexus ES300 has shared platform with Camery Volvo S60 - Nice Sport Volvo. Merc C320 - Nice Sedan Honda S2000 - 100hp per liter normally aspirated Audi A6- Kinda Bland these Days
