Buying an EV away from the big city?

[andytseng]

Hi there,
I'm new to the board and in the market for an i3. I've just been browsing the forums to see what others experiences have been and how pricing has been.

I'm going to be taking a trip up the west coast (Los Angeles to Paso Robles) and was thinking...
Would there be any benefit to stopping in a smaller town, off the beaten path and picking up an i3 there?
There's 1 in Santa Maria, CA, and my rationale is the city is so far (30 miles to SLO, 60 miles to Santa Barbara) from any other large town that people would not feel comfortable with the range of an EV. So the likelihood of them being able to move that car would be smaller.

But then again, they only have 1. Am I better off trying to negotiate in LA, where a dealer could have 12-16 i3s burning a hole in its pockets.

Anyone have any thoughts or experiences with this?

Thanks!

 

[WoodlandHills]

I would try LA: bigger market, more dealers in competition and, as you say, more cars to move.

 

[mindmachine]

Hi there,
I'm new to the board and in the market for an i3. I've just been browsing the forums to see what others experiences have been and how pricing has been.

I'm going to be taking a trip up the west coast (Los Angeles to Paso Robles) and was thinking...
Would there be any benefit to stopping in a smaller town, off the beaten path and picking up an i3 there?
There's 1 in Santa Maria, CA, and my rationale is the city is so far (30 miles to SLO, 60 miles to Santa Barbara) from any other large town that people would not feel comfortable with the range of an EV. So the likelihood of them being able to move that car would be smaller.

But then again, they only have 1. Am I better off trying to negotiate in LA, where a dealer could have 12-16 i3s burning a hole in its pockets.

Anyone have any thoughts or experiences with this?

Thanks!

I live 50 miles from a big city and I bought a i3 Rex. No problem, if I drive to the big city I recharge ther before coming home.

 

[andytseng]

I live 50 miles from a big city and I bought a i3 Rex. No problem, if I drive to the big city I recharge ther before coming home.

Sorry, I was a bit unclear there. I live in Los Angeles. My question was more about negotiating power when buying out there.
In your case, do you think you were able to negotiate a lower than usual lease/purchase price because of a lack of interest at your local dealership?

 

[WoodlandHills]

As an example, my leasing dealer, Century West on Lankershim shows 37 i3s in stock today...... Ya think they might wanna make a deal....?

 

[andytseng]

As an example, my leasing dealer, Century West on Lankershim shows 37 i3s in stock today...... Ya think they might wanna make a deal....?

Wow. Didn't look out that direction. Definitely gonna give them a visit.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[lschellong]

I have been shopping dealers within a 100 mile radius of Santa Monica for two weeks. I finally picked up my i3 rex from Steve Thomas BMW, Camarillo today. It was a 50 mile drive but well worth it. I worked with Kwinn Knight and he offered the best deal and no pressure negotiations. He was the most professional car salesmen I have ever dealt with and he readily provided numbers, calculations and screenshots of the deal. I was able to validate every little detail of my lease from home and arrived at the dealership totally relaxed knowing I wouldn't be taken for a "ride". If every sales person would conduct business like Kwinn, the industry would have a far better reputation than it currently has.

Overall, there were four dealerships willing to negotiate the most aggressive deals:

1) Steve Thomas BMW - Kwinn Knight
2) Valencia BMW - Sammy Kobeissi
3) Mossy BMW of Vista - Scott Clement & Matt Connolly
4) BMW of Beverly Hills (yes really) - Benjamin Gooch

 

[andytseng]

Would you mind sharing the terms you ended up getting? I understand if not.
Thanks!

 

[lschellong]

Andy, Kwinn was willing to negotiate over 10% off my $52,800 msrp rex. Applying the entire govt credit of $4,875 towards cap-cost reduction, you will end up with a monthly payment below $500 incl. taxes. Hope this helps.

 

[i3Alan]

Applying the entire govt credit of $4,875...

The government credit is $7500. When the leasing company takes title, they also can take the credit. BMW figures that after taxes they have to pay on the credit and other costs of obtaining the credit, there is $4875 that they are willing to pass on to the consumer. That $4875 is probably a fair number, but BMW could choose to keep it all, or to give the consumer $7500 even though that would be a loss for them. The only time the government credit is less than $7500 is when the battery is much smaller than the i3, or when the buyer (title holder) does not have at lease $7500 in total taxes for the year (per EV credit).

 

[andytseng]

Hope this helps.

Helps a ton! Between this and the main leasing thread, I think I'm getting a solid idea of what to expect.