[allinon72]

Originally Posted by 5pacey

Ok... gotcha... makes sense. A little weird that any dealer would not be educated enough about the manufacturer's discount/"mail-in" coupon... Thats their business isn't it. BUT, they key I think, or a KEY element here is whether or not they can still claim the PenFed/military discount even if I appear to be oblivious to it and don't present them with the "certificate"? Because if they can, then they could very well be perfectly aware of it, just refuse to honor it when I show it to them because they already banked on cashing it in since I didn't tell them that I want to use it to begin with. Had I told them, at the beginning, they may have just not given in any more than $2750 off MSRP, and then allowed me to use the $3250,- "PenFed/military" discount to add up to $6k. My reasoning for not mentioning it to begin with was a little different... my understanding was that if they refused to budge at all, I can always wave the PenFed / certificate and try this as a negotiation tactic. But since they went down to $6k below MSRP w/out it, I just took it and assumed that they are already building it in, along w/the $750,- loyalty discount, so they are really just giving me $2k off, from their perspective... so both sides are good.

BUT... as I said, key here is whether they can still claim this from BMW even if I don't give them the certificate? Or maybe they just check boxes somewhere that I am a PenFed member and thats enough for them to claim it? Just looking for flies in the ointment here... If they do refuse to honor it I am sure I'll be given a very "good" story why etc, but if I am prepared or understand it enough , I may be able to call them even now / w/out waiting for the delivery, and check if they are cool w/it or have issues, if it truly is not skinny off their back, and there is no way they could have pocketed it if I didn't bring it up.

The certificate generates a unique code, and that's after you enter your details and the system verifies your account has been active for 60 days. The dealer cannot do this on anyone's behalf, and if they could I doubt they would build it in without the customer mentioning it. That's simply not how it works.

[5pacey]

So just went to claim the certificate... and it is personalized for sure. Per customer and per certificate. Instructions on the bottom also say: "Dealership instructions to process claim: Enter Customer ID and Offer Code during RDR to process claim and payment"

Which would seem to indicate that they can't just claim it w/out getting both codes from me, which they couldn't have expected w/out me telling them up front that I will bring it w/me... Which, then leads me to believe, that it "should" be rediemable separately from the actual negotiated deal. Meaning on top of it. Hmmm... very nice. I'll give them a call tomorrow to see what they say.

[5pacey]

Originally Posted by allinon72

The certificate generates a unique code, and that's after you enter your details and the system verifies your account has been active for 60 days. The dealer cannot do this on anyone's behalf, and if they could I doubt they would build it in without the customer mentioning it. That's simply not how it works.

Yep, thank's I just went through the motion of getting the cert, and exactly as you say... so seems promissing. And both codes customer (me), and certificate, are not easitly fudgeable so they can't just make them up.

[5pacey]

It then confounds me how is it that on a brand new car you can get 20% discount (6k negotiated + 3.25k penfed + 7.5k fed), and yet on a used one they jack the prices to the moon. I am essentially paying $65k for a $81.3k brand new car. There should be so much demand for them that they shouldn't be discounting them at all. The only slight "con" is that I have to wait approx 1.5 months for the car to be made.

That said, I still need to confirm that they can/are willing to/know how to do the 3.25k PenFed discount because thats not a done deal yet at this point, though it looks like in theory it should work.

[dananelson1]

5pacey There is a significant amount of conversation on this matter on the forums. I am also waiting on a build and had similar concerns before I placed my order; I walked away from 2-3 dealers that declined to facilitate the PenFed rebate (they stated the paperwork was a pain and the rebate to their dealer often took to long - it's their biz decision to accept or not).

So, ensuring that a dealer is familiar and honors the rebate WAY up front is key. I basically emailed 12 dealers asking what their next allocation build date openings were and if there were familiar with honoring the PenFeb rebate. Then I went from there. Any MSRP negotiation, of course, needs to be in writing that it is BEFORE any rebates, BMWNA incentives, or tax incentives. If that basis is not covered, there are holes and risks. Also, the PenFed full amount is lowered to $500 IF you finance through BMW. And, if you DON"T finance though BMW to order to get the full $3250, you forgo certain BMW incentives like Loyalty and perhaps some others; you have to look - were some of these elements in your 6k figure (And as ref, your 6k off IF it's before ALL other incentives is well above what most others have been getting of late on a 45e). Good luck.

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by 5pacey

It then confounds me how is it that on a brand new car you can get 20% discount (6k negotiated + 3.25k penfed + 7.5k fed), and yet on a used one they jack the prices to the moon. I am essentially paying $65k for a $81.3k brand new car. There should be so much demand for them that they shouldn't be discounting them at all. The only slight "con" is that I have to wait approx 1.5 months for the car to be made.

That said, I still need to confirm that they can/are willing to/know how to do the 3.25k PenFed discount because thats not a done deal yet at this point, though it looks like in theory it should work.

Keep in mind that if you finance with BMWFS then the incentive amount drops to $500. You need to bring cash/outside financing in order to get the $3,250.

Just to make it easier, refer to it as the Domestic Military discount rather than PenFed. For years the overwhelming majority of military discounts came through USAA so PenFed is not as well known.

[5pacey]

Yea, not financing w/BMW FS... not again, I did once, or twice in the past and I hated the experince. Even had a BMW Visa card at one point. It felt like dealing with Mo from from Brighton Beach. Every time I'd call it was always some guy by the name Matthew who picked up and patiently provided exactly 0 service and every conversation was guaranteed to go in circles. At some point I could swear that they were either a cult, or they literally had 1 CS guy working there, which was hard to believe. But if there was 1 guy then the Mo metaphore isn't too far off.

Been financing cars w/PenFed and Navy Federal for years. They just can't be beat.

[5pacey]

Originally Posted by dananelson1

5pacey There is a significant amount of conversation on this matter on the forums. I am also waiting on a build and has similar concerns before I placed my order; I walked away from 2-3 dealers that declined to facilitate the PenFed rebate (they stated the paperwork was a pain and the rebate to their dealer often took to long - it's their biz decision to accept or not).

So, ensuring that a dealer is familiar and honors the rebate WAY up front is key. I basically emailed 12 dealers asking what their next allocation build date openings were and if there were familiar with honoring the PenFeb rebate. Then I went from there. Any MSRP negotiation, of course, needs to be in writing that it is BEFORE any rebates, BMWNA incentives, or tax incentives. If that basis is not covered, there are holes and risks. Also, the PenFed full amount is but to $500 IF you finance through BMW. And, if you DON"T finance though BMW to order to get the full 3250, you forgo certain BMW incentives like Loyalty and perhaps some others; you have to look - were some of these elements in your 6k figure (And as ref, your 6k off IF it's before ALL other incentives is well above what most others have been getting of late on a 45e). Good luck.

I hear you... sounds odd, but it is what it is. TBD in my case. Also... given how uneven the discounting appears to be from one dealer to another, one has to weigh the ability of the dealer to accept the PenFed "coupon" vs. how much are they willing to discount w/out it. for example, I am not going to walk away from them if they are willing to give me a bigger break w/out the coupon, than what I can get from the coupon unless I can find another place that will offer me a combined discount between their own and the PenFed coupon higher than what the curent place is.

[omasou]

Originally Posted by 5pacey

So just went to claim the certificate... and it is personalized for sure. Per customer and per certificate. Instructions on the bottom also say: "Dealership instructions to process claim: Enter Customer ID and Offer Code during RDR to process claim and payment"

Which would seem to indicate that they can't just claim it w/out getting both codes from me, which they couldn't have expected w/out me telling them up front that I will bring it w/me... Which, then leads me to believe, that it "should" be rediemable separately from the actual negotiated deal. Meaning on top of it. Hmmm... very nice. I'll give them a call tomorrow to see what they say.

If you specified the dealer when you filled out the form they already have a copy. If you didn't then they don't know yet.

[5pacey]

Originally Posted by omasou

If you specified the dealer when you filled out the form they already have a copy. If you didn't then they don't know yet.

I am pretty sure I never got to the "certificate" stage before. And it didn't ask for the dealer to produce the certificate... you click on the link before you tell the site to send out your build to all the dealers.

[kyrocks]

I applied for a penfed account a month ago and have heard nothing back. Even sent them the required documents. I called twice and one person said I was conditionally approved and the other said they don't have an application.
I've lost interest. Don't need the discount.

[Flying Ace]

just FYI, the Penfed account has a few steps to jump through. Once you applied for the account, note that they send you a letter in the mail. You must respond to the letter! It's a fraud control they put in place and if you don't respond, you don't have an active account.

Also, there is a $5 account opening fee. Doesn't matter if you've moved $100 bucks into the account like I have, the fee doesn't get applied from your balance. Don't toy around with their policies...jump through their hoops. Write a check (or call in with with a credit card) and pay that damn fee so that your account is in "good standing".

Since we're all skirting eligibility on this rebate, at least do the bare minimum to show that you're a good account. If anything, you're ruining it for the people who come after you've already claimed yours. We all know PenFed will review this program sooner or later and realize that it resulted in non-Mil members getting the discount, at least make the feel good that it resulted in a real account opening, with real deposits, and in my case, a real vehicle loan such that this was actually a profitable venture.

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

Keep in mind that if you finance with BMWFS then the incentive amount drops to $500. You need to bring cash/outside financing in order to get the $3,250.

Just to make it easier, refer to it as the Domestic Military discount rather than PenFed. For years the overwhelming majority of military discounts came through USAA so PenFed is not as well known.

agreed. When I mentioned "penfed" dealer drew a blank. Then we discussed the military part of it, and they knew exactly what this rebate is and how to process it. I simply told them that I will generate a validate code in my name, and they said it's good to go as long as a validate code.

[kyrocks]

Originally Posted by Flying Ace

just FYI, the Penfed account has a few steps to jump through. Once you applied for the account, note that they send you a letter in the mail. You must respond to the letter! It's a fraud control they put in place and if you don't respond, you don't have an active account.

Also, there is a $5 account opening fee. Doesn't matter if you've moved $100 bucks into the account like I have, the fee doesn't get applied from your balance. Don't toy around with their policies...jump through their hoops. Write a check (or call in with with a credit card) and pay that damn fee so that your account is in "good standing".

Since we're all skirting eligibility on this rebate, at least do the bare minimum to show that you're a good account. If anything, you're ruining it for the people who come after you've already claimed yours. We all know PenFed will review this program sooner or later and realize that it resulted in non-Mil members getting the discount, at least make the feel good that it resulted in a real account opening, with real deposits, and in my case, a real vehicle loan such that this was actually a profitable venture.

I never received any letter.

[allinon72]

I've had exactly $5 in my Penfed account for something like 12 years now.

[5pacey]

Originally Posted by allinon72

I've had exactly $5 in my Penfed account for something like 12 years now.

$20,- ... but I think its up by $5 just on interest over time.

[Cloudplay]

Our 45e arrived at the dealership on Friday - we paid for it yesterday and will pick up tomorrow.

I had generated the PenFed certificate before we ordered in mid-August. Of course, the finance guy had never heard about it, but it took only him only a few minutes to figure it out and there was no problem applying it on top of the (small) negotiated discount.

As the dealer referred through the PenFed buying program proved useless, we financed through DCU. 65 month at 1.24% APR, which seems very reasonable.

[lc21]

I provided sales rep penfed discount code and she said it looks like we get to go thru ID.ME website to get the discount (can't just use the code). Is that real?

[omasou]

Originally Posted by lc21

I provided sales rep penfed discount code and she said it looks like we get to go thru ID.ME website to get the discount (can't just use the code). Is that real?

Everyone keeps mentioning PenFed, I believe b/c they were getting the military discount w/o being military. My CA was saying PenFed, USAA is now all Military Discount. So I'm guessing they closed or are closing that loophole.

This is what she was referring to as ID.ME. Military incentive, https://www.bmwusa.com/special-offer...incentive.html

So far I know that Apple, BMW and North Face are using ID.ME to validate military service before providing discounts.

[allinon72]

Originally Posted by lc21

I provided sales rep penfed discount code and she said it looks like we get to go thru ID.ME website to get the discount (can't just use the code). Is that real?

No, the Penfed code works fine. I just did it on Saturday.

ID.me is now BMWs official way of giving a military discount. But the Penfed rebate still works. Here's how it went with my sales advisor:

"I would like to use the Penfed $3250 rebate"

"OK, what is your confirmation code"

And that's it. Done.

[Cloudplay]

Originally Posted by allinon72

No, the Penfed code works fine. I just did it on Saturday.

Same here; work just fine this Saturday.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by omasou

Everyone keeps mentioning PenFed,

As others have mentioned, penfed rebate works fine is for penfed members. Yes, it does have some bureaucratic history & outdated docs tied to it which makes it confusing.

Bottom line:

Anyone who's a penfed member for > 60 days can use the penfed rebate.