Quote:
Originally Posted by Bc2005
When the car specs are entered into the computer by the SA they go forward to BMW, are checked for option availability, and then the dealer gets back a Production Order for that specific vehicle configuration. The order should have had your name on it, and they should have provided a copy for you. You would be informed if there are any changes to the PO before the car was built. It’s not a complicated process.
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Not exactly correct, but close.
When I order a car for a customer, if there is already an available production spot, I just modify that spot to the customer specs, in their name, and watch the progress. Nothing is checked by anyone. If an option is available, it will be accepted. If not, the system just won't let me choose it or won't show me that option. At first it will say what week it is to be produced. Once it hits Status 150, no further modifications can be made, the full VIN is known, and the estimated DAY of production is indicated.
If there is no available production spot, I enter it as an "order-bank" order. Same process, in the customer's name, and same availability of options. But it will sit there either until I manage to acquire an open allocation from another dealership, or (infrequently) if BMW moves the "order-bank" car into a production spot they later allocate to my store.
Either way, I provide my customers with a printout of their order, whether it is "order-bank" or a production spot. All that is indicated on the "MSRP Report" I send out at a PDF.
The process is totally different from availability. Right now we have a stack of orders in "order-bank" for many models, 2-series included. M2s, are even worse. But there is no excuse for a customer to not have this information available to them well prior to when the car is no longer able to be modified.
I will always either have a customer sign the production order with me, or ask them to verify the content from a PDF I send at each stage of production. It is possible that BMW will make options unavailable, and even sometimes that will apply to standard equipment. These are tough times for BMW. I have a bunch of cars that have completed production and arrived already at our VPC but have been sitting under recall for months. I've had some cars that never left Germany and then got shipped to the west coast, sat in Oxnard for months, then finally got shipped via train to the east coast. By that time the customer had given up and just reordered the next-year model which actually arrived just weeks behind the original order (which took 6-months to arrive at our dealership AFTER it completed production!). But there is no way once the order has reached Status 150 that the customer should not know how his car is being built. The only deviation from that was the non-touch-screen cars last year. At first no one knew about that until the cars showed up at the dealership.
Sounds like you're working with a bad dealership but it is incumbent upon a buyer to look out for himself, too. Don't let your dealership get away with not keeping you informed. Demand a copy of your order showing current status with your name and production number at the top and a detail of complete build specs, with pricing. Any dealer can generate that in a minute for you.
Once there is a production number for your order you can even get updates by calling BMW customer service. But be warned, they often don't understand the process or the shipping and will give the customer false expectations.
The short answer is choose your dealership carefully. If you think you're saving money by placing your order with another dealership after taking a lot of your SA's time locally, then you got what you deserve. If you chose your dealer properly, you'll get honest answers from someone who is there to help. And I don't need to hear a lot about how all dealers suck. There are good ones out there. Do your homework. And don't forget to tip your waitress.