Quote:
Originally Posted by Louv
BMW never said this was a limited production car. If you paid more than list, that was your informed choice.
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BMWNA guys were going around telling dealers that they should only expect 1-2 cars per year in the months leading up to launch. It's why, when I sat down with the manager of the dealership, they asked me to sign a document ensuring they got the right of first offer when I decided to sell the car (which they wouldn't have done if they knew they'd be getting 1-2 cars a month). The expectation among dealers then was that BMW might make 350-700 cars a year, because that is what they had been told.
They were told that so often and so sincerely that when I returned to the dealership with the car after 6 months and 5k miles, they didn't hesitate to buy it back, close to what I paid for it (MSRP minus taxes). I lucked out. I called them up the second I saw the news that i8 production was more than doubling, then I sold it...probably before that news had even reached the dealership, because at the time of selling it, they still thought they were only going to get one more in the next 12 months. A couple of months later they were sitting on 5 cars...so many they were just sitting on the lot next to the 1 series coupes. They got burned so badly by buying back my car, thinking they weren't getting more than 1-2 a year, that the guy I dealt with stopped responding to my inquiries about the M2, they won't even return my calls...all because I was quick enough to get them to buy it back before the bottom dropped out of the market.
BMW PR guys at trade shows were also talking up its exclusivity...so yes, there was an expectation generated mostly by PR hype at BMWNA and a drip feed of almost no i8 info for months to dealers.