Martin’ new 320i – Alpine over schwarz, sport package and nothing else
My neighbor Martin just bought a new BMW. He did his research, knew exactly what he wanted, and walked away from an initial poor BMW dealership experience. He went with a custom order, and will be having the aftermarket boost the conservative tune of his stock BMW turbocharged engine.
How he went about it struck me as the smart way to buy a new BMW. So I asked him if he’d do a Q&A about purchasing his new 2015 BMW 320i.
Q: What kind of car were you looking for?
I wanted a sports sedan or a hot hatch. Driving is something I very much enjoy and I find sitting behind the wheel of a well-built car very satisfying. I had a first-generation MT Mini that I liked a lot. It wasn’t that fast or powerful, but an absolute blast to drive—a car you could really squeeze the fun out of going about your business around town.
After my second child was born I traded the Mini in and bought a CPO first-gen X5. As far as SUVs go that was an enjoyable vehicle to drive but I missed the tossability of the Mini. I had the X5 for over 6 years and put a lot of miles on it. Unfortunately I started to face some expensive repairs and my wife and I thought it would be best to sell it. Then (horror of horrors) we got a minivan…they’re extremely practical but equally soul-crushing. My wife ended up driving our Honda most of the time and I was stuck with the van. I was counting the days until I could get a car of my own again.
Q: What factors led you to the 320?
My criteria were pretty straightforward: I wanted an enthusiast’s car that was also practical enough for a family of four. The relative simplicity of the 320 appealed to me. I’ve never been into all the technological stuff they’re packing into cars. I generally listen only to the radio and the occasional CD while driving. Satellite radio has poor sound quality and I don’t care about streaming music from my phone or having a hard drive filled with tunes.
I also find navigation systems distracting and on the rare occasion I do use one, it’s simply the Google Maps app on my phone. The options that I am interested in improve the driving experience. On that front, the 320’s sport package is one of the great deals out there. You get the M sport suspension, the fantastic bolstered sport seats and M steering wheel, nice wheels, and a few cosmetic touches for $1,400.
I also forewent a sun roof. I never used them much and it’s one more thing that can break (which it did on my X5). Leaving off the sun roof and going with a RWD saves several hundred pounds compared to an x drive with sun roof—you can really tell the difference when you drive the two back-to-back.
The 320 is basically the only option for someone looking for a comparatively no-frills RWD sedan that is great to drive. The fact that I could get such a car for the same price as a loaded Ford Fusion sealed the deal for me.
The GTI was the only other car I seriously considered. I was very impressed with it. Great to drive and admirable fit and finish. Ultimately though, the roundel beckoned. There’s just something about a BMW.
Q: What were your dealership experiences like?
Very mixed. Because my ideal spec 320 simply was not available on a dealer’s lot I first looked at models that had options I didn’t really need or want. I figured I could negotiate a price that would be close to what I was willing to pay for. The first dealer I went to had one with the sport package, performance tires, sun roof and navigation system. I had been keeping an eye on local dealer inventory and knew that it had been sitting on the lot for over 4 months already.
Figuring this would be to my advantage in settling on a price I set up an appointment to check out the car. Much to my frustration they kept me waiting for 40 minutes before a sales person was available. Not a good start, and it didn’t get any better. When the car arrived it was quite dirty. It also had over 300 miles on the odometer already, so it was likely a demo. Disappointing, but not yet a showstopper. The car is easily cleaned and the use as a demo would strengthen my negotiating position.
The sales person seemed nice enough and wasn’t particularly pushy. I like to gauge the sales person’s knowledge by asking a few in depth questions that I already know the answer to. I don’t do this to “stump-the-chump.” Rather, I want to get a sense of his character. It’s fine if they don’t know the answer—they should just be forthright about that.
This guy gave me wrong information flat out. I should have walked away at that point but my less rational side prevailed at that point. Cut to the discussion on price: this is one of those dealers that advertises a ‘fair price’ on their website, essentially the price quotes you find on TrueCar. I opened with an admittedly aggressive bid, figuring we would end up about halfway between that and their ‘fair price’.
Much to my surprise the sales person said that price was non-negotiable. I replied that I had never heard of a non-negotiable price at a car dealership. He affirmed his position and offered to get the manager to explain this. I was rather bemused at this point so I agreed.
The manager gave me the usual story of how their advanced pricing strategy offers me the best deal in town, they’re already making so little money on the car, etc. I pointed out that the car had been sitting on their lot for many months, was being used as a demo and, while it wasn’t speced exactly how I wanted it, I was ready to take it home that day if the price was right (I had a check in hand). He declined to budge on price so I thanked him for his time and walked out.
I had been home for less than an hour before the sales person called me to ask if I would really walk away from the car at that “amazing price.” “Yes,” I told him. Unless they were willing to discuss a lower price there was no deal. I received more phone calls over several days, which I sent straight to voice mail, explaining why that price was so good. Interestingly, they never broached the possibility of a custom order.
The next weekend I went to a different dealer. What a stunningly different and pleasant experience that was. First, the sales person who met with me was very friendly and knowledgeable. I explained to him what I was looking for: a 320 with sports package and not larded up with options. He already knew they didn’t have that in their inventory but took me to his desk to search what was available on lots up and down the east coast.
A dealer in New Jersey had one! He said it would be easy to swap with them for something out of their inventory and have the car here in 2 or 3 days. My excitement was dashed, however, after he called up there: they had incorrectly listed the car has having the sport package.
What I really appreciate about this sales person was that he didn’t try to sell me something else of their lot. He could have tried to play off my disappointment and get me behind the wheel of something that afternoon. Instead, he said, “Let’s do a custom order, then. We have a production slot for next week.” Such integrity is sadly not that common in the world of car sales.
Q: How easy was it to order exactly the car you wanted?
It was a breeze. We quickly settled on a price that I am very happy with. The sales person and I then speced out the car on their internal ordering system in 10 minutes and sealed the deal with a small down payment.
I received several updates on the production status in the Rosslyn plant in South Africa and the car’s subsequent journey to the U.S. The sales person gave me the name of the car carrier vessel so I was able to track it when it left port in Durban. Incredibly, the ship went all the way to Germany first, with several port visits along the way, before it crossed the Atlantic.
The only downside of a custom order is having to wait for the car. Now that I have her, though, it was absolutely worth it. All in all, from the day I placed the order to taking delivery, the whole process took a little over 6 weeks.
Q: How did you research the purchase ahead of time?
I spent a lot of time scouring the web for reviews by automotive journalists and posts on enthusiast blogs. The ones that really influenced me to seriously consider the 320 over the 328 were the Jalopnik/Chris Harris, Car & Driver, and LA Times reviews. [Editor’s note – two more – Bimmer Magazine and from Edmunds.com.]
These were all positive reviews that highlight the things I noted earlier: back-to-basics performance at a good value. There are plenty others that point out the downsides of the reduced power compared to the 328, but I kept reminding myself how much fun the Mini was with that little 115 hp engine.
My test driving experiences were enlightening. On the first day I drove a 328 and 320 back-to-back. Both were x-drive models with the standard suspension. Frankly, the experience was a bit underwhelming. I had just driven the new VW GTI and the 328 felt heavy and Lexus-like soft in comparison. The 320 was more nimble but the suspension was still disappointing—too luxury-oriented. As far as the power difference went, there was no noticeable difference for me on regular street-driving because the 320 has so much torque at low RPMs. It was only above 50 mph on the high-speed interstate merge that I felt the 328 pull more.
A couple of weeks later I drove a RWD 328 that I felt was an improvement over the all-wheel drive in terms of responsiveness. Then I slipped behind the wheel of an x-drive 320 with the sport package. The seats and steering wheel made a big difference in driving. You felt more in tune with the road and knew you would stay firmly planted when taking a curve at a good clip.
I was puzzled, however, that I didn’t notice any difference in the suspension. When checking the BMW website afterwards I realized I had overlooked a key detail. I had used only used the “build your own” feature for the RWD model. The x-drive doesn’t have the sport suspension as part of the package.
Q: Why bring the car to DINAN?
BMW doesn’t advertise it, but it’s very easy to improve the performance of the stock turbo engines. Both the 320 and the 328 come with the same N20, four cylinder turbocharged engine. The only difference is the engine management software, which is set lower for the 320. For a reasonable amount of money, Dinan will give me a lighter, less expensive car with almost exactly the HP and torque of the more expensive 328 model. [Editor’s note — here’s the package Martin is referencing – an extra 53 HP and 46 lbs. of torque for $1,500.]
The N20 4-cylinder turbocharged engine
Their track record of high-quality tunes is very important to me and worth the premium in my opinion. Dinan’s commitment to guaranteeing the car’s warranty speaks volumes. My main concern is the impact on long-term reliability of the car when using the cheaper tunes. Based on my understanding of how the Dinan tuner works, their capability to adjust target Lambda and to raise boost pressure is more than marketing speak and important to the optimal functioning of the car.
I don’t see much sense in skimping on a few hundred dollars after spending so much money on the car already and given that I want to have her for a long time.