Beware of Dealer Scams (at least in Toronto)

[Surge]

I have never had such poor experiences as I've had at BMW Dealers. I have purchased new Porsches, Mercedes, and other brands, and never had such blatant lies and gamesmanship as with BMW.

Beware of "variable" freight and PDI costs! In Canada, BMW seems unwilling or incapable of having an online configurator for the i3 that works.

As a result, I've noticed that each dealer seems to charge a different freight/PDI cost!

Another scam - charging sales tax on your cash due on delivery payment! I'm still arguing with the moron who prepared this lease quote about why it's wrong. He is showing $10,000 due on delivery, and adding Ontario sales tax (13%) on top of it, making it $11,300! But because of all the other fees due on delivery, it's easy to miss this and just pay the total.

Unbelievable.
It may turn me off the brand completely.

 

[Surge]

I think the HST on the downpayment is correct actually.

But still beware of the freight/PDI, which I've seen varying by about $600 from dealer to dealer.

This reminds me of when my mom bought a new 2002 323i. At that time freight and PDI were included in the list price. Yet this dealership at Yonge and Steeles in Toronto charged it separately! We went back and spoke to the owner, who was very rude and directly said "he'll refund it, but typical BMW customers are not as cheap as you, and wouldn't care about $1200"! Can you believe it!?
Since then I have bought or leased about $400,000 worth of cars. I have NEVER set foot in that dealership again, nor any of the other stores by the same owner.

 

[kzod]

Toronto dealers really turned me off of buying an i3. Started off great. Was given a car for the night. Really enjoyed it. But then when I returned the car, they started playing games with me. Had me wait around while he finished up, until I had to leave. Refused to negotiate over the phone, and insisting that I come in to sit down with him and the Manager to see what could be done. The phone call ended with me being extremely aggravated and feeling like I was dealing with GM. By the next day, he called back begging me to take a car below cost, but I already had a bad taste in my mouth. Was also considering pre-ordering the Tesla Model # at the time (before the reveal). Then decided that if I bought a used i3 I could save on the depreciation. But, that wasn't to be either. Another dealer that was offering a new 2015 at $35k roughly after rebates had two used 2014 models. They refused to sell those cars to me for less than the new cars. Believing that once the new cars were gone the used cars would sell at a higher price!

I still haven't come across any used cars that are cheaper than you could buy a new one for. I have to guess that if they are selling they must be going out of province where the incentives don't apply. By now, I've already ordered a Tesla on the 1st day, but am still keeping my eyes on the i3 if I ever find a good deal to tide me over while I wait.