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BMW of Austin


Country United States
State Texas
City Austin
Address 7011 McNeil Dr
Phone 512-343-3500
Website http://www.bmwofaustin.com/

BMW of Austin Reviews

  • Jan 11, 2016

3 yrs ago I called BMW of Austin. I explained the car we wanted, went through all the options, and my sales person quoted a price. I didn't negotiate as it was one of my first leasing experiences. Now our lease is coming due and we want the same car, just a 2016 model (now the 340i which is exactly the same price).

I called my sales person, gave him the specs and asked if we could reduce the down payment and monthly price since we are current lessees. He e-mails a quote with a car that doesn't match for a price that is substantially higher than our current payment. I respond and ask him to please quote the exact vehicle we discussed. The next quote says "with those options your payment will be over $800". $800!!!! That's almost $200 more than our current payment. My wife and I jumped online and started doing some research.

Turns out we way overpaid on our current lease and foolishly trusted our sales person was giving us a good deal. Wrong!

I e-mailed our sales person and explained that I couldn't understand how the price could be so much higher. Again, I get the runaround and one meaningless explanation after another. I e-mailed back and said that I was going to shop other dealers. We'll call the other dealer the "competitor".

I spoke with the competitor and they asked me for all the details of the car and our down payment, and immediately gave me back a price of $641 (same amount down as the dealer). $641???? Wait a second, didn't our sales person tell me it would be over $800? Btw, the competitor was going through BMW Financial Services (same as the dealer) and was even offering me the same current lessee BMW special.

Once again I e-mailed our sales person and provided all the numbers of the competitor's offer. The one thing we wouldn't get, that BMW of Austin provided last time, was having our windows tinted. We found it cost around $300. So, I offered a deal. If he could beat the competitor's offer and include the window tinting, we would do the deal through BMW of Austin.

Back and forth, e-mail after e-mail, repeated questioning from our sales person over the validity of the competitor's offer (even though I offered to show him the paperwork), and false confusion over how they were able to offer me that price. The answer? They weren't adding in tons of hidden costs (more on this in a bit).

The last e-mail I received magically reduced his offer to $25 more on the down payment and $667/mo, with a closing sentence of "Hope this earns your business". Earns my business? I'm the one who had to do all the leg work and basically beg BMW of Austin for a reasonable lease deal, and yet somehow with a higher lease price offered to me that's supposed to "earn my business"?

I e-mailed back and repeated once again all the numbers (down payment and price per month) we are currently being offered through the competitor, and stated very clearly, "If you can beat this deal and include the window tinting, I will do the deal through BMW of Austin". No response.

The next day I followed up with a call and he says he hasn't responded because he's been going through this deal and what he's come up with.... wait for it........ are the same numbers he already e-mailed me about the day before. I said, "You e-mailed that to me yesterday". He says, "Yeah, I don't know how they are doing what they are doing for you, but if that's their offer I guess we'll have to pass."

I said I couldn't believe that his manager would let an existing customer walk away over $26/mo and a $25 difference on the down payment, and he said he would call me back after speaking with the "powers that be".

He called and said the best they would do would be $662/mo with no change in the down payment. "Why would I pay around $600 more over the course of the lease to do business with him, especially after I've had to go 10 rounds just to get to this point"?

Again, I read him the numbers, and said I couldn't understand how he isn't getting the exact same price per month? He questioned the price I gave him and said he is already "well below that price". Well below? That would mean the price per month should be lower!

Then he proceeds to tell me all these hidden costs (equating to hundreds of dollars) he is adding in, and I said "Wait, I have my current lease paperwork right here and none of those costs are listed". His response?

"We don't disclose all the costs on leases like we do on purchases. It's different paperwork."

So, BMW of Austin just told a customer that they charge a bunch of hidden fees and build it into the price of the car without disclosing those "non-car" costs to the customer. Can anyone say illegal?

I asked for his manager and was told he would call me back. After two hours passed and no phone call, I e-mailed his manager this review and said I hope he will make this right. His response said he wouldn't do anything else for me and used scare tactics regarding going with another dealer or the competitor.

I have a good relationship with my service guy but as far as sales? RUN!

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