I was lucky (I hope anyway) in that my dealership here in California Found the exact build I was looking for, already built. This was on May 18th and I put down the hefty (non-refundable) deposit that day. Apparently the car was on a ship bound further north in the Ventura area, and is being diverted to a closer Los Angeles port, and is due to arrive at port this Monday June 6th. As of a few days ago, the dealer says it still shows June 6 port arrival.

Here's the thing...when I asked the salesman if he had the VIN for me, and an index of exactly what was on this car (so there would be no surprises or mixups, he said it was not available yet. Could this be right? When pressed on when the car could arrive at the dealership after service inspection he said, "it's possible later that week" What pisses me off are the vague answers I'm getting. I guess all I can do is see what develops after Monday?
CRS

 

Just curious...who's idea was it to put down a heft "non-refundable" deposit?? I've never heard of that...

 

[QUOTE=NYC-Style;1475230]Just curious...why would you need to put down a "hefty" non-refundable deposit??

 

Sorry for the double post...I tried to delete one but can't seem to do that...oh well!!

 

Local dealer here said they need a $2000 deposit to order the car.

 

Standard procedure I'm afraid.

 

Mine did as well, but asked if we could do $1000 instead, and no was agreed to with no issue. Obviously each dealer will vary.

 

I have ordered my last two BMWs with no deposit. I guess the sales guy just has to make a call that you're a serious buyer. Because if you back out for any reason you get the entire deposit back anyway. So the whole deposit thing is just to keep people from ordering cars for entertainment. That's the only reason I can think they even bother.