[SpeedyATL]

So, my dealer/CA just told me "we only allow financing internal to Century Automotive Grp; no outside financing can be used. We’re not selling cars above sticker price as many dealers are so we require that financing remain in-house."

Is this even reasonable? I've never heard of a dealer telling you that you have to finance through them. This is insulting....not to mention that it was not raised up front.

[ham340]

Do you have a contract signed? They are making you finance as they make more money If you finance thru them and they will probably be marking up the rate.

[RustyNail19]

That’s insane. I would lose my mind especially if there is a big variance in interest rates. You should be able to line up the financing and just walk in with a cashier’s check. Would they also deny someone who just wanted to buy it outright?

I would tell them you’ll be contacting high ups at BMW corporate. Doesn’t seem like they’d be okay with this, especially since it wasn’t disclosed up front. Honestly this could be illegal too.

[SpeedyATL]

Originally Posted by ham340

Do you have a contract signed? They are making you finance as they make more money If you finance thru them and they will probably be marking up the rate.

Not a contract, but what I would call a buyer's order. It shows price, discounts, tax, build, make, model, my trade info, etc. and is signed by the sales manager.

[Lakeside]

Finance it, walk out and pay off or refi with Penfed.

[SpeedyATL]

Originally Posted by RustyNail19

That’s insane. I would lose my mind especially if there is a big variance in interest rates. You should be able to line up the financing and just walk in with a cashier’s check. Would they also deny someone who just wanted to buy it outright?

I would tell them you’ll be contacting high ups at BMW corporate. Doesn’t seem like they’d be okay with this, especially since it wasn’t disclosed up front. Honestly this could be illegal too.

Yep, total BS. Truth is I might pay cash or I might just walk. This whole process of buying a car now and paying close to MSRP has rubbed me the wrong way from day 1.

I'm going to play it out and see what happens over the next couple of months while I wait on the car. Good news is I love my 440GC and would be happy to keep it for a while, although I did really want a CV, but not enough to grab my ankles....

[SpeedyATL]

Originally Posted by brentsg

Finance it, walk out and pay off or refi with Penfed.

Yep, thanks. I would only do that if somehow it took money out of their pocket. Not worth the credit pull unless it lets me jab them back...

I bought/leased our 2 current cars from them, so this is VERY surprising. Just goes to show you that when money is involved, you can trust nobody....

[ham340]

Originally Posted by SpeedyATL

Yep, thanks. I would only do that if somehow it took money out of their pocket. Not worth the credit pull unless it lets me jab them back...

I bought/leased our 2 current cars from them, so this is VERY surprising. Just goes to show you that when money is involved, you can trust nobody....

So if you refinance before 3 months the dealer does not make any money from financing. I would say that is a good jab. I would push the issue especially since there was no mention of this when you placed the order. If they still are forcing you to do it thru them just say ok and refinance immediately. They will not be happy about it.

[Lakeside]

Originally Posted by SpeedyATL

Yep, thanks. I would only do that if somehow it took money out of their pocket. Not worth the credit pull unless it lets me jab them back...

I bought/leased our 2 current cars from them, so this is VERY surprising. Just goes to show you that when money is involved, you can trust nobody....

There is a window that the additional credit checks won’t count against you. It is in place to allow loan shopping.

[chenry]

Originally Posted by brentsg

Finance it, walk out and pay off or refi with Penfed.

+1 this

[Bc2005]

When I bought my M340i in May the BMW finance rate (1.9%) was lower than Penfed, and there was a BMW cash incentive if I used their financing. It made sense to use BMW financing.

I don’t believe the BMW financing has any pre-payment penalty, so I can always change my mind later. I’ve already paid some extra cash on the BMW account so the car will pay off sooner, and it’s very easy with the online account.

If they give you a good deal that you like, just take the financing and move on.

[SpeedyATL]

Originally Posted by Bc2005

When I bought my M340i in May the BMW finance rate (1.9%) was lower than Penfed, and there was a BMW cash incentive if I used their financing. It made sense to use BMW financing.

I don’t believe the BMW financing has any pre-payment penalty, so I can always change my mind later. I’ve already paid some extra cash on the BMW account so the car will pay off sooner, and it’s very easy with the online account.

If they give you a good deal that you like, just take the financing and move on.

Thanks.

I'm waiting on numbers from them, but I'd say it's a safe bet that if they require in-house financing and aren't willing to compete with other sources, it will not be a good deal....

[ham340]

Originally Posted by SpeedyATL

Thanks.

I'm waiting on numbers from them, but I'd say it's a safe bet that if they require in-house financing and aren't willing to compete with other sources, it will not be a good deal....

My guess is they will bump the rate from BMWFS by 1% to 2.9% for 60 months. Not a terrible rate but not great either. At this point I would be more angry about them pulling this crap now then the actual increase in interest rate. Hopefully this doesn't deter you from getting the car or ruining your excitement over it. Between this, the constant delays, and options being lost its really hard not to let it kill enthusiasm.

[RustyNail19]

I'm assuming there's a loan origination fee, but if not, and there's no prepayment penalty, you could finance and then immediately refinance it to piss them off if they only get credit after 90 days.

Another option if you have the cash is to just buy it outright, then turn around and finance it through your preferred lender. I worked in banking and there's no reason you shouldn't be able to go that route. Then you can throw the money back into wherever you pulled it from.

I do wonder how far they'd take this. I feel like a lot of times these dealers will throw out something borderline unethical in hopes that someone just accepts it, but once they get pushback on it they'll back down. Then again maybe they won't back down given the times we're living in. Either way, you should have some good options where you can still get the car and not have to finance through them.

[ham340]

Originally Posted by RustyNail19

I'm assuming there's a loan origination fee, but if not, and there's no prepayment penalty, you could finance and then immediately refinance it to piss them off if they only get credit after 90 days.

Another option if you have the cash is to just buy it outright, then turn around and finance it through your preferred lender. I worked in banking and there's no reason you shouldn't be able to go that route. Then you can throw the money back into wherever you pulled it from.

I do wonder how far they'd take this. I feel like a lot of times these dealers will throw out something borderline unethical in hopes that someone just accepts it, but once they get pushback on it they'll back down. Then again maybe they won't back down given the times we're living in. Either way, you should have some good options where you can still get the car and not have to finance through them.

There will be no loan origination fee and pretty much all auto loans have no prepayment penalty. Obviously you want to read the loan docs to verify before signing. BMWFS does not have loan origination fees or prepayment penalties.

[foxmon]

Originally Posted by ham340

So if you refinance before 3 months the dealer does not make any money from financing. I would say that is a good jab. I would push the issue especially since there was no mention of this when you placed the order. If they still are forcing you to do it thru them just say ok and refinance immediately. They will not be happy about it.

This. Just go through their finance then re-finance it within 3 months just to piss them off. My dealer tried to add 1% to the BMW advertised rate by lying to me the 0.99% is not available in my area. I got pissed and finance my loan through Penfed and got an additional $2500 rebate.

[jg4c]

I was told that one cannot payoff the BMW loan for at least 4 monthly payments. I also heard 6.
Check with BMWFS.

[ham340]

Originally Posted by jg4c

I was told that one cannot payoff the BMW loan for at least 4 monthly payments. I also heard 6.
Check with BMWFS.

Your dealer told you that because if you pay it off before that they don't get money for it. If you read the contract it will clearly show no prepayment penalty.

[jg4c]

Sounds good. Will check it out. Thanks

[springerdrive]

This whole issue and this particular dealer sounds fishy to me. I'm not a lawyer, but how is it legal for any merchant to tell a customer where they must get the money to buy its product? I mean, FFS, are they selling cars or selling loans? What business of theirs is it where the money comes from? If I were the OP I'd definitely run this weirdness by one of my attorney friends.

[AtticusHoy]

Originally Posted by springerdrive

This whole issue and this particular dealer sounds fishy to me. I'm not a lawyer, but how is it legal for any merchant to tell a customer where they must get the money to buy its product? I mean, FFS, are they selling cars or selling loans? What business of theirs is it where the money comes from? If I were the OP I'd definitely run this weirdness by one of my attorney friends.

It's their car and they certainly have every right to say that will only sell it to you if you finance—just like you have every right to say go pound sand. However, what they cannot do is tie the interest rate to add-on purchases (e.g. buy this extended warranty in order to get a lower rate.)

Historically it hasn't been a big deal since you could go to a different dealership, but now since there's a relative trickle of cars, dealerships are trying to maximize every dollar per unit since they can't rely on volume any longer.

I agree that if you really want the car then finance through them and then quickly refinance or pay the car off. That should cause any commission or bonuses to be clawed back by BMWFS.

[SpeedyATL]

So I pushed back against this idiocy and my ca is waiting to hear from management. To me this amounts to changing our deal (after i have 2+ months invested) since this was never mentioned to me. She also said it was a new policy so that cat is out of the bag.

These dealers are making more money than they ever have and they feel the need to add this on....

My dad had a saying that we both have tried to live by...."pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered." Perhaps dealers should consider this approach as karma is a bitch.