Dealer offer for newer CPO BMW is it serious or a joke ?

[4sallypat]

So I got this mailer from the BMW dealer that services my 2014 528 sedan that I just paid off (what a wonderful feeling)....

Trying to get me into a 2018 BMW CPO.

Question:

Is this a joke or is it to test my stupidity ?

Their KBB offer is $6844 while I check online and multiple used car appraisers that are willing to buy the car for cash ranges between $11,000 and $12,500.

Do dealers really think people are that naive ??

[coldfusion]

Yes, and unfortunately there is a vast collection of data points that support their assertion.   

All you can do is use common sense to avoid adding yourself to the collection. 

[Gladius]

That "offer" would absolutely offend me!

[iced]

BMW dealerships send out silly offers on trade-ins and service all the time. I wouldn't let any one particular offer bother you more than the others. Shred it and move on. With 22,000 miles on the paid-off car, you'd be a fool to trade-in, even at $12,500. You still have many years of use on that car left.

PS - why would you erase the VIN from one part of the letter but not the other? It's still showing on the left side.

[Horseshoez]

It isn't just BMW dealerships which play this game, I've gotten similar ultra-lowball offers from Chrysler, Mazda, BMW, and Honda.  Pretty silly when you think about it.  I wonder if this marketing gimmick ever yields a positive result for both the dealership and the car owner.

[4sallypat]

Yah, it's going to the shredder for sure.

The VIN on the left is the 22K miles car that the dealership wants me to get into.

My BMW is 2014 and has over 80K miles on it and still going strong with very minimal issues.

[Anonymous]

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@Horseshoez wrote:

It isn't just BMW dealerships which play this game, I've gotten similar ultra-lowball offers from Chrysler, Mazda, BMW, and Honda.  Pretty silly when you think about it.  I wonder if this marketing gimmick ever yields a positive result for both the dealership and the car owner.

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For the owner, no... For the dealer, potentially yes. They hire a marketing company that creates these letters for next to nothing for every customer in their system. A few will come in and may purchase a vehicle, they usually don't trade or at least don't accept the low ball offers. When I worked at a dealership we had a customer come in on one of these mailers and sold us their car for less than half of it's actual value... I am just glad I wasn't involved in that deal. 

One thing to note, these offers typically don't take into account the specific options or trim of your vehicle and they use an average mileage for similar vehicles, which is probably pretty high for 8 year old BMW 5 series vehicles.

[iced]

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@4sallypat wrote:

Yah, it's going to the shredder for sure.

The VIN on the left is the 22K miles car that the dealership wants me to get into.

My BMW is 2014 and has over 80K miles on it and still going strong with very minimal issues.

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Ah, that makes sense.

Still got a ton of life in it with proper maintenance. Mine's a 2013 with similar mileage and I'm guessing at least another 5 years before maintenance tips the cost benefit toward replacement.

[Horseshoez]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Horseshoez wrote:

It isn't just BMW dealerships which play this game, I've gotten similar ultra-lowball offers from Chrysler, Mazda, BMW, and Honda.  Pretty silly when you think about it.  I wonder if this marketing gimmick ever yields a positive result for both the dealership and the car owner.

---

For the owner, no... For the dealer, potentially yes. They hire a marketing company that creates these letters for next to nothing for every customer in their system. A few will come in and may purchase a vehicle, they usually don't trade or at least don't accept the low ball offers. When I worked at a dealership we had a customer come in on one of these mailers and sold us their car for less than half of it's actual value... I am just glad I wasn't involved in that deal. 

One thing to note, these offers typically don't take into account the specific options or trim of your vehicle and they use an average mileage for similar vehicles, which is probably pretty high for 8 year old BMW 5 series vehicles.

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Hmmm, the three BMW dealerships I've worked with have been pretty upstanding, even to the point of taking a look at my soon to be off lease 5-Speed 2002 530i PP, SP, Xenon, Premium Audio, and offering me thousands (literally) above the residual of the car to trade it in with them, even though they weren't the selling dealer.  

[Gladius]

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@Horseshoez wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Horseshoez wrote:

It isn't just BMW dealerships which play this game, I've gotten similar ultra-lowball offers from Chrysler, Mazda, BMW, and Honda.  Pretty silly when you think about it.  I wonder if this marketing gimmick ever yields a positive result for both the dealership and the car owner.

---

For the owner, no... For the dealer, potentially yes. They hire a marketing company that creates these letters for next to nothing for every customer in their system. A few will come in and may purchase a vehicle, they usually don't trade or at least don't accept the low ball offers. When I worked at a dealership we had a customer come in on one of these mailers and sold us their car for less than half of it's actual value... I am just glad I wasn't involved in that deal. 

One thing to note, these offers typically don't take into account the specific options or trim of your vehicle and they use an average mileage for similar vehicles, which is probably pretty high for 8 year old BMW 5 series vehicles.

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Hmmm, the three BMW dealerships I've worked with have been pretty upstanding, even to the point of taking a look at my soon to be off lease 5-Speed 2002 530i PP, SP, Xenon, Premium Audio, and offering me thousands (literally) above the residual of the car to trade it in with them, even though they weren't the selling dealer.  

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You're leasing a car that's almost 20 years old or is this a typo?